So, CD mommies -
I'm starting to research cloth diapering. Environmentally, and financially, we're interested in doing it about 3/4 of the time, we think. What are your favorites? Why? I have a 30-lb pumpkin (size 5-6 disposables) and a 16 lb almst 5 month old (size 2, 3 soon). To keep things simple, I'm probably most interested in one-sizes, but I'm just not sure. BumGenius is one brand I've looked at so far. Is it as easy as it seems? Please share with me some pros and cons! Thanks!

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I have been CDing for over 5 years straight now. It's really not a big deal. But I'm probably no help to you since I use prefolds only. I did it for the cost and they are the cheapest way to go. I use prefolds, pins, and pull on covers. I have about 36 or so of the same size diapers and when I had Lance (he weighs about 30 pounds) and Lauren (weighs around 18 pounds) in diapers at the same time I was washing about every other day. It's easy as pie to me, but I've been doing it for a long time now. I do change diapers about once an hour, just so I can keep them dry, so that is a down side because when they are in disp diapers they don't get changed nearly that much, but that's really not a big deal to me either.

I have never bought different sized prefolds...I just fold them different for different sized babes.

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Mom to

Logan 5 years old

Lance 3 years old

Lauren 22 months old

I've used all kinds of diapers... personally I prefer prefolds and fitteds, both of which need covers outside the home
ETA: I'm also diaper pin impaired and use a Snappi So if you do decide on prefolds you don't have to use pins.

I recently was asked to write a mini-guide for a local mom here who was interested... so I'm just going to be lazy and copy/paste...


There are a ton of different ways to "do" cloth diapering, ranging from
dirt cheap to crazy expensive (like hand-embroidered fitted diapers for
$200 apiece... like I'd let my kids GO in that!)

Anyway... here are the basic "types" of cloth diapers, from
hardest/cheapest to easiest/most expensive:

Don't panic when you see the prices for the example links... I'm just
giving you the clearest picture... at the end I'll tell you where to
find them cheap!

PREFOLDS... (these require a cover)
Square piece of cotton that's thicker down the middle than the two
sides. You can either put this inside of a diaper cover just tri-folded,
or use a snappi or diaper pins. This is the cheapest method, and if you
use a snappi and fold right, it is the most bullet-proof method. It IS
more time-consuming and harder to get a hang of at first.
Pics:
Green Mountain Diapers: Prefold Diapers

FITTEDS... (these require a cover)
These are basically just like disposable diapers... velcro or snaps, but
without the water proof outer layer. (Why no outer layer? Faster drying
time!!) This is what I use on my son because it's more bullet-proof than
pockets or AIOs (below) but faster and easier than prefolds.
Pic:
Thirsties Fab Fitted - Cloth Diapers - Cotton Babies Cloth Diaper Store

COVERS...
You can use wool (very breathable, but expensive) or you can use PUL...
or you can even use fleece! But generally, the most widely used is
PUL... they snap or vel-cro over the top, no plastic pants anymore.
My two faves that I love using:
Page 1
Super Brite Diaper Cover - By Bummis

POCKETS...
These are just like disposable diapers... well, kind of. You have a
layer of microfleece or other moisture-wicking material (to keep baby
dry), then you have an inner layer that's stuffable with an insert (or
whatever you want to put in there), and then you have a waterproof outer
layer. They dry faster than all-in-ones, but are only about as "leak
proof" as a disposable... meaning some brands will work better for some
kids, depending on their shape. They come in snaps, vel-cro, even
side-snapping for kids who know how to take off diapers.
Pic of the "most popular" and well-known brand:
Fuzzi Bunz - The Fuzzi Bunz Details

ALL-IN-ONES...
These are just like disposable diapers. Most expensive, longest drying
time, but totally dad & grandma friendly. Again, they are only as leak
proof as disposables, and you need to find the right brand for your
child (the first brand I tried leaked like crazy, the second fit much
better on my odd-shaped little man).
Link to a well-known diaper (this particular one is one-size... 9-30some
lbs) bumGenius cloth diapers by Cotton Babies


~~~~~~~~~~
WASHING:
This is where so many people get scared or go insane trying to do it
right.
Everyone has a different wash routine. I use Tide Pure Essentials (1/2
the recommended amount), wash hot, rinse cold, extra rinse cold, stick
in the dryer.
Sometimes I wash on warm, with my husband's work clothes. You can use
ALMOST any detergent out there (just NO bleach). It's not as complicated
as everyone makes it out to be, I promise! Just wash, rinse, rinse again
to make sure there's no bubbles left (bubbles make diapers less
absorbent), then dry. DO NOT use a dryer sheet, or fabric softener. You
can use nothing at all or get a dryer ball (I just use nothing, because
I'm cheap )

POOP:
Yeah, we gotta talk about it. I don't know how old your little one is,
but if you have an exclusively breastfed baby (with that super-soft
runny poo), you don't have to rinse or dunk or anything. BF poo just
comes out in the wash. Once solids start, you get that in-between
peanut-butter poo, and you can do one of several things: A) get a shower
sprayer and hook it up to your toilet
(minishower) B) Turn diaper inside out, hold in
toilet bowl, and flush... or worst case scenario (when baby gets sick)
C) Get a spatula. Luckily this phase doesn't last too long and when they
are into a lot of solids their poo becomes roll-off-able. And honestly,
if you ever find something in a diaper that is just too disgusting to
even think about... put it in the wash with the rest of the diapers, and
do a pre-soak, pre-rinse before washing. I have done this with
sick-teething-baby-poo and it's OKAY. Washers are amazing things, they
can handle a lot of nasty stuff!

ACCESSORIES:
Diaper pail: I use a flip-top trash can from Wal-mart, and when I
remember, I put a cloth pail liner inside. I have 2 pail liners, meaning
I can dump everything into the wash and then turn my liner inside out
and wash it as well.
When one is washing, the other is in the pail. You can use a regular
trash bag if you want, or you can use nothing at all (maybe sprinkle a
little baking soda in the bottom of the can to keep IT from smelling)
Wetbags: These are mini-pail-liners that you put in your diaper bag to
carry your wet/dirty diapers home. They are also washable of course. Or
you can use plastic bags or hefty/ziplock bags, works just as well.


WHERE TO BUY:
Here's my been-there-done-that advice. Used cloth diapers are NOT dirty.
Go used. There is a swap forum online specifically for trading/selling
cloth diapers that have been previously loved (or bought and ended up
being the wrong size...). This way, if you want to use all-in-ones or
pockets, you can buy 1 or
2 of a brand, maybe a few brands total, and once you decide that XYZ
brand works for you, you can literally sell ABC brand for very little
loss. They hold their value well if you take care of them. Then, once
you know which ones WORK, you can (if you so choose) buy a big lot of
them, used OR new.
The other good thing about this forum is that you can ask questions in
the Diaper Chatter section, and a few very nice mamas will come along
and help you out as much as they can.
The magic link:
Diaper Swappers - Cloth Diaper & Parenting Community - Powered by vBulletin
(tip: Payment is easiest/best through Paypal or RME)

AFTERTHOUGHTS:
An infant goes through 10-12 diapers a day. A 6-12 month old goes
through maybe 8-10 a day. An older child 6-8. This depends on your child
of course, and what KIND of diaper you get. You obviously will have to
change a cloth diaper MORE often than a disposable because they can't
absorb 200 times their own weight in liquid. That's what The Deadly
Beads do So, if you want to do laundry every 3 days, shop
accordingly. I wash daily and my son has about 20-some diapers. He is
also at a stage where any sign of wetness will irritate him, so I have
to change him the moment he dribbles the tiniest bit.

Sizing: All brands are generally about the same, but some are different.
Small is usually 8-15lbs, Medium is 12-25, Large is 20-35... they all
overlap a little. My 18 month old has been in the same size since he was
5 months old.
When you are done with one size (assuming you don't buy one-size
diapers... they never fit my baby but I DO love one-size covers!), you
can sell the size you're using for a pretty good price and buy the next
size up.

If you'd like to touch/feel/see a few different types of diapers, I have
fitteds and prefolds in newborn/small/medium sizes. I do have some old,
ragged falling apart all-in-ones too (bought them used, my son is the
4th child in them) and I have a "pocket-fitted" that we use as a
nighttime diaper (it's a fitted diaper with a pocket, which I stuff with
a prefold or two or three, depending on the situation).

I know it can seem insanely overwhelming at first, but I promise, it
gets easier. I haven't bought a single disposable diaper since March
2007 (well, until today... vacation this weekend, not looking forward to
diaper rashes). I also haven't bought diaper-rash ointment since March
2007!


You could order a few of the BG 3.0's from the website as a sampler... or find some on diaperswappers for cheaper... just to try before you commit to a ton

Hope that's not too much info

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I have been using Cloth nappies for Audrey, I love them, I have HEAPS!!!

I have tried heaps of brands, (alot of Aussie ones though) Are you looking at fitted nappies? or ones that don't need a cover? I really like my blueberries Blueberry™ - Is Your Baby wearing one? they are a US brand, and they always have specials going. I really like the minky ones as they still look new and wash up really well. I haven't tried the one size though. I use mediums on Audrey. lol she is actually wearing one now

Ill have to find a pic of my nappy stash lol

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Qestion, I have always wanted to try and cloth diaper. But never knew anyone who did it. It became to overwhelming and I gave up. With Nicholas being my last baby is is even worth speding the money?

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It depends on what method of CDing you use and what method of sposies you currently use... and plus there are other factors besides cost to consider. I'd say yep, sure, absolutely worth it--because knowing this is your last, when you're done CDing, you can sell your stash and recoup a lot of the cost!

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How much do you spend on diapers now? (a week or a month) How close do you think you are to potty training? I bought about 3 doz diapers and a few covers for around $85 a little over 3 years ago. I know it wasn't more than $100...my point is I have spent less than $100 over the past 3 years and have diapered both Lance and Lauren in them.

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Mom to

Logan 5 years old

Lance 3 years old

Lauren 22 months old

I should also add that the first diapers I bought were the Gerber (from Walmart) cheap-o cloth diapers. I think you get a doz for around $14. I used them for 2 years on Logan until I had Lance and decided to get the good prefolds. Now Looking back, I don't know how I used those cheap ones on Logan for 2 years. But again, I spend around $45 to diaper a child for 2 years.

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Mom to

Logan 5 years old

Lance 3 years old

Lauren 22 months old

I am spending $35 a month. I suspect I have about a year left of diapers. My husband is saying no to the cloth but I do 99% of the diapering.

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nak

it doesnt have to be all or nothing either... you could buy, say, 8 of those cheap pocket diapers @ $64, use them until you run out (they will probably last all day, or run out late evening), then use 1-2 disposables at night (or however many you do now). Just wash in the evening start over the next day! A lot of moms intentionally use cloth during the day and sposies at night. And when your DH has the kids, just send along sposies. You'd be amazed at how few you'll use just replacing most of the day with cloth... and that'd cost you 2 months worth of disposables.

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I am enjoying the discussion and ALL the info. I always want to research things to death, so... I just need to stay excited enough to decide what I think I want and order them... I can't decide between prefolds and covers (favorites, anyone?) or pockets... Reilly seldom fills his disposable at night anymore, and since Jaina rarely eats between 9 and 6, hers isn't usually that wet either. I just don't know, but it seems like a pretty good idea. I just have a hard time keeping up with the housework as it is, I don't know if I can add in laundry every day...

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Sara... you can wash diapers with undies/socks/etc... heck I wash them with DH's work clothes, and if I don't have a full load of diapers, I'll throw them in with my clothes. I know it just sounds totally weird, but when you put stuff IN the wash it's dirty, when you take it out it's clean. regardless of what all went in. If it's still dirty, run it again really quick.

Then again for us, DS always peed/pood out of his sposies meaning I was changing his clothes several times a day... when we switched to cloth I actually started doing LESS laundry!

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I just ordered a starter set. I am so excited. I ordered 2 bummis covers, 6 prefolds and a snappi. For only $30. This way if I don't like it I am not wasting any money. After a week or so if I like the idea still I will order more prefolds and whatever else I need. But doing laundry everyday for a week will be okay. Even if I only go a month I didn't waste any money. Did I sell you? I hope it works for dh!

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Where did you order from?

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Sounds like the one from cottonbabies.com... they have a trial-starter thing for about that cost! I think it may come with 2 snappis tho, don't remember

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Yeah, it is from cotton babies. I would like to try some fitteds but will start here first.

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Hey, at least you'll know it can only get easier from there!

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Sara - As far as covers....I tried a lot of them in the beginning. I ordered one of each kind of cover that they had just to see if I liked any more than the other. I think I ordered 6 different ones. I hated most of the ones that had Velcro...they all got wet on the band around the legs (the rest of it stayed dry) which resulted in wet clothes at that point. I was changing diapers about every hour so I wasn't letting them get really soaking wet either. There was only one that I did like...it was Bumkins. It didn't have the problem of getting wet around the legs like all the others seemed to do. I have used the Bummis whisper pant most of the time and for the past 2 years that is all I have used. They do pull on which may be a little more work than the Velcro, but I've never had a problem with leaking, getting wet on any of the bands (waist or legs), and they don't tear like the plastic pants do.

Babyfan1 - Yay for you for ordering your starter set! Let us know how you are doing with them when they arrive!

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Mom to

Logan 5 years old

Lance 3 years old

Lauren 22 months old

rebail i had the same issue w the BSWW's b