Considering cloth

[cacs]

Hi everyone! I'm sure this will be my first many of many more questions about cloth diapering and since I'm already on a tight budget I am really trying to find my best options!

I've been doing a lot of reading on the topic but there are still a few things that are confusing me so I hope you can help me out!

1) From what I've read it seems like there aren't many options for newborns (unless I am overlooking something). But I have read that Kissaluvs come in newborn sizes. What is the difference between the fitteds and the contours? What are my other options for newborns?

2) I posted a question about regular baby laundry, but what about cloth diapering laundry? I've ready about the methods, but it seems like there are so many different points of views about detergents used and other things to put in. Do you use regular detergent or do you have to use ones that are free from dyes and perfumes? I think I read somewhere that you aren't supposed to use the free and clear detergent, but then I think I read that that was a myth??? What's the truth?

3) Is this going to be worth it money wise for twins? I know I don't want to invest a lot of money into these since I need double the amount and have my boys outgrow them right away and then have to spend just as much for the next size. I know there are other moms of twins who do cloth diapering so I could really use some advice!!

4) If I decide to go with cloth diapering, what would I need to get started?


I'm sorry I have so many questions!! :lol: I hope you can help me out!! :)

[Christy]

1) From what I've read it seems like there aren't many options for newborns (unless I am overlooking something). But I have read that Kissaluvs come in newborn sizes. What is the difference between the fitteds and the contours? What are my other options for newborns?

2) Do you use regular detergent or do you have to use ones that are free from dyes and perfumes? I think I read somewhere that you aren't supposed to use the free and clear detergent, but then I think I read that that was a myth??? What's the truth?

3) Is this going to be worth it money wise for twins? I know I don't want to invest a lot of money into these since I need double the amount and have my boys outgrow them right away and then have to spend just as much for the next size. I know there are other moms of twins who do cloth diapering so I could really use some advice!!

4) If I decide to go with cloth diapering, what would I need to get started?


1) I used Kissaluvs for my newborn and they worked great! The fitteds work the best in my opinion because they are so good at holding in all of that newborn poo. The contours don't have the elastic and you will be wearing the poo! You can get seconds pretty cheap at their site, I think it's $89 for 12 http://www.kissaluvs.com/outlet.htm You just have to watch out for when they stock them. The other option would be to go directly into prefolds, they are pretty cheap (about $20 for a dozen) and come in a few different sizes. For newborn twins I would think you would need to start out with premiee prefolds and you can tri-fold them and lay them in a cover.

2) I think the Free&Clear detergent thing is mainly for pocket diapers but I could be wrong so I just stay away from it all together. I don't use detergent now but when I did I just used the cheapest you can get in bulk (w/ no bleach!) and used about 3 tablespoons per wash.

3) I think it would be totally worth the money to cloth diaper twins, I mean just think about how many disposable you would have to use on the 2 of them!! That's alot of money to throw away and fill the landfills with. If you went with prefolds and a Prorap or Bummis covers you could easily cloth diaper the 2 of them for about $400 total through potty training. You would be spending 3 times that amount on disposables. Now of course that is if you just go the prefold route, you could go with pocket diapers and spend a little more but I think you would still be saving money in the long run.


http://diaperpages.com/ This site helped me so much when I was first getting started, Karen is a super sweet mama and if you look over her pages and had any questions I'm sure she'd be happy to help you. :)

[Jennie]

:wavey: from another mom of twins!!

It's definitely do-able!! One of the "easiest" ways to start out with a newborn, esp with twins as it more likely that they will be smaller than the average newborn is with covers such as Proraps or Bummis and you can use a facecloth in them for the first little while! :lol: I used NB Bummis covers (they are about $7 retail) for my guys - these things are little! They fit from 4-8 lbs and I would suggest getting some of these to start and using a regular face cloth folded in two - no pins needed. :) You can reuse the covers unless they get poopy so you can get by with 5-6 per child. The other thing you *might* consider when they are really tiny is doing cloth during the day and disposies at night - until they outgrow that newborn phase. I'll be honest with you - the sleep deprivation at first with twins can (not necessarily) be overwhelming and personally I found folding and covers overnight was too complicated for my brain (and it took longer for me) and I didn't want them to fully wake up so we disposied overnight. Took the pressure off the laundry & budget initally too.

When they are into smalls (ie 9-10 lbs), they you should consider trying pocket diapers. They are more expensive yes, but when you are dealing with two babies, you need time savings as well. These are easy to work with and have a great resale value. I'm going to PM you - I'm about to come into a huge stash of very gently used small Fuzzi Bunz (in boy colours too!) and maybe we can see if that would work for your guys.

Also, make sure you inquire EVERYWHERE about a twins discount - as a mom of twins, I offer a discount to anyone ordering for twins and I've seen it posted on one or two other sites as well.

Jennie

[Susan]

I don't know anything about Kissaluvs - I'm a fuzzi bunz girl - but from a cost perspective, I can tell you that I've used FBs now for 13 months and I'm just certain I have saved a TON of money. (Not to mention saved the landfill a few thousand or so diapers!)

Before Josiah's cord fell off I used disposables. I used the pampers with the little cord cutout. But once it fell off - about 2 weeks if I recall - I moved him to FBs. I bought 12 smalls, which he used until about 4 months, and 12 mediums, which he's still using at 13 months. Add the hemparoo liners, and I think my total cost for diapers for 13 months has been about $400 or so. I suspect I'd have paid WAY more than that for disposables.

And washing... I just use regular tide. But very little of it, as per the recommendation of the manufacturer.