Cloth diapers. - Page 3 « Back to Group Discussions

[katelove]

We used snappied flats with thirsties covers when J was a newborn. We just wiped the inside of the cover with the flannel if it felt damp from pee.

[QMtwins]

We use cloth with our 2 year old twins.  And, plan on using them with this next set.  I do need to get some newborn ones as we had those loaned to us last time.  Already have been looking around and got a small lot on e-bay. 

We have dealt with that stink issue...use fuzzi bunz and have a front loader HE.  All in all, I stripped and actually bleached the liners and then now only wash them on the sanitary or white cycles (which have extra rinses) and use no soap.  My theory is that all the soap doesn't come out and residue builds up and hence the amonnia stink and burning my kiddo's bottoms. 

[Thyme Mama]

Originally Posted by QMtwins 

We use cloth with our 2 year old twins.  And, plan on using them with this next set.  I do need to get some newborn ones as we had those loaned to us last time.  Already have been looking around and got a small lot on e-bay. 

We have dealt with that stink issue...use fuzzi bunz and have a front loader HE.  All in all, I stripped and actually bleached the liners and then now only wash them on the sanitary or white cycles (which have extra rinses) and use no soap.  My theory is that all the soap doesn't come out and residue builds up and hence the amonnia stink and burning my kiddo's bottoms. 

The HE FL's use so little water I think that the no-soap/as-many-rinses-as-possible-technique is the trick too. I am still considering picking up a cheap top-loader off Craigslist JUST for washing diapers (and doing tie dyes) because all that water I think is the key to getting dipes really clean.

[sere234]

I ordered some Chinese prefolds on Cotton Babies last week and they arrived the very next day (free shipping too!). The delivery person rang the doorbell (made the dog bark) during DS's nap so that was the only downer . 

I bought 20 preemie prefolds for the first week or so of LO's life (DS was 7lb14oz and the newborn ones were still big on him for several days). Also 10 newborn and few extra covers. They are all tucked away in the outgrown cloth diapers bag, waiting to be unpacked in a few months.

Now I just have to wait for the baby! 

[forumyonly1]

what are your favorite newborn covers?? 

my dd was 8lbs 3oz when she was born, but gestated a full two weeks longer than any of my boys.. and my biggest boy was 7lbs 6oz. so i can't imagine having a baby bigger than 8.5lbs but i could be wrong i suppose. either way i will need some newborn covers. what are your suggestions??

[oikophile]

Originally Posted by forumyonly1 

what are your favorite newborn covers?? 

my dd was 8lbs 3oz when she was born, but gestated a full two weeks longer than any of my boys.. and my biggest boy was 7lbs 6oz. so i can't imagine having a baby bigger than 8.5lbs but i could be wrong i suppose. either way i will need some newborn covers. what are your suggestions??

i second this question! first-timer here and i'm getting 3 dozen hand-me-down prefolds from a friend but only one cover. and how many covers will we need? trying to keep things simple.

[Bmorefarmgirl]

I got the thirsties duo wrap covers and I just bought three of them. That's all we used for the first year or so, I think. I hand washed them when they got dirty and let them air dry. We have been building up our stash significantly since then and have a pretty big collection that we got piecemeal from diaper swappers.com and friends and stuff. It's so nice not having to wash poopy diaper covers by hand! But we just wanted to start with the bare minimum, and it worked fine for us. Now we are spoiled. But I liked building slowly with hand-me-downs. We got to try many kinds of diapers and never had to shell out $$$$$ at once. Just dribs and drabs over the past 2.5 years.

ETA: thirsties duos come in 2 sizes and snap down to get smaller. The small size is for 8 to 20lbs I believe. We used it before my son was 8lbs. It worked fine because the enormous diaper filled it put for him!

[sere234]

I got 3-4 Thirsties Covers in each size (not the one size fits all cover). This time I added in a couple Proraps Clasics since I've heard good things about them. For some reason, DS's EBF poop seemed to leak out more when he was tiny (probably too big prefolds and covers) so I got extra for the newborn stage. Anyways, I've heard and found it's good to have 3-5 covers. We washed diapers every 2-3 days. 

[CindyCindy]

My fav newborn covers are Imse Vimse.  As much as thirsties rock, I have never loved that thin plasticy feel.  Imse Vimses have that soft organic cotton layer on the outside that is nice to the touch.  Although I also hate velcro...and love that thirsties come in the snaps.  I say stay away from the grovia onesize covers for newborns, or the system.  I hated the way they fit my little girl, they were so bulky and bunchy.  I am still a sucker for wool though and kiwipies are the softest ones I have tried yet!  Love, love, love wool covers!

[forumyonly1]

Thanks ladies

[Thyme Mama]

Originally Posted by CindyCindy 

My fav newborn covers are Imse Vimse.  As much as thirsties rock, I have never loved that thin plasticy feel.  Imse Vimses have that soft organic cotton layer on the outside that is nice to the touch.  Although I also hate velcro...and love that thirsties come in the snaps.  I say stay away from the grovia onesize covers for newborns, or the system.  I hated the way they fit my little girl, they were so bulky and bunchy.  I am still a sucker for wool though and kiwipies are the softest ones I have tried yet!  Love, love, love wool covers!

Imse Vimse wool covers are my favorite too. They just fit so nicely and are so easy to use with prefolds and newborns.

[rad]

My stash is pretty  much set. Most o my diapers from my older kids are in great shape, especially the NB size cause they outgrow them so fast.

I have about 2.5 dozen NB fitteds, Imse Vimse wool and PUL covers and several mama knitted woolies. I would like to make a few more soakers and longies though.

Once they're out of those, I use Muttaqin baby onesize fitteds with Motherease airflow covers or mama knitted woolies. I have a good 4-5 dozen Mutt OS since I have had 2-3 in diapers in the past.

[oikophile]

Thanks for all the recommendations. Our neighbor who has a 1yo and 3yo basically sold me on wool covers over the weekend. They sound like they're not too hard to make from old sweaters, either. Anyone tried this?

[CindyCindy]

Originally Posted by oikophile 

Thanks for all the recommendations. Our neighbor who has a 1yo and 3yo basically sold me on wool covers over the weekend. They sound like they're not too hard to make from old sweaters, either. Anyone tried this?

Wool covers are by far my favorite.  I have had several friends purchase wool sweaters at the thrift store and then convert them to either covers or longies. They look lovely and work fantastic.  I personally am not too terribly crafty and also hate going thrift store shopping.      So, my favorites have been purchasing Kiwi Pies.  I also have a kissaluvs and sweet peas (which are no longer made).  We will probably do almost exclusively wool.  I am even thinking of getting rid of all my grovia stash as I hate them....I don't know why I keep using them.

[katealicia]

First-timer here, too. Right now I am planning on doing organic prefolds during the day and fitteds for night-time. I'm thinking I'll use the Thirsties covers and also a lot of mama-made woolies. For those of your who knit the wool covers, what patterns (preferably on Ravelry) are your favourites?

[sycsibert]

Hi guys!  I am a bit overwhelmed with the whole cloth diaper thing, so I am considering diaper service for the first couple of months and then buying and washing my own.  Can someone recommend services and brands and actually spell out.  The initials thin is not working for me;)  Thanks!

[faithsstuff]

For all you first timers- don't be scared!  It is overwhelming but if you try a few styles/brands you'll quickly choose your favs.  There are so many types and ways to wash, but there's a ton of support online if you hit a wall.  The hardest part for our family is doing laundry so often :)

I have some pocket diapers for this next one (b/c there was a huge diaper consignment sale) but our stash built on prefolds and covers.  I love that no matter what shaped baby I have or what thier bathroom quirks are, I can meet them with prefolds.  Also, for most of the year we line dry diapers and I like that they dry quickly.

I would love to give wool a shot but it's out of our budget.  Well, let me ask, for those of you who do use wool, how many do you buy per size?  How often do you have change them out?  How often and how do you wash them?  ANyone in Atlanta want to lead a 'make wool longies from an old sweater' workshop?  ;)

[CindyCindy]

Originally Posted by sycsibert 

Hi guys!  I am a bit overwhelmed with the whole cloth diaper thing, so I am considering diaper service for the first couple of months and then buying and washing my own.  Can someone recommend services and brands and actually spell out.  The initials thin is not working for me;)  Thanks!

If you want to go with a diaper services, you have to use the diapers they specify.  In my opinion washing them is pretty easy.  You just have to get som.me cloth diaper friendly soap and learn a routine, that's it.  On another note with diaper services, they mostly use bleach, because they have to disinfect the dipes.

I hate acronyms as well and you pretty much won't catch me using them.

AIO: All in Ones - these are the diaper and the cover in ONE, they get washed together and dried together.  Easy to use, but the most expensive.

[faithsstuff]

I went through my stash yesterday and did some stripping I thought I'd share what I have and ask a question or two.

I have 19 preemie prefolds- I thought these were newborn size when I bought them.  If this new one can't use them we'll use them as soakers.

25 Small size prefolds, these are super soft and quilty so I'm looking forward to using them.

Here's the wonky bit:

I have about 40 old Amway fitteds.  I have no idea how I got ahold of these.  They are a good size and shape and are cotton, they are made of 3 layers of thin cotton with a thin soaker sewn in.  However they have a layer of plastic sewn into the body to the diaper, between layers 2 and 3.  I did a little exploratory cutting and found that if I cut the short side of the diaper, I can turn it inside out and cut out the plastic layer.  I can also replace any elastic while I'm there.  Then I would just turn it right side out and sew the one seem I cut.  I wasn't sure these suckers were worth the effort, but then I washed them.  They have fluffed up very nicely.  They also have very thin velcro across the front, probably less then 1/2 inch wide and thin tabs, but I thought I could use a snappi if need be.  They are the same size as the prefolds so I would expect them to go to about 20 pounds. Out of curiosity, would y'all go to the trouble of modifying these?

I also have 9 usable Haute Pockets one size from ds (we bought these used but didn't use them as ds was done with diapers by 2 1/2), they have two part inserts that are super thick, one larger one and one smaller that can snap together.  I have maybe 15 sets of the insets/soakers.  Here's the thing, they smell like chlorine.  I have stripped the suckers, rinsed in vinegar and finally washed with our Dr Bronners laundry detergent mix and I think they may not smell anymore.  Anyone have any ideas why they would smell like this?  I love the inserts b/c the smaller size fits perfectly into the fitteds or just into a diaper cover.

I also have 2 Kawaii's and 2 rumparoos one size.  

Covers:

2 Bummi newborn 

2 thirsties duo size one

then some larger size from ds 

That's alot!  There was a 'great diaper change' diaper consignment sale so I stocked up with uber cheap prices.  I only plan to use all in ones for traveling or pics or maybe when older.  We really prefered  prefolds with ds b/c of ease of washing/drying and budget.  I was trying to figure out how to afford contour diapers so I hope the Amway ones will work for us.  I think I need to add a couple covers, what are the favs?

I would also like to try wool, I just don't quite understand how folks use them, how you care for them, why ppl prefer them. I can't spend nearly 50 dollars on one cover and it not have magical properties, know what I mean?  Are the hand knitted ones out there as good as the manufactured ones?  If you could buy one wool on sale or 3 'regular' covers, which would you chose?  And how long do they fit for? Do I need to buy a new size every month?

lol, sorry so long, I had no idea, if you've made it this far  this is for you. 

[finnegansmom]

I probably would not try to salvage those old diapers - you mentioned the word "thin".  That's a warning.  Just because they fit up to a 20# baby doesn't not mean they can contain the urine of a 20# baby.  I have zero tolerance for thin/cheap diapers I need to change every 30 minutes never mind changing outfits on top of that.  I would either use them as is for newborn or get rid of them.

If you are going to do the prefolds under a cover, I might suggest getting a few more newborn covers.  I like to have 6-8 on hand.  I find blowouts happen a lot and I'm almost always changing the covers as well as the prefold.  I trifold and don't use a snappi, so maybe that's why but they tend to be cheap enough and easy to resell.  I really like the Thirsties covers in xs for newborns.  I have bigger babies and they fit great with room to grow still.  The little cut out for the cord is perfect and they are soft.  The bummis are nice too but a little stiffer IMO.  I've bought all Thirsties for this time around.

I used to use a lot of wool but I just don't have the time or energy now to "deal".  The handwashing, and the hanging to dry, lanolizing to make it more waterproof, etc.

I have a few pairs of longies leftover from my others but I refuse to ever use wool covers on a newborn again.  I had all interlock covers for my second son as a newborn with these adorable fitteds and yes, they looked super cute.  But every other time I changed him, there would be poo on the leg bands of the soaker - so here I am 10 days pp standing at my bathroom sink scrubbing poo stains from a wool soaker with an old toothbrush over and over again.  Eh.....all set with that.

I like wool because it is warm and of course cute.  I prefer knitted longies, for a baby not walking you can buy bigger and roll them up.  Once a baby is crawling/walking eating finger foods you will be washing them pretty much every time they are worn.  I have sold all my fitteds but I kept some of the wool longies to wear as pants.  Why not try fleece?  If you have a sewing machine you can make soakers and longies for cheap.  Or buy fleece pants at old navy or wherever.  Not organic like some wool but a good way have breathable covers for little money. 

Oh and those diapers might have smelled like chlorine because they were bleached before being put away??  My inserts will smell chlorine-y after being bleached sometimes.....

Originally Posted by faithsstuff 

Here's the wonky bit:

I have about 40 old Amway fitteds.  I have no idea how I got ahold of these.  They are a good size and shape and are cotton, they are made of 3 layers of thin cotton with a thin soaker sewn in.  However they have a layer of plastic sewn into the body to the diaper, between layers 2 and 3.  I did a little exploratory cutting and found that if I cut the short side of the diaper, I can turn it inside out and cut out the plastic layer.  I can also replace any elastic while I'm there.  Then I would just turn it right side out and sew the one seem I cut.  I wasn't sure these suckers were worth the effort, but then I washed them.  They have fluffed up very nicely.  They also have very thin velcro across the front, probably less then 1/2 inch wide and thin tabs, but I thought I could use a snappi if need be.  They are the same size as the prefolds so I would expect them to go to about 20 pounds. Out of curiosity, would y'all go to the trouble of modifying these?

I also have 9 usable Haute Pockets one size from ds (we bought these used but didn't use them as ds was done with diapers by 2 1/2), they have two part inserts that are super thick, one larger one and one smaller that can snap together.  I have maybe 15 sets of the insets/soakers.  Here's the thing, they smell like chlorine.  I have stripped the suckers, rinsed in vinegar and finally washed with our Dr Bronners laundry detergent mix and I think they may not smell anymore.  Anyone have any ideas why they would smell like this?  I love the inserts b/c the smaller size fits perfectly into the fitteds or just into a diaper cover.

I also have 2 Kawaii's and 2 rumparoos one size.  

Covers:

2 Bummi newborn 

2 thirsties duo size one

then some larger size from ds 

That's alot!  There was a 'great diaper change' diaper consignment sale so I stocked up with uber cheap prices.  I only plan to use all in ones for traveling or pics or maybe when older.  We really prefered  prefolds with ds b/c of ease of washing/drying and budget.  I was trying to figure out how to afford contour diapers so I hope the Amway ones will work for us.  I think I need to add a couple covers, what are the favs?

I would also like to try wool, I just don't quite understand how folks use them, how you care for them, why ppl prefer them. I can't spend nearly 50 dollars on one cover and it not have magical properties, know what I mean?  Are the hand knitted ones out there as good as the manufactured ones?  If you could buy one wool on sale or 3 'regular' covers, which would you chose?  And how long do they fit for? Do I need to buy a new size every month?

lol, sorry so long, I had no idea, if you've made it this far  this is for you.