So I’m wanting to learn some more about cloth diapering since it would be a great thing for us to do with our limited funds. If any of you have done it, could you please tell me all about it? [name]How[/name] much money did you save/not save? Was it easier or harder than regular diapers…those kinds of things.
Thanks!
My mom did it with my brother, when the next one was born she said “Oh hell no.” and went back to regular diapers. 
I think it’s cost effective, but so extremely messy/dirty/involved. My mom found it too much after a certain point I think, and it’s not easy to get help with you know? She’d never ask anyone to change his diaper because of it, and sometimes he’d leak a lot easier as well.
This is something I definitely plan on doing when when I have a baby.
I haven’t done a huge amount of research into it, but from what I can gather, its quite expensive in the beginning when you are building your collection up. You’ll need at least 7-8 of them to start off, preferably more, which is why its expensive at the start. Its an investment though, because you won’t have to buy any diapers for a long time when you have built up your collection a bit. In the long run, it works out [name]WAY[/name] cheaper than disposables, the start up cost is just more.
They come in two parts. The outside cover, and the inside absorbent part, which is the part you wash. If the diaper is wet, you just remove the cover and put the absorbent part in the washer. If its soiled, you have to rinse it in the bath/shower before putting it in the washer.
The fabric is so much kinder to sensitive baby skin than disposables. I spoke to a cloth using mom recently and she put it like this to me: Would you rather wear paper, plastic knickers or soft cotton ones? That pretty much sold me on the idea.
As I said, I don’t know too much abut them but in my opinion they’re the way forward. They work out cheaper in the long run, are good for the environment and are better for your baby’s skin 
My mom did it with my sister, but she actually used a swrvice that gives you everything you need & picks up the poop filled diaper pail & gives you clean ones!
Because of the nature of this service I doubt they didn’t use bleaches & heavy soap so for you it might defeat the purpose but this is one option
You’ll need way more than that to start out with. A newborn goes through about 10-12 diapers a day, so most cloth diapering sites suggest starting with at least 20.
Thanks so far ladies. I have a store near me that sells these kinds of things and I’m going to go look into it this weekend. Better to start stocking now if i’m going to do it.
I agree it comes out way cheaper in the long run, but am concerned about having a baby in daycare with cloth diapers.
[name]Hi[/name] Dantea-
I have used cloth diapers since #2 was born. [name]Love[/name] them! Saved tons of money and I think they are much cuter and better on sensitive skin of little ones too! Regarding the store – maybe they have someone who can help you pick out a nice starter packet for a newborn. I’m going to assume it’s a small retail store and not Babies R Us or Target or something like that. Nothing against those stores… I shop in both, but not for cloth diapers. The quality and selection is VERY VERY limited and you are better off buying online. When buying prefold diapers for example, you want something labeled “diaper service quality” or “chinese prefolds” - the ones in Babies R Us (Gerber brand I’m thinking?) are not high quality.
Here are my favorite links:
I get my prefolds and many covers here (we use prefolds w/ covers, but I have some “All in [name]One[/name]” diapers too- Bum Genius brand
New to Cloth Diapers Information – Green Mountain Diapers
Diaperpin.com | Go to Parenting Resource!
Types Of Cloth Diapers » Learn Everything You Need To Know
The Prefolds work best for me because they are most economical. I also find them very easy to use and when I did cloth diapering with #2 (8 yrs ago now) they were very popular with not many other great options yet. So I basically just go them as default, but I know there are alot of cool things out there now. There are “[name]One[/name] Size” systems available now that take your baby from infant (like 1-2 months old) through potty training! Talk about a cost savings.
We use flushable liners (they are pretty cheap!) – so I don’t do any pre-soaking or spraying of any diapers (wet or dirty). Our pail system is a “dry pail” - after I flush the liner, I just toss the diaper in the dry pail. No soaking in there and there is no smell either (just a little baking soda at the bottom or sprinkled on top if needed.
[name]How[/name] many to get? Well, most recently I diapered newborn twins. I have about 16 prefolds per baby and 6-8 covers of various types. (well I actually have alot more covers because I have a slight obsession with them, but we only need about 6 or so-- you don’t change the cover each diaper change. You may notice that you change cloth more often than disposibles, but that is because it’s an all natural material- there are not deposits of chemicals in the diaper to absorb the wetness into the plastic lining. I have never had trouble with leaking or anything, but my girls are “normal” wetters – I know alot of people with heavy wetters need to add a doubler as a liner.
Umm…what else? I do a load of diapers every other day laundry-wise. When I had one in diapers, I could stretch this to almost 4 days, but I was lucky to have alot in stock to do that-- if you are keeping costs down and supplies are limited, you will have to do laundry more often. But laundry doesn’t bother me!
Cloth Diapers are really a topic that I (and alot of others) could talk about for ages. So check out some links, your local store, etc and if you have specific questions feel free to ask me!
We have used cloth since [name]Seb[/name] was a few months old. No regrets, and diapering so many little bums over the years there have been definate savings!
I used pocket diapers for the first few years (fuzzi bunz) and then gradually moved over to FB’s at night and either fitteds or prefolds with covers (Wool is my favorate) during the day. Never had leakage issues etc. I did give away all our cloth after [name]Felix[/name] was born (as I had a friend who needed diapers and I gave all my baby stuff away…) and those diapers as far as I know are holding up perfectly fine.
We are starting over with baby stuff with this little one and will once again be usingcloth because of our positive experience with it 4 times over, and resale value if this babe is our last (likely) or, reuse value for us if we have more (possible but not likely). I highly recommend the natural baby company website, [name]Kim[/name] is great (the owner) and an online friend that I have known for nearly 8 years now. She is a mom of 5 and is really into developing the products etc. A wonderful company. (Not just saying this because she is an online pal, google and you can see I am not the only one who feels this way)
If you have any specific questions, please send me a message or ask here. I would never consider myself an expert on anything, but, have over 10 years of CD experience. (Well,not quite that many as Vio was out of diapers before [name]Seb[/name] turned ten…but close!)
[name]Don[/name]'t talk to people who cloth diapered 20 years ago, talk to people who do it now - things have changed a LOT!
Start here for an excellent overview at one of the best CD stores on the net.
[name]How[/name] much you spend/save on CDs depends on what kind you buy:. I use pocket diapers (mostly Bumgenius) for my toddler, and have a pile of cotton fitteds to use for my baby-to-be. Pockets are great because they go on like a disposable (with snaps or velcro though), but they keep the baby’s butt dry and its easy to make them more or less absorbent according to your needs. The ones i use are one-size (they adjust bigger or smaller with snaps), but if i were starting over i’d probably at least try a two-size system (Thirsties brand would be my pick).
Prefolds and covers are the cheapest option, and they’re not hard to use if you go for it: covers these days aren’t like the old rubber pants, they’re made of lightweight waterproof fabric and close with snaps or velcro.
It’s hard to tell you everything at once…check out the link, and also go to diaperswappers.com, it’s easy to search for info and ask specific questions there. Or you can try something more specific and i’ll see what i can tell you - i do know a lot about cloth diapering!
[name]Hi[/name] dantea now you are talking! This is a mother from the 70’s where NOBODY used paper diapers (well maybe one or two people once in a while).
You need heaps of nappies as we call them here in [name]Oz[/name] and I used them with a throw away liner like a blue checked Kleenex that you would wipe down the benches in the kitchen, this made them softer too. We hardly ever used clothes dryers but if we had we would not have needed a liner as the dryer makes them fluff up and become soft.
I had a bucket in the bathroom filled with a solution of Napisan (to killl the germs) at 6am ish every day I would pick up the bucket walk out the back door of the house along the verandah down the steps to the laundry under the house where I would prepare the nappies for washing paying particular attention to the soiled ones. When they were washed they went onto the line and at the end of the day they were folded and put away in a nappy stacker till they were needed. We used pins then to make them secure but I believe that there are smart nappies that probably use velcro (not invented in the 70’s).
We covered the nappy with a pair of plastic diapers to prevent the moisture from the nappy wetting anything.
So that was life back then and we didn’t mind much we just did it.
rollo
If you might be using half and half (cloth at home, disposible at daycare) then you might want to look at buying a used lot on Ebay. I know it sounds gross, but cloth diaper moms who would consider selling in this manner are GOOD to their diapers! They will be in good condition… might have a stain or two, but definitely lots of life left in them. And it’s sanitary since they are washed in hot water.
Also-- there are bags made for dirty/wet diapers when you are “on the go” – this could be an option for daycare if they will work with that. you’d just pick up the dirty dipes bag and bring new ones each day.
Try diaperswappers.com You can buy, sell, trade there. Yes, used cloth diapers retain up to 70% of their value. There is an extensive forum there full of info about washing routines, various types…really anything you’d want to know or any problem you might encounter, w/ possible solutions, from battling stink to what to do at daycare. It’s an invaluable source. We’ve been CDing for almost 2 years now & [name]LOVE[/name] it! No rashes to speak of, cloth doesn’t smell like icky chemicals, cheaper, better for the environment, & my son is more aware of when he’s wet than his brothers were, who didn’t use cloth. My advice is to try a variety of brands & styles before you commit to buying a certain type or two because every baby is shaped differently, & your needs may change as baby gets older & more active. I love snaps for my toddler rather than velcro he can undo, for example.
I use cloth diapers. [name]Love[/name] them! Check YouTube for the videos called Cloth Diapering 101. It is a series of like 6 or 7. They helped me a lot. I use pocket diapers from justsimplybaby dot com with flats from greenmountaindiapers pad folded inside. The flats wash better and dry much faster than other pocket diaper inserts. I have very hard water, so I have to fight stink issues a lot. I use Eco Nuts and Eco Nuts liquid detergent. Washing routines are generally the hardest part for people to figure out. My routine: Scrape or dump poo out of diapers. [name]Set[/name] washer on extra large rinse cycle with baking soda and oxiclean free and clear (I don’t use oxiclean every time necessarily). I let it soak for an hour or overnight before closing the lid. Then I do either a small or large hot wash, depending on how many diapers there are, with Eco nuts and vinegar. I dry in the dryer mostly, but drying on a line is a great way to disinfect and get rid of stains. I also use cloth wipes and home made spray. And I recently found a recipe for homemade diaper rash cream that should be cloth diaper safe (most store bought ones aren’t). My favorite store bought ointment is Badger [name]Baby[/name] Balm. Smells so nice I highly recommend looking at both websites I mentioned. They have a lot of good info, and Facebook pages if you need to ask any questions. [name]Just[/name] simply baby also has a 30 day guarantee, where you can return even used cloth diapers for a full refund if you don’t like them. Good luck! I hope this helps
Thanks so much everyone! Wow I got a lot of info here I’ll definitely look into those websites and talk to the ladies in the nursery at the daycare I’m working at.
The store near me is calling [name]Green[/name] Corner Store or something like that and it’s a local store that carries environmentally friendly products and baby things and locally handmade cloth diapers.
Thanks again!
We are going to do it and registered for it. There are a variety of cloth diapers out there so do your homework on which ones you want. We registered for mostly bumGenius diapers, pricier but they are “the best quality”. You will need to use a special detergent to wash them or it can affect the absorbability. I registered for this attachment to the toilet to rinse off the “icky poo” into the toilet (but will use a squirt bottle if we don’t get it) and registered for a garbage pail with an air tight lid and filter that is ideal for cloth diapers. It can store up to 2 days of dirty diapers until it’s time to “wash”. I also registered for a travel bag to keep dirty diapers in. I obviously haven’t started yet but any parent I’ve spoken to about it, swears by it. I am looking forward to it, a case of diapers isn’t cheap! Not to mention it’s absurd how many you have to go though, so bad for the environment. If you can get enough diapers and the accessories on your registry you should be golden.
If you have a Buy Buy [name]Baby[/name] nearby, they usually carry Bumgenious pockets and a few other items like cloth wipes and diaper sprayers. Sometimes big baby stores like that will have Itzy Ritzy wetbags too, which are a good size for traveling.
I got my stash from a mixture of sales (BG does buy 5 get 1 free every year, also [name]Black[/name] Friday is a huge time to shop for CD stuff on sale), random lucky finds in the clearance section at Target, and some online trades. I did try a bunch of types of diaper before settling on an all-pocket stash - but i kind of suspected that i’d end up wanting those anyway, so…
Have fun with it!
I have no first hand knowledge of cloth diapering but one of my favorite bloggers swears by it. They’ve used the same 12 diapers since their daughter was born and I think she is almost 2 1/2 now!
Here is their original post about it: Using Cloth Diapers (Tips About How We Do It - And LOVE IT!) | Young House Love
And a little update… Dog Days & Cloth Diapers | Young House Love
The comments on the posts have lots of info from experienced cloth diapering moms, too!
[name]Hi[/name] Dantea,
Congratulations on your little one!
Here is a response I wrote to a similar question about 5 months ago.
We have 9 month old twins and have done cloth diapering basically from the start. We have 20 BumGenius 4.0 pocket diapers, 1 Fuzzibunz, and 2 different kinds of Kawai [name]Baby[/name] (we bought a few kinds to try them out but BumGenius worked best for our boys so we bought more of those.) All of these diapers (except one of the Kawai Babies) is the ‘one size’ kind. I have to say I was pretty worried about how quickly we were having to use the larger sizes, but my boys were nearly 18 lbs at about 2.5 months. Once they slowed their weight gain we have been holding steady on the same snap size for a few months and I no longer fear that we will out grow the diapers before they are 1 year old. I think the BumGenius says up to 35 lbs and I can see us reaching that in these diapers about the time we want to be starting potty training. We have high hopes that they will last us the entire time we need diapers. The shells are still in perfect condition and we have only noticed signs of wear on a seam of one insert. We did recently purchase a 10 more diapers (not arrived yet) because the boys will be starting preschool in the fall and the washing (well really the drying) will become more difficult.
Once they got to sleeping longer stretches at night (hooray!) we found that their wet cloth diapers were waking them up. We could probably have double stuffed their diapers, but instead made the call to do a disposable at night time. It has sort of become part of our night time routine and is one of our key signals that it is bed time for the boys. We also do disposable if we are traveling (don’t really expect anyone to let us use their washer for our diapers!). If we are just out for the day though we definitely still use cloth. We just have a stash of plastic bags in a pocket of our stroller and we toss the bag in the stroller basket once it has dirty diapers in it. I don’t think I’ve ever had a problem with them smelling. My kids don’t nap well in their stroller though so we are not frequently out that long. Although last week we were out from about 1:30 until 10pm for a special occasion and I didn’t notice a problem with the diapers smelling.
We thought about getting a toilet sprayer but didn’t and in the end we feel like it would have been a waste of money. We have only had an issue with getting the poop off the diaper maybe 3 times in all 9 months.
We live in an apartment but do have our own washer (no dryer though). I think it would be pretty hard for me to get by without a washer in our apartment. (Not just for the diapers but also the vast quantity of laundry the little stinkers generate. I swear they may be little but they create HUGE messes!!) I start a diaper load every day during their second nap to ensure that the diapers are dry by the next morning. I also run at least one other load of laundry a day, but this is probably because we do cloth wipes (for butts during diaper changes which get washed with the diapers and for faces during their meals which get washed with the other laundry). We bought the snap versions and have been pleased with them. We have a few things that have velcro on them and I always forget to hook the sides together so they don’t stick to everything in the wash.
As far as cost, for us it is definitely way cheaper for us to launder the diapers- water is included in our rent. We did some rough calculations and figured out that by the time our boys were about 5 months old the cloth diapers had paid for themselves. (With these new diapers that we bought it was about 8 months.)
And now an update:
Since writing that we have started preschool and we are still cloth diapering. When we looked at schools we asked about the possibility, and there were some schools that told us that they would not allow cloth diapers (although I don’t think they understood how easy it would be for them so I think I might have been able to convince some of the to try it once they saw the diapers). We choose a school where they were open it, although they hadn’t had any babies in cloth for a long time. Although I think they were nervous at first, we have been there a month and so far it is working really well. We bought a small pail and they have that next to the trash can where they throw the regular diapers. They put a trash bag in it and then just put all the diapers in as they are changed. Each afternoon I take home the bag with all the soiled diapers. We wash them almost every night although every 3rd night or so we can skip a night and be still have enough the next day. I bring fresh diapers every morning and just put them in their diaper cubby. This isn’t really a problem since I am usually going in with their jackets, hats etc anyway.
They are still on the same snap size as they were 5 months ago so I have high hopes that these diapers will last us until we start toiled training.
I’m sure there is more to say, but I’ve written quite a novel. Let me know if you have more questions about them!
Good [name]Luck[/name]!
I haven’t read through all the responces so I don’t know if anyone has mentioned this but… youtube! I don’t have any children yet but I know for sure that I will be cloth diapering! Not only is it cheaper and cuter, but its also better for the enviornment and your baby, cant get any better than that. I HIGHLY reccoment checking “the cloth diaper channel” and “obbsandlala” both are very informative on cloth diapers. [name]Kayla[/name] from obbs and lala goes through just about EVERYTHING to do with cloth diapers, you will learn alot from her. Whatever you do, do not talk to people who cloth diapered years and years ago about cloth diapers because they have changed SO much from before, it’s alot more modern and easy. As for your day care question, I think that it will be just fine because they have diapers that work just like disposables. I think with anything it will take some getting used to but after that you will be hooked. I’m so excited to cloth diaper once I have kids! Also there is different options out there like prefolds,all in ones, all in two’s (you will learn all this from research) that you just have to find out which one’s work for you and your family. good luck!
I used cloth for all 3 of mine and it was great. once you find the kind that suits you they can be super easy. We tried a few styles out was certain nappies suit certain shapes of babies and certain lifestyles (how often you want to wash, what faciilities you have, ect) better. They resell very well if they’re well cared for so you can make most of your money back if they don’t work for you.
We’ve used the same 2 kinds of nappies for all 3 and most of them have lasted through all my kids - 5 years of almost constant use, so they are definitely worth the money.
Once you get in a routine of washing them and folding them, they take no time at all. You don’t need to soak them, just get an airtight bucket and then toss them all in the wash. You can use flushable liners to flip off the poo, especially in the early days as their poo is pretty mess until they get eating solids regularly, so no big deal there.
Putting them on is just like a regular nappy, so very easy. And they’re usually more reliable, I’ve had more leaks with disposables when i’ve had to use them than I’ve had with my cloth.
I really got on well with them.
lol rollo, they’re very different now.