Cloth diapering - oh where, oh wear do I begin!?!

[Mama_2_Boy]

Hello Ladies!

I am in the market for cloth diapers (8 more months!)

I've looked around in this area and holly cow is there ever a huge selection! How do you all go about purchasing cloth diapers?? How do you know what to pick? How many do you buy?? I'm all open to purchasing online. We will deal with them at home, washing and such.


After having had my first, there is no way i'm going back to disposable ones, so much waste!

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!

[michelle123]

I've never regretted switching to cloth, hopefully you'll love it, too!
You have plenty of time to read up and decide on what would be best for you. Some people are lucky enough to have a store near them that sells cloth diapers, but there are many options online as well.

As for what to pick, that really depends on what you want. Some people like cheap (prefolds), some people want all natural fabrics, some stay-dry inners, diapers that fasten like disposables, etc. It all depends on what you want.

For a newborn, you'll want 24-36 diapers. This stage is short, so many people opt for prefolds and covers to cut the cost down. As your child gets older, you'll need less. What really decides how many you need is how often you plan to wash. The more you wash, the less you'll need.

Read up on what's out there, but try not to get overwhelmed! Remember that you don't have to choose just one kind of diaper. If you're not sure, get a few different kinds and see what works best for you.

[Mama_2_Boy]

Thanks so much Michelle for taking the time to respond.

Just from going online this morning and seeing all that there is available can be quite a shock! I see a few companies offer sample packages, perhaps I will order one so I can actually look at something tangible.

I am not too particular, I want something that is going to keep baby dry and doesn't leak. I don't care how often I have to wash. I just know that on average for my son if I do a rough estimate and stay modest, I probably spent $3000 on disposable diapers :.

I like your suggestion on the prefolds for newborn stage. For the older stage, I like the look of those prefit. Those are pricey though and I totally forget how many he was going through a day by the time he hit 1.

Lots of ready to do for sure!

[MichelleAnnette]

We used cloth diapers and did elimination communication and will do the same again. Greenmountaindiapers.com has some good info for beginners. As far as what types, different moms loves different dipes. Personally, I like all natural fibers. I like fitted diapers but they are expensive so we did prefolds and fitteds. I tried a pocket diaper (Fuzzi Bunz) and sold them. Kissaluvs fitted diapers fit a newborn really well. I love cotton Nikky covers. I like Little Beetle Hemp Lite fitteds, the ones with snaps. I use a wool cover at night. You can get used diapers on diaperswappers.com and the trading post here. I just did that for the first time recently. I buy most of my stuff from babyworks.com.

There is a lot and it's overwhelming! Good luck. It might be helpful to just get a few at first and then figure out what you want, using some disposables in the beginning. That way you don't waste money on diapers you don't like.

[michelle123]

I had a little sticker shock on the price of diapers at first as well, but you'll still save money over the long run. If you get one-size diapers, you won't have to buy as many and will save even more!