checking out some cloth diapers

Ok I wish I would have checked into this when they were little but I didn't. I still think it will be cheaper in the long run to get them now. I also think they look so much more comfortable than disposables. What are the easiest to use? I have looked at some like bum genius & fuzzi bunz. What are the inserts for? Extra absorbancy? Do you wash the insert also or throw them away? If you wash them do you take them out of the diaper and wash seperatly? And would I need those plastic diaper covers if they wore these? And really tell me the truth... how hard are they to take care of? I mean do the poo stains come out of them very easy and how do you keep the peepee smell out of them? Can I dry them in my dryer? I really can't afford to buy a lot of them at once and I could wash them every night if I had to. Ok as you can tell I am clueless about this, but I am really interested. Oh and how many diapers does 1 year olds go through in a day on average? Thanks for all the help.

 

Hi, we've been cloth diapering since they were preemies and have saved lots of money. once you get going, it's not hard at all. We use mainly chinese prefolds with covers. We also have some fitted ones that also require the covers. My mom sewed the fitter diapers and the covers (Made of PUL fabric). we purchased the prefolds online as well as the fabric. it has been very affordable and easy to launder. when they were little the poo would stain but we'd set teh diapers in the sun and the stains would go away. Now that my twins are 16 months, I rarely have any stains at all. I use a dry pail and wash most days. Lately we have been using a disposable diaper at night but many people use a pocket diaper at night with no problems. We use about 7-8 diapers each per day so 14-16 a day. that's why I wash every day. you don't want a huge load. If I had one baby I'd wash every other day.

If you go with the bum genius or fuzzi bunz, they are pocket diapers (I think) so you have absorbant inserts to put in there. the inserts are cloth as well and you wash them too. The pocket diaper has a waterproof outer layer, and then an inner lining made of microfleece or something similar that wicks the moisture away from the skin and into the absorbant inserts. the pocket diapers don't require another cover since the outside layer does that job. you need the inserts though or nothing will get absorbed. There are some good websites out there with all kinds of info.
good luck. it's been great for us.

 

I am supposed to be doing homework, so I don't have time to write the detailed response I'd like to... I'll try to remember to come back here and write more. Everyone's experience with CDing is different. I love it! I've found that with my water (very hard), natural fabrics wash & wear better with less stink-causing buildup/residue from the washing process. I LOVE the BumGenius Organic All-In-One. It is soooo much better than their pocket diapers with the microfiber inserts. Microfiber has caused a lot of stink issues for many people-- it gets really gross pretty quickly. The Organic All-In-One has cotton for the inner and is all one piece so it requires no stuffing, making laundry time super easy... it's also easy to put on (like a disposable!), cute & trim. I just love it. Beyond that, I use a lot of pre-folds with covers-- bamboo and regular cotton.

Feel free to PM me with any specific questions... I need to go write a paper!

 

QUOTE(CROSSTWINS @ Jun 4 2008, 08:50 PM) [snapback]810237[/snapback]
Ok I wish I would have checked into this when they were little but I didn't. I still think it will be cheaper in the long run to get them now. I also think they look so much more comfortable than disposables. What are the easiest to use? I have looked at some like bum genius & fuzzi bunz. What are the inserts for? Extra absorbancy? Do you wash the insert also or throw them away? If you wash them do you take them out of the diaper and wash seperatly? And would I need those plastic diaper covers if they wore these? And really tell me the truth... how hard are they to take care of? I mean do the poo stains come out of them very easy and how do you keep the peepee smell out of them? Can I dry them in my dryer? I really can't afford to buy a lot of them at once and I could wash them every night if I had to. Ok as you can tell I am clueless about this, but I am really interested. Oh and how many diapers does 1 year olds go through in a day on average? Thanks for all the help.


Yea!!! I just love my cloth diapers and get excited when other families try them. Ok, I use fuzzibunz. I switched over at 14-15 months and my little ones are now 19.5 months. I really should have switched over sooner, but was very intimidated with all the information out there! Anyway, I'll give you the details about fb (fuzzibunz).

They are what you call a pocket diaper. The reason is because there is an opening "pocket" in the back of the diaper where you stuff your insert(s). You do not throw away the inserts, they are fabric and you would wash them with the diapers. For example, I have a pile of inserts and pile of diapers I set aside every morning. I grab an insert and a diaper when it's time to change them. I stuff the insert into the diaper and put the diaper on him/her. When it's time to change again, I take the dirty diaper and remove the very wet insert and throw the diaper and insert into a "wet bag". It's a type of diaper pail. It's really not a diaper pail but a bag meant for cloth diapers that I can hang from a door knob in the bathroom. It's a sack that zips up and keeps the stink in Also a side note, I usually use 2 inserts for naps and 3 inserts for overnight.

If the diaper is poopy, the poop generally falls off the cloth diaper, because of the fleece material, into the toilet. Pretty easy. I don't get worried about extra poop on the diaper, it gets rinsed in the washer. I've had these dipes for about 4-5 months and they are super clean looking. I do wash them every night. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on them, so I only bought 14 dipes, which is really an almost perfect amount. So I go through about 10-12 diapers during the day between teh two of them and the two diapers at night. So 14 is great for me. Usually I'm left with one diaper for the day.

Now about washing. You can visit fuzzibunzonline.com for instructions or fuzzibunz.com. Either website is great about care and use of these dipes. Anyway, I take all the dirty inserts and diapers from the wet bag and throw them into the wash. I do a cold rinse of all the diapers on a super large load setting. Then I do a hot/cold wash on a super large load setting with detergent. I use charlie's soap. You need to be very careful about the detergent you use. Cannot use dreft, free and clear, etc.. You can use plain 'ole tide, cheer, all detergent for your diapers. These other detergents (free and clear, dreft, seventh generation, etc...) have chemicals that create residue build up on the diapers and essentially damage the diapers by preventing absorbancy. Charlie's soap and a few others are highly recommended for cloth diapers and they are pure soaps/detergents and great at cleaning stains. After that, I take them and put them in the dryer (low or medium setting) and that's it!

My friend just started using the one size bum genius diapers and really likes them. She also uses charlie's soap and finds them very easy to use. They are very similar to fb but instead uses velcro. Fb uses snaps. the bum genius also has an opening in the back to stuff the inserts in. I did order the large for my little ones. You really should be about 25 lbs to fit well. My son was about 23-24 lbs when I first bought them and my daughter was 25 lbs. I'm super happy I bought the large b/c they would outgrow the medium size much sooner. I didn't want to spend any more money on more diapers. They were a little loose on my son for a month or so, but he is a fairly avg to large frame, and grew into them pretty quickly. My daughter is a chunkster so she was fine pretty much from the start

Sorry for all the detail, but hopefully it helps. I really hope you switch over, I know that I would never go back to disposable. I absolutely love the cost savings and all the extras that come with cloth diapering your children

 

Thanks everybody this sounds really great so far. Keep all the good advice coming.