cloth diapering 101

[Brandi]

I have thought about trying cloth diapering with #2, but I don't know a thing about it! Is there a good place to go for info?

TIA for any and all help!

[Christy]

www.diaperpin.com is a great place to start, I learned alot there.

[Carla]

Yay, Brandi!! Welcome to the fun, addicitve world of cloth diapering. I've lost most of my links because of my crash, but I could try to dig some up for you.

Since I'm surfing MDC right now :blush:, their forums are very active and informative (but still post here!! :D ). Here's a link to a bunch of sites and sales and at the bottom of the page are links to the cloth diapering forums (the top one is for the actual forums, then there's the archives, diapering resources, and the WAHM classified section) http://www.mothering.com/mdc/diapering_frontpage.html .

HTH! I know I've learned so much there. I lurked for the longest time and finally had to give up and join.

[Brandi]

Thanks guys! I'm going to do some research and then see what we want to do. Not sure if it will be for me or not, but I thought I'd at least check it all out. I never knew how much cloth diapering had changed until I started seeing some of the threads here.

[Carla]

It's amazing how far cloth diapers have come. I was really shocked when I started finding out more about it. I'm an old fashioned girl myself, but you can get really fancy and some are basically disposables that you wash and keep using :lol:

http://www.borntolove.com has a lot of good articles. I got looking around diaper pin and didn't realize how much there was on that site! I had only used it before to check reviews, but now I'm thinking "wow!!!!". I plan on looking around there more.

[Brandi]

It seems a bit overwhelming to me right now. Disposables are just sooooo easy! I don't have to clean ANYTHING! I'll keep looking into it, but I don't know if this is for me or not!

[Brandi]

So, I'm still not sure what I want to do for this little girl. We used disposables for Carter and it was so easy. The biggest thing here seems to be the washing. It seems complicated and I'm not a good washer. I feel like I would have the worst stained diapers ever.

Also, do you have to change cloth diapers more often than disposables? It just seems that they wouldn't be as absorbent. It's not like I go all day without changing, I just wondered.

Anyone want to say anything to convince me I need to try this? I'm just not sure yet.

[Carla]

Honestly, I don't know. I switched when Ethan was around 4 months and I was changing him pretty often (still having lots of BM poops). When I changed, other than for poop, I'd change every 2-3 hours depending on how wet he was. Right now, I probably change him every 3-4 hours, mostly because he can stay dry longer (of course he has days where he takes it off as soon as he pees and will pee three times in an hour just because he can :lol: ).

If you're worried about stains, you can use liners. You can get some fleece really cheap and cut without sewing. Or you can buy some (Kooshies makes them, as does gerber and you can get rice paper liners. They're all flushable too, which is a big bonus).

For me, washing is no biggie. It's my favorite laundry in fact!! I just throw them in the wash, put a couple tablespoons of detergent (I sometimes put a little borax), set it on warm wash and that's it. I dry everything that can be in the dryer and hang the rest on a wooden rack in the basement. After they're dry, I don't even fold them, I just stack everything and put them on the shelf. Simple as can be. Some people have complicated routines, but simple works for me :) . However, some diapers need special care, so if you buy something, check into it.

Wool covers and soakers are the easiest to care for in terms of diaper covers. When they're wet, just let them dry and they're ready to use. They can hold 30% of their weight before feeling damp, are breathable and antibacterial. Once in a while, you do need to gently wash by hand and lanolize them, but that's simple, especially if you have Eucalan wool wash, which does both. They do take a while to dry, but it's because they're so absorbant. I'm totally loving wool right now!!!

You have the ultimate reason to cloth diaper, a sweet little girl on her way!! There are so many beautiful diapers for little girls! That's why I want to have a girl so bad ;)

I mostly do it because I love it so much. Another reason is because of what's in disbosables. Take one, cut it open and put in a really big basin or bucket. Pour as much water as it will hold and see what you get. Really disgusting. I don't want that mess of chemicals on my children's bums. There are lots of other health reasons but I don't feel like looking around for links right now (Ethan just got up :) ). Oh, and I can't stand the thought of all those diapers sitting in the landfill, contaminating the groundwater (human waste isn't supposed to go in landfills, but diapers go there anyway because they just don't know what to do with it. Rolling them up in little balls as people usually do make the problem worse as it takes longer to biodegrade that way and they don't even know how long that takes, possibly hundreds of years. Just think, the disposables used on us are probalby sitting in a landfill somewhere unless they were burned, as garbage was here so many years ago. There are some diaper recycling facilities, but imo, it's easier to prevent the problem by just using cloth. The amount of water used to wash is less than what a potty trained child would use going to the bathroom and less than what is used to make disposables). So I have an enviromental angle too ;)

Ok I knew I was going to write a lot and I could still write tons more. This is something I'm very passionate about and have researched inside and out. I didn't mention the cost saving issue because although you will save, nowadays it isn't the driving force it used to be. It all comes down to what you feel comfortable with. Most diapers have a high resell value, so if you buy and don't like, you should be able to recoup most of your expense. Just start out small, maybe used (the lovely ladies on this board are often selling diapers :biggrin: ).

Ok, I got to get going, but if you have any questions at all, please ask!!! I love talking about diapers!

[Carla]

Here's a link I found that describes everything pretty good: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/kfegelman/index.htm

[Brandi]

WOW Carla - I'm going to go check out that link, but I wanted to say thanks for all that you wrote. I guess I wasn't thinking about the environmental reasons that much. It really doesn't seem like it would be that big of a deal to do the cloth diapering. I guess I just feel a bit overwhelmed by all the different styles out there. I'm starting to think about really giving it a go, so we will see what happens.

[Brandi]

Well, that's an awesome site Carla - thanks for recommending it to me.

[Brandi]

WOW! Am I really overwhelmed now. I really think I would like to do this and I went to that site you recommended Carla - she says what would be a good starter kit. I guess I should try that. I'm just going googly-eyed here after reading through just a little bit of what is out there.

I am wondering if I should start with some stuff for my 2 year old. He is so squirmy and hates diaper changes so I don't know that he would be a good one to TRY anything on. I'm not even sure where I would start with him since he's not a newborn. OH MY!

[Carla]

Lots of people start when their kids are older ;)

I know personally for Ethan my absolute favorite thing to use at the moment (since he hates being changed too) is a Stacinator wool cover (thanks Jenn!!!) and a contour diaper with a liner inside (or a prefold diaper folded in thirds and fanned out in the back). Here's what a contour looks like (mine don't as they are older and a different style, but I don't know what brand. A lot of people like these ones, Kissaluvs): http://www.kissaluvs.com/images/contours/dc0-doubler-flipped2low-med.jpg

The cover looks like this: http://www.stacinator.com/newsnapwool.jpg. They snap on the sides and are fairly adjustable. Ethan fits in a large, he's 30lbs but he's got a small bum (I can't remember how big Carter is). She has a sale on some now at Amity's for $13 a piece for 1st quality wool (mostly Buff and Yellow) and good shipping prices. The link is http://www.amitymama.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=157202 , but you may have to register (she has seconds of other covers, but I'm not sure how good they are, but they're a good price!). I usually take the wool cover off, let it air out (since it hardly ever gets wet), then use at the next change. I keep smelling it and will wash it when it smells a little off. I have another wool cover I use, but also use some wraps, especially if we're out. I still use prefolds but I'm loving the simplicity of just laying a diaper in a cover, snapping it on and away he goes!

You may like fitteds, pocket diapers or all in ones. I admittedly don't know a whole lot about those but they would probably be very easy to use on a busy toddler since most either just snap on or velcro (although if he's like Ethan, he may take off anything with velcro on it). They're quick to put on, which isbest for a toddler ;) . You do need a cover with fitteds though. Lots of people like Fuzzi Bunz (I've never used them, so I can't give a report. Anyone?) and some of the girls on here sell them, if I remember correctly.

If you have any more questions at all, again, ask! I love talking diapers.

[Brandi]

Thanks Carla - I'll have to figure out what to get for Carter! I just don't know, but I think I'll try something. A friend of mine said she did cloth diapers for about 4 months so she has a bunch of stuff that I can have. Granted, her daughter just turned 8, so I don't know exactly what she has, but I guess I'll check it out.

What about a diaper service? Everyone I mention cd to says you HAVE to have a diaper service or you won't be able to keep up. I HATE laundry - or any cleaning for that matter, so a service sounds good, but then I would have to go with whatever they use, right? I probably wouldn't be able to try lots of stuff. I assume they use all prefolds, - would that be right?

[Brandi]

Okay, yet another question. The more I think about this, the more questions I think of.

Would it be weird to have Carter in disposables and the baby in cloth? I was just reading about some people who were giving it up with their older babies and I wondered if maybe I shouldn't even try it with Carter.

[Carla]

First off, nothing is weird ;) . Lots of people do things differently for the second than the first. If you have diaper services in your area, that would be an option. From what I've read, most only use prefolds and wraps. They drop off a fresh batch when they pick up the dirty ones once a week. That's something a lot of people do when trying to decide. Personally, I honestly don't find any extra laundry or work (and I normally hate laundry. Diapers are the only thing that I actually bring upstairs, I have about 10 baskets of clothes in the basement :blush: ). Of course when you come to really love something, what may bother someone else may not bother you!

[Brandi]

I think I'll be getting a diaper in my most recent swap box to try out. I can't remember what she said they were. I hope it goes well. I know it's only 1, but it's better than nothing.

[Carla]

:thumbsup:

[Brandi]

I think she is sending a large size Fuzzi Bunz with a liner. If I like it, I'll have to try more. I wonder how long I should leave it on him before I change it. I know I will probably have to change him more often with them then with the disposables.

[gemanda]

Jumping in...

How long the FB lasts for him depends on what kind of insert it is and how heavy he wets.

I would definitely try it out with both Carter and the new one, but try several things to figure out what works best for you.

[Carla]

A lot of people love Fuzzi Bunz (I've never tried them, so I have no experience personally). You'll need to stuff it with something as it's only a shell with an opening to put a diaper in. Usually liners are to line the diaper so they don't get stains on them. Maybe someone with experience can point you in the right direction :)

[Brandi]

Oh - Thanks Carla. I'll ask Robyn - she's the one sending it. Maybe that's what she meant she is sending.