help me decide, is cloth really for me?

[snoopy5386]

Right now, I am in the midst of doing the 21 day cloth diaper trial from Jillian's Drawers. We are 1 week into CDing and I'm trying to decide if it is really for me and our family.

With DD1 we used sposies mostly because my parents completely supplied us with them for her 1st year of life. The idea of CDing intrigued me back then, but since I was getting free diapers I never really looked much into it. Plus DH was grossed out by the idea of poop in his washing machine.

Now we've got DD2, who'll be 5 months old next week - I call her the super-pooper. This kid has managed to leak poo out of literally every brand of disposable diaper on the market and I've decided I'd rather wash poop out of cloth diapers vs whatever random household item she decides to poop on each day. So basically I'm trying cloth to see if CD's can contain her poop and so far so good on that front. And they're also cute and good for the environment, and blah, blah, blah.

BUT, they are bulky, they stain and running down to the basement 4x a day to wash and dry them (1x to rinse, 1x to wash, 1x to put in dryer and 1x to take out of dryer) seems like it is going to get old really, really fast.

DH is still grossed out by poop in the washer and so far refuses to have anything to do with the CDs which is mostly fine since he maybe changes one or two diapers a day. I'm not a fan of prefolds or fitteds, but I'm liking the pockets and all in ones. BUT all I read about is problems - problems with detergent, problems with the Aplix (so far, I like the Aplix better than snaps), problems with wicking, with smells, with elastic wearing out.
Is it possible to CD and not have any of these problems? I'm not going to do if I have to worry about replacing elastic or replacing Aplix in a year.
Is it possible to get the stains out once they start solids?
Is it possible to wash diapers of solid eating babies without dunking, spraying or scraping because I can't imagine myself (and certainly not DH) ever doing any of these things.

Just looking for a reality check before I dive into this and commit real money.

[funkymom81]

Yes it is possible to do it without those problems, however the best way to avoid most of those problems is by drying on a line. If you air dry them you are less likely to have issues with the PUL delaminating, Elastic running out as well as stains as the sun is a natural stain fighter!

Another thing to get the yuckiness out of dealing with poops after starting solids is by using flushable liners, this way you just peel and dump in the toilet and the added bonus is that you avoid a lot of stains that way too. If you use a brand like ImseVimse they can be washed and reused if it was just a pee diaper.

I highly reccommend CD-ing, I have found that they keep even some of the WORST poopsplosions in, you know the ones that go so far up the back that they wind up on the hat and require a bath! Or in the case of DD#1 cause an accident on the Dan Ryan expressway in Chicago.... Long story but we'll say that it was so explosive that we had to take the fabric out of the carseat in order to clean it! That was when I decided to look into using cloth!

Anyways it is totally worth it!! So much better for baby's skin!

[Chamomile Girl]

Well, I've gotta say that one advantage of prefolds is that they hold poop better than the pockets IMO...and they're cheaper so you can increase your stash to the point where you certainly don't need to do diaper laundry every day.

Here's how I know about the holding poop better thing:
At 11 months DS ended up in the hospital for chronic constipation where they put him on a laxitive drip and eventually had to give him an enema. Talk about explosive poop...after they gave him the enema they put him on my lap in a disposible diaper. Where his butt exploded everywhere, and I don't think that dang diaper caught anything. So I sent DH home for prefolds, because enough is enough people! His subsequent explosive poops did not exit the diaper AT ALL. Go cloth!

So in the weeks after we got him home we were using prefolds and fuzzy bunz. Well his poop was soft because he was on miralax and the fuzzy bunz just wouldn't hold it. Plus it is really digusting to have to take the inserts out of a diaper literally dripping with poop. Plus according to my friend who loaned me the Fuzzy Bunz you're not supposed to dunk-swish pockets to clean off the poop (how the heck do you get it off then??). His poop just don't peel off y'know?

Anyways thats my two cents. Prefolds are the bomb. They also hold in the bomb iykwim.

As for the bulk factor, I've not had a problem with this. But I think they cut baby girl clothes differently than boy stuff...trimmer for sure. So I have read on this board that many cloth diaper-ers buy one size up in pants to accomidate the diaper. The bonus about cloth is that they don't crackle when you pick up your LO. That creeps me out.

[NewMoonMum]

I second giving the flushable liners a try.
And I know you said you don't care for them, but I, too, have found prefolds unbeatable in preventing leaks and containing explosions. You can experiment with different folds and use a Snappi(or pins, but I love Snappis!) to get a very snug fit. That also cuts down a great deal on the bulk issue. Ditto what PP said about prefolds being inexpensive enough to stock up and need laundry only every 2-3 days.
You also mentioned not wanting to spray, but I had to mention that we use a sprayer attachment and love it. No poop in the washing machine and no stains.

As for all of the problems you mentioned, I did silly amounts of research on what supplies I need, how to prep them, advantages/disadvantages of various detergents, blah blah blah, so that probably helped avoid those issues for me. I think one time in our 2.5 years of cloth diapering, we had one of those issues-some wicking, so I stripped the dipes and all was good. No odor issues, staining issues, leakage(after figuring out which folds worked best at what point), or elastic.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do!!

[craft_media_hero]

CD is really easy! DH and I are both surprised how easy it is.

Our washer is down in the basement, too, and it's no big deal. We wash every other day or on the third day. I just throw them in and leave the lid up so that it soaks, then run it on heavy at one size load larger than it really is. Maybe an extra rinse. Dry on low. They come out fine, so far.

If you like the pocket dipes, you might like a Flip-style cover with a folded up flat or prefold. They seem to hold a lot of liquid (esp. the flats) That's my and dh's favorite combo. Plus the pf's and flats seem to wash out easier (or so I've heard, but like I said all our stuff, even the pockets, comes out clean and we don't have a complicated washing method).

I'm no cd pro, though, I've only been doing it a little over a month.

[Perdita_in_Ontario]

Frankly, I think cloth should be for everyone. But I might be a bit of a die-hard .

I would never trust a sposie for holding in poop. I remember the explosions we had with DD. And the times I've taken a CD off DS and thought "HOW did that not leak?".

You get used to the washing, and yeah, hang-drying in the sun gets rid of stains. And not as many stinkies!

[MamieCole]

Originally Posted by snoopy5386

BUT, they are bulky, they stain and running down to the basement 4x a day to wash and dry them (1x to rinse, 1x to wash, 1x to put in dryer and 1x to take out of dryer) seems like it is going to get old really, really fast.

BUT all I read about is problems - problems with detergent, problems with the Aplix (so far, I like the Aplix better than snaps), problems with wicking, with smells, with elastic wearing out.
Is it possible to CD and not have any of these problems? I'm not going to do if I have to worry about replacing elastic or replacing Aplix in a year.
Is it possible to get the stains out once they start solids?
Is it possible to wash diapers of solid eating babies without dunking, spraying or scraping because I can't imagine myself (and certainly not DH) ever doing any of these things.

Just looking for a reality check before I dive into this and commit real money.

*Yes, they are bulkier than sposies. Period.

*Assuming you decide to CD full-time, you won't need to wash every day. Toss them into a dry pail, then wash when you have a full load. (every 2 or 3 days around here.)

*I think that with a lot of other topics discussed on message boards, it seems like everyone is having problems because those are the things people post about when they need help. Rarely do you see someone post a "Hey, everything is going great w/cloth diapering! Just wanted to say we aren't having any problems!"

But, you might have problems. If you do your homework (find out what kind of water you have, use a CD friendly detergent/wash routine, line dry when possible) your chances of having problems greatly decreases.

*Regarding stains: it depends on what your baby eats combined with your wash routine combined with the types of dipes you have. I've used lots of different types of dipes and have never had a stain that sunning didn't take care of.

*Regarding poop of solids-eating babes, if you don't want to dunk or spray, you will need to use flushable liners. There is just no guarantee of what kind of poop your LO will provide you with on any given day. Sometimes it might just plop out easily into the toilet, but sometimes the consistency will be, um, stickier/softer/harder to manage. The goal is to get *most* of the poop into the toilet, but you shouldn't kill yourself trying to get all of it off the dipe. If there aren't food remnants and you have dumped most of the solids, the wash will take care of the rest. It might sound like a lot of work, but it really isn't more work than disposing of a disposable, once you get into the swing of things.

I'm currently CDing my second babe and lots of our dipes were used for DS1 as well. (Mainly sized FBs, some BG 2.0, some Knickernappies) I have never once had a problem w/elastic. Have had no major issues w/the BG velcro, (other than it just looking weathered) have never had repelling issues and have only battled stinkies two or three times in 4 years, which is easily solved by super hot washes.

Good luck with your decision! I know it can sound super complicated.

[lucy_v]

I think if you're not enjoying the laundry aspect of it only one week in, that might not be a good sign... I don't mind it, personally. Once I got a routine going, I barely think about it. But you might feel otherwise.

Re: the snaps vs. aplix, I went all aplix at the beginning, and couldn't see why anyone would want to deal with snaps. Then my aplix started looking crappy, and then DD's hands got curious and now she opens her diaper while nursing... so annoying! Some snaps are easier than others. I forget if it's the FuzziBunz or a Blueberry cover about which DH said: "I love these snaps!" It was very funny, and not something he would normally comment on.