Getting started with Bum Genius- what do I need?

[Katielady]

I'm making the switch to cloth. I used sposies for my son (now almost 3) and always felt bad about it, but felt too overwhelmed to research cloth. I think what put me over the edge was having TWO in diapers, and seeing how much waste I was bringing to the garbage room.

I bought a few different kinds of dipes to try out and have decided on Bum Genius 3.0- they seem great! I still need to do an overnight trial though.

This is all so new to me and I'm still kind of coming out of a slight PPD fog...here are my questions, if any of you have the time or inclination to help:

1) What kind of hamper/pail do you recommend? A friend says she got a breathable one from cottonbabies, and that the idea is that if they get air they don't get as stinky. I'm worried though because the changing table and pail are in our bedroom. Could I just use the Diaper Champ I already have, and line it with a washable laundry bag?

2) How many bum genius dipes should I start out with? This is still kind of a trial run for us..ideally I'd like to have enough diapers for two days for the baby only, and just do laundry more frequently until we're completely on board with this whole CD thing. Once we're really set I'll get more, and probably switch my son over too. (He is not PLed at all yet.)

3) What do you recommend for a wet bag for when you're out and about?

4) What about laundry detergent? I've read through old threads here and it sounds like you can get detergent build-up if you use the wrong stuff. Is Allen's Naturally a good pick for BGs? If you use that, do you still need to use 1/4 the amount recommended by the manufacturer?

5) Any other general tips?

Thanks in advance y'all. This has been a lot to take on when I'm already kind of overwhelmed but I'm just kind of cracking the whip on myself and making myself do it.

[kirstenb]

1) What kind of hamper/pail do you recommend?
I have a regular kitchen trash can that has a tight fitting lid and a vent in the back. I line it with a large wetbag and don't have any oder problems when the lid is shut.

2) How many bum genius dipes should I start out with?
I didn't CD when DS was a newborn so I can't help you with dipes for your baby but if you want two days worth for your toddler I would get around 16. We usually don't use more than that in two days.

3) What do you recommend for a wet bag for when you're out and about?

We use Bummis wet bag for going out and for our diaper pail.

4) What about laundry detergent?
We use Charlies. I don't have any experience with Allen's.

[junipervt]

1) What kind of hamper/pail do you recommend? A friend says she got a breathable one from cottonbabies, and that the idea is that if they get air they don't get as stinky. I'm worried though because the changing table and pail are in our bedroom. Could I just use the Diaper Champ I already have, and line it with a washable laundry bag? that should work fine you might want to get a large drawstring wet bag to use instead of a regular laundry bag

2) How many bum genius dipes should I start out with? This is still kind of a trial run for us..ideally I'd like to have enough diapers for two days for the baby only, and just do laundry more frequently until we're completely on board with this whole CD thing. Once we're really set I'll get more, and probably switch my son over too. (He is not PLed at all yet.)I'd say a 12-16

3) What do you recommend for a wet bag for when you're out and about? any wet bag w/ a zipper. I always have 2. 1 w/ clean diapers & 1 w/ dirty. I like to keep the clean diapers in a wet bag jik something gets spilled in the diaperbag

4) What about laundry detergent? I've read through old threads here and it sounds like you can get detergent build-up if you use the wrong stuff. Is Allen's Naturally a good pick for BGs? If you use that, do you still need to use 1/4 the amount recommended by the manufacturer?I use & love Allens. you only need to use a tiny bit. my 1st bottle lasted 9months!

5) Any other general tips?I am a big fan of the diaper sprayer. we spray off all poopy diapers into the toilet. we so far have hardly any staining & I only wash 1x a week

[michelle123]

1) Could I just use the Diaper Champ I already have, and line it with a washable laundry bag?
I tried that at first, and it didn't work well for us. It just filled up too quickly and the diapers got stuck.

2) How many bum genius dipes should I start out with? This is still kind of a trial run for us..ideally I'd like to have enough diapers for two days for the baby only
If it's still a trial run and you're not sure, I would go with a dozen, because that's when the best price break kicks in. You might not have enough for two whole days, but you won't end up spending lots of money if you change your mind.

3) What do you recommend for a wet bag for when you're out and about?
I like zippered bags best for when we're out. You'll want to look for something that can hold 2-3 diapers.

4) What about laundry detergent? I've read through old threads here and it sounds like you can get detergent build-up if you use the wrong stuff. Is Allen's Naturally a good pick for BGs? If you use that, do you still need to use 1/4 the amount recommended by the manufacturer?
It's SO hard to recommend a detergent since everyone has different results with their water and washing machine. Allen's is good, and you should use a little less. It's always best to use too little and just add more then to use too much and end up having to do a ton of rinses.

5) Any other general tips?
If you have trouble with the BGs overnight, don't give up. Try using the newborn insert as a doubler or adding two inserts.

Good luck!

[crnnoel]

I just started with Bum Genius's about two weeks ago and love them

1) What kind of hamper/pail do you recommend? A friend says she got a breathable one from cottonbabies, and that the idea is that if they get air they don't get as stinky. I'm worried though because the changing table and pail are in our bedroom. Could I just use the Diaper Champ I already have, and line it with a washable laundry bag? So for I've just been using a draw string bag, no pail. It works pretty well, but just today I noticed the laundry area getting a little stinkier (I went longer inbetween washes...) so I'll probably get a trash can w/ a tight fitting lid.

2) How many bum genius dipes should I start out with? This is still kind of a trial run for us..ideally I'd like to have enough diapers for two days for the baby only, and just do laundry more frequently until we're completely on board with this whole CD thing. Once we're really set I'll get more, and probably switch my son over too. (He is not PLed at all yet.) I got 8 to start with, and used them on both my toddler & infant. We didn't have enough to get us through a whole day, but I was able to see how they worked, use one overnight on each, and get the idea from that. For one, I'd get between 8-10 and that should get you through more than a day.

3) What do you recommend for a wet bag for when you're out and about? anything that's lined and that zips

4) What about laundry detergent? I've read through old threads here and it sounds like you can get detergent build-up if you use the wrong stuff. Is Allen's Naturally a good pick for BGs? If you use that, do you still need to use 1/4 the amount recommended by the manufacturer?
I use Allen's, and just a tiny bit. Maybe a teaspoon.
5) Any other general tips?
Like another poster said, use the newborn inserts as diaper doublers for overnight. I've never had any problems w/ either my toddler or my newborn overnight in cloth. No leaks at all! We love them. The kids bums look better than normal (there seemed to always be a tiny bit of a rash w/ the sposies) and my toddler went from always using a sposie to the BG's with no problem at all (which was what I was worried about) Good luck!

[Katielady]

Thanks so much, everyone! After yet another discussion with DH, we decided to order a few more samples of other types of diapers (prefolds etc.) to try before we invest in a bunch of BGs. But this has all been really helpful...I appreciate your taking the time.

We did a BG on my (huge) 3.5 mo last night- no leaks! I'm so psyched. This whole thing is making me feel really good.

[michelle123]

Originally Posted by Katielady

Thanks so much, everyone! After yet another discussion with DH, we decided to order a few more samples of other types of diapers (prefolds etc.) to try before we invest in a bunch of BGs. But this has all been really helpful...I appreciate your taking the time.

We did a BG on my (huge) 3.5 mo last night- no leaks! I'm so psyched. This whole thing is making me feel really good.

I find that prefolds at night work very well for us. Even if you end up not loving them as diapers, you can use them as inserts, burp rags, changing mats, etc. They are so useful!