Cloth Diapers?

[mayerling]

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.

Wow! How can that be? How many per roll?

 

[Loves Vintage]

$5 plus shipping - pail liners and big wet bags. These are seconds.

https://www.kanga-care.com/Kanga-Care-Seconds--Pail-Liner-_p_478.html

https://www.kanga-care.com/Kanga-Care-Seconds--Wet-Bag_p_477.html

Cheers!

 

[mayerling]

Troubleshooting: lately I've had some poo explosions where the poop spills out the front of the diaper. Thoughts?

 

[Kunzite]

Troubleshooting: lately I've had some poo explosions where the poop spills out the front of the diaper. Thoughts?

mayerling, if they are OS have you tried adjusting the rise higher? That worked for us.

 

[Kunzite]

I wanted to come back and report on our Black Friday diapers.

Freetimes - these are okay, I don't love them or hate them. They are comparable to my 4.0s except that the inserts look like they would be a nightmare to clean with baby poop! For this reason we only put them on O, not the babies. I'm surprised that I seem to prefer my pockets because I thought these would be so convenient. Any time saved in stuffing would be lost with one poo!

Duo pocket - I really dislike this diaper. The pocket is small and I hate stuffing it. O has leaked almost every time he's worn it. I bought it because I love the print but the diaper itself looks weird and baggy on O, sort of how I envision plastic pants looking

 

[Puppmom]

Kunzite, that stinks! One of the really nice things about CDs is how tidy they look so I would be irritated if they were baggy.

I never reported back on my Alvas...no leaks and the quality is nice (and only $5 each!). They're also pretty trim. They only downside for me is that the leg gussets are *super duper* which is awesome unless you have a chubby kid. They leave marks even though there seems to be *room* and DS doesn't complain even though he says just about everything hurts now.

 

[megumic]

Question for the pros...

Ammonia stink. Only when transferring from open diaper pail to washer, but it's bad. Do I need to strip? Is it hard water? Different wash routine?

I wash with oxyclean and charlies soap one full wash with extra water and then a rinse cycle. Any suggestions to rid ammonia smell??

 

[Kunzite]

I know pupp! I was disappointed too! Glad to hear the Alvas are working out.

Meg, how long are they sitting in the pail? The only thing that worked for us was switching to Tide. Natural detergents just weren't cutting it.

ETA - Are you doing a rinse before your wash load? Not sure from your post. You don't want to be washing in pee water!

 

[mayerling]

Meg, I always have ammonia stink when I'm about to load the washer. It hasn't bothered me; as long as the diapers come out fresh, I don't care if they stink when in the pail.

 

[megumic]

Kunzite, you're right. I need to rinse first. Why didn't I think of that???

mayerling, yeah I agree, I don't really mind the stink, but it is an overwhelming ammonia smell when I put them from the pail to the washer -- I hold my breath usually. So to me, that means the diapers prob need something different for the wash routine.

I'll let ya know what works!

 

[mylittlepretties]

Cotton Babies is having seconds sale on Flip, Econobum and Bumgenius covers

http://www.cottonbabies.com/index.php?cPath=51

I picked up Bumgenius 4.0 covers - 10 with snaps and 10 with hook and loop. Anyone here use them? likes/dislikes? My coworker raves about them so I am going to try them out. I am planning to use disposables for the first couple of weeks and then try out CD. I debated getting some All in ones to try but I think you can't put them in the dryer.

 

[pancake]

Meg - definitely rinse first! If I don't have time to rinse them out when I put them in the bucket I do at least run some water on the inserts to dilute the wee, but usually I'll rinse them and wring them out a couple of times in water before popping them in the bucket. Then I do a long cold rinse, warm wash, warm rinse. The sun (thank goodness it's summer here now!) takes care of any residual smells (but generally there aren't any). I do use a sanitiser rinse during the warm wash cycle.

mlp - I use flips and 4.0s. I LOVE 4.0s, they are the bulk of our stash at the moment (along with Charlie Bananas) and they are currently a really good fit with lots of coverage whilst still being reasonably trim. They were a bit bulky on our little girl until 4 months or so, now they are my favourites (she's 10 months now)! I prefer snaps and they wear much better over time, but I have quite a lot of H&L because the grandmothers find them much easier.

Most AIOs can be put in the dryer on a low cycle, though!

 

[mylittlepretties]

Thanks pancake! which do you like the snaps or the hook and loop? do you think the BG inserts are a good place to start? I know people use different inserts or prefolds

Meg - definitely rinse first! If I don't have time to rinse them out when I put them in the bucket I do at least run some water on the inserts to dilute the wee, but usually I'll rinse them and wring them out a couple of times in water before popping them in the bucket. Then I do a long cold rinse, warm wash, warm rinse. The sun (thank goodness it's summer here now!) takes care of any residual smells (but generally there aren't any). I do use a sanitiser rinse during the warm wash cycle.

mlp - I use flips and 4.0s. I LOVE 4.0s, they are the bulk of our stash at the moment (along with Charlie Bananas) and they are currently a really good fit with lots of coverage whilst still being reasonably trim. They were a bit bulky on our little girl until 4 months or so, now they are my favourites (she's 10 months now)! I prefer snaps and they wear much better over time, but I have quite a lot of H&L because the grandmothers find them much easier.

Most AIOs can be put in the dryer on a low cycle, though!

 

[lliang_chi]

MLP, I have BG's (maybe the 4.0s, I can't remember) but our favorite diapers by far are Rumparooz. And we have mostly applix since DH finds them easiest. I like them the best for a few reasons: They're applix have been holding up the best (between Thristies, BG, and Blueberry) and my shells go in the dryer too, so they take quite a beating. I also like the Rumparooz inserts the best, 1) they come with a doubler, and the doubler's cut with a taper in the middle so Ethan's crotch isn't so bulky.
I echo Pancake's thumbs up on Charlie Bananas. Fuzzibunz are also nice and trim, but a bit harder to stuff since they're so "sticky" inside the PUL.

 

[pancake]

Oh God, don't even TALK to me about stuffing Fuzzibunz! They fit so well, but I only have two and they are the last ones I reach for because I dread having to stuff them again

Re BG inserts: I have BG inserts for all my 4.0s because they came with them. You could use anything although inserts made for other diapers might not work as well (maybe?) because BGs are wider through the crotch than most other pockets. I have Bumcheeks, Softbums, Charlie Bananas and Fuzzibunz, and the BG crotch (and therefore BG inserts) are wider than all of those. Fuzzibunz are the narrowest.

 

[mylittlepretties]

liang chi - if we don't like the BGs then I will keep your rec for Rumparooz high on my list - they sound like a good option esp that they can handle dryer time.

pancake - I got BG inserts but I've read here and there that you can improve absorbancy by inserting things like there newborn insert in addition to the standard BG insert. I think some have also inserted prefolds. I have no idea as I haven't actually had any of these things in front of me to get a sense of what is possible.

There are SOOO many different types of cloth diapers and inserts to try and use! It is quite overwhelming!

 

[pancake]

Ah, ok. When you buy a "standard retail" BG it comes with both the newborn and the bigger insert. I never used the newborn insert on its own (I only started using BGs regularly when S was about 4 months old), but did use the bigger one alone for a couple of months during the day. During the night I doubled with the newborn insert; by the time she was about 6 months or so I was doubling during the day (fewer feeds/bigger feeds/fewer changes) and using a night nappy or a super-stuffed Flip at night.

You could double with anything if you have the standard insert - a prefold would be fine, or any insert for another nappy. Even microfibre towels, a pad-folded flat terry square - it's just a matter of how much bulk you're willing to add!

 

[iloveny]

Hi Ladies!
I am expecting, and we want to cloth diaper- I have a question for you pros. We are thinking of mostly using prefolds and covers. However, I have also been looking into flats as an option. Does anyone use flats? I can't seem to find a straight answer through google about how you wash them. I only seem to find "handwashing challenges" when it comes to googling on how to wash flats. Are they easier to wash than prefolds? It seems that with prefolds you have to do a rinse cycle, then a wash cycle then another rinse cycle and use special detergent, no fabric softener, etc. Is that necessary with flats as well, or do you just wash them like anything else? Thanks for any insight you can provide!

 

[mayerling]

iloveny, I'm not really familiar with flats but I assume that they're like any other CD in needing to be rinsed before being washed. The purpose of rinsing is to get rid of pee and poop before running the wash cycle.

 

[pancake]

Treat flats the same as any other cotton or bamboo prefold. To be honest, I think the whole rinse-wash-rinse-hardly any detergent-no softeners thing is probably a bit hardcore for a basic terry flat. I'd probably do just a hot wash and an extra rinse, small amount of detergent. My mother used cotton terry flats on the 3 of us kids and I don't think she ever did extra cycles - just rinsed the dirty nappies first, then ran through a long hot cycle. Used liners.

 

[iloveny]

Thank you for your input ladies!

 

[Haven]

We're only in week 2 of our cloth diaper delivery service, but I have to say that I LOVE IT! We bought a couple Flip covers and then one other kind, can't remember which, and the service delivers 80 prefolds every week. It only costs $23 a week and it is totally worth it to not have to wash anything ourselves.

Just wanted to post a quick update in case anyone else is reading this and considering a service. I'm not sure how much it costs to buy your own everything, so I don't know if the service costs much more than washing your own, but even if it does, it is such a wonderful convenience IMO.

 

[lliang_chi]

Haven sounds great! Which diaper service did you end up going with? Bottoms Up? We wash our own diapers and I gotta say we've been giving our washer & dryer QUITE the workout! I have 1 small sized Thristies cover (owl print) if you want to borrow it for B. It's just sitting collecting dust right now

~LC

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

I finally made it through this whole thread! Just wanted to make sure I had covered my bases and seen any suggestions or tips that I hadn't read before elsewhere. I've done quite the large amount of research (in the past few years) on cloth diapering, and been following blogs and narrowing down my knowledge for quite some time, knowing that I would want to use cloth eventually with a child. This thread has slowed considerably in the last third or so - it was really moving there in the beginning and for quite a while!

We're due in February with our first, and finalizing our system - things change once you go to actually start making purchases, and once you involve a husband in the decision, haha! Just wanted to jump in and say hi , and rejoice in the fact that I have the husband on board! Since the pregnancy began, I had gotten tons of eye rolls every time I talked about cloth diapering. I knew he'd let me do it anyway, but it was going to be an uphill battle with every step, because disposables are just so much "easier"! But a few weeks ago, we were in a baby care class, and the instructor did give a quick props to cloth diapering (haha, I wanted to jump up and spend 30 minutes educating everybody!). But I had not had a chance to even educate him much, so when she passed around a BumGenius pocket, all he did was rave about how cool it was, and that's exactly what he wants to use. Score! We were in Buy Buy Baby this weekend, and I found their rack in the store of the BumGenius diapers, so I showed them to him there as well - another score is he likes snaps over the aplix, as do I. Final touchdown - he devoted time today to helping me decide a newborn system, and even got on the whole bandwagon with me about avoiding the chemicals in the disposables even in the hospital, and I think we've narrowed it down to primarily covers and kissaluv fitteds. We tossed around buying gently used ones, but not too crazy about that, and he's willing to make the investment, especially since it can be used for future kids too. Might throw in an AIO or two for the cuteness factor, and some prefolds too just for backup.

So, one question - anybody ever seen a deal on the kissaluvs anywhere? I really haven't been able to find anything in my research so far - maybe luckily finding a website that doesn't charge the extra dollar or two for the colored over the unbleached, but that's about it. Anybody know if the colors actually have more "chemicals" in them - so would the unbleached be better for a little newborn tushy? There are a few packages here and there that maybe save $10 over buying them individually, but that's about it.

ETA: I found a sale on the old version of the kissaluv fitteds - $8.95 for the unbleached, compared to about $13.95 each for the v2.0. Anybody know anything about how much better the new versions are, and if I should stick with those?

 

[Haven]

LC--You are so sweet to offer to lend us the cover! I wish I had returned to this thread earlier; DH just went on a shopping spree last week and stocked up on covers. I think he's enjoying cloth diapering more than he expected!

LT--Wow, you really have done your homework! I don't know nearly as much about cloth diapering as you do, but I can tell you that I *love* using them! Since we're using a service I only know the little bit that we need to know, which is basically: which covers work best for us, and how to fold the prefolds. Not much skill needed there.

We are really loving the Flip covers, and Thirsties Booty Love Diaper Cream. The diaper cream is amazing, it seems like it works instantly on B's little bottom. We haven't tried many different covers, as soon as we realized the Flips were working well, we just decided to stick with those.

 

[lliang_chi]

Haven, if you like the flips, I would suggest getting a few pockets or AIOs when you decide to go out with Baby Br. Unless you're OK with using the pre-folds and covers. We did the covers when Ethan was a squishy newborn but have moved on to pockets now. It's SO much easier to have the pockets ready to go when you're dealing with a squirmy little one in a bathroom stall changing table. On and Europe has ZERO (or nearly zero) changing stations in the bathrooms! We had to change Ethan on the ground, in our laps, the car, a secluded table. Gah!

LTS, We had the kissa fitteds in our newborn trial. It was great really soft. I wouldn't think anything of having colored or unbleached fitteds. You have to was them all 6 million times before you first use it anyway. Get your diapers NOW so you can prep them in time for your LO (in case he/she comes early).

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

Thanks ladies!

Haven - so glad to hear you and the husband are both loving the cloth!! I bet that little baby tush is too! It's taken me quite a while to get here - a blog I started reading years ago actually exposed me to the idea of cloth diapers, and since then I've just been building up knowledge as I go, reading up here and there but mainly just stockpiling info in my brain and knowing I'd eventually want to do cloth myself. It's not until recently with the pregnancy that I've actually started narrowing down the types we actually want to use for ourselves - that in itself has taken so much research to actually determine which brands, diaper types, sizes, amounts, etc. There's so much to wade through, so I'm at least trying to make it as simple on us as possible. I'm hoping we can just find something that works for us and use a system primarily made up of that - I don't do well with mixing and matching and filling holes, haha - I do better just committing to something and sticking to it when it works. This thread has been so helpful in making some choices on which items are workhorses and really reliable across the board, even for things like wetbags.

Thanks for the diaper cream recommendation too - one thing I'm still undecided on which brand(s) to have on hand.

Liang - I remember reading about your newborn trial and how much you liked it. Do you happen to know if your kissaluvs in your trial were the newer version or the original? If you liked yours and they weren't the v2.0 ones, I might be willing to go for those originals I found on clearance - it sounds like the v2.0 has microfiber soakers inside instead of cotton terry (is that bad?), which one website is saying is "twice as absorbent". But if you think yours were the newer ones, I think I ought to stick with those.

We have looked into trials, 3-month rental programs locally, and buying gently used ones online to keep. But the husband is a little wary (as am I truthfully) and honestly we'd both probably just feel better buying new for ourselves and keeping them. Thanks for the input on the kissaluvs - once I started reading on this thread about you guys having to "prep" everything, even the prefolds, I realized I better hop to the ordering pretty quickly and get to washing!

 

[lliang_chi]

Luv, I had the original version of Kissa fitteds. It was all terry. I would think the version with microfiber insert would take longer to dry, so that would be kinda annoying. TBH, for newborns you're changing the baby SO OFTEN because they only sleep 2 hr stretches in the very beginning. So you really don't need to worry about SUPER ABSORBENCY or anything like that. You basically change them, then feed them, maybe change them again, do some tummy time then they go back to sleep.

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

Awesome, thank you! They have them for $8.95, which is at least $4 if not $5 less than the new ones, which will add up quick if I have a stash primarily made of these. We hope to use this for the newborn stage, but be phased out of them by around 3 months and hopefully into the one size pockets, since that's when we'd be starting daycare.

ETA well shoot... their website didn't say this, but I just went to add them to the cart, and it says they're out of stock. Just my luck... I love websites that don't stay updated. Welllll looks like we might be going with v2.0 out of lack of choice, haha... good to know about the microfiber likely taking longer to dry - I appreciate the heads up! And the help!



One more question for you ladies... wet bags and pail liners. I'm loving the Planetwise wet/dry bag for outside the home, especially daycare. Is the smaller/regular-sized one (says it holds 8-9 diapers) acceptable for our own outings as well as for daycare (it looks like it still has a hanging strap)? Or would the larger "hanging wet/dry bag" be better for sending to daycare (says it holds 20-24, which sounds huge and meant more for home use, but didn't know if it "hangs" better/more evenly than the other one for the daycare workers). And pail liners at home - if you use a diaper pail/can, do you use just one liner or do you prefer to have 2 in rotation so there's always one to have in the pail while laundry is going?

 

[megumic]

I use planet wise wet bags and pail liners. For our own use, we have a small and a medium. The small holds like 2 diapers, the medium hols prob 5-6. We don't have a large, but I'd say that's prob the size you will want for daycare. Since it will likely be zipped with soiled diapers for most of the day, I'd get three of those so you can wash the wet bag after each day and have others so you dont have to wash every day. As for at home, we have two change stations with a diaper pail at each one. We have four pail liners, so on diaper days a fresh liner goes in right away. If you only have one pail, then I'd say two liners is sufficient. Hope that helps!