4Real Forums: more cloth diaper questions

Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.

Active Topics || Favorites || Member List || Search || About Us || Help || Register || Login

Mothering and Family Life ( Forum Locked)
4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life

Topic: more cloth diaper questions

Author

Message

<< Prev Topic | Next Topic >>

Barbara C.
Forum All-Star

Joined: July 11 2007
Location: Illinois
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 882

Posted: Dec 17 2007 at 11:15am \| IP Logged

I know there have been many threads about cloth diapers. I've tried to read through most of them. I have some more specific questions, though.

I am considering using cloth diapers part-time (at home during the day) with my third baby in order to save some money. I've been doing some research and have pretty much decided that I want to use Chinese prefolds with Bummi Whisper Pants.

I am thinking that I will need about 2 dozen NB diapers, 3 dozen regular diapers, 6 small covers, and 8 medium covers to get me through the first two and half to three years. My babies usually hit 15 lbs by age 3 months.

Here are my questions:
Does this seem about the right amount for someone who only plans to use them for about 12 hours a day and only wants to wash diapers every 3 days?

For those of you who have used Bummi Whisper covers, did you prefer the velcro or the snaps?

And if anyone has purchased these products recently, where did you get the best deal (on-line or in-store)?

Thanks for any help.

__________________
Barbara
Mom to "spirited" dd(9), "spunky" dd (6), "sincere" dd (3), "sweet" dd (2), and baby girl #5 born 8/1/12!!
Box of Chocolates

mathmama
Forum All-Star

Joined: Jan 07 2006
Location: Pennsylvania
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 771

Posted: Dec 17 2007 at 11:37am \| IP Logged

I would say at least 3dz NB. With my first I had 3dz and still had to wash every other day. Infants need to be changed more often. And I would get 2 more small covers as well.

Beth

vmalott
Forum All-Star

Joined: Sept 15 2006
Location: Ohio
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 536

Posted: Dec 17 2007 at 11:44am \| IP Logged

First, I think you may want to start off just ordering for Newborn/small size, rather than make a large investment for all different sizes right off the bat. I'm guessing you will be using disposables at night? So, 2 doz. for washing every 3 days sounds about right. Also, disposables during the early meconium days might make things easier on you, laundry-wise.

I like the Bummis covers. Make sure the velcro has a fold-over tab (can't remember if Bummis has this or not) so the velcro doesn't get caught up on other diapers/covers in the wash. Snaps obviously avoid this problem, but velcro is quicker with a wiggler during a change.

I've been looking recently, and I found some nice bulk prices for pre-folds and contours at Barefoot Baby. I hope others will contribute to this thread, esp. as I'm now 36 weeks and really need to decide on this diapering thing as well.

Valerie

__________________
Valerie
Mom to Julia ('94), John ('96), Lizzy ('98), Connor ('01), Drew ('02), Cate ('04), Aidan ('08) and three saints in heaven
Seven Times the Fun

CrunchyMom
Forum Moderator

Joined: Sept 03 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 6385

Posted: Dec 17 2007 at 12:30pm \| IP Logged

vmalott wrote:

First, I think you may want to start off just ordering for Newborn/small size, rather than make a large investment for all different sizes right off the bat.

This was my thought. You will be able to see how you like the covers you get, etc... and if you want to try something different. I started out with velcro and found out I hated it and have all snap covers now, but different people like different things. I'm just glad I'm not stuck using velcro forever since I switched to snaps for the larger sizes. Also, you can see what kind of a routine you get into re how often you'll wash, etc... Which will help determine how many you want to get of the bigger size.

__________________
Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony

[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR

SusanJ
Forum All-Star

Joined: May 25 2007
Location: New Jersey
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1347

Posted: Dec 17 2007 at 1:01pm \| IP Logged

Just to echo everyone else . . . I would start out just buying the newborn stuff to see what you like. I think you are on the right track, though. We've tried a lot of different cloth diapers and have finally settled on prefolds and bummis. We have the snaps on the bigger covers so that the kids can't remove the diapers themselves.

I would get 3 doz. newborn prefolds. Newborns--especially with cloth diapers--go through a lot of diapers. Plus they make great burp cloths. Unless you are a on super-tight budget, I dont' think you'll regret having more. I also had eight small covers and found that to be about right. I only need 4-6 on older babies but those covers need to be washed with every poop of a breastfed baby and you'll want to air them in between changes of wet diapers.

have fun!

Susan

__________________
Mom to Joseph-8, Margaret-6, William-4, Gregory-2, and new little one due 11/1
Life Together
[URL=http://thejohnstonkids.blogspot.com]The Kids' Blog[/UR

Barbara C.
Forum All-Star

Joined: July 11 2007
Location: Illinois
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 882

Posted: Dec 17 2007 at 3:16pm \| IP Logged

I was thinking that I would probably use disposable for the first few weeks while we get into our nursing groove. Just latching mouth A to breast B can be stressful enough those first few weeks without adding a new diapering technique. That should also get us past the meconium days as well.

I am tempted to go ahead and get 1 dozen medium size and 1 snap and 1 velcro cover in medium. My two-year-old is three pounds shy of 30 lbs, so I was thinking about using her as a guinea pig (and maybe start saving a little bit of money).

For anyone who has used both cloth and disposable, how accurate are the cloth weight ranges? I've noticed with disposable that mine are usually ready for the next size up about two pounds before the upper weight limit of their current size.

I'll check out Barefoot Baby, too.

__________________
Barbara
Mom to "spirited" dd(9), "spunky" dd (6), "sincere" dd (3), "sweet" dd (2), and baby girl #5 born 8/1/12!!
Box of Chocolates

Kristie 4
Forum All-Star

Joined: June 20 2006
Location: Canada
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1508

Posted: Dec 17 2007 at 11:12pm \| IP Logged

The newborn prefolds make good doubles for nighttime diapers for older ones.

I would get two or three covers and make sure you like them before ordering more. Different covers fit differently on each little baby. You don't want any pinched thighs!

Definitely go with the disposables until you are done with the meconium (unless you have a great mom like mine who scrubbed my cloth ones till they were clean....in a wash basin no less!).

The chinese prefolds are awesome though...they were my favourites by far in my assorted collection.

__________________
Kristie in Canada
Mom to 3 boys and one spunky princess!!

A Walk in the Woods

vmalott
Forum All-Star

Joined: Sept 15 2006
Location: Ohio
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 536

Posted: Dec 18 2007 at 7:53am \| IP Logged

Barbara C. wrote:

I'll check out Barefoot Baby, too.

After reading some of those archived threads, I came across another website that has much better prices for prefolds: Cotton Babies. They offer a really reasonable "try it kit" with a half dozen prefolds and two Bummis Super Whisper Wraps. I think this is where I will order from, starting out with two try it kits.

Oh, and I now remember the wrap I really liked when I did a short stint of cloth diapering with #4, the Prorap Classic. I liked the big cloth-covered velcro tabs. Still, Bummis is really great for adjusting to be good and snug around the waist, which is necessary if you use prefolds without a fastener. I didn't like the Bumkins cover because of the square tabs...they tended to rub against baby's belly.

Valerie

__________________
Valerie
Mom to Julia ('94), John ('96), Lizzy ('98), Connor ('01), Drew ('02), Cate ('04), Aidan ('08) and three saints in heaven
Seven Times the Fun

KerryK
Forum Pro

Joined: June 30 2006
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 265

Posted: Dec 18 2007 at 12:28pm \| IP Logged

I ordered mine from Cotton Babies - they were great to order from, I was very happy with them. I use bummi whisper wraps, and I prefer the velcro to the snaps, I find the velcro easier to tighten. I know a lot of people do love the prowraps, though!

__________________
Kerry
Mom to
Matthew (10)
Mary (6)
New baby Samuel 2/26/07!
and 9 angels in heaven

The Eyes of My Heart

Barbara C.
Forum All-Star

Joined: July 11 2007
Location: Illinois
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 882

Posted: Dec 18 2007 at 4:11pm \| IP Logged

Cotton Babies is the cheapest I've seen for the diapers themselves, other than a few deals on e-Bay. The covers were the same price as the the other site I was looking at. But I love how you can get free shipping if you spend $75 or more. Shipping can make such a big difference.

Thanks for all the help.

__________________
Barbara
Mom to "spirited" dd(9), "spunky" dd (6), "sincere" dd (3), "sweet" dd (2), and baby girl #5 born 8/1/12!!
Box of Chocolates

Sorry, you cannot post a reply to this topic.
This forum has been locked by a forum administrator.

[Add this topic to My Favorites]

Printable version

Forum Jump

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot create polls in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

Hosting and Support provided by theNetSmith.com