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MarilynW
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| Posted: Feb 13 2007 at 8:34am | IP Logged
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I have never used them. Just playing with the idea for the next baby. Why do you use them? How do the costs compare with disposables? Is there a pin free alternative? How do you deal with the "smell" issue? How many do you have to have.
Any websites or info for complete beginners?
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Marilyn
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KellyJ
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| Posted: Feb 13 2007 at 9:42am | IP Logged
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Hi Marilyn,
For pin-free diapers, we use Snappis. I think some people use cloths or at least covers that don't require a fastener.
Snappi link
I'm sure others will chime in with other helpful info. I'm tight on time right now, but hope you're able to get the info you're looking for!! 
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Angie Mc
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| Posted: Feb 13 2007 at 10:16am | IP Logged
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Please jump in with your latest, greatest, finds, ladies! Also, here are some past links on the subject, for you to browse, Maryilyn
Personally, I use them to save money and to give my baby's bottom a more pleasant experience  . Cloth diapering can be very inexpensive or it can be more expensive, depending on what you purchase. For inexpepnsive, I don't think you can beat a good quality, old fashioned square diaper with pins and taffeta pant system. Smell isn't an issue with a good diaper pail. I have a couple dozen squares so that I can go several days between washings.
Love,
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Angie Mc
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knowloveserve
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| Posted: Feb 13 2007 at 10:53am | IP Logged
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Whatever you do, don't get too overwhelmed by the variety of responses you'll get. There are SO many different methods to cloth diaper and everyone just has to find what works for them. I figure I've saved thousands of dollars, since after three kids, I've invested about $300 total for all my supplies (and I have too many that I don't really need). My favorite resource is
www.diaperpin.com
There you'll find reviews and lots of other good tips/techniques.
But even with the fancy diapers with all the bells and whistles, you'll still save money... especially if you take good care of your dipes to use on multiple children.
On my third child, I've not spent a cent on diapering supplies so far (well, I did buy one new cover on Ebay to try it out).
The cheapest way is to use pre-folds with a basic cover. I use chinese pre-folds with a snappi and a variety of covers depending on the baby. I use pro-raps a lot because they are cheap and effective. But when my babies get older and chunkier, we switch to Bummis whisper pants which don't leave red marks on their thunder thighs. I also like Stacinator So Simple covers for thick babies. I have a variety of other covers that I've tried and I like for various stages of growth etc also, including Polar Babies Happy Pants, Imse Vimse Bumpy Wrap, Bummies... etc.
At night time we use doublers. Doublers made out of hemp get the best absorbancy and are trimmer than their cotton counterparts.
Smells are completely manageable. First of all, ON the baby, a cd is much nicer smelling than a disposable. I keep my dipes in a well-ventilated laundry hamper with a nylon liner (Bummis bags). I keep it in the garage next to the washing machine. If it gets raunchy I sprinkly baking soda on it, but it's not bad since it's ventilated. This is called the "Dry Pail" method. Others like the "Wet Pail" method... but I'm not a fan of that.
While breastfeeding exclusively, I jsut take the dipe off and throw it in my pail. No rinsing needed. Once solids are introduced, I start rinsing or using a spatula I keep in my toilet brush holder to scrape off the yuckies before I put it in the pail.
Washing? Easy, once you get it down.
A cold pre-wash with a cup of baking soda.
A hot full cycle on delicate with a third cup of All Free and Clear.
A second rinse.
Every other cycle I put vinegar in a Downy ball to put in the wash cycle to balance the ph of the diapers.
Best dried in the sun to remove stains/sanitize.
I've dried them around my fireplace before. But in a pinch, I put them through the dryer on low heat until down. This isn't bad, but too much of it will make the diapers fibers break down too quickly... and I like my dipes to stretch between two kids at least.
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Ellie
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LisaD
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I have always used Mother-Ease diapers and covers. I like the one-size diapers for newborns, then I switch to the M-E Sandy's at around six months. My first set of Mother-Ease lasted through three children before I started replacing them. It cost around $250 for 2 dozen diapers and 4 covers, which is more than I need, since I wash diapers at least 3x a week. I also use a dry pail, similar to Ellie's method, and have never had a problem with odor.
I use cloth because it's better for the environment, better for baby, and sooooo much cheaper than disposables. I really like the Mother-Ease for simplicity of use, absorbancy and quality.
I think that a little baby bottom coverd in soft cotton is one of the sweetest things! So much nicer than the crinkly, chemical-smelling disposable diapers.
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MarilynW
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| Posted: Feb 13 2007 at 4:26pm | IP Logged
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Thanks everyone for the info. I will read in depth. I am just wondering - am I too old and is it too late after 4 babies to make the switch?!!
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Marilyn
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LisaD
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| Posted: Feb 13 2007 at 5:47pm | IP Logged
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MarilynW wrote:
| Thanks everyone for the info. I will read in depth. I am just wondering - am I too old and is it too late after 4 babies to make the switch?!! |
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LOL! Of course not (said because I am 41)! Really, with four children, aren't you doing mountains of laundry already? What's another few loads of diapers? You'll hardly notice it
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~Lisa
Mama to dd(99), ds(01), ds(03) and ds(06)
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mathmama
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I use prefold with pins and wool covers or wool pants. I really like pins and could never get the fit with Snappis that I could with pins. Some people really like Snappis, though, they just weren't for me. We are expecting and with this baby I will use prefolds with homemade tie nappies (here is an expensive version of a tie nappy that I could never afford http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/tienappy.htm) in order to keep the bf poo in and also will buy some Kissaluvs for use while out of the house. The new baby will also be in wool. I think that wool is just wonderful. It breathes, rarely needs to be washed (unless it gets poo on it), should the diaper become saturated it will absorb about 30% of its weight in urine, and is oh so cute. Since it breathes there is some evaporation that goes on so if you don't get around to changing the diaper for a while that will buy you some time (although I am sure I am the only mom who sometimes doesn't get to the diaper promptly ) Wool covers can be really expensive, but if you can knit or crochet you can make your own (that is what I do).
Beth
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Philothea
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I used Fuzzi Bunz until Ian was about 18 months old. We stopped because we were trying to sell our house and I didn't want to have diaper laundry visible as it really grosses some people out. By the time it was clear we weren't going to sell, he'd grown out of his size Large FBs and I figured I'd rather potty train him than invest in more diapers. Of course, that didn't happen as quickly as I'd hoped, so he's in disposables now at age 2.5 years.
We did one load of laundry per day, it was easy and didn't stink at all. I liked the Fuzzibunz because they didn't leak and I could stuff them with just about anything -- I liked microfiber inserts, but prefolds and even hand towels worked in a pinch, too. And I just had to buy new shells as we moved through the sizes, the inserts were interchangeable. And FBs are trim enough to go under jeans and other tailored pants without looking bulky.
The reason we did cloth diapers was because I have sensitive skin and get horrible rashes by the last day of my period using pads, so I didn't want to put him thorugh the same thing in case he had my issues. My husband liked how economical it was (once I got over the designer diaper fever, that is). Fuzzibunz are fairly reasonable, even more so if you buy used. They're like $13-16. When Ian was a newborn I had single diapers that cost $40. Organic wool, sweet embroidery, printed liners .... you can get crazy with the cloth diapers if you have the cash to burn. Once I quit my job that wasn't an option anymore.
I will say that if you have a BJs or Costco membership, it is probably cheaper to just use their house brand disposables. I pay $17 for well over 100 diapers in size 5, the smaller sizes get even more for the money. Since I have a top-loading water hog for a washer, I probably spent more than that washing my cloth, not to mention the $300-400 I spent as I went up through the sizes.
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CatholicMommy
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In my past childcare employment, I have always disliked disposable diapers for one reason or another and once in a while would think about whether or not to use cloth with my own children. What's funny is the first thought that comes to mind is having to go to the store and buy them - as in, when you run out of diapers and it's not a good time to head to the store (late at night, etc). Now with my daycare children (one of whom wears cloth - and my son is not toilet trained) I really notice the smell difference, and I have to be on top of how many diapers are left so I can let the parents know.
Back to cloth: In the end, I ended up with similar issues as Philothea above, and since I was using cloth for myself, I didn't even think twice about using cloth when my son was born. I tried various covers and all-in-ones in the first 2 months and finally settled on Bumkins brand, which seems to work best for some shapes over others (the all-in-ones did not work for us until the larger sizes). The most cost effective for us was to use Gerber brand birds-eye weave inserts (that can be folded to a variety of sizes) with the Bumkins covers.
Bumkins are velcro, with tabs that close over the velcro for laundering. Many of the others listed are velcro or snaps of some sort - we've never used pins (I always feared them when helping with my little sisters' diapers).
just my little bit of input...
:)
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knowloveserve
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| Posted: Feb 14 2007 at 9:05am | IP Logged
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FWIW: I do a diaper load ever 2 days in the newborn stage.... then about every 3 oor 4 days after that.
This isn't the case anymore, but it was awesome when we paid a flat rate on our water in CA.
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Ellie
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Alexandra
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| Posted: Feb 18 2007 at 10:14pm | IP Logged
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Using cloth diapers is so individualistic. Everyone seems to have a different combo which works for their child. We went with something very inexpensive. I got adjustable covers(with snaps) and those Chinese Prefolds(CPF) with the green stitching. I started out with the preemie CPF, which is now a extra booster. I also purchased some hemp liners. We shouldn't have to buy anymore, just a one time purchase.
I got the covers and hemp liners on ebay from Little Lambs who is no longer a registered user on ebay. I think she is still in business, but heard recently of bad reviews for service. Not sure if this is still a problem at Little Lambs, but we liked the quality and price. I'm sure they are still obtainable on ebay used. We've been washing those covers for 17 months, and they still look new. The CPF have been holding up well too.
We don't do any fancy folding. We just place a flat diaper with a booster on top in the cover, and snap the cover on, tucking in any pieces that are peeking out. When dd was a newborn(7 pounds), we folded the Preemie CPF once. She wasn't a preemie, but that size fit her perfectly.
I actually think cloth is less stinky than disposables. We keep the dirty ones in a plastic laundry basket in the garage next to the washer. Most of the stinky stuff gets flushed away, unlike disposables which hang around until you take the trash out.
I also have had the same issues Catholic Mom and Philothea mention, so it was a natural choice with the cloth for dd. I haven't considered the water cost, but it has been less expensive only buying once for diapers. I do about two extra loads of laundry a week with just dd's diapers.
My advice...keep it simple, and it will go great with cloth diapers.
You are never too old for cloth. I'm in the over 40 crowd too. I think cloth is kind of fun. 
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Angi
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| Posted: April 10 2007 at 8:38pm | IP Logged
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I have not read all of the responses, but I love cloth diapers, so I will jump in.
My twins are in cloth (as were the older 2). The twins have been in cloth since I brought them home. In the last 5 1/2 years (4 kids), I have spent about $300 for diapers, covers, snappis, and training pants. I am too cheap to buy disposables. And, my girls were all allergic to them anyway. But the real reason that I use them - the stuff in them that gels up is the same chemical that was used in tampons for a long time. I do not want those little gels getting in my girls reproductive area.
www.littleants.com - a Catholic WAHM of 3 boys :)
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Topic: Cloth diapers 101
