diaper stash critique « Back to Group Discussions

[persephassa]

i tried to see if there was already a thread like this but i couldn't find one... there were a couple on diaper questions and cloth vs.disposable, etc. so...

i've never had a baby but i really want to do cloth diapering :) this is what i have so far--is there something i'm missing or something we will need more of? i know we'll need more covers eventually but i was going to wait to see which kind will be best--but maybe i need more covers to start out with? most of the ones i bought are one-size, except the thirsties & the wool.

prefolds:

24 GMD yellow edge prefolds

7 workhorse fitteds, small yellow

6 small Osocozy prefolds

3 small sherpa prefolds

3 medium sherpa prefolds

covers (some came with inserts, all are snaps (no velcro)):

3 size 1 thirsties duos

1 small fleece soaker

2 flips

1 fuzzibunz

1 bumgenius

1 grovia

1 blueberry

1 happy heiny’s

3 small wool covers

2 medium wool covers

other:

15 GMD small doublers

10 GMD large doublers

5 sherpa doublers, small

5 sherpa doublers, large

5 pairs safety pins

3 pairs snappis

for travel:

diaper bag

large wet bag

2 small wet bags

small spray bottle

changing pad

laundry:

charlie's soap

baking powder

borax

vinegar

biokleen

babyganics stain remover

3 octopus clippy hanger things from ikea for drying covers

changing:

coconut oil

badger baby balm

weleda calendula cream

50 something cloth wipes

changing pad (need some sort of table... maybe a dresser or the expedit that has 4 spaces + some legs on it)

coffee dispenser (for warm water for wipes)

trash can with step lid (tho i feel like the one i got is too small)

2 pail liners

& do people keep disposables on hand for just-in-case? i was thinking about it but then i decided i'd rather spend the $ on cloth.

Edited by persephassa - 3/4/12 at 11:22am

[Kamiro]

Wow, Roxie! You have quite a stash there...I think it looks like you have enough, and a good variety too! I definitely need to go through mine and get it all organized. Just trying to get through this last term of school first and..oh yeah, quit being lazy lol.

I definitely need to get the laundry and the changing stuff you have. Some of it, anyways. Going to google Charlie's soap. and biokleen. I bought oxyclean, tide, borax, washing soda and vinegar. A teeny bit of Tide goes a long way, but I'm always up for trying new soaps. I dyed almost all of my prefolds except for the organic cloth eeze.

Did you boil your prefolds to fluff them yet?

As for disposables, I always had extremely heavy wetters and sucky cloth diapers. So for travel I always used disposables..this time I am hoping to not use any..but I may just keep a pack of 2's on hand for if an emergency comes up down the road.

[persephassa]

i prewashed everything several times, i don't think they need to be boiled...? the sherpa stuff could use some more washing tho--it's slightly more oily (but so soft!).

we have that cat that has a brain problem and can't walk well or use a litterbox; he pees on his cat beds (we have 3) sometimes (& on the kitchen rugs!!)--the biokleen is great for getting out yucky pee/vomit/whatever stuff (& on carpet, too!). i switched to washing everything with charlie's when we moved here in august, it has been working well--i do 1 scoop of charlies directly in the bin, then 1 scoop baking soda in the detergent slot, and i fill the fabric softener slot with vinegar. varied with biokleen/borax/oxyclean/bleach depending on what i'm washing. we have hard water here (so gross), but so far the charlie's & etc have been working great.

i need to figure out a good wash routine for diapers, too--we have a front loader/HE machine and a dryer. what do people do?

i forgot to add i have lanolin for lanolizing the wool.

[forestmushroom]

I had a huge crisis going from a top loader, to a HE machine. Every one is different, and figuring out which setting has the most water was a lot of trail and error.

With ours I do a rinse without spin on cold, no soap.  This makes the load heavier, and seems to work better. Then I do a hot with soap--regular.  Then I rise on hot until there are no suds or soap *at all*. 

On our machine the delicate load seems to have more water, but it doesn't allow a hot water setting, only warm... I sometimes add baking soda to the wash, and then do one vinegar rinse... but very infrequently.

I've found that flats are the best for the HE machine--they wash up really well, and I love how easy they are to line dry.  But we also use a mixture of prefolds and fitteds... but I've really found that the flats are best all around...

Oh, and you don't have to do many washes and boil, its many washes or boiling...

[BubbleMa]

Wow, I'd say you're set!  :)

[JynxGirl]

You seem to be all set!!!

I'm still sorely lacking in covers and prefolds, but we've put baby things buying on hold until I know if I need to buy preemie sizes or not. :)

[Sky]

I did not see if your using pins or snappi to close. I used pins or nothing depending on the cover I used

[persephassa]

oh  jynx, i hope yr baby stays put for awhile longer (tho it is getting uncomfortable for you!).

& sky, i have both...5 pins / 3 snappis.

[Just1More]

Looks like you've got plenty to work with...

Wanted to add...

I used to use charlie's soap, and thought I loved it, but after a while our clothes started feeling a little greasy sorta, and weren't smelling super fresh.  I started making my own (equal amounts of borax, oxyclean, and washing soda), and it was amazing how much cleaner everything suddenly was.  A friend has been noticing the same thing, and also switched.  She happened to have 2 white sweaters, and washed one with the new soap, then compared it to the other.  She said the change was disgusting.  So, just be certain your stuff really is getting clean with the charlies.  Lately, I've just been using all free and clear.  It's not my favorite option, and I'm not proud of it, but I just don't have the time to deal with mixing my own.  After we moved I was having a hard time finding the stuff to mix it up, so I gave up.

[Kamiro]

I so know what you mean Just1more. I love making home made laundry soap! I needed more liquid though for our washer (its old. everything we own is old but thats ok) so I ended up buying Arm and Hammer. Searching the cd forums I saw a lot of people just used Tide (although small amounts) to wash their dipes in. I bought a bottle (just for dipes and baby clothes - too expensive for all of us to use)

Why is using All free and clear bad?

[Just1More]

I dunno that it's *bad*, I just prefer to use more natural stuff.  I do think that it can build up on synthetic diapers, as I've noticed that I have to use a bit of bleach now and then to combat stink.  It doesn't seem to be a problem with my flats and plain covers. 

[cristeen]

Much easier to see broken down this way:

NB:

24 GMD yellow edge prefolds

6 small Osocozy prefolds

3 small sherpa prefolds

3 size 1 thirsties duos

Sm:

7 workhorse fitteds, small yellow

1 small fleece soaker

2 flips

1 fuzzibunz

1 bumgenius

1 grovia

1 blueberry

1 happy heiny’s

3 small wool covers

Med:

3 medium sherpa prefolds

2 medium wool covers

& do people keep disposables on hand for just-in-case? i was thinking about it but then i decided i'd rather spend the $ on cloth.

*****

Ok, so it looks like you have only 3 covers in NB size.  That's a bit of a problem.  You have a bunch of OS, but I have no idea how any of them are going to fit on a NB (which is why I put them in SM, since most OS do NOT fit NBs). 

I know with my 8 lb DS, we couldn't put him in Sm covers until he was almost 3 mos.  He was in preemie covers to start with, he was so skinny.  And for NB size you only have PFs, so you're going to be going through a LOT of covers.  I'd suggest at least 8.

Small looks fine, since all the pfs under NB are actually Sms. 

Personally, I do not keep sposies on hand.  The only time I've had sposies lying around were when DS had a really bad diaper rash and I didn't want to get the cream on the cloth.  And then our vacation at Xmas we packed half and half. 

You do not need a "changing table" - honestly, we had one, and past the first 2 weeks we NEVER used it.  Literally.  It sat there and became a great big gathering place for random crap.  We change him on the bed, the couch, the floor, whatever - hauling back to the changing table never really happened.  And we've always used cold water, too.  I keep a Klean Kanteen with a sports top with the wipes, and use that to wet them down. 

HTH

ETA - oh, and for those "covers" that came with inserts, if those are actually pocket diapers, they can't be used more than once between washings.  As soon as that inner gets wet, it's going to start smelling.  They can be used as covers, but they do have to be washed with every wearing. 

[forestmushroom]

I do keep sposies on hand for newborn stage--because depending on the shape of the baby, etc. fit of the diaper, sometimes it is harder to keep the umbilical cord away from the diaper until the cord is healed.

My oldest was fine in cloth from birth, but my second son I found it much easier to fold a sposie down and use the newborn size sposie for him until his cord healed all the way (and he was even a bigger baby, so it was just his shape I guess)... same with my DD, but then youngest son was fine in cloth from the start.

So it really depends. But we live literally a block from a market, so other then the newborn stage, I don't keep sposies on hand.  If I do need some while stripping the cloth, washing, etc. I just pop over there and get a pack...

[Sky]

Originally Posted by Just1More 

Looks like you've got plenty to work with...

Wanted to add...

I used to use charlie's soap, and thought I loved it, but after a while our clothes started feeling a little greasy sorta, and weren't smelling super fresh. 

I have never used CS but have had two friends that did shortly, as it cause a rash on there infants...so just be open to maybe making your own or anyway we used "crunchy clean" we just used it on the CDs

http://www.crunchyclean.com/item_11/Cloth-Diaper-Laundry-Cleaner--Regular-Size.htm making your own is ideal though I haven't tried making my own,,,

[Kamiro]

So...regarding crunchy clean soap...what exactly does "Monkey Fart" scent smell like?

I am guessing banana...but really. lol

[Just1More]

Uhm, yeah.  Fart is the exactly the smell I'm trying to avoid, lol.

Cristeen's breakdown does give a good idea of what's what, but as a one-size user, I still think you're okay.  I tend to use the very best fitting ones for when we are going to be out, or overnight, or a long nap or something, and use ones that don't fit quite as well the other times.  Mommy's touch one-size go down ridiculously small, fuzzi bunz do well, happy heiny and haute pockets are bigger.  (The happy heiny still tend to run big on my toddler...I can get them pretty small, but the leftover tabs fall out and sag.) 

That said, my babies start out in the upper 8 to 9lb range, and the last couple haven't lost any weight, so...maybe they just get fat fast, lol.  Most of them seem to have really skinny legs in the beginning, but, like I said, some of my os covers go down really small so that isn't a problem.  Prefolds can be folded down to work for the first couple weeks, so, there ya' go.

[alittlesandy]

Originally Posted by cristeen 

You do not need a "changing table" - honestly, we had one, and past the first 2 weeks we NEVER used it.  Literally.  It sat there and became a great big gathering place for random crap.  We change him on the bed, the couch, the floor, whatever - hauling back to the changing table never really happened.  And we've always used cold water, too.  I keep a Klean Kanteen with a sports top with the wipes, and use that to wet them down. 

I know I'm always arguing this point with everyone on Mothering, lol, but I really, really needed a changing table (we use a changing table topper on a dresser). My back cannot handle leaning over a bed or couch or kneeling on the floor. A changing table or dresser with changing pad is the perfect height. I also like having everything in one place. We still use ours and DS is three!

As for sposies, I second the PP who uses them only in the newborn stage. We used them until the umbilical cord healed. Then only cloth until DS was about two, then sposies at night and for traveling, since at that point he became a heavy wetter.

I managed to get by with only 4 newborn covers, but we hang ours up to dry between changing. I found that they don't hold an odor until the baby is around one years old. As DS got older we used more like ten covers because they had to be washed with each changing.

ETA: Here is the stash I had for DS, which I will be re-using with DD:

12 newborn prefolds (orange edge)

20 infant prefolds (yellow edge)

24 MEOS (Mother-Ease One Size)--LOVE THESE and can't recommend them enough

Thirsties covers (about 4 newborn, 6 small, and 10 each medium and large)

Misc. fleece and wool covers and soakers (I find these work well under a thirsties at night)

Cloth wipes in a wipe warmer (we wet them with water only and keep them damp in the warmer)

Ecos laundry detergent

[Sky]

Originally Posted by Onemoreontheway 

So...regarding crunchy clean soap...what exactly does "Monkey Fart" scent smell like?

I am guessing banana...but really. lol

ROFLMBO!

I know REALLY monkey farts LOL! I have smelled this in a sample. I don't like it because it smells like bananas and then mixed with strawberries and some other fruity fuit, but some love it. Go figure they want to smell monkey farts LOL I don't like the smell of bananas at all so it doesn't work for me. I like pink sugar :-), baby bee and baby bee clean.

[Masel]

I repurposed another piece of furniture for a changing table and used it all the time as well. DD1 especially had a number of issues with rashes and I liked having all my tools in one place. 

I also just used room temp water. I'd keep it in a squirt bottle. Most of the time I'd squirt the cloth wipes but occasionally I'd squirt the water directly on the messy bottom. (Don't want to do that on the sofa.) It was good to irrigate an especially rashy bottom. I could float out the mess rather than going at it with even my softest clot

We keep disposables on hand. Sometimes I just like to go really light weight. I can put one diaper and a baggy of wipes in my tiny purse and not have to worry about a diaper bag. It's great for when I take both kids to somewhere like the local children's museum. Also, my mom has arthritis in her thumbs and finds the snaps on our Motherease diaper difficult to manipulate so when she watches my girls I stock the bag with disposables.

[persephassa]

i'm just going to get a small dresser or a shelving unit thing that can be repurposed later (in my office!), not an actual changing table... even if i don't actually use it for changing, we could use the drawers / places to put things :)

& nothing is in the NB size, and i only got yellow edge prefolds & fitteds, + 3 thirsties, 1 fleece soaker & 3 wool soakers, all of which are the same size when i look at them (tho if baby is small i won't have anything--but we have amazon prime tho so i can get stuff quickly). i was about 7 lbs 6 oz, so i am guessing baby might be similar? but who knows. i read on one forum, either here or diaperswappers, that flips can be folded a certain way for tiny sizes, so i might try that... i know the pockets will need to be dried & etc, i just bought different kinds so i could see what will be best for us & then i will get more OS pockets or covers or whatever in whatever style seems to work, or maybe just prefolds & covers... 

i don't know, i thought about buying newborn sized stuff but i've read so many times that some people's babies don't fit them, so i didn't bother--it seems like that stage doesn't last long for some people anyhow? it is so hard to tell what will happen :) i guess my backup plan is just to use 7th gen disposables for NB, and then switch to cloth, if that's what we need to do.

& good to know about charlie's! i have read that it doesn't work at all for some people, it seems to depend on the water in your area or... something? so far it has been great, we have that disgusting cat and his laundry comes out wonderful. 

thanks for all the suggestions, it is so helpful to think about & try to sort out what to do!