I am researching cloth diapers. I love the idea of them, but I am a bit overwhelmed by all of the different styles, brands, etc. I’d love to get Moms’ opinions and reviews.
I don’t have a baby yet, due in [name]July[/name], but I am in the information gathering phase. I imagine I’ll use disposables right off the bat until I start to get the hang of motherhood, but the sooner I can get the styles or brands sorted out, the better. I’d love to include cloth diapers in my registry.
So, which styles work best? Any good links to sites that have good prices?
Wolfie just finally fell asleep so I will have to come back to.this thread later…but we have used Cders since [name]Seb[/name] was q baby so I know a lot about many different kinds. Wolfie is in mostly grovia all in ones during the day with a few prefolds and covers used as well. But I’ve tried pretty much every kind of system (not brands mind you, lol).
There was a relatively recent thread discussing experiences with cloth diapering. Jemama gave her extensive perspective (could save you from typing it out again) along with many other members.
I think cloth diapering would be a lot easier when the baby is out of the newborn stage, like after 3 months or so. Newborns go through SO many diapers, it seems hard to keep up with. My mom used cloth diapers with me until I was potty trained, and I know plenty of people who have, but it’s just not for me. We switched to Pampers Cruisers because I read somewhere the filling is made from recycled material, but I don’t remember where I read it… I’ll have to go look that up now.
I use a diaper service. I give them the used ones and they bring me clean ones. No washing necessary! It took me about a week to really get the hang of it but I [name]LOVE[/name] them. Such a big money saver! And much better for the environment.
We only use disposables when she stays with other people, since they have such a hard time figuring them out haha.
I believe most major cities have a diaper delivery service. [name]Worth[/name] looking into!
We bought them and are going to use them at so point, but not quite yet cause baby’s way too tiny! The nappies are almost as big as she is. Anyway, these are the ones we’ve bought: little lamb (link)
There are services here where you can rent cloth diapers for a trial period. They give you a variety of styles and brands from one store so that you can try them on your baby and decide what works best for you before you buy. I was given 2 dozen CDs but they are a brand that went out of business a few years ago (way before my LO was born), and I don’t like them at all, so we found a (supposedly) environmentally friendly disposable alternative until I get around to buying other CDs. I’m not 100% sure I will though.
I have 2 friends who swear by Bum Genius… Although, one of them had issues with the elastic wearing out after a year of use. She called the company and they sent replacements!
It really depends upon the person. The best advice is to try out one or two of the different styles you are interested in and go from there. There are places like [name]Nicki[/name]'s Diaper’s that has packages that allows you to test out different systems.
The most economical way to do it is with prefolds / flatfolds and covers, my son is out of diapers, but when we were potty training, even, we used prefolds overnight and it was great.
I don’t love the idea of pocket diapers, but I know that a lot of people do, I haven’t had the opportunity to use them yet, but I do have several in my stash for next time so we shall see.
I also love the idea of fleece or wool - I have experimented with fleece and I do like it! I have sewn a few of my own soakers (They look kind of like little fleece booty shorts) and you just put them over a flatfold/prefold. They allow a lot of airflow which you do not get with the PUL type diapers and covers. I like my PUL, but in warm weather and if you have a very rash prone baby, fleece is a good option.
If you want to use cloth from birth, I would suggest ordering a newborn kit that you use and send back, I am pretty sure [name]Nicki[/name]'s Diapers and [name]Cotton[/name] Babies has those - as others have stated, newborns go through a lot of diapers and cloth DOES require more frequent changes on top of that, so being able to basically just “borrow” will save you a lot of money unless you plan to buy and save them for the next child.
As for prices, there are a lot of different options for all budgets - everything from buying a pack of pre-folds from walmart and making your own no-sew covers from fleece (I have made soakers and covers from a 5.00 fleece blanket from the dollar store) to spending 25.00+ each on custom made diapers. Amazon is a really good option for finding affordable options, and so is EBay. I also highly suggest going through the sale sections of [name]Nicki[/name]'s and [name]Cotton[/name] Babies, [name]Niki[/name]'s has free shipping on a lot of items, which is nice. You can certainly get a stash of flatfolds / prefolds and covers for under 100.00 and it will last you quite a long time.
We cloth diaper. We didn’t start until he was 6 months or so though. We use fitteds (mostly twinkie tush -pricey but they are awesome and so, so cute) and wool, pocket diapers (love bumgenius), as well as some Ai2s (various work at home mama businesses, usually found on hyenacart) -I am in a cloth diaper group and they are invaluable to learn about brands and everything fluff). We use flushable liners to make cleanup super easy. I love that we always have diapers at our house and it really hasn’t been a hassle, just an extra couple of loads of laundry per week. -They do give the baby a giant tush though, which is pretty adorable and also makes pants a little tricky. If I can help anyone with info, please let me know!
What do you like about pocket diapers compared to AI1’s? I haven’t had the opportunity to try everything out yet, just wondering if it is better to just buy AI1 over pockets? (aside from price, pockets seem to be much more affordable).
I like that I can customize the absorbency -add more layers for overnight and so on. I guess you could add a bamboo or hemp insert to an AI1 if you needed to but it is just what we got and I love them -oh, and I like that I throw the inserts into the dryer and the shells dry very fast when they hang so I don’t have to wait around for a thicker diaper to dry. They are the diapers we leave for the sitter, very user friendly, although Ai1s are as well. I don’t have experience with AI1s but I can ask my friends -I do know Ai1s can be trimmer on the baby. You might want to get a few different kinds to see what you like. -or if you have a heavy wetter, you may prefer certain diapers.
Oh yeah, you know, that makes a lot of sense - I didn’t even think of the absorbency thing. I didn’t get into cloth until my son was potty training but I’m preparing for next time, lol. He was a super soaker when he was under a year old, too, so being able to adjust the absorbency, especially at night, is a good option. Thanks!
That’s something I hadn’t considered. I’ll do some pricing of services in my area.
Sorry if this is a dumb question…[name]How[/name] long do the dirties sit around before pick-up? [name]Do[/name] you keep a dirty diaper pail out in your garage or back deck?
They come every week. For my neighborhood it’s every [name]Wednesday[/name]. I put the diaper bag outside (it’s sealed tight) and they bring me a new bag with the fresh ones. It’s set up so you get the same number that you put out. And you can just adjust the number by calling them like if you’re going to be out of town and need an extra week’s worth. And no extra cost!
The diaper bag can get REALLY smelly by the end of the week, but I found some deodorizing disks on Amazon and they really help a lot. And it really only smells when you open it to throw another dirty one in.
I use a plastic fastener as opposed to safety pins. SUPER EASY! And you can buy your own covers in whatever color or style you like.
And as for the heavy wetters and overnight, I usually just double up and that is efficient enough.
My daughter is the 4th generation to use this particular diaper service. My family has sworn by it and i’m really happy to carry on the tradition.
Thanks! I was just doing some other online research, and it seems to confirm your thoughts on the pocket diapers. Most of the pocket brands got poor reviews from the moms. Prefolds/flatfolds with covers like [name]Tuck[/name] n Go and Econobum got great reviews.
Thanks @cygnus and @flick. I may private message you with specific questions. I am definitely interested in first hand experience and reviews, particularly on issues of absorbency and ease of use. RE: the AI one’s. Have you heard of or tried Motherease or Softbum Omni’s? They got fantastic reviews and seem very easy to use.
Thanks @stephanie413. I am going to look into services right now to see what they charge. Thanks for the deodorizing tips
@ottillie I imagine I’ll skip using cloth during the itsy bitsy NB stage too. Seems like I can wait a little while before jumping into it. I’ll check out the link. Thanks.
Thanks so much for the info, everyone. It seems like moms who use cloth diapers really, really like it. It’s looking more and more like the direction I’d like to go.
Sorry for all of the quoted responses above, but I wanted to address everyone that gave me suggestions.
I’m going to look through the [name]October[/name] cloth diapering thread now and see what pearls I can glean…
A lot of people skip the newborn stage because of the black tar like poo that they tend to have at first - washing that out of a diaper you invested money in is not appealing, lol.
