Cloth Diapers

Please tell me your experiences with cloth diapers. I am getting ready to switch. TIA!
Andie

 

I use Chinese prefolds and Bummi's super whisper wraps. The diapers work great and have only become softer and more absorbent. They don't take very long to dry after washing either. The Bummi's are great because they will contain even the runniest poops. Instead of using pins I use Snappis. I'm really happy with my cloth diapers.

 

I use G diapers. They are a bit pricier than disposables, but you don't have to wash them at aevery use and the insert is biodegradable. You can learn more about them at gdiapers.com

 

check out www.diaperpin.com and www.diaperswappers.com, both have forums and recommendations on getting started etc. too. someone on TS posted this link awhile back where you can pick from different diapers to try them out and see what you like best.

 

QUOTE(Her Royal Jennyness @ Jan 25 2008, 07:01 PM) [snapback]589468[/snapback]
I use Chinese prefolds and Bummi's super whisper wraps. The diapers work great and have only become softer and more absorbent. They don't take very long to dry after washing either. The Bummi's are great because they will contain even the runniest poops. Instead of using pins I use Snappis. I'm really happy with my cloth diapers.


This is what I use too and I like that they are very cost effective. I also like the all in one diapers.

 

QUOTE
use Chinese prefolds and Bummi's super whisper wraps. The diapers work great and have only become softer and more absorbent. They don't take very long to dry after washing either. The Bummi's are great because they will contain even the runniest poops. Instead of using pins I use Snappis. I'm really happy with my cloth diapers.


Hey Jenny, that was exactly what I was going to write! Enough of the mind meld already! :lol:

Exact same system here. Prefolds are very cheap, and good for about a million household uses once the babies are done with them.

I got mine at http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/, and I can't say enough positive things about them. Lots of good info on their website, very helpful customer service, and they ship at the speed of light!

 

I am totally losing it! I forgot I had posted this and actually did a search of the forums this morning to get information on cloth diapering. Imagine my surprise when I discovered I already posted a question....nothing like being sleep deprived...Anyway...
I am reluctant to try the prefolds because they seem like so much work and I don't want to do pins...What does prefold mean? After washing are they still in that shape or do you fold them (sorry I have no knowledge)...Thanks!

 

QUOTE(mctwins @ Jan 26 2008, 09:59 AM) [snapback]590794[/snapback]
I am totally losing it! I forgot I had posted this and actually did a search of the forums this morning to get information on cloth diapering. Imagine my surprise when I discovered I already posted a question....nothing like being sleep deprived...Anyway...
I am reluctant to try the prefolds because they seem like so much work and I don't want to do pins...What does prefold mean? After washing are they still in that shape or do you fold them (sorry I have no knowledge)...Thanks!

LOL - sleep deprivation will do strange things to you!

Prefolds are prefolded and sewn into a rectangle. They really aren't that much work. (Here's a link to what they look like) You don't have to use diaper pins at all. You can use Snappi's. (linky) Basically you lay your baby on the changing surface and fold your prefold (like this), lay it under the baby, Snappi it then put on the diaper cover. It takes about the same length of time as a disposable. Actually with Bummi's super whisper wraps you don't even need to Snappi it. The cover will hold the diaper in place. I just prefer Snappi-ing since it keeps the diaper from shifting while my guys run around.

They also sell contour diapers that are somewhat like prefolds but they are more "baby shaped" then you cover them with a cover. No folding required.

I use SoftClothBunz to buy my diapers. She has a diaper sampler pack with one all-in-one diaper, one pocket diaper, one fitted cloth diaper, 2 prefold diapers and a Super Whisper Wrap. It's great because you can actually see and use each diaper and decide what you'd like.

 

I have prefolds and contour diapers with fuzzibunz, wonderoos and bumkin covers. I also have kushie all in ones. I couldn't get the hang of prefolds 7+ years ago with my eldest but the aio's were very easy to figure out. Now I prefer the covers and prefolds. I don't use pins or snappis because the girls are just starting to crawl around and they don't need it. When they get older I may need something to help keep them on.

I got all the contour diapers and most of the covers on freecycle . Seriously about 60 contour diapers, a zillion excellent prefolds and about 18 covers. So sweet! I bought the kushies through the diapering time of my two oldest and they are now falling to bits.

I also have two cutsie very baby aios that I need to sell. They take forever to dry compared to my other diapers and I just don't have time to deal with "cute" things at this point!

 

I had a large beloved stash of anything and everything that came my way.

Prefolds are a very versitile and inexpensive way to go. You can use them without pins (I NEVER pinned) and without snappis, too. All you have to do is fold them in thirds and lay them in a cover. You can use covers with snaps, covers with velcro, covers with gussets or no gussets, fleece, wool, PUL...you just have a TON of options with prefolds! You can also use your prefolds as burp rags, changing pads, dust rags, hand towels (lol that's what we do with them now that we don't use them on butts anymore!). I found that they were more work than All-In-One styles but much less work than Pocket diapers.

We also used Happy Heinys (which we got from Noss Galen Baby, run by a TS family) a LOT. They were great because we could customize the absorbency to meet each kids' need and they were very comfortable for friends, family and dcp to use. My favorite pocket turned out to be the Olive Branch Baby Marathon, but they are hard to come by and build a stash out of.

When the boys started attending childcare full time, I found that the stuffing was just getting to be more time consuming than I wanted. And, it was pretty bulky to send a day's worth of pockets for two boys to the sitter everyday, so we bought a couple dozen Bumkin AIOs. They aren't high class diapers and there's a lot about them that I didn't love, but...they were affordable, cute, quick-drying, trim and simple.

We also had a handful of fitteds and a 1/2 dozen Very Baby Simply Nights and some other odds and ends.

As far as the experience...dh and I both LOVED it. If/when we have another, we'll absolutely do it again. Laundry was really a non issue. we're a family of 4 so the extra few loads was nothing. I actually enjoyed the laundry process :blush: We rarely dealt with diaper rash and it was an easy transition to underwear when the boys were ready.

Most every diapering site offers a sample pkg that you can try. If you've narrowed it down to the style you want, you can even get sample pkgs for a specific style. For example, if you choose to go with pockets, you can find pkgs with 2-3 kinds of pockets to decide what you love before you really invest.

I'd definitely suggest you check out the sites mentioned earlier, diaperpin.com and diaperswappers.com. I dealt with several different companies and I never had any customer service issues. Some really went above and beyond even (Noss Galen Baby and Snap-Ez, for example). But...I would suggest you start your window shopping at the stores listed on those two sites to be sure you don't end up losing money with a "bad apple."

 

We're using a combo of prefolds/bummis wraps and bumgenius. I love the bumgenius, but they are still too big for my smaller boy. When Roman gets a little bigger, they'll both use bumgenius at night, and then prefolds/wraps during the day.

I also bought some kits from diaperkit.com and plan to sew them once my inlaws are gone and I have my house back. If you sew, you may want to try your hand at those--they're about $7 per diaper.

 

OK so I have a question about the whole cloth diaper thing... For a long time I was like no way no how, but my husband and I are pretty enviromentally friendly people in every other way so I have been feeling a little guilty about all the disposables we go through! Our daughter used disposables and we felt bad, but not that bad since she was onlt 1... Now with twice the diapers it seems like we should at least consider cloth...

So my biggest question is... How gross is the cleaning process??? Obviously before solids it is probably not that bad especially since mine are exclusive breastfeeders... BUT what about when you introduce solidsand things become a little more solid and messy?

I know that someone mentione the gDiapers, ad I have seen then, but they are just so expensive! Like about 45-50 cents per diaper or more depending on where you get them. We just can't afford that. I know that disposables are expensive, but truth be told people we know know we don't have much $ so whenever they come they bring diapers! I know generally cloth is cheaper, but that is not the main issue for us ar the moment...

 

QUOTE
So my biggest question is... How gross is the cleaning process??? Obviously before solids it is probably not that bad especially since mine are exclusive breastfeeders... BUT what about when you introduce solidsand things become a little more solid and messy?


It's not that bad. There are tradeoffs - the big breastmilk poop blowouts are not smelly, and you don't have to rinse or anything before washing the diaper, just put it straight into the laundry. BUT those Niagaras of breastmilk poop go EVERYWHERE, and it's a lot harder to clean up the baby. With post-solids poop, it's smellier but much more contained, and easier to clean up the baby. As far as cleaning up the diaper, sometimes the poop will be a nice little turd that just falls off into the toilet. Yeehaw! Other times it's stickier. I scrape it off with a metal spatula, but again you can do this and keep your hands clean. Once in a rare while a solids poop will be so big and so mushed into the diaper that I'll have to rinse it in the toilet, but that doesn't happen much.

OK, enough poopology!

 

QUOTE(fuchsiagroan @ Jan 28 2008, 07:19 AM) [snapback]592767[/snapback]
It's not that bad. There are tradeoffs - the big breastmilk poop blowouts are not smelly, and you don't have to rinse or anything before washing the diaper, just put it straight into the laundry. BUT those Niagaras of breastmilk poop go EVERYWHERE, and it's a lot harder to clean up the baby. With post-solids poop, it's smellier but much more contained, and easier to clean up the baby. As far as cleaning up the diaper, sometimes the poop will be a nice little turd that just falls off into the toilet. Yeehaw! Other times it's stickier. I scrape it off with a metal spatula, but again you can do this and keep your hands clean. Once in a rare while a solids poop will be so big and so mushed into the diaper that I'll have to rinse it in the toilet, but that doesn't happen much.

OK, enough poopology!


She's got it right. I keep a diaper pail just for poop diapers now and run it through two prewash cycles before even adding the other diapers. In the early days I kept one pail for each kiddo, that way if I needed to look back to see if someone had pooped recently I could.

CD do take more work. But for me it's not the laundry that is the hassle it is the more frequent diaper changing that feels wearing. I've run into other moms who say they don't change more often but if I let them sit in a wet diaper they rash right up. So I can easily do 60 diaper changes in a day with cloth (usually about 40 though) whereas I only do about 14 with disposables. Anyone have any advice for me on that?

 

QUOTE(Username @ Jan 28 2008, 12:33 PM) [snapback]592773[/snapback]
But for me it's not the laundry that is the hassle it is the more frequent diaper changing that feels wearing. I've run into other moms who say they don't change more often but if I let them sit in a wet diaper they rash right up. So I can easily do 60 diaper changes in a day with cloth (usually about 40 though) whereas I only do about 14 with disposables. Anyone have any advice for me on that?


We use prefolds and bummis and they need to get changed every couple of hours or so, but they're not on solids yet. Overnight they actually stay drier and don't usually leak. We could leave disposables on longer either way. We have to change more often too.

 

QUOTE
So I can easily do 60 diaper changes in a day with cloth (usually about 40 though) whereas I only do about 14 with disposables. Anyone have any advice for me on that?


:shok: Holy moly, 60 changes in a day! Our babies usually get somewhere between 8 and 12 changes each during the day, depending on how often they poop. If they're up during the night, we change them then too.

What are you using for butt cream? I mix up roughly equal parts of lanolin, zinc cream, and vaseline, and it works wonders. Makes rashes disappear within hours and keeps them from coming back. I think the lanolin is the real magic ingredient, but the other stuff helps too. I wonder if some Lansinoh would help those little baby butts & give you a break from the constant changing?

 

I use A&D or desitin if needed during the day and on my rashier girl I cover her with Lanolin at night. She gets rashy on her lower belly. Little greasy red bumps. At night they are in pampers.

Sometimes I change 6 diapers just trying to get out the door! Change one, put on her snowsuit, plop her by the door. Change the next, put on her snowsuit and plop her by the door. Ooops change the first again... and on it goes.

 

QUOTE(Username @ Jan 28 2008, 01:36 PM) [snapback]593393[/snapback]
I use A&D or desitin if needed during the day and on my rashier girl I cover her with Lanolin at night. She gets rashy on her lower belly. Little greasy red bumps. At night they are in pampers.

Sometimes I change 6 diapers just trying to get out the door! Change one, put on her snowsuit, plop her by the door. Change the next, put on her snowsuit and plop her by the door. Ooops change the first again... and on it goes.


Ha! I know what you mean--the day we switched Roe to cloth diapers, I put the first cloth diaper on him, wrestled with the snappi until I got it figured out, and no sooner was his bummis wrap fastened, he was pooping! So I waited a couple of minutes, changed him, as I was fastening the snappi, he peed! On the third diaper , he pooped again, so I went ahead and fed Joel while waiting for Roman to work it all out of his system.

 

DH and I LOVE our cloth diapering system. We have pocket diapers that don't need to have the liner taken out before washing (Pocket Change brand), they just agitate out in the washing machine! We use cloth wipes (they collect so much more and are thicker!) and we also use the flushable paper liners (Imse Vimse brand) for collecting the poo. It just goes right between your baby bottom and the diaper and allows pee to absorb while the paper collects the poo for 'putting poopy in the potty!'

While changing a baby I just set the dirty diaper aside while putting on a clean one and then either take the diaper to dump the paper liner in the toilet or just put it in the diaper 'pail' with the cloth wipes. We run a rinse and spin with cold water then a hot wash cycle and dry on low. Then just stuff the liners and you're ready to go. We also have a couple AIO (all-in-ones, sewn in liners) that we use as backup because they have velcro (which can NEVER be worn without a onsie!) Lesson learned!

Anyway, good luck with the switch!

It feels SO good to not throw away diapers!!!

 

We use bumGenius. We started with the XS AIOs and then moved to the one size pocket diapers when the boys were big enough.

 

QUOTE(fuchsiagroan @ Jan 28 2008, 07:19 AM) [snapback]592767[/snapback]
It's not that bad. There are tradeoffs - the big breastmilk poop blowouts are not smelly, and you don't have to rinse or anything before washing the diaper, just put it straight into the laundry. BUT those Niagaras of breastmilk poop go EVERYWHERE, and it's a lot harder to clean up the baby. With post-solids poop, it's smellier but much more contained, and easier to clean up the baby. As far as cleaning up the diaper, sometimes the poop will be a nice little turd that just falls off into the toilet. Yeehaw! Other times it's stickier. I scrape it off with a metal spatula, but again you can do this and keep your hands clean. Once in a rare while a solids poop will be so big and so mushed into the diaper that I'll have to rinse it in the toilet, but that doesn't happen much.

OK, enough poopology!


Thanks! I know it sounds silly, but I just wanted to know what people who use cloth now thought. I have heard the stories of the rinsing in the toilet and the bleach bucket ect., and i just couldn't picture myself doing that! Plus, I thought the whole bleach soak sounded a little harsh.

 

QUOTE(Stephanie1074 @ Jan 28 2008, 08:12 PM) [snapback]594310[/snapback]
Thanks! I know it sounds silly, but I just wanted to know what people who use cloth now thought. I have heard the stories of the rinsing in the toilet and the bleach bucket ect., and i just couldn't picture myself doing that! Plus, I thought the whole bleach soak sounded a little harsh.

No bleach bucket! It'll eat your diapers. I flip the poop out of my diapers into the toilet then put them in a dry bucket. Then I use a clean diaper to pull the dirty diapers out of our bucket and put them into my front loader. They go through a rinse cycle, a soak cycle with soap, a hot wash with a capful of bleach and they are done. I do that about every 2 days.

 

QUOTE(Username @ Jan 28 2008, 05:33 AM) [snapback]592773[/snapback]
She's got it right. I keep a diaper pail just for poop diapers now and run it through two prewash cycles before even adding the other diapers. In the early days I kept one pail for each kiddo, that way if I needed to look back to see if someone had pooped recently I could.

CD do take more work. But for me it's not the laundry that is the hassle it is the more frequent diaper changing that feels wearing. I've run into other moms who say they don't change more often but if I let them sit in a wet diaper they rash right up. So I can easily do 60 diaper changes in a day with cloth (usually about 40 though) whereas I only do about 14 with disposables. Anyone have any advice for me on that?

It sounds like they are having a reaction to the kind of detergent you're using. Try switching brands! That may solve your problem. Also, try using less soap (like 1/4 the normal amount) and rinsing them once or twice before drying.

 

QUOTE(Her Royal Jennyness @ Jan 29 2008, 03:58 AM) [snapback]594399[/snapback]
It sounds like they are having a reaction to the kind of detergent you're using. Try switching brands! That may solve your problem. Also, try using less soap (like 1/4 the normal amount) and rinsing them once or twice before drying.


Good advice. Some detergent reacts with pee and causes rashes. It doesn't happen on all babies but it's something you may want to check out. Charlie's Soap has been known to do this.

My cleaning routine is pretty simple as well. As stated in a pp post, nothing needs to be done with the breastfed poops, just throw those diapers in the washer. With the solids they either fall right off into the toilet (this works better with pocket diapers than prefolds) or I get a small wad of toilet paper and push off the pieces that are stuck. Then I run an extra rinse at the beginning of the wash that gets everything else off. We use a dry pail method for the diapers, which means the dirty diapers just go in a waterproof bag until laundry day and then the diapers and back go right into the washer. It's pretty rare for people to clean dirty diapers in the toilet and soak them in pails of water & bleach anymore.

There is an item called a Diaper Sprayer that many CDing moms swear by. It easily attaches to the clean water line on your toilet and allows you to spray a diaper clean. I've never needed it but those who try it say they couldn't live without it. If I was using solely prefolds, I would probably get one. As is, I use about 75% pockets (lots of Happy Heinys and 3 used Bum Genius) and 25% fitteds (Swaddlebees OCV, Luke's Drawers, and a Happy Hempy). I used prefolds when Dax was really little and have them now for emergencies or to stuff my extra pockets when we go on a trip and I need to bring extra diapers.