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anyone planning on cloth diapers?

5K views 35 replies 16 participants last post by  CorinneVT 
#1 · (Edited)
I have been having a little fun this time and bought a few Aio and fitted newborn size. Usually I use pre-fold and covers which are still my overall favorite however I thought it would be fun to mix it up this time.

I got 6 kissaluvs's fitted size 0 with a soaker, 4 Blueberry newborn fitted, 4 Clover newborn fitted, 3 small pul pull on covers and 1 stacinator fleece, 2 newborn Joey's Aio, 4 newborn imagine Aio's, 1 kissaluvs's Aio and 1 Grovia newborn aio.

So what are you using?
 
#2 ·
For the newborn size I have a mix of about 9 covers, 18 prefolds, 3 fitteds, 6 pockets, and 15 aios. A dozen of the aio's are Imagine's which I haven't used before but am really liking the look of. I got 6 each of the bamboo and the stay-dry.

For our one-size I am still not entirely decided but we want to go with aio's and probably all the same brand because my older girls are helping me out with diapering and I want to streamline the process for all of us as much as possible. Right now we have an eclectic mix of pockets, snap-in's, and aios and they get a little confused about what goes with what. I am leaning toward the one-size Imagine's because they are a pretty good price, but I want to get one first to make sure I like them.
 
#3 ·
I just bought a dozen newborn size GMD workhorse prefitteds. I used the medium size with my last baby and they were my favorite diaper overall. Not as cheap as regular prefolds or flats, but about the next cheapest thing and they are so absorbent! I also love using cotton b/c it's so durable - I hated having to try to find a special washing routine with other diapers, lol.
 
#4 ·
I cloth diapered 2 kids. So i have a lot. mostly AIO and inserts. few prefolds and covers.
I have 12 newborn AIO, mostly grovia I think + another brand (can't remember). I am looking forward to using them again.
I got to use the newborn size only 1 month with DS2, since he was too big (they are meant up to 14 pounds, but he was over 11 at birth). So it was a bit expensive,. I am happy to use it again, to justify the price!
 
#7 ·
We're using a combination of prefolds and flats. I prefer flats because they truly last from the newborn stage through toddlerhood. Plus they are thin so they air dry super quick. I use Dappi covers. I can usually get 2 dappi covers for around $5 and they're pretty durable. I also have a stash of Wonder Wraps covers that I bought on clearance and use a lot.

I love (and lust after) all the cute fitted diapers, but I just don't want to spend the money. I've tried a couple brands that I got good deals on, but they always ended up leaking and frustrating me. I know if I were to spend more money this likely wouldn't happen.

However, I wouldn't mind getting 2-4 overnight diapers that will wish moisture away from baby's skin. (I'm talking about the older months, not the newborn stage. Any recommendations for affordable overnight diapers?
 
#8 ·
I'm talking about the older months, not the newborn stage. Any recommendations for affordable overnight diapers?
Best Bottoms is a two-part diaper - the cover + a snap-in insert. Unlike pockets you can change out the inserts and reuse the cover. http://www.nickisdiapers.com/best-bottom.html - one cover + three overnight inserts would be about $38, cheaper if you wanted just the regular stay-dry inserts which I found to work fine for overnights but may depend on how heavy your baby wets.

Imagines have pockets and stay-dry aios for $10.95 each http://www.nickisdiapers.com/One-Size-Diapers_c_2522.html
 
#10 ·
We are expecting our second in January and we plan to cloth diaper! We have a two year old now so to prepare I bought a variety of pre-owned cloth diapers to test on him for the weekend. I found I was mostly attracted to the all in one pocket diapers, they seemed the most modern and user-friendly.
We also have a local cloth diapering boutique that offers "101" classes and support groups!

We haven't had a lot of support from our family on this issue, however, I'm totally not intimidated by the thought of cloth diapering or lack of support for that matter. Financially it just makes sense for us. While I'll agree it's not for everyone I do think moms should take a look at how advanced today's cloth diapers are! My advance to people considering this is to buy a few pre-owned cloth diapers (which are dramatically cheaper) to see if it's something you can stick with. Good luck to all!
 
#11 ·
Hi all,

I'm expecting my first child, and feel very confused with all this cloth diaper talk! For me there is no other option, but suddenly I read all these types: fold ins, prefolds, this brand and that....and I live somewhere (Tel Aviv) where I can't physically go into a store and see, so I will be ordering online.

Can anyone simply explain the options or refer me to a website that does?

Thanks everyone, so nice to participate in this forum :)

Ashley
 
#17 ·
Hi all,

I'm expecting my first child, and feel very confused with all this cloth diaper talk! For me there is no other option, but suddenly I read all these types: fold ins, prefolds, this brand and that....and I live somewhere (Tel Aviv) where I can't physically go into a store and see, so I will be ordering online.

Can anyone simply explain the options or refer me to a website that does?

Thanks everyone, so nice to participate in this forum :)

Ashley
I highly recommend "All About Cloth Diapers" - she has TONS of posts explaining every question you could possible have regarding cloth diapers. allaboutclothdiapers.com/
 
#14 ·
For those new to cloth pre folds and covers are really the way to go in my opinion. They have great absorbency, are cheap, launder easily etc..

For my first 3 that's all I used and for all 3 combined did not spend more than $100 total. For the next 3 I used prefolds and dabbled in making some homemade aio's. For this baby #7 it's the first time I have had a little money to play with so I have gotten some fluff newborn but pre folds are always my fall back.

I have some bestbottoms but haven't tried them yet they were too small for my last one I plan to try them sooner this time.
I've been looking at my aio Joey's and think I will sell them they just look way to small for one of my newborns. Has anyone used them before?
 
#15 ·
For those new to cloth pre folds and covers are really the way to go in my opinion. They have great absorbency, are cheap, launder easily etc..
They also make really great postpartum momma cloth. And tons of other uses in the house if you decide you want to go with a different type of diaper for your baby.

I forgot to mentions snaps! If you are planning to use these diapers on more than one child get snaps, not aplix. They last a lot longer.
 
#16 ·
My recently gifted Sunbaby Stash...

So my parents are generally not very "crunchy" but they know I'm trying to be $ savvy as a single mom. So my step mom recently saw a woman was selling her entire Sun Baby stash and was kind enough to buy it for me. Not sure if they are the size 1s or 2s, we'll see once I pull out the rest of my meager random stash I had been collecting (not having been sure what kind of CDs I wanted to do) and compare sizes. :) Some of the prints are dorky, but gosh it's almost a whole stash - I won't complain! 21 diapers and 48 microfiber inserts.
 

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#18 ·
I cloth diapered all three of mine. We had a mix to begin with. The AIO's were nice for going to town and that ended up being all we used them for. I really didn't care for the fitteds much. They fit nice and were cute but not waterproofed at all and you still needed a cover. Our favorite and most used were flats or prefolds with covers. I used the regular (PUL type) covers during the day and the wool or fleece at night and it worked great. Prefolds were nice and easy but the flats were just as easy once you got use to them. I would fold them to be ready to lay in and then stack them on the changer that way so it was just as easy as the prefolds. My favorite part was that they were quicker and easier to wash and dry. I could handwash them and line dry and they finished quickly. Plus I felt more confident that they were fully cleaned when I could see all of the diaper instead of wondering about how clean it got through the whole AIO. We were able to keep a minimal stash with the flats and covers as well. Just 2-3 wool covers, 2-4 day covers and about 1-2 dz flats were plenty since they could be washed and dried so quickly. It was also easy to handwash and hang dry them as used daily so we didn't had a ton of diapers sitting around in a pail waiting for wash day. (In our hot and humid climate anything sitting wet or nasty gets funky quick!!!)
 
#19 ·
Oh another thing... it was way cheaper for us to do the covers and prefolds or flats. I bought most of our flats/prefolds from here: http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/cloth-diapers.html. Pretty good prices even on organic. Most of our covers I bought used for around $3-5 each from diaperswappers.com. They also have mamas selling flats and prefolds you can get pretty cheap there as well. HTH!
 
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#21 ·
We don't have a dryer. Does anyone know how important it is to fluff the diapers in a dryer before use?
I wouldn't worry about it. I have cd'ed 4 kids for a total of over 9 years, and never followed the wash and fluff a dozen times (or whatever they say) before using them. They all seemed to work fine for me after one wash and dry and I know there are a lot of moms who line dry, which we've done it sometimes when the dryer has been broken.
 
#22 · (Edited)
#25 ·
I actually used receiving blankets as part of my diaper stash for my first son. I don't have them, anymore, though. Thrifting some is a great idea!

I've used the OsoCozy prefolds and they were nice, so I'd expect their flats would be decent. I'm looking at flats this time, and it seems like the main difference is that the OsoCozy are an inch smaller than the GMDs and they are not as square. But depending on how you wanna fold them, that may not be an issue (like if you're just going to pad fold them into a cover).
Thanks for explaining the difference to me. I think they may be fine for a newborn/young baby. I could always use them as a soaker layer if they're not quite large enough once he gets bigger.
 
#26 ·
second hand cds

Hey all :)

So we don't have stores that sell cds here and it's expensive to get them sent, THO I just found someone who is selling a bunch second hand (as well as figured out to use them, thanks to my last post here and the great replies).

My partner was grossed out by the idea of buying "used underwear", lol, but in the pics they look in great condition (they are covers with microfiber inserts).

Is it that weird or potentially unhygienic to buy second hand diapers??

Thanks, Ashley
 
#33 ·
Just watch out for having to strip them repeatedly, because sometimes other people use scented detergents, or worse, fabric softeners, and anything synthetic like fleece liners, is ruined forever if it ever comes in contact with fabric softener or oils...I ruined a microfleece/hemp diaper liner, brand new, by washing it with my organic unbleached cotton flat birdseye diapers, because I was still washing them over and over to remove residual natural "cotton wax" that bleaching removes, but it otherwise present in the tan-colored unbleached ones. The cotton wax must have fused with the microfleece stay-dry side of the diaper liner/doubler, and after that, it repelled water no matter what. Groan.

As for tea tree oil, a lot of people wishing to avoid antibacterial ingredients found in antibacterial soaps and such, think of tea tree oil as the answer. There is a little problem with this. Anything at all that kills bacteria, whether it's a synthesized compound or something naturally occurring, must be used at full lethal potency in order to kill ALL bacteria present, or else the risk of the bacteria becoming resistant, is a problem. The problem of bacterial resistance is there whether you are using Triclosan or Tea Tree Oil...if you use it in low doses in almost everything, it's going to give rise to resistant bacteria, because any and all survivors of the sublethal concentrations commonly used in dish and hand soap, laundry, etc, are hardy to it and their offspring will be, too.

So: the advice is, if you are going to use anything antibacterial, tea tree oil included, use it only in situations where you need to fully disinfect, and then be sure to use it in fully lethal concentrations and leave it on for long enough. The little dashes here and there of tea tree oil in everything, are just as likely to create bacterial resistance, as little dashes of other antibacterial agents in everything.

That's why I don't use it around the house as a "little dash of insurance"...because it poses exactly the same problems as antibacterial-everything for causing resistant strains of bacteria to develop. And I would caution anyone with allergies in their family, about using pure or essential oils of anything, in their laundry...natural or not doesn't matter to allergic sensitization.

Hope I don't sound like a wet blanket. I just know a LOT of casual, low-level use of things like lavender and tea tree oil goes on in the holistic-health community, and most have no idea there are potential problems with it.
 
#28 ·
new at this

This is my first baby and I am being optimistic that I can be as holistic as possible. I choose to do the Charlie Banana diapering system to make it easy for the whole family, grandmothers included. I like how it has the option to use disposable liners if needed (like trips to grandmas house) or just use the reusable for home. That and the fact that they can be sized up to three years is a huge bonus! We will see how it all works once baby comes!
 
#29 ·
I choose to do the Charlie Banana diapering system to make it easy for the whole family
We had a few newborns and one one-size. I loved the nb. I am not a huge fan of pocket diapers on older children but they are one of the better ones I've used. I really liked the ability on the os to adjust the elastic on the inside so you don't have gapes in the fabric on a smaller child.
 
#30 ·
I have been having a little fun this time and bought a few Aio and fitted newborn size. Usually I use pre-fold and covers which are still my overall favorite however I thought it would be fun to mix it up this time.

I got 6 kissaluvs's fitted size 0 with a soaker, 4 Blueberry newborn fitted, 4 Clover newborn fitted, 3 small pul pull on covers and 1 stacinator fleece, 2 newborn Joey's Aio, 4 newborn imagine Aio's, 1 kissaluvs's Aio and 1 Grovia newborn aio.

So what are you using?
I am due to have my first baby beginning of September or so 2014.

My mom cloth diapered me so hey :thumb

I decided to start light so as not to feel wretched for wasting too much money in case I opt out lol. I plan to delay my start and begin cloth diapering him at 2 months postpartum.

I purchased two Thirsties Duo covers (with snaps)
24 Osocozy bleached flats
Tide original for washing
Fragrance free wipes from Mothercare ( I can't handle reusable)
Bentonite Clay as baby powder (when needed)
DIY diaper rash cream (when needed) he will be diaper less when using it to avoid ruining my flats
Line drying everything ( don't have a dryer anyway)
HOPEFULLY a few wool covers

Disposable organic cotton fragrance free diapers when on long outings or travel

My info resource: google. But especially http://dirtydiaperlaundry.com/ :nerd:
 
#32 ·
Corinne, I never had coconut or any other oil "ruin" a purely cloth diaper...synthetics, yes, you can't ever seem to get all the oils out and they start repelling water, but pure cotton, it may take effort, but it can be stripped out if necessary. The oils may harm your diaper covers though, if you use PUL-lined ones.

But a cautionary note about coconut oil: there are a lot more food allergies and sensitivities these days than there ever used to be, and using coconut oil on his skin was how I first knew for sure that my 2nd son (still a nursing baby at the time) was allergic to coconut: I used it to loosen cradle cap on his scalp in lieu of the "baby oil" they used to recommend, and it worked great on the cradle cap, but then he broke out. I had suspected coconut oil because I used it in cooking, but hadn't isolated it sufficiently yet as a variable, to be absolutely sure.

Anyone allergic to nuts, can be alleric to coconut, as it is, in fact, a tree nut. A large one, but a tree nut nonetheless.
My daughter, never allergic to it all these years before, is now reactive to coconut, and that started at going on 10 years old. But oddly enough she can still have almonds. But I don't dare use the "natural" sunscreens on her (or my boys) because they all contain coconut oil or something else my kids are allergic to.

The best thing for diaper rash I have seen, that doesn't harm any cloth or synthetic diapers, that is amazingly effective at keeping skin dry and breathable to heal rashes of all sorts including diaper rash and my own heat rash, is the Disana pure raw silk diaper liners, made in Germany, specifically for the purpose of healing diaper rash. They are about $21 for a 3-pack through Green Mountain Diapers, and I gave them a try, and would recommend them as an alternative to creams, oils, lotions, powders, and goop of all kinds. I even tried French Green Clay for my heat rash, and it didn't work the way these did.

So there is a way to heal and soothe bottom rashes without creams or oils or lanolin or any of that, at least. They do require hand washing and air drying, but I haven't found it any hassle at all compared to smearing on goop and then worrying about it harming diapers or making my laundry difficult. Hope that helps!
 
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