Overwhelmed by 2 in Diapers... Need Advice

[chely7425]

We just had a 2nd baby 5 days ago and I am a tad overwhelmed having 2 in diapers. We currently have a stash of OS pockets, OS fitteds and KL 0s for the itty bitty stage. I was thinking maybe all PFs would be easier to deal with? Those of you who have BTDT what was the easiest system for 2 in diapers?

[ssj77]

I certainly understand how you are overwhelmed! Hang in there, it gets easier.

My son was born when my daughter was 2 yrs and 4 months and dh was working 90 hours a week. It was totally overwhelming, especially with having 2 in diapers and one learning about the potty. I had my dd in pocket diapers and put my son in fitteds and prefolds for the itsy bitsy stage and then aio's for the size small. The aio's just made my life SO much simpler because I didn't need to stuff his diapers out of the wash or anything. Just wash, dry and go. I really loved that! Then when she was out of diapers, he used her size medium diapers and we were all set.

Hang in there though and just do whatever you can to make things easier on yourself with this transition.

[inky leeuhhh]

i think the kissaluvs with covers for the nb stage, since sometimes os dipes dont fit the itty bitty babies. i babysit a baby during the day, so i have two in dipes on weekdays, and i am just now switching my own baby over so shes in either aios or stuffed pockets during the day because doing the pf and cover thing on the two babies was too much for me. lol. just wait and see how it is after you have gotten into a routine and you will figure out what works for you.

[iowaorganic]

aios here too. I like bumkins with a doubler. They fit my kids well and are cute and work with actual clothes too. AIOs make life possible here. That and I make DD use the potty and change the boys at in the same shot- then it is over with all at once.

[My3guys]

I totally understand being overwhelmed. I had three in diapers for two years and it gets overwhelming at times. I am a huge fan of prefolds (mostly as I love getting lots of cute covers) and they might be the best bet in the beginning. I find I always got the best fit with prefolds but my kids were super skinny and long. The KLs will work well too. I agree with the above poster who says AIOs made life possible. They really are the easiest to use overall. Just not necessarily the cheapest.

I just want to offer you some encouragement. It does seem overwhelming now, and it IS, but it really will get better. Soon, you won't think twice about all the diapers you are changing each day. Good luck and congratulations on the new baby!

[chely7425]

Thanks guys I think my main issue is the washing... our pockets and inserts seem to take a lot to get clean then our fitteds take forever to dry and it just feels like I am CONSTANTLY washing diapers!!!! Are prefolds easier to care for? I am doing ok with the actual changing but figuring out the washing is KILLING me!!!

[SuzyLee]

Prefolds are a lot easier to wash! They all get dry at the same time, and they get a lot cleaner, IMO. I need a second rinse much less often with PF's.

[celestialdreamer]

If you really like the diapers you have and the drying time is what is bothering you most, what about running them through the dryer and then hanging on drying rack overnight?

OR what about stuffing the OS pockets with prefolds or flats if you like the pockets? And then using prefolds for the newborn? That would wash/dry easily and be fast to dry. I had a mix of items when my 2nd baby was born and then proceeded to switch to strictly BG OS pockets because 2 in diapers overwhelmed me. I've got #2 & #3 in diapers full time now and a baby on the way, so I'm feeling that way again and just recently streamlined a bit.

I adore prefolds for their longevity and ease of washing, but I personally chose to go with a bunch of premium/OS "prefitteds" most made from prefolds and all w/ attached doublers. I chose them so I wouldn't have 3 sizes of prefolds plus doublers to sort in the diaper laundry. I have heavy wetters that always need a doubler, so having 1 type of diaper and no extra parts to sort is so nice. They still wash and dry like a prefold, but the elastic makes it easier to put on. Also I have BG Organic OS AIO (the kind with snaps) for going out, easy changes, etc...but the dry time on them is longer like a fitted. I've color coded that system so that blue ones are for younger ds on medium rise, green is full rise for older ds, etc so that they can just be tossed on with no adjustments. I honestly don't have time for stuffing pockets and would rather toss those on the drying rack for extra drying time as everything else about them is EASY.

I would figure out whatever will make diapering work easiest for your family right now and then just stick with it. For me that is ease of using on more than one child and less items to sort

[chely7425]

I LOVE my blueberry OS pockets I just have no idea what to do right now... it all seems like so much to think about!! GMD prefolds are color coded with the stitching right? Maybe I could do those and then pockets for night times and going out... blurgh!

[Pinoikoi]

At one point I had three in diapers.. one in petite, one in medium, and one newborn.. The older ones were in fuzzibunz and dp diapered them mostly, I diapered the newborn that was more often in fitteds and covers. I prestuffed and washed everything for dp, but he was never squeamish about changing his kids' dipes.

[Ifluffedthree]

I have never used pockets.

prefold's are quick and easy to change and launder and keep clean without all the stripping.

it was an excellent fit for two in diapers for us.

Toss in a few fitted's and AIO's, but the bulk of our stash were pf

[katie9143]

pfs definitely dry faster than any pocket inserts and fitteds that i have - my fitteds dry the slowests, followed by aios, hemp inserts, mf inserts and then pfs dry the fastest in that order.

hth

[EmmalinesMom]

I used lots of prefolds for the newborn stage with my girls, and then moved to pockets and some AIOs but I have to say that I love prefolds. They're super easy to care for, can multi-task, and work well.

Good luck!

[lmonter]

For me, I went to pockets with having two in cloth. I use the inserts over and over and over, and can fudge on the (insert) sizes a little if that makes sense. Like smalls can be used in pretty much any size diaper, medium inserts can fit in some smalls and all mediums and larges, etc.

Prefolds wouldn't have worked for my #2 and #3 since they had the alligator death roll down by 30 minutes after birth. Getting a prefold snappi'd on my 1yo would take at least 2-3 minutes to get it snug enough - i.e. redoing it several times because of the wiggling, not to mention getting a cover/wrap on her as well. My 3yo was the same for the first two years.

The first few weeks of newborn poo are brutal, but trust me, it gets better and you won't be running the washing machine every single hour of the day. Babe will get better about using less than 20 diapers a day. I diapered my oldest two at the same time for a year and a half, and my second two for a year and going. But I'm just too cheap to go to disposables since I already have a cloth stash, just a laundry-folding problem (as in I just suck at folding stuff immediately after drying).

[chely7425]

Thanks for all the replies guys It's good to know I can do this!! Both our kiddos are allergic to the sposies... I have 3 dozen small GMD PFs coming this week for the baby and I think I will just stay away from fitteds since those seem to be my main drying issue... I am thinking OS pockets for DH, PFs for me, and FBs for at night... I can do this I just need the baby to stop pooping every 2 seconds!!!

[Talula Fairie]

I really don't think there is any specific type of diaper that works better than another for having 2 in diapers, but rather, the amount of diapers you have that makes the difference. When I had 2 in diapers, I didn't have enough at first and I had to wash every. day. as a result. If I were to do it again (which thankfully I don't since this is our last baby and the other 2 are potty trained), I'd have a LOT o' diapers. Like 36 per kid

one caveat: if you use all wool covers, THAT is hard to deal with when you have two in diapers. It's just harder and takes longer to wash wool than it does fleece or PUL. Wool is a great diapering fabric and I do love it, but this time around, I'm sticking to mostly washable diaper covers. And some AIOs too.

[Pinoikoi]

Originally Posted by Talula Fairie

one caveat: if you use all wool covers, THAT is hard to deal with when you have two in diapers. It's just harder and takes longer to wash wool than it does fleece or PUL. Wool is a great diapering fabric and I do love it, but this time around, I'm sticking to mostly washable diaper covers. And some AIOs too.

I agree with this. I had a lot of wool covers and first you have to wash like colors with like colors (some wool bleeds) and then because of the way that wool soaks, they just take forever to line dry- especially when there are so many. I tried washing only certain colors certain days to always have a few dry and a few on the line at a time, but then it seemed like I went through a ton of wool wash.. that was a no win situation for me, please I honestly believe that when poo gets on wool, it needs ATTENTION to avoid staining- and I just had too much on my hands to do that justice.

[chely7425]

We don't have any wool... and I have a slight diaper addiction so we have a CRAPTON of diapers... 36 PFs and 30 fitteds for the baby, plus 6 NB covers and 8 smalls... 20 fitteds and 28 pockets for the 1 year old, plus 6 covers I will need more bigger stuff once the baby outgrows his little things but that wont be for another couple months probably