Cloth Diapers - Minneapolis, MN

You can also ask cloth dipaer specific questions on the forum at mothering.com, they have a lot of women on there who have and are using cloth diapers.
You are right, there is a lot of overwhelming info out there. I was looking into it when I was expecting my third but we found out it was actually twins we were expecting and I threw the cloth diaper idea out the window after that and we are paying for it now, we have 3 in disposables and its not cheap! Good for you for being willing to do this. Best wishes
K. H

We also use the Mother-ease diapers. We have never had a problem with leaks. Our daughter is almost 2 and has always slept with cloth diaper with liner and we have never had leaks. we have had leaks with disposable however!! Anyway, you have gotten great advice it's just about finding what works for you. I have also used fuzzibunz and really like the ease of those but our daughter is very petite and they don't fit her as well. Also, the fuzzibunz have leaked on us. I would only purchase enough to last 2 days. You don't want to go longer than that to wash them. They will get very stinky. I do a load of diapers every other day and haven't noticed a difference with the water bill. You can also buy used diapers on ebay. Good luck, and good for you for trying to go cloth!

K.:
I use cloth diapers (ordered online from babybestbuy.com)and really love them. I have the velcro type and I ordered 18 of each size.(small and medium) I do laundry every 2-3 days---less when we are out and about, because then I use disposable. I also use disposable for overnight because then my daughter doesn't wake up for a change!

There are leaks with cloth, so you do have to change clothes and bedding more often, but I still think it's worth it. I've never really tallied up a cost for detergent and have not noticed any difference in my water bill so far. (but I do have a family of 7--- 4 teenage boys and a 3 month old girl!)
I don't think you'll find a daycare that will allow cloth, so you will need to use disposable at that time which you may want to factor into your budgeting. However, aside from money, I'd like to say that I've never seen a diaper rash on a cloth-diapered baby!
Best of luck
K. D.

I have a friend who makes them. They are on this site http://hyenacart.com/DivaDesigns/ and her store is at the very bottom, Turtle Time.

We found cloth diapers to be a good alternative to disposables;
1. We bought 'Tushies' and they come with plastic pants that also velcro.
2. We put a cloth liner in each one.
3. We just dumped poop into the toilet.
4. We soaked them in a bucket of soapy water until it was time to wash a load.
5. We used disposables over night because cloth ones get very wet.

I hope you have success with them, I think they are actually better financially.
Good luck!

We got our cloth diapers at PeaPods in St. Paul, where they have all the covers and supplies you could ever want. Also they used cloth with their kids, so they are a good source of info!

I plan on using cloth diapers when I have my second. I am either going to use a diaper service, or this site...depending which I can afford. I love the diapers and everything else on this site. I could go absolutely broke buying the stuff I fell in love with on here!!
http://www.cottonbabies.com/

If you search for clot hdiapers on this site, there have been 2-3 posts about them in the last couple weeks. There are tons of answers on there.

We use cloth adn love it! Our energy bills didn't rise much since running a load of diapers ever 2-3 days isn't that big of a deal. I use Charlies Soap (www.charliesoap.com) and its $13 for a bag, and I use it for diapers only, and it lasts a good 4-5 months, so very cost effective.

We use Fuzzi Bunz, and got them from www.fuzzibunzworld.com way back about 5 years ago! I know they are more expensive now, but the initial cost can be a bit of a sticker shock, but you WILL get your moneys worth out of them.

Feel free to sent me a message with questions too. :)

We love Kissaluvs fitteds! They are the most absorbent diapers out there (but are around $11 a peice). They are sold locally at Peapods in St. Paul. Prefolds had us changing every hour! With kissaluvs, we get through 3-5 hours and with a doubler, the whole night!! We needed about 20 to do laundry every other to every 3 days. But, with a newborn, you may need closer to 30 (they say 12 diapers a day for a newborn). We found Motherease airflow covers to be the most waterproof cover and needed about 4. We would rotate and let them dry inbetween changing, only washing when poop got on them. Those are about $35 for 4, purchased on motherease's website. Also, for a solely breastfed or formula fed baby, no rinsing of poop is required! If you want to use an all-in-one, we found Kushies Ultras to be the best bargain at around $10 each. We do add a doubler to those (a motherease sandy's "liner") in order to get them to last 3-4 hours. They are $1.65-$2 each.
I figured, buying cloth diapers ends up to cost the same as buying disposable (using nice cloth diapers rather than prefolds). But, you can cut costs in two ways: buy used, then wash and use; sell your diapers afterward (or save for another child) to recover some of the cost. Used diapers can be bought and sold on craigslist or on diaperswappers.com.
As for daycare, I've heard of a few daycares that are willing to use an all-in-one (they're easier to use--just velcro, and no snaps or cover AND diaper to put on). I use those silly plastic zipper bags that some purchases come in to store used diapers in while on the go! On the otherhand, you could disposable at daycare, cloth at home and then get away with a smaller stash of clth diapers.
Best of luck! It is a bit complicated, but well worth it! I love knowing that all those chemicals aren't next to my baby's skin all the time. And I feel like a good person washing my diapers rather than throwing mountains of them in the landfill. Sure, a little extra laundry is required. BUT.... no midnight runs to store for diapers, no scrounging for $10 bucks every few days to buy them, no feeling crappy because you're spending so much money on something you just throw away, and it's a great example to set for your kids! Good for you for giving it a go! Please write me back if you have any questions about washing ect.
:) M.