Do you use g-Diapers?

I am thinking about switching to these and would love any opinions on them vs. disposables. Thanks!

 

I use them on occasion. I bought 2 starter kits so I have 4 g-pants and several inserts. They are much more expensive than a lot of disposable diaper brands (it really depends on which you use).

I'm exploring the cloth alternative with g-diapers. Instead of using the flushable insert you can use a cloth insert. They sell them now at their website but you can buy some from people who make them at home and sell them (search for g-flaps). I may make some of my own. I love the style of the g-pants, they are much more attractive than ANY disposable I've seen (why must they decorate the disposables with silly characters and designs?). They are also more environmentally friendly.

 

I really wish I had looked into this more when the boys were younger. It looks like a great option!

 

are these cheaper than disposable diapers such as huggies or pampers?

 

On diapers.com, the Pampers Cruisers are about 26 cents per diaper, Huggies Little Movers are about 23 cents per diaper, and the g-diapers inserts are about 41 cents per insert. The g-pants are about $15-$17 (they are having a sale at g-diapers.com). My calculations are for the size my little guys wear, size 3. At Whole Foods you can buy a starter kit which contains 2 g-pants and 10 refills. It's a great deal if you don't mind using ivory and orange g-pants.

The cloth inserts for the g-diapers are about $5 each.

For disposables, we use the Target Up & Up brand. We like them much better than the Pampers Cruisers. We prefer Huggies, but Huggies are much more expensive and not really that much better than the Target brand to justify the extra expense. The Target brand are about 15 cents per diaper.

For our babies and working out the budgeting, I figure about 12 g-pants for a 3-day supply for twins if you do the laundry every other day. 12 g-pants would cost about $180 (if you don't buy the starter kit). Figuring 8 diapers per day per baby it would cost about $6.50 per day to use the g-diapers flushable inserts for both babies, or close to $20 for a 3-day supply to match the 3-day supply of g-pants. Combine the g-pants cost with the inserts and we're looking at about $2,575 per year (not including water costs of flushing/washing) if you use the "disposable" alternative of g-diapers compared to about $875/year for the Target brand or $1450/year for Huggies/Pampers.

If you use the cloth inserts then you would need a 3-day supply of the inserts, which would cost about $250. Combine that cost with the g-pants and it would cost $430. At 15 cents a diaper for the Target brand, it costs about $2.50 per day. At about 25 cents per diaper for the Huggies or Pampers, it costs about $4 per day. You would need to use the cloth alternative of g-diapers for about 6 months for the g-diapers to pay for themselves compared to Target brand, or less than 4 months for them to pay for themselves compared to Huggies/Pampers. Of course, I'm not factoring in the cost of laundering the cloth diapers.

So, in a nutshell, cost of diapers over one year for twins using approximately 8 diapers per baby per day:

Huggies/Pampers: $1,450
Target/generic: $875
g-diapers flushable: $2,575
g-diapers cloth: $430 + cost of energy, water, and detergent for washing

You can see why I'm looking into the cloth alternative. Right now I just don't have the time to do the laundry often enough, but I'd like to try to make it work. I also need dh to get on board with this idea, and he's about 1/2-way there. I can sell him on the idea if I can sort out how to get the laundry done more often.

 

I used them when the boys were in smalls- I have a whole bunch of pairs if you have boys and want to by some cheaper


You have to be really dedicated. That's the best advice I have for you. When you change it, you have to grap the insert, which is urine soaked. Then take it to the bathroom to flush. It was just one more step for me, and I didn't love it like I thought I would.

And if they had a loose poop, you have to change the liner.

Good luck with your decision

 

I use the g-diapers for my 9 month old boys. I've bought all of mine second hand (diaperswappers.com, craigslist, and ebay) and I make my own cloth flappers to go in them. Both of my boys wear the m/l size (we only started the g-love when they reached the m/l size a little over a month ago). I spend approximately $5 a diaper (plus shipping) to get the cloth cover and the liner. Then I use old t-shirts and cheap fleece to make the flappers. So for me, here's the cost outlay:

26 G- pants (approximately $5 each) = $130
52 Cloth flappers = $7

This is all I use at home during the day. So it has replaced this in the last month of use:
20 disposables (Luv's)= $4 a day x 30 days = $120

Now the cool thing about this is that I don't have to buy more of the g-pants or flappers.... ever.... So now that I've spent the extra $17 this month, I won't have to do it again. So I'll have an extra $120 in my budget EVERY month. So what if I have to spend $20 on water/electric/soap a month? That's still $100 in my pocket EVERY MONTH!!!! And it's better for the environment to not have to spend 500 years while a disposable biodegrades.

Now I do use the disposable liners when we go out or if we have a sitter(which is RARE). But I buy them on Amazon.com, who will sell you 4 of the 32 packs for about $44 if you sign up for their subscription plan. Then you cancel the subscription once they arrive. At the current rate of use (especially with it being flu season), that box will last me at LEAST 6 months. And I can always opt to do cloth when I'm out, too.

As far as stuff around the house, I use old cat food buckets. The large cat food/litter plastic buckets with a lid are perfect for a day's worth of the diapers for my boys. I have two of the buckets so one is in use and the other is either sitting by the machine waiting to get washed or in the dishwasher (they just BARELY fit). This means I don't have to scrub buckets or wash liners either, which I'm all about. As far as smell, I use a little baking soda sprinkled over the inside of the bucket and then after each poopy diaper. I don't have smell issues from the pail, usually! If they are just wet, I change the liner and hang the pants to dry. If they are dirty, then I change the whole thing, dumping the solids in the potty. One of my boys is a super-pooper, so I have to put new pants on him at least 4 times a day, if not 8 times! I also like to change them every other hour (unless they are asleep) and directly after meals (which falls nicely into the every other hour most of the time). This means we've had no problems with diaper rash, which we were having with disposables to the point that the doc had prescribed special creams and ointments that we needed at least 4 days a weeek. But since starting cloth, I haven't had to use it.

As far as laundry, I have a front loader Duet from Whirlpool. There is a SERIOUS learning curve for front loaders and cloth diapers, so be aware of that. I use a warm water rinse/spin setting (20 minutes) for just the liners and g-flappers with no soap. Then I add the g-pants and any other laundry (bibs and burp rags usually) to make it a half load (my machine runs best at 1/2 full) and run it with detergent. I use Tide HE if I have a lot of poopy or pee stink. I use 7th generation free & clear HE otherwise. I only use what the manufacturer suggests for heavily soiled loads, though I have hard water, so I use more than most people. I run this load on whitest whites hot with an extra rinse. This takes an hour. Then I put the flappers in the dryer (this takes an hour) until they are dry while I hang the liners and gpants on baby pants hangers to dry. I just hang them from the shower rod and they are dry in about an hour. This is so the liners keep their waterproofing and the pants' velcro doesn't curl. Now, some of my pants, since they are second hand, have curling velcro. So I wrote gDiapers and they are sending me new velcro for them. I haven't received it yet, but it only took them 6 hours to respond to my email, so I'm hopeful!

I hope this helps explain the g-love... my husband took a little bit to get on board, too. We still do disposables for bedtime because he is convinced that is the only way they will sleep through the night.

 

I'm really pleased you ran this thread because I want to use cloth diapers but have been putting off doing the research because it looks like too many options!
I'm actually an expecting mum, 26 weeks, due in december and hate the thought of the chemicals that go into the regular diapers and the fact that they sit in the landfill in plastic trash bags & don't degrade - not to mention the cost.
I was reading about eco friendly disposables like 7th generation, tushies & nature babycare. These seem like a better option but the price is very high.
I checked out the gdiaper website - the disposable liners are expensive & since we have a septic I wouldn't flush them but I really like the idea of the cloth inserts. and I also like the fact that the gpants are cotton / spandex instead of wool - far less bulky.

I wonder if there is anything else in the cloth diaper world that is comparable since the gdiapers small size starts at 8lbs. what age were your twins when they reached 8lbs? I suppose the thing to do would be to use regular prefolded cloth diapers with snaps until they were big enough or to use the 7th generation newborn diapers - they say upto 10lbs but not what weight they start at.

 

I use unbleached chinese prefolds and thirsties diaper covers during the day, and sposies at night and when we're out and about. I've never tried g-diapers because the inserts *are* so expensive. We go through a large "family pack" of luvs a month. That's 17 dollars a month on diapers vs. the 100 or so I was spending before.

The thirsties diaper covers are NOT one size, they are sized. My twins at 7 months and a bit wear the medium size, and they are a little big on them. (Not big enough to cause leakage, though.) They're great. They come in these sizes: (This is off of the thirsties website.. http://thirstiesbaby.com/covers.htm

X-Small - 6-12 lbs (3 - 5.5 kg)
Small - 12-18 lbs (5.5 - 8 kg)
Medium - 18-28lbs (8 - 12.5 kg)
Large - 28-40lbs (12.5 - 18 kg)

So.. a little twin could wear these. My DS is 22 lbs and DD is 17 lbs, and they both wear the medium. However, we use toddler or "premium" sized prefolds because they are very heavy wetters. I just love these covers because they dry super fast and they are super cute.

Hope this helped at least a little.

 

I have never tried the G diapers because they are very expensive here and I also have a septic tank. I use a variety of other cloth diapers. Most of our diapers are one size all in ones which means they are one piece and fit from 8-32pounds. These ones are a little more expensive but I can cloth my 3 year old and my twins at the same time. I have used pocket diapers, which sounds like the same idea of the G diapers with the inserts. I like the pocket diapers because you can stuff them to the thickness that you want. These are some of the diapers I use:
-Bum genius one size pockets
-they work okay but are not one of my favorites. I don't like how the inserts go in and it gets a little more difficult to put them in once they are washed.
-Bum genius organic AIO
-I like the fit and they wash well, I prefer the snaps as their velcro kinda sucks. The only set back is they take longer to dry and don't air dry well.
-Bum genius one size- I had these at first but went to one size because it can get expensive to buy every time the grow out of them. I know the extra small starts at 6 pounds.
-I have fuzzi buns AIO sized diapers. I like them and the inserts are easy to get in and out.
-I also have quit a few mommy's touch AIO sized diapers which I also like but they are not good for the night time.

Good luck with your diapering, it is really easy once you get a system going and you have way less stinky garbage to take out.

 

I cloth diaper, and have pocket diapers. yes there are a lot of cloth diapering options!

a friend gave me one g diaper, and I have some cloth inserts that would work in there, but... I will say that it is very hard to keep it all together while my little wiggely baby is on the changing table... the insert (for us) seems to get out of place.

anyway, with that being said, I love our pocket cloth diapers (mainly Bum Genius and WAHMies). I, too, would recommend www.diaperswappers.com for lots more information. The posters there are very informative, and you can purchase a wide variety new and mostly used from there, its a great way to try out some of the alternatives.

I am very cost conscience and love only having less than $500 in the diapers... and we've been using for almost 15 months.

The other cost factor I would add to the above analysis is that the g Diapers are sized... so don't you have to buy more once your baby moves to the next size?

another comment about logistics of cloth diapering... I have 2 dry pails, we use the Diaper Champ, and we have one in the babies' room - so that if the diaper is only a wet diaper I can unassemble it and put it into this dry pail (I'm not in "love" with the Diaper Champ, but we have them so I'm using them... I'd probably just go with a flip lid container... but I also don't want the babies to be getting into the pail... so the Diaper Champ works good for that. If its a dirty one, I just fold in half and then take to the bathroom. I flush the solids off into the toilet and then put into the other dry pail that I have in the bathroom. In each of these I have a fabric liner that just goes straight into the washer when I dump the diapers into the washer. For extras I have one more large "wet bag". We put about 30 cover/inserts in the the wash and its the perfect size load for our front loader.

Oh, one more thing... its really easy to also have some cloth wipes on hand to get rid of the disposable wipes cost too! for out and about, I just have several small "wet bags" that I bring everything home in.

All in all whatever type of cloth you choose its fairly easy.

 

I went into a store in Northampton, MA near where I live that sells cloth diapers. I had a long conversation with the owner about all the different types.
she recommends using prefolds with thirsties diaper covers - they do one called "duo wrap" - Size One - 6-18 lbs, Size Two - 18-40 lbs
or the other option she recommends is pocket diapers, either fuzzi bunz or bum genius 1 size both are for 7 to 35lbs.

I asked her what she recommends for pre 6lb babies and she said to use disposables until they reach 6lbs.
has anyone used 7th generation diapers or there's a new huggies called pure & natural (both have a newborn size is upto 10lbs)?

I'm not sure its economical to buy cloth diapers for under 6lbs even if it was available they would grow out of them so quickly! :ibiggrin:

 

forgot to mention that while looking on the internet I discovered Gro Baby from the Natural Baby Co - it looks similar to gdiapers, has a cloth insert option and now a 'green' disposable insert option but gets better reviews that the gdiapers.