Looking for a good cloth diaper to try out

[mrledee]

Hello everyone,

We are expecting our first babies soon (twins due in a few months) and are looking to try out cloth diapers.  I've been doing a lot of research online comparing the different brands and we have decided to try the Best Bottom brand.  It seems to be the best overall.

I was wondering if anyone here had any experience with cloth diapering and which ones were the best and worst.  Also, since we have no experience with cloth diapering, any advise that can be given would also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks to all

[finnyroo]

Hi there! I love fuzzibunz for a pocket diaper to use when out and about. At home we use green mountain prefolds. I wrote about my preferences on my blog if you want to check it out -  Theoakfin.com The trickiest part regarding cloth is figuring out which diapers fit your babies the best and that takes a bit of trial and error. Thankfully you can buy several different diapers to try out and still spend less than you would on disposables. Keep in mind that any advice you receive is relative, one diaper that leaks on a skinny thighed baby might do great on a chubby little one. I love fuzzibunz because they are super adjustable. 

[Mama Ana]

We use prefolds with a Thirsties Duo cover for about 98% of the time. When we go out though we use Fuzzibunz which I just love. We recently bought two bumgenius, which are another pocket diaper. I love how adjustable they are. After we prepped them and put them on DD, she had a huge poop...which IMO is the ultimate test, the bumgenius passed that test. The only diaper I have bought and been displeased with is a diaper I bought from a SAHM at a craft fair. 

Oh, I forgot to mention... I hated gDiapers. They just did not do well on my daughter but I know a lot of people love them. Since they are a hybrid diaper, I do think they are a good idea and good for some families. 

[twinpossible]

We have twins too and CD, congrats :) we love Goodmamas and hated Grovia and Gdiapers. Feel free to PM me with questions on twin CDing, got a few tricks!

[AnnieA]

We do a mix of a couple of different kinds. At home, we primarily use GMD prefolds w/Bummis covers. At night, we use Flip diapers w/the stay-dry inserts. We also use those when we go out and I have 6 BG 4.0s that we use when we go out too. DD is about to outgrow the yellow-edge GMD prefolds that we have and if they don't have a seconds or thirds sale soon, I will probably replace them with Flips. DH and I both really like the adjustable fit of the Flips and the BG 4.0s.

[rinap]

I'd like to hear about the twin cloth diapering tricks! (as someone who's also cloth diapering twins)

[tank]

I also love prefolds with thirsties duo covers.  I have all types and brands of prefolds because I got most of mine 2nd hand.  The only difference I see in the different brands of prefolds is the fit.  Some are longer, some are wider, some are in between. It all depends on the shape of the baby which you won't know until they are born. 

I also use pocket diapers which I really like because I don't have a dryer and they dry fast.  Also because my guy stays dryer in them at night and for naps if I can determine when he's going to take a nap after a change since he is so young and it varies. 

As far as brands of pockets go, I really liked the thirsties duo pockets for when he was little because they were the first ones to fit good plus he can wear them longer than a perfect size diaper.  I like the bum genious and fuzzibunz one size pockets but they are too expensive for me to buy a lot of them and they take longer to fit when your babes are smaller which they most likely will be because they are twins and twins are usually delivered early.

I have never tried any of the gdiapers or flips or any of those hybrid diapers.

I have tried the all in ones and they seem like they are not worth the money and I like being able to stuff my diapers bigger or smaller with the pockets and prefolds depending on the situation.

ETA :  I also want to say that you won't know what you will love and what will work with your family until you get there.  What was really helpful to me was getting the jillians drawers trial.  It isn't enough diapers to CD full time in but I got others I wanted to try too and quickly learned what I liked.  The ones I didn't like I just sent back and use the money to buy more of the ones I like.

http://jilliansdrawers.com/products/clothdiapers/tryclothfor10/tryclothfor10

[Mama2mc]

We really like kawaii diapers, and the pure&natural fit wonderfully on my newborn. In our experience, they work great and haven't had any leaks. I also love that they're relatively inexpensive! But yes, every baby is different, so do try several brands to see which one is a better fit for your little ones.

[cristeen]

I agree with Tank - you really won't know until you get there.  There are things you need to think about and decisions you can make to narrow the field, but ultimately you have to be flexible for your kids' needs. 

Will the kidlets be put into daycare?  Many daycares will only accept pockets or AIOs if they accept CDs at all.

Do you have your own washing machine or use shared facilities?  For shared facilities I'd avoid all synthetics.

Do you have to line dry?  I'd stick with flats and pockets.

Is budget a big concern?  Flats or pfs are the way to go.

Do you want a OS dipe that will grow with the kids, or would you prefer a sized dipe (if you're planning more kids, sized tend to last better)? 

Do you want all natural fibers or do you want a dipe that will feel dry against their skin (synthetics)? 

How often do you want to be doing laundry, and how complex of a wash routine are you willing to commit to?  AIOs tend to be the most difficult to wash, where flats are the easiest.  Number of dipes will effect frequency of washing, but budget effects number. 

Velcro or snaps?  With twins I'd avoid velcro, honestly.  It wears quicker.

2-piece system (pfs/fitteds w/ cover) or 1-piece (pocket/AIO)?

Customizable absorbency (pocket) or fixed?

There are many more things to think about, but that's a good start.  Twins often come out smaller than singletons, and grow slower as well that first year, but you're not going to know that until they get here.  With my singleton we went through dozens of brands to find one that would fit him properly (snug around the legs to contain poo) until he started chunking out around 9 mos. 

Honestly, unless budget is no issue, with twins I would probably go for PFs and cover until they're walking.  They're a little more difficult to get on, but you can have more of them (for less money) and they wash so much easier.  They also will fit any baby (skinny, chubby, skinny legged, chubby legged, etc.) with a little practice.  I'd go with the GMD sized pfs.  There's definitely a learning curve, but I'd practice a bit on a stuffed animal or doll before they arrive so you have the general idea, and you'll learn from there.  Have plenty of covers on hand (you may even want preemie covers - my 8 lber was too small for NB covers at birth).  Once they're walking, I'd reassess and decide if you want to stick with the pfs until PLing or switch to something like pockets which are easier to use.  I can change my guy while standing in a pocket, but a PF requires him to lie down and hold still, which he's not so good at most of the time. 

I just can't imagine the laundry frequency or stuffing all those pockets with infant twins - with a 2 yo singleton I have a perpetual basket of diaper laundry on my coffee table, and he only goes through 5 or 6 a day.  With PFs, I can just plop them into a stack and move on in about a minute. 

HTH