Cloth Diapers
Options
Virginia90
Posts: 317 Member
Anyone else cloth diaper? I cloth diapered my first kiddo from birth (she's never worn a disposable), and I plan on cloth diapering this next kiddo from birth as well. I'll probably have 2 in diapers when this one is born (my dd will be about 22 months) and I must say I've very excited to be able to start buying newborn dipes soon! 
Oh, and if anyone has any questions, I probably can answer them!
Oh, and if anyone has any questions, I probably can answer them!
0
Replies
-
I would like to do cloth diapers, at least at home. We won't be able to have anyone be at home full time and most daycares don't do cloth diapers. I am going to try to work from home two days a week (I currently work from home one day a week) and then my mom wants to start telecommuting one day as well, so the kid will only be in daycare about two days a week.
I am really liking what I am seeing about cloth diapers (my husband is a little suspicious of the clean-up).
This is our first child
0 -
Yep, I use cloth on both my sons! My oldest is 26mo and my baby is 6.5mo and I'm expecting again in early November. I used disposables on my first son for a few weeks until he fit into the one-size diapers we had, but with DS2 he was in cloth from the moment we got home from the hospital as I had a great newborn stash. With this one, we could very well have 3 in diapers so I am going to use some disposables in the beginning until DS1 uses the potty. He has no interest right now, but we'll be working on it in the upcoming months.
If anyone has questions, please feel free to message me too! I love that we use cloth and so does my husband. 0 -
I would LOVE advice on how many, in what size, etc. I have seen a ton of them online that are used (but clean) for affordable prices and I have to think that it's better than going disposable on the wallet (not to mention the environment) and the kid's lil' tushy.0
-
YAY! I've been waiting for this post.
BusyPK gave me some great advice to get going. I have decided to give them a try. I am hoping to use them 100% of the time when we're at home and then disposables if I have to when we are out and about or visiting family. I did find a woman on our local kijiji website who was selling her stash of diapers. She only used them for four months before she gave up and she gave me a box of 20 assorted brands along with some detergent and liners. I was going to get a few of each kind anyway so this worked out for me as I paid about half price for each diaper. I also found a diaper exchange on that website where people go and swap the styles they don't like for ones they do. Surprisingly enough my husband took a look at the box and was all for it. We're really optimistic now, hopefully this continues once the baby gets here! :laugh:0 -
Great to hear others cloth diaper as well! =D It was definitely one of the best decision I've made - I can't believe the money we'd have to spend on disposables if we didn't. We use cloth wipes too that I made from the million receiving blankets I got from my baby shower!0
-
I am interested in cloth diapers, but kind of afraid of mess/stink and laundry loads. Thinking to start with gdiapers. Thoughts?0
-
Which brands do people use? I've looked at some of the patterns online but I think it would be easier and almost as cost effective to just purchase used covers (clean of course) and try to save as much $$ as possible.0
-
Here are some common questions and my thoughts based on my experience.
1) Which one is your favorite? I love CottonBabies diapers (they are the makers of BumGenius, Flip and Econobum brands). I use BumGenius Elemental One-Size diapers for both my boys during the day. They are super easy with organic cotton inside and wash up well. For nighttime we use fitteds and fleece covers because my boys tend to pee more and need more absorbation. The website for CottonBabies is just there name if you want to look them up (but don't want to spam here).
2) How and where do you keep the dirty ones? For pee diapers I put them in a plastic trash can. You can get what is called "wet bags" to put all your dirty diapers in until it's wash day, but I find a cheap plastic trash can works just as well (and cheaper). For poopy diapers you will want to get a diaper sprayer to hook up to your toilet to help spray the poo off (around $45 and a must have in my eyes). If you breastfeed you won't need to do this because breastmilk poo is water soluble and washes right out in your washing machine, but once you start puree foods you might have to stay spraying off the poopy diapers. I love my diaper sprayer though! And once I spray off poopy diapers they go in the same plastic trash can.
3) Do you need special soap for the dirty diapers? Some babies are more sensitive to detergents than others, but mine have never had any trouble with me using Tide Free & Gentle on their cloth diapers. I wash diapers every 24-48 hours (since I have two in diapers right now, but I wouldn't go any longer than 3 days between laundry) and use up to the "1" line on the Tide scoop.
4) Is there a process that you use? This will all depend on the type of washing machine you have, but here is my process. I put all diapers in the wash and do a cold rinse only. Then after that (takes about 30 minutes) I do a HOT wash cycle with a 1hr soak with as much water as possible with Tide detergent up to the "1" line. After that they get hung outside to dry or in the dryer to dry depending on how low I'm running on diapers. About once a week I will do an extra rinse cycle after the wash cycle to make sure all detergent is washed out of the diapers. If your baby is sensitive you might have to do this extra rinse after each wash cycle. I've had no problems with stink and minimal stains.
5) I heard you can buy used ones, is that safe or is it better to get new ones? Yes, you can buy used, I bought a lot of ours gently used. You will just have to wash them really well before using. There is a great website out there where you can buy used diapers, message me if you want to know what it is. That same site has a lot of information on cloth diapers as well.
I also want to mention that most "one-size" diapers won't fit newborns. If you want to use cloth on your newborn then I would recommend prefolds and PUL covers. That is the most inexpensive method to use for those first couple months and usually after 2-3 months your baby will have put on enough weight to fit into most one-size diapers. Prefolds can be bought inexpensivly in many places in premie/newbore sizes or you could pick these up used to save some money. For covers over the prefolds I like Thirsties XS and Thirsties Duo size1.
I also wanted to say if you buy new, you will need to "prep" your diapers if they are organic cotton material. Prepping just means washing and drying 3-5 times before use to reach maximum absorbancy. I hate doing this so this is one reason I buy gently used because this step is already done.
Feel free to message me with any questions you ladies might have!0 -
I am interested in cloth diapers, but kind of afraid of mess/stink and laundry loads. Thinking to start with gdiapers. Thoughts?
Melissa - I'm thinking about trying the gdiapers too. I love the idea of having the disposable or cloth liner option, but hate that they are not a one-size option (i.e. you have to keep buying new size shells --$$ --ugh!)
busyPK - THANK YOU for all the info! This is great!!!!0 -
I am interested in cloth diapers, but kind of afraid of mess/stink and laundry loads. Thinking to start with gdiapers. Thoughts?
Melissa - I'm thinking about trying the gdiapers too. I love the idea of having the disposable or cloth liner option, but hate that they are not a one-size option (i.e. you have to keep buying new size shells --$$ --ugh!)
busyPK - THANK YOU for all the info! This is great!!!!
Ladies, look into Flip or GroVia diapers. Both brands have a disposable option as well as cloth option and presonally I find both of those brands higher quality than gdiapers. Plus the covers are one-size so they will grow with your baby.0 -
I would love to cloth diaper, but our washing machine is on a greywater system that waters the yard, so not safe to wash poopy stuff in there. Kuddos to those of you who do cloth diaper though!0
-
I would love to cloth diaper- but I will only be able to stay at home for 5 months- afterwards baby will be in a daycare. And they do not like cloth diapers.
I would feel bad having baby get used to cloth diapers and then putting in disposable.
Any suggestions on how to get around that would be great!!!
What are the gdiapers???0 -
You might actually show the daycare what diapers you'll be using - especially if you get velcro diapers, they work exactly like disposables, they would just send them home with you instead of throwing them out. Even day cares around here that say "no cloth diapers" have decided that the modern velcro closure diapers are fine because there is no difference between how that and a disposable works. You can explain it all day, but actually taking the time to go in and show them is pretty effective.0
-
Oh, and I second the Flips as a disposable insert option - I've never used the disposable inserts, but I have a couple Flips with the reusable insert and I love it. It actually looks near identical on the outside to a BumGenius (I think made by the same people, actually), and it comes in one-size and fits wonderfully.0
-
My first born was in daycare for 1yr before my husband started staying home with him and they used cloth on him. He went to a licensed home daycare and once I showed the provider the diapers (one piece, snap/velcro on and off, super simple) she had no problem using them.
Yes, Flips are made by the same people as BumGenius and Econobum. GREAT company imo!0 -
Thanks for the ideas on the daycares- I will add that to my list of quesions!!! I hate putting baby in daycare but do not have a choice just yet.0
-
Yay so happy there is a cloth diaper thread! I am slightly addicted to the babycenter cloth diaper group as well as about a million and one cloth diaper blogs and websites! Lol As a ftm I call it my new hobby There are a couple cloth diaper stores here and one of them offers free classes which I brought Hubby to a few weeks ago. It was super informative and luckily Derek got really into it and is totally on board now! Our plan so far is buying our newborn stash of gmd prefolds, workhorses, some kissaluv Fitteds and an assortment of covers--and then on our registry we put all our dream one size diapers(trying to get the most bang for our buck) Hoping we receive a few cuz older family think we're crazy for not doing disposables lol Anyone have experience with wool covers? Trying to find a good price to get a couple--really interested in the natural fiber diapers. Oh and at the class the teacher loved Flip organic inserts!(though she likes to use them in a blueberry cover). Who knew diapers could be so interesting!? 0
-
I am cloth diapering.
I bought a variety of kinds to see what works... Bum Genius and trend lab being the two that I bought the most of.
I am excited... I am also adding you as a friend.0 -
I will be using CDs! We can't wait! Thanks for all the info!0
-
I am interested in cloth diapers, but kind of afraid of mess/stink and laundry loads. Thinking to start with gdiapers. Thoughts?
Melissa - I'm thinking about trying the gdiapers too. I love the idea of having the disposable or cloth liner option, but hate that they are not a one-size option (i.e. you have to keep buying new size shells --$$ --ugh!)
busyPK - THANK YOU for all the info! This is great!!!!
Every babies butt is different... So I can't comment on fit but... I have a friend who bought some of the gdiapers from Target. She said that they were falling apart after a few washes and did not hold up.
So I figure... Well the higher quality ones are more $$ money up front -- In the end you are going to save the bucks. I think my husband and I figured the savings would be about $3,000 for the first three years. So far we have spent about $350 for a variety of brands. Plus, you can use them for a second baby as well. However, if the second is a boy... I will have to buy some boy colors to replace the pink and purple ones I bought for this one. 0
