let's talk diapers?

[nervousnelle]

Okay, ladies, what are you all planning to do about diapers? Anyone have it all figured out already?

This will be my first, and I really feel my pregnant hormones vacillating between "Oh my gosh, I HAVE to do cloth! How could I live with myself if I didn't do cloth!" and "Poop is disgusting and I will do disposables. Seventh Generation though to minimize chemical exposure. I think." I'm so confused.

So, please, let's share who's doing what and why? If cloth, which brand/type, how many, etc.? If disposables, which brand?

[Love Wins]

*ftm, waiting on all of your great advice!*

[Amynf1]

You are probably going to get a broad range of answers on this one. There are so many cloth diapering choices and most CDers are pretty loyal to what they use. I didn't start out with cloth for my son. I had wanted to but we moved to Korea in my 3rd tri and I didn't get around to it before the birth, then we had a rough birth and then time got a way and before I knew it he wasn't a newborn anymore. He was more like 9 months. I figured better late than never. I am going to cloth from the start with this one. I think it's easier the second time around because you have a system and you know what you like.

My suggestion is that if you can afford it by one of several different ones in the NB size to try out. They don't stay in NB very long so you will have to buy more (unless you are getting the one size ones but I don't think most of the one size really fit NBs anyway) and at least you will have an idea of what you like before you make the investment. Here's what I am doing...

I order from Green Mt. Diapers (GMD)

http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/diapers.htm

2 dozen GMD newborn prefolds (can be used for another baby later or as burp cloths or clean up after the baby grows out of them)
2 dozen GMC small prefolds
5 GMD infant fitted diapers
I just bought 1 each (5 total) of the Snug-To-Fits since they are on sale (they are one size)
1 Growing Greens One size (trying it out for the first time)
1 Under the Nile Fitted (trying it out also)
various diaper covers in NB and Small
a few packs of size 1 snappis

Once the baby outgrows the small pre-folds and covers, I will order the next size up in pre-folds but also probably some one size fitted diapers as well depending on which ones I like the best from the ones I mentioned above. I will also have my sons current stash of large pre-folds and covers plus all his all-in-ones (SposoEasy) and I have a few Fuzzibunz and bumGenius pocket diapers too. Those aren't my favorite. I prefer the all cotton diapers that GMD sells rather than the polyester ones like FB and BG.
I am also going to get a few wool soaker covers.

I am probably spending $600-700 total for every thing in all sizes. I am ordering a few things a month now to break it up. Still a small price to pay considering the cost of disposables and how gross they are.

The poop thing is not a big deal at all when the babies are little and breastfed. My son's poop is pretty gross now, he's 21 months, but I just use a pair of yellow dishwashing gloves to dunk the diaper in the toilet and it's no big deal. I don't do the sprayer or anything, we have a weird Korean toilet that a sprayer wouldn't hook up too and it's too far from our shower to use the shower sprayer. I don't mind dunking though. I guess I just don't mind my kids poop too much. I also just broke down and bought a diaper pail kit from cottonbabies.com. I was just using a wet bag but I figure my son probably won't be completely potty trained by the time the new baby gets here so I need to space. Plus it just seems cleaner than having a wet bag laying around. Plus my zippered bet bags aren't holding up in the wash so I wanted the drawstring kind.

[MummaLitt]

This will be my second. I plan on using disposables for the first week or so (until the merconium is done). Then I hope to switch over to cloth. I didn't start cloth with DS until he was about 7mo due to washing machine issues but I want to use pre-folds with covers for this little girl. Once she gets more squirmy and hard to diaper, I'll probably move on to FuzziBunz and/or BumGenius3.0 or some other type of pocket. Of course this all depends on if our new apartment/house has washer/dryer hookups. If not, i'll unfortunately have to stick with disposables.

[queenofchaos]

I did sposies for 5 of my babies, and then the last one I decided to do cloth. I have found that with little babies, until you start feeding them quite a bit of food, the poop is a non-issue. I breastfed, too, which may make a difference. Anyhow, I didn't even bother to rinse out the dipe. Just tossed it in the (dry) dipe bucket (lidded of course!). Never had a problem with dipes coming out dirty or smelling bad or whatever after washing. Sounds pretty disgusting, but it worked. Breastfed baby poo just doesn't wash out of the dipe real easy if you are rinsing in the toilet. May as well let the washer do the 'dirty' work. (sorry, couldn't help myself!)
My youngest is 18 mo and still in dipes. Unfortunately, I had to go back to work back in August and daycare did not encourage cloth diaper use. So we went back to sposies. To tell the truth, I probably could have put up a fight and made the cloth work, but now that I am working, I am having a super hard time keeping up with regular laundry, let alone diapers too. (which with one child isn't all that bad, but at this point, every little bit adds up). Even though I won't be working when the twins are born, I just can't see how I am going to use cloth and keep up with the laundry. The good thing is, I already have all the dipes and everything, so if it seems feasible, I can do cloth whenever. So I guess I am going with sposies for now, and just see how it goes.
Sorry, so long. Anyway, there's a ton of great resources on the cloth diapering board, if you do decide to give it a try. I went super cheap with my set up, about $200.00 total (and that was for newborn through toddler), and if you would like to know more, email me.

[Oliver'sMom]

I did cloth with son from the beginning. He went through the nb and small sized diapers pretty quick, but stayed in mediums forever! He was 18mo and still in mediums. He was pretty close to being potty trained, so I didn't buy any larges and just used disposables until he wasn't in diapers anymore. Ds was also a super heavy wetter at night, so I started using huggies overnight diapers with him when he was about 6mo. Cloth just wasn't cutting it.

green mountain diapers sells lots of different cloth diaper sample packs that might be a great idea to buy at first, see what system you like best, then buy more of what you like.

http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/packages.htm

Also, you don't have to go all or nothing. You can always use a combination of cloth and disposable. Whatever works for your family and situation.

I was able to diaper ds up until 18mo for less than 200 bucks....not including the huggies at night. Those cost me about 15-20 dollars a month. Luckily, he potty trained fast and early, so he was in disposables full time for a little over a month. That month or so cost me close to 50 bucks though, so keep the added cost of sposies in mind.

[Cheryl33]

I started with the SG disposables, I just couldn't wrap my head around what kind of cloth I wanted. I didn't start with cloth until my daughter was probably 3 months. Gave me time to get a hang of being a mom and nursing before I had to worry about getting the hang of cloth too.

[chattyprincess]

SO I am doing cloth with this one...I for a long time now thought that I would FOR SURE use either gdiapers or grobabies...now I am thinking not so much. I really like the idea of an all in one diaper (no putting anything in or taking out basically like a normal diaper but made of cloth.) once I sat down and did the math for what I wanted/would need with the gdiapers or grobabies and I was on the fence...and still am! (sortof.) the clincher for me was dh, he is NOT really intrested in cloth so I need to make it super simple for him so that its not a fight.
I am in love with monkey doodlez right now (love you can add a "doubler" to make it more absorbent for over night) andd love the idea of goodmamas "the one". I figure at a minium I will spend at least $1500-2000 on disposible diapers for one year so its worth it to at least try the cloth. Plus since I am in canada but still have a us mailing address I can buy things american price and then if I don't love it I can craiglist it for basically the same price used as I bought new.
ETA. Depending on where you are ALOT of cloth diaper stores offer a newborn rental package that is a pretty awesome combo of ALL different diapers for a crazy good price! so its a neat way to use cloth cheap and then return and just buy what ones you love.
I know for me ebf my first that she pooped, every.single.time. I nursed her. so essentially roughly 12-14 diapers A FLIPPING DAY!!!

[Surfacing]

:

[lrgs]

I love talking cloth! I didn't start cding DD until she was 14 months old and I was really nervous about making the switch. I thought it was going to be a big hassle and a lot of work but I was pleasantly surprised. It's extra laundry but I actually really enjoyed it (okay......I'll admit it, I kind of got addicted to the fluff ). DD is on the routing to potty training now so the cloth diapers are stashed away until the new baby comes.

I'd love to try GMD prefolds but it's very expensive to ship to Canada. I have never done newborn cloth diapering but this is my plan:

24 infant prefolds (Bummis)
4-5 covers

12 pockets/AIO (mostly AMP... these........but I have a couple HH mini pockets and 2 Thisties AIO) These are for going out, middle of the night changes.

I think this will be a bigger baby so he/she should be fitting into our one sizes not to long after birth............the prefolds and little pockets should get us to that stage.

[Sophiasmomma]

I have done cloth with both my children and will do it again

what I hope Im going to do

12 AIOS (so easy for outtings, grandmas and Daddys)
12 fitteds (love to do fitteds under wool)
12 prefolds from GMD (orange edge) great under pul/fleece covers
12 preemie pfs
8 pul & fleece covers
(hopefully 4-6 wool soakers, longies or shorts)
snappis



Some advice I can give from experience with my children

**have tons of covers there are days where breastfed poop explodes over all the covers at every change so be prepared to have at least enough covers for one full day

buy newborn sizes- unless you know you will have a large big baby smalls will be HUGE on an average to small newborn
My kids were both in the mid 6 lb range and didnt fit into smalls until 4 months!!!
even some newborn stuff was too big the first month!

also have at least 30 diapers so you dont have to wash everyday and can go every 2-3 days since most babies go through 12 diapers on average a day!

[wavybrains]

With DD, we started doing cloth around 3 months. I had planned to start after a week or so, but I was very overwhelmed, dealing with latch issues, and we ended up hating prefolds. It took me awhile to lay in a good AIO stash. We stuck with cloth diapering until around 18 months when toddler poop was just too much for us and life was super busy. I think a lot depends on how busy you are, what your washing situation is, and how organized you are. If you are on top of your laundry and home a lot, it is sooooooooo easy to do cloth. If you are on the run a lot or working, it's a little harder. And if you tend to have laundry mountain (SIGH), it's a challenge, but doable. It forced me to stay on top of the laundry more.

With the new one, I'm not sure at all what we are doing. I need to talk to DH. I think he will prob want to do similar to what we did last time, although maybe we can do cloth a little sooner. We HATE seeing the diapers rack up in the trash can, but darn they are so easy to get used to using. Good luck whatever you choose--be flexible, especially with the newborn stage. Jillian's drawers has a great money-back trial package that is AWESOME and great if you end up not wanting to do the newborn stage, but then want to try again later--you are only out $10 each trial. AWESOME.

[bjorker]

We started cloth with dd at around a month old, and never looked back.

Unfortunately, I gave all her cloth away, so we're starting over on the stash again. I've been buying used off of diaperswappers and craigslist. Mostly pockets, though I should probably get some prefolds and covers as well.

I've had two people make mention of newborn dipes I can borrow, so I haven't bothered getting any of those. If that falls through I might just use sposies until the smalls fit since the newborn size doesn't last long anyway, but I'd really prefer not to do that. We'll see.

Actually I did get some newborn prefolds, I totally forgot about that. So I guess I could pretty easily get a few covers and CD at least most of the time. But hopefully I'll be able to borrow some.

[craft_media_hero]

I'm planning on doing cloth from the beginning with this one, my second.

I vacillate between buying a full stash of Bumgenius Onesize 3.0s and doing flats/prefolds with wool covers. I like the idea of natural materials, and that the pfs/flats are easier to wash, as well as the fact that the wool doesn't need washed often and is breatheable for the little one's skin.

Plus, if we did wool and pf/flats, it'd be soooo much cheaper than any other option, unless we get the BGs as gifts . . . I like that I can crochet the wool stuff or recycle felted sweaters (even with my minimal sewing skills, I think I can manage this).

So I don't know. I think for the newborn stash, I'm going to order prefolds from the cottonbabies site (lowest price I've seen on pfs), and see if I can get a handful of proraps seconds covers (there is a phone # somewhere that you can call for seconds) and supplement that with dappi pants (cheap) and maybe I'll makes some wool covers. I'm also planning on just ordering a dozen flats to see if I like it or if they'd be nice as a quick-wash back up.

We may be handwashing sometimes so that affects my leaning toward flats/pfs. I am thinking of getting the "Wonderwash" and a diaper sprayer as part of our initial start-up expense. So that's about $100 right there.

I think a super cheap diaper stash could be
1. mommy whip up a batch of wool covers for each size stage (unless I can find a one size wool cover pattern which would be awesome) maybe 4-6 covers?
2. back that up w/ a few dappi pants
3. 2/3 pfs 1/3 flats or all of either
4. snappis (maybe not necessary?)
5. recycle outgrown prefolds into next size inserts, doubling and sewing if necessary
6. also use EC and hopefully minimize the # of changes
So you'd just have to keep buying the next size of prefolds and they're really cheap.

The greenmountaindaiper lady says that 3-4doz medium unbleached flats can take you from newborn to potty training . . . tempting at such a low price, but some people HATE flats, so I'm thinking I'll just start with a dozen (or they have an offer for just 3) and see if they're practical for our needs at all.

I'd like feedback on this diaper plan if any of you experienced mamas have words of wisdom to share. This is my plan for now, but I haven't actually bought anything yet. Not to hijack, but I'm kind of in the daiper obsession lately and really want to get my stash settled.

[majazama]

I have a few random baby dipes that are fancy and nice (like bamboo!) but I am going to go super simple this time. I CDd both of my girls, and learned from exp. that simple is usually better. Sure the fancy diapers are soft and pretty but they're expensive and you are washing them all the time with crap all over them, and they take forever to dry in the dryer costing more money.

So that's why I'm going to do flats this time.

ETA: CMH~ I've heard that a lot of people LOVE flats when they thought they'd hate them.. good idea to go for it.

[Terrilein]

My very short answer: Only cloth has the power to contain a major blow-out.

[Amynf1]

Originally Posted by Terrilein

My very short answer: Only cloth has the power to contain a major blow-out.

I second that

[expat-mama]

Thank you thank you THANK YOU for this thread!
I'm not sure it has helped me decide anything, but it's good to read.
I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to diapers. I haven't changed a diaper since I was thirteen.

I want to do cloth to save money and do what I can environmentally, but I also want something easy for me and DH and comfy and effective for the babe. There's so much information out there, it's overwhelming.

I think at this point, DH and I really like the idea of the all-in-twos like GroBabies and Softbums- with the cover that you don't have to wash every time you change the babe and the snap in liners and doublers. I like the idea of the one-size diapers, because I live in Dubai and I don't want to be ordering different sizes and having them shipped over here when I need a bigger one. I'm thinking that I might need to get something for the newborn stage other than those though, but I'm not sure what or how many.

I feel a lot of stress over this decision because I can't just try out different ones and easily or cheaply have them shipped here. So I have to make a decision and stick to it!

Anyone tried Grobabies or Softbums? What can you recommend for newborns (relatively cheap, well fitting, and easy to adjust to for a first-timer) before I use the one-size diapers?

[Amynf1]

Originally Posted by expat-mama

Thank you thank you THANK YOU for this thread!
I'm not sure it has helped me decide anything, but it's good to read.
I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to diapers. I haven't changed a diaper since I was thirteen.

I want to do cloth to save money and do what I can environmentally, but I also want something easy for me and DH and comfy and effective for the babe. There's so much information out there, it's overwhelming.

I think at this point, DH and I really like the idea of the all-in-twos like GroBabies and Softbums- with the cover that you don't have to wash every time you change the babe and the snap in liners and doublers. I like the idea of the one-size diapers, because I live in Dubai and I don't want to be ordering different sizes and having them shipped over here when I need a bigger one. I'm thinking that I might need to get something for the newborn stage other than those though, but I'm not sure what or how many.

I feel a lot of stress over this decision because I can't just try out different ones and easily or cheaply have them shipped here. So I have to make a decision and stick to it!

Anyone tried Grobabies or Softbums? What can you recommend for newborns (relatively cheap, well fitting, and easy to adjust to for a first-timer) before I use the one-size diapers?

I haven't tried the Grobabies or Softbums. I don't really prefer pocket style or one size diapers very much but I would suggest in your situation to get newborn sized pre-folds and diaper covers for the early months. Most one size just don't fit newborns and the pre-folds are pretty cheap in comparison. Here's the ones I use...

http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/diapers.htm

One thing I love about GMD is how well she explains everything. I think if you read through the info on the site and read 'new to cloth' info, it will help you make a better decision.

http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/newmom.htm

That said, I have no idea if she ships overseas. I am in Korea but we have an APO which is the same as shipping to US domestic addresses. But at least if you read through the info it might help you decide what to do and then you can order from somewhere else. Good luck!

[welsh]

We'll be mainly using disposables
The list of reasons/excuses is endless.....alot to do with impossible/unreliable mail system in Russia.