Took the plunge- bought a stash!

[heatherweh]

I have looked and listened and finally took the plunge and bought a stash so I can start cloth diapering. I think my hesitance was MOSTLY just due to the overwhelming options! I finally decided on prefolds and covers. I have a 9 week-old and a 3 year-old (who will hopefully be out of diapers soon- maybe this cloth change will help push him in that direction).

I ended up with:

a sprayer
2 liners
2 wet bags
10 covers (of different brands, some snap and some velcro) all are made to fit all sizes so hopefully that makes it less confusing
2 dozen prefolds in a medium kind of size that will hopefully work for both kiddos
4 snappis (2 small and 2 large)

Did I miss anything that should have been obvious or is a must have? I guess I'll figure it out soon enough, but preferably before catastrophe hits. I'm also trying not to have a heart attack at the initial cost of over $300, but trying to remain calm and think that soon I will recoup the savings on disposables...

Anyway, thanks for the advice on here so far and I'm still lurking and learning. Wish me luck!

[deputy465]

Congratulations!!!!! We just started CDing with our third (born in 4/09 too!), and I love it. I was always told how hard it would be . . . I actually think it's been VERY easy. Of course, my two older children are already out of dipes! I haven't found the little bit of extra laundry to be a bother at all. Actually, I've been motivated to hang all of my laundry outside now

I was scared about the initial investment too. I only ordered 2 dozen prefolds and 4 coversfor my first order because I wasn't quite sure how DH was going to react. He is all for saving money, he jsut hasn't jumped right in to change diapers, LOL. So . . . now that I've decided CDing will definitely work for us . . . back to shopping for some AIOs and pocket dipes that might be a little less intimidating for DH.

[inky leeuhhh]

oh boy congratulations! im pretty sure i remember hearing that it costs about 2,000$ to diaper a baby with sposies, so if you compare the 300$ you can see that you are saving a major amount. i think it becomes more obvious when you realize you are not going to the store for diapers anymore. its awesome to pass by the baby isle without picking them up! are you doing cloth wipes, too? even with my addiction to buying cds, i figure i will save at least half of the cost of using sposies. and i REALLY like to buy diapers. LOL. also, if the prefolds dont work with the snappi on your oldest one and you dont feel like going up a size, try tri-folding it and laying it in a cover.

[ssj77]

Congrats on your stash! I think once you get to pass by the disposables in the store and NOT buy them and see your store bill go down, you'll feel better about the initial investment. I know it can seem like a lot, but disposables can cost up to $3500 PER child! If you have any questions about diapering, be sure to ask here. This is such a great community to get all your cd questions answered in.

Sultana

[Michigan Mama]

Congrats, Mama! I'm sure you won't be sorry. The only things I thought of after reading your post is first, that you may find the diapers don't fit both babies...but as someone said, you can always tri-fold for the older child, and you may have to do a lot of folding for the younger. of course, depends on the size of the kids!

I like to use hemp or bamboo doublers for naps or night, so I don't have all the bulk of two prefolds.

Cloth wipes are a great idea and great savings. It's also easier, because you don't have to hunt around for a place to dispose of a used sposie-wipe!

Are you all set on detergent? There is a good list of cloth friendly detergents at diaperjungle.com. And remember to watch out for traditional diaper rash creams. Prefolds are fairly forgiving, but using the wrong detergent or coating your dipes in cream can cause trouble. If you need cream, you can either use a fleece or flushable liner, or use a cloth friendly cream, like Angel Baby Bottom Balm. That's the one I use...

Good luck and welcome to the group!

[EmmalinesMom]

Congratulations!!

You might consider a doubler of some sort for when your child starts sleeping longer stretches. Hemp and bamboo are both popular choices.

Cloth wipes are super easy too. You can purchase them online, make your own, or grab a mega-pack of baby washcloths. They just go in the pail with the wet and dirty diapers and are washed all together.