Cloth Diapers?

[Kunzite]

Yep, sopping wet here too. It helps prevent staining.

 

[Kunzite]

Anyone who dries diapers indoors must have this octopus!! Since we go through 20+ diapers a day the over the shower trick wasn't working anymore!!

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80189663/

 

[Haven]

Hi, ladies!

Everyone was so helpful when I first started looking into cloth diapers, so I wanted to come back and give you an update. We've decided to go with a local diaper service, which I think will be the best option for us. I'm excited to have one thing decided!

 

[Puppmom]

Haven, that's fantastic! We've got only one local service but we don't exactly live in a progressive area - funny that cloth diapers are sort of considered progressive now, huh? Oh how the times change!

Kunzite, that little octopus is a neat contraption. I currently monopolize our laundry line and rack in the cellar. DD gets so irritated that the line is constantly occupied when she wants to hang her laundry. I'm thinking I could buy a few of these and hang them right from the line. I'm sad that the outside drying weather will be coming to an end soon. I like to hang our dipes outside at least once per week.

AFM, I received our Alva diapers the other day and they're really nice...of course the quality can't be judged until I beat them up. I think I may have to retire our Fuzzibunz soon. We've been using regular Desitin because I haven't found another natural bum cream that I like. The FBs are grandma's diaper and she's not so good about using liners when she applies the cream. It's caused some yucky staining - it's like this beige blotchy business. I'm going to see if I can get the stains out so we can hold them for this baby. DS is barely squeezing in it them.

I'll come back with my official "review" of the Alvas at some point...

 

[megumic]

Haven - that's great to hear! Do you ahve to use a certain kind of diaper for the diaper service, or you buy what you want and they clean them? We don't have a diaper service here either, so we had to go all or nothing. Cloth diapering is easier than I thought!

Pupp - have you tried weleda calendula diaper care? I love it and it is the only thing that has worked to both clear and keep diaper rash away, as well as not cause repelling. Worth a shot!

AFM, we are slowly making the switch to cloth wipes. It has been a little tricky, but we are getting there. Any tips for those that also cloth wipe??

 

[PilsnPinkysMom]

We've been CDing full time since E was three weeks old, so I thought I'd return and share my thoughts on a few different brands and styles. She's a small-to-average sized baby. At 9 weeks she's 10.25 lbs and 22.75 inches long.

To any lurkers considering CDing, I TOTALLY encourage you to try it. DH and I love it- there's no turning back. We've had no diaper rash issues and laundering dipes is not that difficult at all (though having a line outside for drying is a major help). I sometimes wonder if the environmental benefit of reducing disposable diaper waste is negated by the extra water we use for washing, but even if it is, I'd still CD.

Applecheecks size 1: It took a little while for these to fit right, but now they're our go-tos. These are the dipes that never leak and seem to hold a lot of pee.

Charliebanana OS: They're okay. No major issues.

Growvia OS: Love how they fit, but didn't work well until she was a bit larger. The cotton washes up better than the poly dipes, but takes a long time to dry and really feels soaking wet when she pees... Which she hates.

Growvia NB: Not a major fan. These always leaked and seemed so stiff after drying.

Kissaluv Fitteds: Really soft, but were sopping wet in no time. They fit will under our Bummis and Thirsties covers, though.

Fuzzibuns Size 0: Great for when she was little tiny. The fit is awesome, but the absorbency is not the best... But then again, they're for TINY babies.

Fuzzibuns OS: These still don't fit her thighs that well, so I don't use them all that often.

Prefolds: I love using prefolds, simply because they're the easiest to clean. She wears both newborn and small sizes.

Lotus Bumz: Leak, leak, leak, leak, leak.

Babyland: I use whatever extra inserts we have on hand when E wears these, but the leg holes are still too large, so there's a leaking issue.

ImseVimse terry AIO: This was a hand-me-down but I LOVE this diaper!!! I'm tempted to buy more, but they're expensive. The tabs stretch so they fit E well. The diaper is absorbent but trim. I'm sad to only own one... I use it for special occasions

Bumkins (Bummis?) covers: Eh. The OS is just so big still.

Thirsties size 1 covers: Terrific!!! Even though they cost more in the long run, as we'll have to get two sizes, the fit is superior to any OS cover.

Flip: We just got flip shells and not their inserts, but I do like this cover. I know it will work even better as E grows more.

Bumgenius: They hold a ton of pee, which is great, and I love the stretchy tabs. This is a good dipe, though bulky.

Imagine: Generic Bumgenius, basically. Maybe just a notch down from the real deal, but still a good dipe at a great price.

.... I think that's it! There are a few other random hand me downs that we have, but this is the bulk of what's in our stash.


Meg: We use cloth wipes with a PrinceLionheart warmer. We use water + a little bit of either Kissaluvs Diaper Lotion Potion or California Baby Diaper Area Wash to saturate the wipes, and the warmer keeps them at the perfect temperature. For stubborn poop, I spray extra solution on her bum or on the cloth wipe. I give poopy wipes a quick spray with our diaper sprayer at the same time that I clean off the dirty diaper. It's time consuming and a bit gross, but that's why soap exists! We launder our wipes with our diapers.

 

[PilsnPinkysMom]

We're another family that rinses, sprays Bac-Out, and tosses the dipes in sopping wet.

We also wash everything together. I do a hot/cold/hot (sometimes warm/cold/warm if the dipes have been in the pail for less than 24 hours) with a pre-soak and extra rinse. We use Country Save detergent. So far, so good... though if they've been sitting in the pail for close to two days, I do a cold wash cycle without detergent before I do my warm/cold/warm + soak + rinse.

 

[monarch64]

We've been doing pockets for over a week, washed once before use, washed once since introducing; everything's fine!

We CD as long as we're home with her. If hubby is out and about he "cheats" and uses sposies which I am totally ok with! My mom visits once a week and uses sposies here and there but tries her hardest to use CD.

I chose pockets so my hubby would have an easy time, but still he wants to use sposies...how to get him on board??? i feel like I'm failing at this.

 

[mayerling]

Since everyone is reviewing their CD experience, I'll post mine too.

We've been CDing for the past 3 weeks (ever since we came back to the UK). For the two night changes I use disposables primarily because N's sleep has been out of whack since we came back that I'm afraid to vary the night time conditions even more.

Flips: We have 5 and strangely enough they seem to contain him. I thought they looked a bit flimsy at first but I haven't had any leaks with them.

BestBottoms: We have 4 and I use them with a single insert and even though poop has sometimes gotten on the shell, I haven't had any leaks onto his clothing.

Fuzzibunz: We have an original and two elites. I love how trim they are, especially the elites with their minky inserts. I haven't had any leaks with them and even though I've always doubled them up, I'm beginning to think that even one insert would be enough for him.

Charlie Banana: I had one and I just got another one. I love it! It's so trim and even when not doubled up it contains N very well.

Happy Heinys: I have two and unless I double them up, he leaks through them. Plus, they're huge. If I were to get rid of any diaper, this would be it.

Blueberry: We just got one and it contained him pretty well. They're huge, but I've only used their huge insert, maybe if I only used the smaller doubler they wouldn't be too bad.

Rumparooz: We have 3 and I think they're very good on him. They're also pretty big, definitely not as trim as FB or CB but they do contain pretty well.

We haven't used cloth wipes but I have considered it and given how many flushable wipes we use I'm beginning to think it would make sense to do cloth.
Also, we just dry pail. I do laundry once every 3 days. I do a warm rinse (30C), a hot wash (40C) with detergent, and a cold rinse (0C). No extra products go on them. He's EBF so I don't spray any of the poop off. It just washes off in the washer. Also, we don't have a dryer so I just line dry.

 

[megumic]

Hi CD'ers. Wanted to check in and ask what is everyone's favorite bedtime diaper?

We use prefolds and covers 99% of the time, but I'm wondering if pockets are a better option for nighttime. When C wakes to eat around 4-5am, he's been in the same diape since about 8pm and is usually wet. We haven't had any rashes or skin issues, but I am wondering if there is a better sleep diaper that will feel drier for him than a wet prefold against his skin.

Suggestions??? What do you use at bedtime?

Otherwise, CD'ing is going well and we have been working hard to cloth wipe too. I haven't made any purchases, but I've seen lots of CDs for good deals on Eco Baby Buys -- register if you haven't already!

 

[Puppmom]

Meg, a pocket diaper might do you good for night time but I think a lot of people (including those who use disposables - maybe even moreso) have issues from time to time at night. DS went through a heavy night time wetting phase at about 8 mos.

We haven't had a night time leak in about a year that I can recall and DS is in the same diaper from 7pm to 7am at least. It's all in the stuffing obviously. Our favorite combo is a Loopy-Do insert with a thin bamboo booster (this came with our Blueberry diapers and I believe it's just a newborn insert). I stuff them in a roomy pocket like Blueberry or Applecheeks. I use BGs in a pinch but never Fuzzibunz becasue they just don't hold much stuffing. I also really like to use the TotBots all in one with a booster. These are a really great option as well. It's especially nice with a boy because you can go heavy on the absorbency in the front.

My recently purchased (and super cheap) Alva diapers have a nice roomy pocket as well.

 

[Haven]

Haven - that's great to hear! Do you ahve to use a certain kind of diaper for the diaper service, or you buy what you want and they clean them? We don't have a diaper service here either, so we had to go all or nothing. Cloth diapering is easier than I thought!

Pupp - have you tried weleda calendula diaper care? I love it and it is the only thing that has worked to both clear and keep diaper rash away, as well as not cause repelling. Worth a shot!

AFM, we are slowly making the switch to cloth wipes. It has been a little tricky, but we are getting there. Any tips for those that also cloth wipe??

They provide the diapers for us, so we don't have to buy anything. They deliver fresh diapers every week, and we just dump the soiled ones in a bag, no need to rinse them or anything. Works for me! (Here's what they say about that on the website: We will put into service, specifically for you, an inventory of diapers that is double your weekly order. Each week thereafter, you will receive the same number of clean diapers that you returned soiled the week prior.)

 

[missrachelk]

I'll weigh in with my experience so far at 4 weeks!!

Baby Hannah was 8 pounds 9 oz at birth but has been smaller than that this whole time, we have a slow gainer and had trouble bf at first - she was down to 7,8 at her lightest - so for size reference she's been under 8.5 this whole time.

Anywho! We used sposies in the hospital and they were so easy that we kept using them some he first few days. Initially no matter which CDs we used they all irritated her umbilical cord as well so we stuck with sposies until it healed at about 10 days.

Prefolds from GMD - I think I'm in the minority that don't like them! Use them as burp cloths and such but they are so bulky trifolded into our covers and neither dh nor I ever got the hang of snappis. Luckily I only bought 1 doz newborn and 1 doz infant.

Kissaluvs size 0 - like the softness and they fit decently but they sure wet through and through very quickly and since we don't love any covers they aren't working for us.

Thirsties newborn and bummis newborn - didn't like these either! The fit for us is so high rise and bulky that we really don't care for the whole system.

Little beetles and sugarplum babies fitteds - these are hemp and cotton fitteds and I realized I like the idea of natural fibers a lot more than in reality! They are so scratchy I can't bear to put them on my sweet baby's little tush! Again since we don't love any covers we have that's another strike against these.

Gdiapers tiny / newborn - wanted to like these cuties so much but again no luck! They fit very oddly - tight around the leg but still irritating her umbilical so we only used these a handful of times. I think for a tiny tiny baby these might work. The inserts also seem huge for such a tiny diaper.

So the big winner for us has been the g diaper small! It's funny I wanted these from the beginning but thought I'd try a variety and it turns out that dh liked the look of g's from the get- go too! The fit is great for us and I really love he soft cotton cover. The g cloth is very nice soft and trim. we have had zero leaks that werent contained in the cover - worst case is needing to wash all 3 components - cover pouch and insert. we use the disposable inserts and the g cloth, have stuffed with prefolds too but those are much bulkier than g cloth so it sort of defeats the purpose. Poop does always get on the pouch and about half the time the cover too. We have 7 covers and 13 pouches and have never run out. We only have 6 g cloth so we want to get more of those ASAP to cut down on the disposable inserts.

A good friend handed us down a big box of g diapers mediums with disposable inserts and g cloth so that makes me feel better about all of the outer ones I bought but haven't liked.

I do also have a good amount of grovia hybrids that are still too big for little miss. Hopefully they will work - ill report back soon!!

I'm going to go ahead and sell the ones we don't like I'd rather move on than hang onto them to try with our next baby.

 

[indecisive]

Is anyone planning on buying any fun cloth diaper related things on Black Friday? DH doesn't think I should buy anymore diapers (we have 20 OS right now) but I want to get hemp insets and I really need bigger wetbags and diaper pail liners. I haven't seen any deals on these so if anyone knows of a good deal let me know.

I saw that you can search black friday here and find deals.
http://paddedtushstats.com/retailer-database/

missrachel- thanks for sharing you experiences so far. It makes me want to look at gdiapers too!


ETA- Also, what does everyone use for your diaper pail? I don't know if I should buy a special diaper pail, trash can, or rubber bin. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Loves Vintage]

Hi indecisive,

We use a stainless steel trash bin, similar to this: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/1/1...ter-round-stainless-steel-step-trash-can.html Never had an odor issue, but I am sure lots of other options work just fine too.

I'll keep an eye out for pail liner sales and will post here if I see anything. I did fine with two white pail liners for the longest time, but then the inside of one became severely delaminated so replaced with a planet-wise liner.

 

[lliang_chi]

We use a plastic step on trash can we bought from Target. It works just fine.

Not planning on buying anymore diapers. We have a few sitting in a drawer unused as is, so I'm not buying anymore!

Good luck with the Black Friday search.

~LC

 

[megumic]

Register for Eco Baby Buys -- they often have cloth diape sales!

 

[Puppmom]

I've never used an actual pail just hanging bags and it works well for us.

 

[mayerling]

I have serious stains on my CDs. Being in the UK means there's hardly any sun for bleaching them. Any ideas on how to get the stains out?

 

[lliang_chi]

Mayer, I've heard of some mamas using Bac-Out or Oxyclean. Maybe you can give those a shot?

 

[mayerling]

Thanks, LC.

Another question: I don't have a diaper-sprayer and have been using flushable liners since I started doing some formula feeds. However, it seems that the ones I've been using get easily crumbled up so the poop spills out of them and onto the fleece. Can anyone suggest any good ones?

 

[Loves Vintage]

For those bargain shoppers out there, Mom's Milk Boutique is offering freebies all day along with their sales. And, I just have to post these. If these are not the cutest little cds I've ever seen: http://www.momsmilkboutique.com/happy-little-clouds.html

 

[Loves Vintage]

Ok, I'm back.

I ordered one of these: http://www.momsmilkboutique.com/sustainablebabyish-magic-bamboo-fleece-fitteds.html Haven't tried these before, but they seem to have quite the following on DS. I also got some episensical wash, which we've used before and really like.

Indecisive - Here's a pail liner on sale: http://www.momsmilkboutique.com/cloth-diapers-wetbag-Planet-Wise-Pail-Liners.html There are lots of different colors, and you have to select the color on their site to see if there's any in stock. Not sure if there are better deals out there, but if you order other things, and get up to $65, then you also get a free wetbag, along with 2 other freebies (see below). They ALWAYS have free shipping over $25. Oh, and you can specify gender for your freebies at checkout.

Ageneral PSA on ERGOs - they are 25% off on this site, but again, haven't compared to other deals out there. With all the freebies, seems like a good deal to me.



Here's how their freebies work:
Black Friday Stackable Freebies

VALID from 12:00 am - 11:59 pm EST on 11.23.12 ONLY

The following stackable freebies will AUTOMATICALLY pop into your cart based on the dollar value in your cart. Please be aware (especially as the day/evening wear on) that there are a limited number of select freebies, so if the freebie is not popping into your cart, we have run out of that specific freebie - we are not able to make any substitutions or replacements.

Please read the terms & conditions below for additional information.

What STACKS...

What STACKS on orders over $15+ ....

Free packet RLR.

What STACKS on orders over $30+ ...

Free packet of RLR.
Free pair of BabyLegs. Available to first 500 orders.

What STACKS on orders over $65+ ...

Free packet of RLR
Free pair of BabyLegs. Available to first 500 orders.
Free Wetbag (will be either Planet Wise, Wahmies or GroVia). Available to first 300 orders.

What STACKS on orders over $99+ ...

Free packet of RLR
Free pair of BabyLegs. Available to first 500 orders.
Free Wetbag (will be either Wahmies, Planet Wise or GroVia). Available to first 300 orders.
Free Haba or Dandelion Toy. Available to first 300 orders.

What STACKS on orders over $155+ ...

Free packet of RLR
Free pair of BabyLegs. Available to first 500 orders.
Free Wetbag (will be either Wahmies, Planet Wise or GroVia). Available to first 300 orders.
Free Haba or Dandelion Toy. Available to first 300 orders.
Free Baltic Amber Children's Necklace. Available to first 200 orders.

What STACKS on orders over $215+ ...

Free packet of RLR
Free pair of BabyLegs. Available to first 500 orders.
Free Wetbag (will be either Wahmies, Planet Wise or GroVia). Available to first 300 orders.
Free Haba or Dandelion Toy. Available to first 300 orders.
Free Baltic Amber Children's Necklace. Available to first 200 orders.
Free FLIP Diaper Cover. Available to first 50 orders.

What STACKS on orders over $275+...

Free packet of RLR
Free pair of BabyLegs. Available to first 500 orders.
Free Wetbag (will be either Wahmies, Planet Wise or GroVia). Available to first 300 orders.
Free Haba or Dandelion Toy. Available to first 300 orders.
Free Baltic Amber Children's Necklace. Available to first 200 orders.
Free FLIP Diaper Cover. Available to first 50 orders.
Free Ju-Ju-Be Be Quick. Available to first 30 orders.

What STACKS on orders over $450+ ...

Free packet of RLR
Free pair of BabyLegs. Available to first 500 orders.
Free Wetbag (will be either Wahmies, Planet Wise or GroVia). Available to first 300 orders.
Free Haba or Dandelion Toy. Available to first 300 orders.
Free Baltic Amber Children's Necklace. Available to first 200 orders.
Free FLIP Diaper Cover. Available to first 50 orders.
Free Ju-Ju-Be Be Quick. Available to first 30 orders.
Free BobaAir Baby Carrier. Available to first 30 orders.

 

[Kunzite]

Those are cool freebies LV! Do they send notices or anything on their deals? I saw BG Elementals just ended but I'm in desperate need of some 4.0s! Our Blueberries cut into Elliot the wrong way so I want to replace them with BG if I can.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Oh, are they running specials every few hours? I didn't pick up on that. I did get one email last night alerting me to the freebies. I will check and see how people find out. So, you need a deal on elementals?

 

[Loves Vintage]

I did get an email about the elementals. That email also indicated:

MORE flash deals coming today on....

Simplex All In Ones!!

FLIP Diaper Covers

ETA: Ok, saw your post and see you're looking for BG 4.0s. They're 15.25 a piece at MMB. I'll let you know if I see something better than that.

ETA2: Here's another one for you: http://www.diaperjunction.com/bumgenius-one-size-pocket-diaper-4.0.html. 14.36 per, and check out the free gift bag on their home page: http://www.diaperjunction.com/

 

[indecisive]

LV- Those are some great freebies!! Cloth diapering is intense on Black Friday! The Simplex and Flip deals are so tempting... darn DH really wants to wait until we have tried the ones we have before we buy more.

I bought 2 wetbags to take to daycare, a pail liner, and some hemp inserts from a local store and got a free Planet Wise pail liner. I think it was a good deal, although not a steal or anything. I did it at midnight and the site was crashing for almost an hour with all the people shopping. Thanks for the input on everyone's dirty diaper storage systems. I think we are going to do hanging wetbags for daycare and then a trash can with liners at home.

Did anyone else go shopping??

 

[Loves Vintage]

Indecisive - Flip covers are only 8.37 now: http://www.momsmilkboutique.com/cloth-diapers-flip-Diaper-sale.html Your DH sounds very practical. Mine is too. It's a good thing!! Do you have a daycare lined up already? No problems with cloth there?

And, YES, there are a lot of crazy CD mamas out there. I heard about all of the sites that were crashing!

 

[Kunzite]

Thanks LV! Cotton Babies had Freetimes for nearly the same price so we're going to give those a try! They also had BOGO Flips so I got a couple of those too... and maybe a Duo too

 

[pancake]

Mayerling - I swear by Imse Vimse liners. They are practically indestructible. We are 8 months into full-time cloth and I am only onto my 4th roll.