Cloth Diapers 411 and Breastfeeding

[november mama]

Hello All- We are pregnant with our first child (due Nov 15th) and I'm trying to get a head start on gathering needed items

I have absolutely no idea about cloth diapers!!  I just don't understand what brand at what age, inserts, covers, brands- yikes!

I think I am looking for velcro till the little one gets curious and then snaps- a friend gave me some medium fuzibums which seem nice- but with infancy- what are prefolds and how do they stay on- what kind of cover?

most daycares don't do cloth- any good disposable brands?

how do you store the diapers- wet or dry? how do you wash them?

i also want to breastfeed but must be back to school a few months after the birth- what kind of pump and bottles- has anyone used glass- i don't even use plastic myself but i know it will get thrown eventually

thanks for all the help!  I am absolutely stoked! and loving the forums!  I can feel my uterus and have been feeling a great bond with my baby this week! Thanks mamas! 

[justamama]

Prefolds are a cotton diaper that has a thicker layer in the middle third of the diaper (thirds going lengthwise, not widthwise). You can simply fold the diaper into thirds (basically like folding a letter to fit in an envelope), and lay it into a cover that you velcro or snap around the baby, or you can fold the prefold in various ways and fasten it with a snappi or diaper pins. www.little-lions.com has lots of great information on prefold and flat diapers.

We love prefolds snappi'd under wool covers (which double as pants, shorts, or even skirts), or under a wrap style cover. Our favorite covers are from www.wigglewormbottoms.com or gDiaper covers. The gdiapers has a biodegradable, flushable,  compostable insert that you can use in place of disposable diapers. We just fold the prefold in thirds and lay it in the gDiaper cover.

The rest of our 'stash' is made of one size fitted diapers, which is great since it means we have very few diapers we need to buy for the new baby! My favorite are from http://hyenacart.com/stores/BuggaBuggaBoutique/ Her fitteds are so nice.

We also use receiving blankets from the thrift stores as flat style diapers. The link above for prefold information has information on how to fold flat diapers as well. We just do it with the receiving blankets rather than the flat dipes. We can get them as low as $0.50, or even free on Craigslist or from family/friends, too.

For pumps, I've used LOTS. Evenflo, Medela Lactina, Medela Pump in Style Advance, Playtex Embrace, WhisperWear, and Avent Isis IQDuo. The Avent is my favorite. Totally customizable, closed system pump. Now BPA free, and I think they may have glass bottles now, too? Not sure.

[scottishmommy]

I think it's best to start simple with diapers. I used prefolds pretty much exclusively until dd started sleeping better at night, then I got some bamboo fitteds with a very sturdy cover. In the beginning, however, I would just stick with prefolds because they are cheap and work well. Here's my newborn stash
24 nb diaper rite prefolds( love this brand! Check them out at www.diaperjunction.com)
36 small diaper rite prefolds
8 small covers (I use bummis whisper wrap)
Crunchy clean diaper detergent. I love this detergent.
3 snappies (these replace diaper pins)

When your baby goes to daycare you may have to switch to pocket diapers or all in ones. The only disposables that my DD wasn't allergic to were huggies naturals.

Some good resources on diapers are
Green mountain diapers (I don't know the web address off the top of my head, but you can just google them.
Www.Diaperpin.com
And YouTube believe it or not (btw YouTube is also great for baby wearing videos. )

Congrats on your pregnancy and welcome to MDC:joy

[Thandiwe]

Welcome to the forums, November Mama!  I will be moving this thread to the cloth diapering forum, where it's more applicable.  If you would like to start a separate thread regarding breastfeeding in the specific breastfeeding forum, you're more than welcomed to start one there as well!  I know these forums can get to be a bit confusing, and we'd be more than happy to help you find your way through here if you'd like.  However, we need to keep each thread contained within the applicable forum in order to keep the conversations flowing and the board organized! 

Once again, welcome, and if there's anything I can do to help you get the most from your MDC experience, please don't hesitate to ask! 

[dashley111]

Thank you for starting this thread!  I'm cloth diaper illiterate- never considered it with my last 2, but its something I am really wanting to do this time.

For the wool covers- can they be knit?  Im a knitter, can I knit the wool covers out of just plain wool yarn?  Ive heard they have to be lanolized? 

[Perdita_in_Ontario]

Yes, you can knit covers yourself - I have done plenty. If you have a Ravelry account, search for "diaper covers" or "diaper soakers" and you'll get lots of choice. I especially like the Sheepy Pants and Soaker, and I've heard that Vanilla and Curly Purly are also great.

Any 100% wool would work well - I generally use Patons Classic Wool because it's cheap and easy to source, but Merino works as well. I've also read that alpaca blends work.

Lanolizing sounds more difficult than it is - Green Mountain Diapers has a great tutorial - it's the method I use and it works really well.

[Thandiwe]

I have bars of Naturally Luxe wool soap, and I suds my wool soakers up really well with warm water and the bars of NL soap.  I usually let them soak for a few minutes in the warm water with the suds.  Because the soap has a lot of lanolin in it, they end up really sticky from lanolin without additional.  So easy!  You could always add lanolin extra if you wanted as well.

[Virginia884]

Check your state's daycare licensing laws. A lot of states have clauses regarding cloth diapers. Hope that helps!


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[Perdita_in_Ontario]

Originally Posted by Thandiwe 

I have bars of Naturally Luxe wool soap, and I suds my wool soakers up really well with warm water and the bars of NL soap.  I usually let them soak for a few minutes in the warm water with the suds.  Because the soap has a lot of lanolin in it, they end up really sticky from lanolin without additional.  So easy!  You could always add lanolin extra if you wanted as well.

I must try to find this. Sounds even easier!