Cloth Diapering

I have been looking into findind some easy cloth diapers. These are some that I've found:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KAHIDM/ref=wl_it_dp?...

http://www.amazon.com/Mommys-Touch-Touchtape-All-Diapers/...

http://www.amazon.com/bumGenius-One-Size-Cloth-Diaper-Twi...

I haven't finished researching, but you may be able to find them cheaper on other websites. Good luck!

Personally I like pocket diapers but everyone is going to be different.

I reccomend getting a diaper sampler pack several online companies offer them. You can also go to diaperswappers.com and get some more thoughts from the very knowledgable momma's there.

Ever since I discovered pocket diapers 15 years ago, I've been hooked. I've been a CD'ing mama for almost 18 years now, and I'm still CD'ing child #4. Plus, I'm obsessed with buying every cute diaper I find, so over the years I've tried just about every diaper out there, lol. My favorite ones are AngelLuvs (http://angelluvz.com) and Swaddlebees (www.AbbysLane.com). I know a lot of people rave about FuzziBuns, and we have a couple of them, but I honestly can't see what all the fuss is about, lol. The inserts I use are Thirsties. If you decide to use prefolds and covers, I'd recommend Bummis and Nikkis, I just loved the cotton and wool Nikkis. A good place to find those are at Babyworks (http://www.babyworks.com), I found them almost 8 years ago and they are great! Oh, and whether you use inserts or prefolds, remember that hemp wears out more easily, but it is more absorbent. Good luck, I'm sure you're going to love cloth diapering as much as the rest of us do!

S.

I was so happy to hear your openness to cloth diapering! Yes, you should definitely do it, or at least try it. My husband and I have an 11-month-old son that we have cloth diapered since day one. It has been an absolute joy for us and we also love not having to buy very expensive diapers. We do use 1 disposable at night now that Everett can sleep through the night for 10-12 hours.

And yes the amount of products is overwhelming. So here is what I learned in a nutshell with a few suggestions and places to start. www.mothering.com. This is the website for Mothering Magazine. They have a whole on-line forum about cloth diapering for you to ask many questions of cloth diapering moms. Also if you see their magazine at the store or library, it is full of cloth diapering companies. Most of these companies are set up for the cloth diaper illiterate. I used www.katieskisses.com. I bought a kit of diapers to start out and it got me through the first 15 pounds of my son's life. Then we bought larger sizes as needed. We went with the flat, white Chinese prefold diapers with a velcro-cover over the top. We use Snappi's for the closure. This is our everyday diaper. Very economical and we ended up washing a load of diapers every 3 days. That is still our schedule now even after 11 months. Katie's Kisses was very knowledgable and I even called and spoke directly with the owner to ask many questions. They have a small catalogue/magazine that gives you lots of information and that was helpful too.

We also had a few all-in-one diapers for going out and about. These are pretty pricey up towards $15 per diaper, so I let grandma buy these! We really don't use them much anymore because we are so used to the flat diapers.

Okay, I will stop there. I don't want to make you more overwhelmed than you probably already are, but feel free to shoot any more questions my way, I am quite passionate about using cloth diapers and could type for a long time!

K. S.

Hello,
I love cloth diapers. With my first I used a service and I really wished that I had just bought my own then. Washing them isn't that big a deal and it feels so good to not have all of those disposables to dispose of. I use www.juliestuff.com and order from her. I am not sure where you live but she is located in Wisconsin but ships anywhere. I use the chinese prefold diapers with a velcro wrap. Now the wrap I bought from my diaper service with my first child so I haven't tried any of her wraps but if you ask her I am sure she can help you pick out some wraps. She has alot of good advice about washing them etc. too on her site. I use her laundry soap and "Bac-out" for washing. I highly recommend the snapese or something like that, I can check the name if you can't find them, they are a type of fastener to use with the diaper before you put on the wrap. I don't know if you are also trying to avoid the boughten wipes, I am. She sells great cloth wipes, I just wash them with the diapers. I also use the california baby spray with the cloth wipes when there is a poopy diaper. I haven't tried any other sites so I am not sure what else is out there, but I have really liked what this site has available. If you have other questions feel free to send me an e-mail, I know what it is like when you are starting with cloth.
Best wishes. K.
e-mail ____@____.com

Good for you! I finally switched to cloth diapers with my second when he was 15 mo, and nowuse them with my third.

A lot of good responses so far, but I'll throw my 2 cents in as well.

used www.babyworks.com as well, they are very helpful

I bought a variety the first time around, prefolds, snappis, and some snap covers and velcro covers and a fuzzi bunz. When we had our third we bought Bummis Super Whisper Wraps in white and when I was ordering the next size I then heard about BumGenius, so bought a couple of them to try out. If I had to do it over again I would just get the BumGenius. You get the convience of the Fuzzi Bunz (and they are so cute) easy to clean, but never have to buy next sizes because they grow with baby.

If you don't want to use synthetic fabrics though I would go with prefolds in organic cotton or hemp and then wool covers or Nikky's 100% cotton covers.

Good luck! and congrats on new baby

C.

R.-
I used cloth diapers with all but the last two of my kids and I thought it went just fine. It's a little messy, but I think it also adds to the bonding exoerience between mother and child. I bought some already prepared diapers but I ended up not liking them very much. I went to a fabris store in town and bought diaper flannel, tore it into squares and heemed the sides. Then I folded them into any size I needed for my child. I could use them on newborns of 2and 3 year olds. I used the more worn out diapers to pad the middle so the diaper had more absorbancy. You might be able to find a diaper service in town that will sell you their older diapers. It's worth looking into. I think you are definantly dong the right thing. Good luck. P.

I have no suggestions, couldn't imagine using cloth diapers, but I do think the little wraps for them are adorable. If you can do it all the more power to you, and congrats on the baby.

P.S I hope you didn't take mine as sarcastic.....I think it is great that you want to use cloth, I just couldn't do it myself. I probably should have with 7 kids, think of the money I would have saved!

I have always had success with products from Babyworks. I used to live in Portland (where they are located) but they are also online at Babyworks.com. If you call them, they are very good at helping you decide what would work for you. I not only love their diapers and diaper covers, but I have always used cleaning products from them as well (BioKleen) to soak and wash my diapers. (You can also buy some BioKleen products locally at the Co-op or Fred Meyer.) I am currently cloth diapering my fourth child! Best of luck to you!

Get diapers with velcro. Don't mess with pins. The velcro is worth the cost! Good Luck

Hi R.,
I too was overwhelmed with the huge variety of cloth diapers out there (lots of differing opinions too), and then I found this website:

http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/

They are very helpful and you can try a bunch of different kinds with their new to cloth program for just $10 (with a $100 deposit). That way you can decide for yourself which kind works best for your family, and any you don't like you can send back. Good Luck.

We use a cloth diaper service which is great! I have bought cloth diapers for friends and the cheapest I've found are on cottonbabies.com. Indian Prefold cloth diapers. We are using Bummies diaper covers right now and I'm not to thrilled. Lately they are leaking though easily. I'm not sure if its from repetitive washing or that they wore out over the last 7/8 mos. They should last longer than that. I've also seen the all in one diaper/cover at walmart for a reasonable price. Some moms swear by the all in one diapers. Hope this is helpful. Good luck with your decision.

I highly recommend gdiapers. Go to www.gdiapers.com. If for nothing else I recommend them if you go with cloth diapers for when you are out and about. They are flushable & Earth friendly, and kind of a combination of disposable & cloth. At least check it out, we LOVE them and they look super adorable on.

I've used 2 different kinds. In the beginning from about 10lbs and on I used an all in one diaper called Kushies. I really liked those although they took some time to dry. I would wash them on a warm setting hang dry them for about a day indoors in the winter and then throw them in the dryer on a cooler setting for a cycle. Then they were usually good to do, in the summers it's good to hang them outside in the sun to help get the stains out and they will usually dry much faster. It's always good to throw them in the dryer for a short while anyways to soften them up. The other kind I have used are Imse Vimse cloth diapers which are made of organic cotton, they are not an all in one. I'm not too happy with the outer liner on them cause they are not waterproof and if she has had a lot to drink she will get her clothes wet. They do dry a lot faster and you can wash the inner diaper on a hot setting so stains dont happen as much. In that respect they are a lot better but for simplicity sakes I really liked the Kushies and that they were pretty cheap. Good luck I hope you find some that you like it might take a few tries, try not to buy too many of any one kind until you find those that you like. It's a lot of money to begin with but it will be worth it in the end.

Yay! I love cloth diapering!
When my daughter was first born, for the first few days I used disposable, because the meconium poo (spelling?) is very icky and sticky to deal with!
I also had tried a diaper service for the first 3 months, because I did not want to invest in all those diapers if I was not sure. Plus, She was my first child and my family was far away, so I wanted to get into a baby routine. Once I had a routine out, I was ready to get started without the diaper service.
I have tried all types of cloth diapers, but my favorites are the standard 'prefolds' with 'covers'. I use Thirstie's prefolds and Bummi's Super Whisper Wrap covers. (Thirsties now make covers, but I have no need to buy more, so I have not tried them yet.) I have also used several WAHM made diaper covers too. Instead of pins I use snappi's. Sometimes I just fold the diaper and place it inside the cover, without any crazy folds at all.
When you buy a prefold diaper, you have to pre-wash them a few times to get the cotton oils out and get them nice and fluffy.
Another diaper that I used are the BumGenius diapers. These are convenient and easy to use for babysitters/dads/on the go. I bought mine when my daughter was 4 months and she is almost 2 and I can still use them without "sizing up". They are indeed genius.
www.Cottonbabies.com or www.diaperware.com are 2 of my favorite online diaper places. There also have information you can use :)
Once you figure out what kind of diaper you want, I can help you figure out how to do a laundry routine. Best of Luck!

Hi,

I love BumGenius all-in-ones. We've been using them with our 2 1/2 month old, and they work so well. They clean well, are easy to use, keep him feeling dry, and are adorable. My parents will even use them if they are watching my son. Best of luck!

Hi! I have just started CD'ing my baby girl. I belong to a CD Yahoo group that is sooo great and helpful. I think the best thing to do is try out your options and see which works best for you. I've been trying the fitted w/ covers, the AIO's (All In One), the covers w/ the prefolds and trifolds, the pockets, the envelopes, gosh there is so many options. I love the WiggleWorm Bottoms website. They have great fabrics! Really comfy too! This is a good website for learning. http://www.newtoclothdiapers.com/
Also, I don't use a diaper service either. I don't see it as a needed expense. HTH some!!! Good luck!

I am sold on Fuzzi Bunz. They are comfy, don't leak, and are more convenient than disposables. They are a pocket diapering system, consisting of a very soft waterproof shell and one or two layers of inserts, so they get nice & clean every time. I use a terricloth insert and a hemp insert (one for wicking, one for absorbency). They have snap closures. We have 16 of them, and we end up doing a load of laundry every day or day and a half. I kind of wish I had about 4 more. Other friends of ours are also using fuzzi bunz and think they're the best. Remember to have a few disposables on hand (pampers swaddlers) when the baby arrives because you won't want the meconium to stain your nice cloth diapers!

Hi R.
Yeah I am so happy to hear that you want to use cloth! I have been a cloth diapering mom now for 15 months and we would not have it any other way, However if I knew then what I know now I think we would have made a few diffrent choices about what type to use. I know that it can be very overwheelming when looking for a cloth diaper and I would be more than happy to go over the diffrent choices and styles that are out there with you, because it is just so hard to understand what to do with them or what you need to do/can do and how many you will need (really) I would also be more than happy to pass along a name of a great company who has a 100 gaurentee to help you find the best style for you and your family. We wash our diapers at home too, no problems so if you would like more info and recommendations and to see first had some of the diapers and styles that we have used please e mail me and I will e mail you my number and we talk and show diapers!

I made my own diapers from diaper flannel but it isn't available to buy from fabric stores anymore. (I found mine in Amish country in Ohio!) The next best that I found were the cloth diapers from JC Penny with the velcro tabs. They lasted through my first born but the velcro eventually wore out on my second born. But I continued to use them with pins. If you can, hang them outside in the summer and it will take any urine stains out. good luck.

I personally liked Fuzzi Bunz best. They are a pocket diaper with snaps and very soft against baby. They can be spendy but you can resell them and get a lot of your investment back later. I found that it was worth the cost for me and they were the best at not leaking (especially overnight or for long trips out).

My babies grew very quickly out of the newborn diapers so I would suggest getting just a few of several kinds in newborn so you can see what works best for you and baby. Also, diapers all fit differently and what is perfect for a skinny baby may not work at all with one with chubby legs and so on. Getting just a few of several kinds can let you find that out without investing a small fortune in a line that doesn't work for you.

Diapers nowadays are fastened with either velcro or snaps. I personally like the snaps much better and find that they are easier to wash too. There's a little more room for a customized fit with velcro, though.

The best diaper will depend on your priorities too. For the most economical, pre-folds are great with a good cover. Easiest to use and to wash are All-in-ones (though they take forever to dry), and most absorbant are probably Fuzzi Bunz.

There are also the "designer" types that are little fashion statements like Full Moon Baby Gear and a billion others. There are super environmentally friendly hemp fitted diapers that you'd pair with a cover. If you want to support WAHMs instead of big business then one of those lines would be preferable over the factory dipes like Fuzzi Bunz and Kissaluvs, but those have become big for a reason (and you can still buy them from WAHM sites)... You can even buy certain lines because part of the money is being used for raising funds for sick babies.

Once you determine the biggest reasons why you want to CD, it's easier to narrow it down. Then you can search for opinions on brands that fit the bill.

Did I just make it harder? LOL My short answer is Fuzzi Bunz and a few of the other types for variety. :)

I was going to write a big long response to this because I think cloth diapering is great, even with three kids, but I'm just going to second what I've read already. Fuzzi bunz are great! I am a lazy cloth diapering mama frankly and use Seventh Generation disposables when we're out (research dioxins and chlorine in disposable diapers...)and when I haven't done the wash, but pocket diapers are so easy. (gDiapers are also great if you invest at the get go. They are expensive, but what a great idea and very convenient and cute...)I've found that just throwing cloth diapers in the wash with a powder detergent (I think Ecover is not too harsh on diapers) does the trick. I give them a sniff when they come out and maybe give them another go, but that's it. I don't soak because that's supposedly hard on the fleece, and gross to boot. I just wash every few days, which I'm doing already so no big deal. Fuzzy Bunz and Bum Genius are great but with my daughter's bodacious thighs, I wish Bum Genius had a bigger size. I agree with the comment about keeping your options open when you have a newborn. Maybe a service for a month, disposables or gDiapers for the first week, whatever gets you through the transition period. Plus, you just can't believe how big they are going to be in just a few months when you are looking at your tiny newborn...True story: when my older daughter was 4 and still in Pull ups at night (I wish there was a good cloth alternative to Pull ups!) we ran out one night and I put on my son's Fuzzy Bunz. The next morning she ran into our room so proud "mom! I kept my Pull up dry!" when in actuality the insert was soaking wet. So not so great for potty training, but great for keeping babies dry and comfy. So, go for it. There's a little bit of a learning curve but it's not such a big deal as it sounds to people who remember plastic pants and diaper pins. Congratulations on your little bundle of baby!

I honestly don't know if I would use cloth diapers or not. You are so busy when your little one arrives, I don't know how I would have ever made time to clean all those diapers. My suggestion, go with the Huggies!!!!

I had 4 children and with only one income (I was a stay at home mom) I could not affort pampers. I bought cloth diapers I liked the ones that are doubled in the middle. I got a couple dozen at a baby shower and I bought 2 more for good measure and believe me if you ever go through a bout of diarrhea time you will need them all. I got a good diaper pail with a good fitting lid put some water with a little soap or diaper softner just so the ammonia didn't get too bad. The biggest trick is to wash them every other day. Don't let them build up. and if you are going to be out, pack pampers in the diaper bag so you don't have to transport wet dirty diapers home. Cloth diapers also help a baby potty train faster. As they do not like to sit in a wet diaper. where as pampers draw the wet away and they don't feel it so they don't care.

I used Fuzzi Bunz with our first son (now working on potty training at 2 1/2 years old) and with our second son, 4 months old, we are using a combo of Fuzzi Bunz and Bum Genuis 2.0. We are using the pocket style diaper with inserts for both brands. I love both of them!! But I think that my favorite is the Fuzzi Bunz.