New to Cloth Diapering - Suggestions? « Back to Group Discussions

[Mittens]

Hi there!

So, i really want to cloth diaper this time around. I'm most interested in one size diapers (or at least 8 pounds to 30 pounds) because apparently i'm a big baby maker. I don't have a lot of money to spend on them. Been thinking about Econobum, and wondered what other brands might be good for what i'm looking for. Anyone have any suggestions? I'd really appreciate it. I've been pouring over the internet and quite honestly, becoming a bit overwhelmed at all the different types and brands.

Thanks!!

[Mittens]

One question i have is, if i got Thirsties covers, could i buy any inserts i want, or even make them myself?

[BRC_MacKenzie]

I love Thirsies Duos and prefolds. The Duos are technically two sizes fits all, not one, but they are pretty inexpensive if used with prefolds and mine have held up all through baby 1 and I was just deciding if I needed to get new ones for baby #2 but I really don't think I do, they still look good. And yes, you could make your own fitteds, or even prefolds to go in them. I haven't ever done it but I have several friends that made both fitteds and prefolds from flannel and t-shirts and they say it isn't hard. 

It can be really overwhelming looking at diapers but the good news is that I've used a lot of different types and companies and while Thirsties and prefolds is still my favorite, they almost all were fine. I only had one or two diapers that really just didn't work with my kid. So I don't think you can go too wrong.

[ArtificialRed]

First, I should say I am only planning on CDing, I have no experience actually doing it yet, but I've really researched the couple of things you've brought up.

I have thirsties duo size one covers and flip covers. Both I was graciously given (most barely used!) but after all my research I think those are the ones I would have picked anyway. I did buy a couple econobum covers before I was given the other ones, and I'm not really impressed with them, they seem very flimsy. I was also given a bunch of stay-dry flip inserts but I am also planning on buying/making some prefolds and fitteds for better coverage. You can absolutely use whatever you want inside of a cover, that's the beauty of it! I have a few of these prefolds in the works, by Adventures in Fluff, if you're interested in making some. There's also a handmade baby items thread way down on the first (or on the top of the second) page where some of the other women have discussed making diapers.

My question for all you seasoned veterans is about detergent. What have you had success with? I will want something natural and Cruelty-Free.

Oh, and one more! For those who brought their CDs to the hospital or started as soon as you got home, did you have any problems with the umbilical cord? We are debating how long we want to use disposables for before switching. I don't have any newborn CDs and I don't want to bother the umbilical cord by using the thirsties cover.

[Lucy Alden]

I've only ever used prefolds with bummis covers. After going through three kids the prefolds have disintegrated. The cheapest I've found are these. For about $100 you can get three dozen smalls and two dozen larges which will last from birth to potty training. You'll need covers which can vary from $ to $$$$.

My cousin really likes these. They are the cheapest one size pocket diapers I've seen. She's diapering twins and swears by them. You can get 24 covers and 48 inserts for $130.

Both of the above have free shipping.

I know lots of people who have several different brands and systems. For me, I like to stick with one system to make it easier. I'm debating whether to stick with prefolds or try pocket diapers. My only real concern with pocket diapers is EBF poop blow out. Also, I'm not super excited about a man made material against baby skin.

[BRC_MacKenzie]

If you like prefolds, I'd stick with them. I have several different brands of pockets (happy heinies, fuzzibunz, bumgenius 3.0 and 4.0) and really don't like any of them. I thought I'd find them more convenient than prefolds but stuffing them is a pain, I don't feel like they get as clean, they wear out faster, and I have leaks - not all the time but enough that it is annoying and I never have leaks with prefolds unless I do a bad job with "tuckage" and have wicking. I know some people will start rioting because they love their pockets so keep in mind that is just my opinion but I'd stick with what I know works. 

Also, I use and love country save for all our laundry now. I have very sensitive skin so switching to a cd safe detergent was a big worry for me (case in point - I just spent 2 weeks in a hotel and the towels/sheets gave me a rash probably because of the detergent). I buy it from amazon and while it may seem expensive, it lasts forever! (I'm only on my second box of 4 and DD is over 2 and we use it for cloth 2-3x week plus regular laundry). 

We used cloth from the very first diaper and didn't have an issue with the umbilical cord. We have a couple prowraps with the cutout but also used Thirsties 1. The prefold is so thick, even the newborn sized ones, that it seems to hold the cover top slightly away from the belly button. We also didn't have any meconium issues. That was my other big concern with starting right away and it turned out to be a non-issue.I had made little liners but gave up on them and we barely got meconium staining at all - the few that did were gone after a couple hours in the sun. 

[MadiMamacita]

the problem with choosing a system before your baby is here is that not all babies are the same shape and size, so what is great and easy and leakproof for one baby might be a horrible sloppy mess for another.
That is actually my main issue with investing in all one type of system because as your baby grows the diapers might not work as well as they did before. I have a hodge podge collection of diapers including almost every type of diaper from commercial to wahm to homemade and I really enjoy that flexibility. I can't estimate how much my stash cost because I bought a lot at yard sales, craigslist, ebay, and diaperswappers, where I got a bunch of free-for-shipping items, like bum genius with bad elastic that was easy to replace, etc.

Honestly, I went into CD thinking I was going to use all BumGenius, but I ended up much preferring the flexibility of prefolds and covers. Plus for the first few months any type of PUL gave my DS an instant diaper rash so I used a lot of wool in the beginning until he got past that stage.

as far as detergent, I had a lot of luck with Arm and Hammer Free with an occasional vinegar rinse (and I'll admit it, sometimes bleach!) I'm hoping to make my own detergent next time.

[Mittens]

WOw. Thanks everyone!! I'm still trying to understand what prefolds are, or rather, if they are a stand alone diaper or if i need to put a cover over top of them? Or if that is simply a choice. Thanks!!

[Carlin]

Prefolds absolutely need a cover (at least if you are going to leave the house and at night.) They are a simple rectangle of multilayer cotton. You can pin them, use a fastener like a snappie, or just lay them in a cover. Green Mountain has a pretty good intro to prefolds here: http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/prefolds.htm#fold

[MadiMamacita]

for anyone interested in prefolds- I had a variety of covers that I used with DS and I really liked Bummis Super Whisper Wraps and Super Brites, but when DS was about to grow out of the biggest sizes I had (mediums, I think) I didn't want to invest in much more diapering supplies because I figured he'd be done with diapers soon. I ended up getting Kawaii Baby diaper covers on Ebay which were pretty cheap and I never had leaking problems with them. I got the snaps because i was sick of velcro and they were super adjustable.

I was just looking at some diaper sites and the Kawaii covers are less than half the price of some of the other brands like bummis http://www.sweetbottomsbaby.com/Kawaii-Baby-One-Size-Cover_p_97.html
Edited by MadiMamacita - 6/18/12 at 8:26pm

[Carson]

I can't quote Madimamacita's post but want to give it a big 'here, here!'. Even expecting a bigger baby, they are still so small compared to a toddlers bum!. IME one sized covers are one thing, but the soft fluff that goes inside should be sized appropriately for baby.

I really liked having a variety of the different types of diaper at each phase. Prefolds were easy to wash and cheap, but DH preferred fitteds. When DS was bigger, we liked AIOs for ease, but I was back onto prefolds because of how easy they were to wash out stinky toddler pee. I really think it is wise advice to dabble and see how things go and your baby and lifestyle before getting invested up front in one system.

No advice from me on detergent, I had a heck of a time battling ammonia from about a year onwards. I think it was a combo of our hard water, using the various sized dipes longer and a kid who didn't drink very much.

[katt]

I like prefolds.  They dry faster and you can use them alone - with a snappie - or just laid in a cover.  You'd obviously need a cover if you want clothes and what not to stay dry.  :)  Since you fold them, they are adjustable to your baby's size.

I have a multitude of different kinds of diapers.  Some homemade, some refurbished, some given, a very very small handful were purchased on CL.  Most were given to me.  Thank goodness for kind friends.  

There's a good website, i'll see if I can link it for here, that has a WHOLE huge list of detergents and how good they are for CD or not.

Just a sec..

Here we go:
http://pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm

[MadiMamacita]

I started doing an extra rinse AND a short pre-wash and that mostly took care of my ammonia problems.

[Carson]

ETA, ah we had a front loader too. We did extra wash and rinse cycles. I am really going to investigate using some kind of wet pail this time. I don't want to discourage anyone, I just couldn't find what worked for our scenario. But I will be so excited to wash EBM poo, lol, that stuff is a dream to get out.

[Mittens]

Anybody here ever use gDiapers?
 

[Monkey Keeper]

Originally Posted by Carson 

ETA, ah we had a front loader too. We did extra wash and rinse cycles. I am really going to investigate using some kind of wet pail this time. I don't want to discourage anyone, I just couldn't find what worked for our scenario. But I will be so excited to wash EBM poo, lol, that stuff is a dream to get out.

I really think it's a lack of water (we deal with ammonia/stink too and a FL washer). I've been playing with some suggestions I've seen online and getting *better* results, but it still takes the better part of a day to wash my diapers :(  I think I'm going to beg DH to hook up our old TL in the basement just for washing dipes since I will have 2 in diapers once baby arrives.

I wet pailed for a while when I only was using prefolds, and it helped somewhat. But rinsing with cold water before pailing worked just as well. It's definitely an ongoing experiment with hard water and a FL machine!

gDiapers--I have not used them personally, but IMO they are pricey for what they are. From the many conversations I've had, there are better options out there if you want a hybrid system (both cloth and disposable inserts) like GroVia or Flip. They're not flushable, but I also have heard that gDiapers can wreak havoc on plumbing.

[Lazurite]

We've used g-diapers before. I had the disposable inserts. Putting them in the covers was slightly annoying/time consuming.  I think they'd be fine with the cloth inserts they sell but I haven't used them so I can't really say. I just couldn't see the point of the disposable insert when you have to wash the cover anyway. Maybe I'm just not into hybrid diapers. Plus they are expensive. They didn't leak though.

[katt]

my friend always said g-diapers (before they had washable inserts) were the worst of both worlds, washing and tossing.

[JuicyPakwan]

Katt thanks for the detergent list that was great to have it broken down so completely.

I use prefolds with covers and snappi's for me it is the simplest time wise.  I have cloth diapered all five of my kids and have used/made almost everything and I do like AIO's for being out in public, and people love them so they're great for spreading the word about going cloth, but the drying time and smell build up can be frusteratingso I've gone back to prefolds. 

As far as front load wash machines I'ved heard so many complaints from my friends about them that I'm sticking with my 15 year old washer until I'm done with cloth diapers.  It seems the consensus from them is it simply doesn't run enough water through?  Is that what you guys have experienced?

[JuicyPakwan]

Oops I just saw that Monkey keeper addressed the water problem I need to read more carefully.