My plan for cloth

[songbird45]

Please critique my plan for cloth.... dh said I could do whatever I wanted, and to please stop talking to him about diapers, so I figure I should post where like-minded obsessive moms gather. I think I'm looking for validation, mostly, before I spend $200

Background:
I will definitely be going back to work. Dh may or may not be home with the baby. There is no choice in day care providers if dh is working - the best option, hands down, is the onsite day care at my workplace. They may not go for CD's and I am not willing to fight with them on it. If they want to do sposies we might still do cloth part time but I am not making that decision right now!

Also:
I have a front loader that is fantastic for clothes. I use Tide Free & Clear and at least to start I will probably use that on diapers as well, but just a lot less (1/2 to 1/3 of the recommended amount). I can do an extra long cycle with a prerinse and an extra rinse at the end. I hope to wash every day or every other day, as I hear that works best with front loaders.

I'm thinking for a shopping list:
The Little Lions newborn package with 3 BSWW and 2 proraps in size Small
A Thirsties x-small, maybe 2
a BG 3.0 OS, Happy Heinys OS, and FuzziBunz OS
2 Bummis small tote
1 Bummis medium tote
1 ProServices pail liner

The idea is that while I'm on maternity leave we can do cloth. If we hate it or it doesn't seem practical to do cloth while the LO is in day care, I think we would have broken even financially by then. If we do like it we can decide whether to continue with prefolds or get more pockets. I don't want to do fitteds or AIOs because of the front loader - I'm worried that with the FL using less water it might be hard to get them clean.

I'm hoping this plan gives us flexibility and frugality without sacrificing too much convenience. Does this sound reasonable? Am I setting myself up for failure?

[fruitfulmomma]

The Little Lions newborn package

This has 2 dozen prefolds? I like to have 3 dozen with newborns, so I don't have to wash every day. Have you seen the Bummis kits? (http://www.bummis.com/en/Products/covers/Kit.html) They come with 3 dozen prefolds and 6 covers. Not sure how the pricing compares but you might check it out.

Your plan sounds good. I really like the one-size pockets (we use mommy's touch) for night time and then we use mostly prefolds during the day.

[brietta]

This is very similar to what I plan to buy for this next baby on the way. Because I do wash diapers just about every day (sometimes every other day), I really don't anticipate needing more than 2 dozen prefolds. And you'll also have those 3 pockets, too, so I think you're in good shape.

[Michigan Mama]

Looks like a pretty good plan to me! Cloth wipes are a great thing to add in there - they work very well (better than disposible imo) and you can just throw them in with the dipes.

[schreiberwriter]

Good plan!

When talking to daycare, bring in a BG OS and show them what you want to do for diapering. They really look like a disposable.

Diapers have good resale, so you'll even come out ahead if you just CD during maternity leave.

Love planetwise wet/dry bag (kellyscloset & Nickisdiapers)

[beautifulboy]

We have a bosch front loader (the smaller size) and use Tide Free and Clear (I use a really small amount, you really don't need much). We wash every 3 days or so and I do a cold rinse and then a hot wash with sometimes an extra rinse if I remember. It works great !

I bought a BSWW and some Bummis Superbrites and found them really too plastic-y and thick for the baby so we soon switched to Thirsties (which leaked) and eventually switched to fleece, wool and Imse Vimse covers. So I might rethink the bummis covers.

FYI Jillian's Drawers seems to have some good diaper packages for the newborn babe.

As for the pail liner I'm not sure if you'll need it, maybe if $$ is tight diversify your diaper stash instead of buying these extras.

'Small Wonders Wipes' are GREAT! We used disposible wipes for a while and then realized we were wasting our $$ and time (we were always running out and buying wipes!) http://www.smallwonderswipes.com/

have fun!:

[Smirkin]

I agree about the plasticy feeling of the BSWW - I much prefer Imse Vimse or Thirsties covers, plus the Imse Vimse and Thirsties have gussets, which I think make them fit better.

I have heard lots of people have success getting daycare providers to use the pockets - the Bumgenius especially function exactly like a disposable. You'd just need to buy a lot more, and they are expensive, so that might be a problem, though even if you bought enough bumgenius for daycare I still think you'd be spending less than you would with disposables in the long run.

I think your plan looks good!

[songbird45]

Thanks everyone! I think you're right; I'll forego the pail liner to start with and buy a few zippered totes instead (we'll definitely need wet bags and anything that keeps the smell in is good). As for wipes, I was thinking washcloths or baby washcloths, but maybe I'll make some flannel wipes myself... how hard could it be to zigzag some edges?

I feel very validated... my family is totally unsupportive of this cloth thing (they think I'm randomly creating work for myself for no reason) and I promised them that I'm not going to kill myself over it... if it really, truly sucks that much we will switch to disposables. But from what I read online it sounds like that won't be my experience... I hope it won't, anyway!