Cloth Diapering

[cellososweet]

Hi everyone!

I was wondering if those who cloth diaper have suggestions for a long, lean baby. We hae a six week old who is about 10 pounds, but he''s super long (he''s in some three month clothes because he''s so long. 0-3 fits width wise, but he cant stretch out).

I tried small gdiapers with a diaper service quality prefold. Apparently a lot of women do this and dont have a problem. It didnt work so great the first time ''round for us.

So, any recommendations? I want to do a cloth diaper trial before I commit. Any brands I should look out for? He''s a heavy wetter and is exclusively breastfed, if that makes a diference.

Thanks!!

 

[Blenheim]

G''s long and lean. Do you have any idea what types of diapers you''d like to go with, i.e. prefolds, fitteds, pockets, AIOs? Out of what we''ve tried:

Pockets-
--FuzziBunz OS Pockets and Blueberries OS Pockets fit well.
--BumGenius OS 3.0 Pockets fit well, but I really didn''t like the velcro on the ones that we had. I''d imagine that their new snapped ones would fit similarly, but don''t have personal experience with them.
--HappyHeinys are made for babies with chunkier legs and are responsible for almost every blowout we''ve ever had. We still use them because their cowprint is super cute, and are just sure to put him in them at times of the day when he doesn''t poop. They do fine with pee.
--Rocky Mountain OS pockets - No real complaints. They''re not my favorite right now, as I think that G''s kind of between snap settings and so it''s hard to get what seems like a really good fit. But we haven''t had leak issues, which is probably the main thing to be concerned about.

AIOs-
--Starbunz sized are really cute but the fit was never great.
--I''m trying to remember what other AIOs we''ve tried. Daisy Doodles maybe? There have been a couple other random brands, and none of them have worked well for us.

Covers-
--Thirsties and Bummis sized covers both work really well for us. I haven''t tried them, but I''ve heard that the Thirsties Duo covers are a bit trimmer than their sized covers.
--We use XL Imse Vimse covers at night and on the rare occasion that he poos then, we do have containment issues with them. But we stick him in two prefolds at night, which is thick enough that the leg gusseting doesn''t come all the way to his skin, and I think that the gap''s a lot of the issue. They may do better with a slimmer diaper underneath.

We use a lot of Chinese prefolds with snappis, which work well. I don''t have much experience with fitted diapers, as the ones that we tried (Kissaluv, BabyKicks) were not absorbant enough for G and so we moved onto other options. I think that all of them fit well enough, though.

 

[Blenheim]

Ok, I just re-read your post. Would you mind describing what about the gdiaper cover plus the prefolds wasn''t working well for you? Poo containment, leaking, absorbancy, ...? Also, are you using a snappi, or just trifolding the prefold in the cover? I know people who can get away with trifolding forever, but at one point we realized that snappi-ing the prefold on really helps keep the poo in where it should be. We used snappis plus DSQ prefolds in a Thirsties cover until he was about 4-5 months old, and then added OS pockets into the rotation as well.

 

[cellososweet]

Thanks Blen! We''re going to do a trial. I''m going to order tomorrow. I''m excited. I picked a trial that had all the ones that you liked, plus more. So we should be plenty busy when they come comparing everything.

The gdiapers with the prefold worked fine but for some reason they leaked as I was taking them off. I think it''s because I''m used to taking disposables off a certain way and since gdiapers are technically backwards, it was probably my fault. We''re going to try again.

I''ll let you know how the trial goes. I should be starting Monday or Tuesday.

 

[anchor31]

We are using the BumGenius 3.0 and love them. Jacob is not a chubby baby and it works well, no leaks.

 

[lovelylulu]

A trial seems like a great idea. I''m interested to hear how it goes with the specific diapers and how the trial works generally.

 

[cellososweet]

So, we got our cloth diaper trial from diaperdaisy and this is what it included:
1 FuzziBunz Perfect Fit Diaper with insert
1 bumGenius 3.0 One Size Pocket Diaper and inserts
1 Knickernappies One Size Pocket Diaper and inserts
1 FuzziBunz One Size Pocket Diaper and inserts
1 Thirsties All-In-One
1 bumGenius Organic One Size All-In-One
1 Flip All-In-Two One Size Diaper with one stay dry and one organic cotton insert
1 Thirsties Fab Fitted
1 Thirsties Original Diaper Cover

It also came with 2 diaper service quality prefolds and snappis.

My impressions so far for the ones I''ve tried are:
Thisties all-in-one: This is so trim and contained an exclusively breastfed poo (watery and kinda explosive) and a lot of pee. You can add extra absorbancy too, which is great. I hate that they are not one-sized though because it''ll cost quite a bit to buy enough in all the sizes. I think I''ll definitely buy a few of these though to have them in my stash.

Thirsties Fab Fitted: Hated them. My son is a heavy wetter and he soaked these so much that pee was all over his lower back. The Thirsties Cover however was AWESOME! I''d definitely use them with good prefolds.

Bum Genius 3.0 One Size- Super absorbant, fits well, no leaks, held a ton of pee. Was pretty bulky in the front though

I really like the Bum Genius 3.0. Anyone have any suggestions for making it less bulky?

He has the organic Bum Genius on right now and we''ll round the night out with the Flip and the Knickernappies.

Tomorrow we''ll do the Fuzzi Bunz.

I''ll let you all know how it goes.

Cheers!

 

[oobiecoo]

Date: 3/10/2010 4:43:01 PM
Author: cellososweet
So, we got our cloth diaper trial from diaperdaisy and this is what it included:

1 FuzziBunz Perfect Fit Diaper with insert

1 bumGenius 3.0 One Size Pocket Diaper and inserts

1 Knickernappies One Size Pocket Diaper and inserts

1 FuzziBunz One Size Pocket Diaper and inserts

1 Thirsties All-In-One

1 bumGenius Organic One Size All-In-One

1 Flip All-In-Two One Size Diaper with one stay dry and one organic cotton insert

1 Thirsties Fab Fitted

1 Thirsties Original Diaper Cover


It also came with 2 diaper service quality prefolds and snappis.


My impressions so far for the ones I''ve tried are:

Thisties all-in-one: This is so trim and contained an exclusively breastfed poo (watery and kinda explosive) and a lot of pee. You can add extra absorbancy too, which is great. I hate that they are not one-sized though because it''ll cost quite a bit to buy enough in all the sizes. I think I''ll definitely buy a few of these though to have them in my stash.


Thirsties Fab Fitted: Hated them. My son is a heavy wetter and he soaked these so much that pee was all over his lower back. The Thirsties Cover however was AWESOME! I''d definitely use them with good prefolds.


Bum Genius 3.0 One Size- Super absorbant, fits well, no leaks, held a ton of pee. Was pretty bulky in the front though


I really like the Bum Genius 3.0. Anyone have any suggestions for making it less bulky?


He has the organic Bum Genius on right now and we''ll round the night out with the Flip and the Knickernappies.


Tomorrow we''ll do the Fuzzi Bunz.


I''ll let you all know how it goes.


Cheers!

I''m very curious about the flip! I added a couple to my registry with plans to use them over a prefold but might get some of the inserts also if you think those work well. That''ll be a little easier for family/friends to change the diaper instead of fussing with a prefold and snappi.

 

[oobiecoo]

Also, what kind of detergent are you using for the diapers?

 

[jewelz617]

I use Bum Genius with the Thirsties cover. They work like a charm.

I wash them with plain old Dreft, separately.

 

[Blenheim]

Cello - Unfortunately, the best way to make the BG less bulky is to wait for the baby to grow so that the bulk is distributed among a bigger area.

You could also play around some with inserts. Hemp inserts are a lot thinner than microfiber and hemp''s very absorbant. The Blueberry inserts are combo hemp and microfiber and are also pretty trim; you can buy them separately from the diapers. Or you can just embrace the fluffy butt and make the baby dance around while you sing "I like big butts and I cannot lie..." not that we do that of course.

Oobicoo - I figured the same thing about pockets and family members, and then they all refused to use them - "We used prefolds on you and so we can figure out how to do it again, we don''t need the fancy diapers." Babysitters like them though, and easier-to-put-on options are great for when you have a squirmy baby.

Detergent - Check out this website for reviews. We used Allen''s Naturally for the first 8 months or so, and then when we ran out we opted to go with Purex Free and Clear (available at Target, plus much cheaper). You want to watch what additives are in the detergent and unfortunately most of the detergents in the grocery store aren''t the best for cloth diapers, and you should use about half of the recommended amount so that you don''t get detergent buildup (will cause repelling issues).

 

[cellososweet]

So the knickernappies was really great. Good fit and everything. I like how flat they were across his belly and the rise was great. They are so expensive though, compared to others. So, we''ll see if we can find a cheaper one that''s just as good.

The bumgenius organic all-in-one was great. It was absorbant, fit well, and the snaps were surprisingly easy to use. I didn''t want to like these because of the cost but, darnit, I like them! I like pocket diapers a bit better because it''s easier to add extra absorbancy, but there are pretty awesome for people looking for an all in one. They dried really well in the dryer too.

The two Fuzzibunz were equally good. Really absorbant, wicks the moisture away well. I''ve yet to have a poopy one for either of them and we''re trying them all overnight starting tomorrow. So, we''ll see.

The Flip didn''t work for us. With the regular insert they gave us, the cover got poo all over it. It just wasn''t wide enough. With the organic insert, the absorbancy was good, but there was still a gap around his thighs which means that if it were a soiled diaper, there probably would''ve been poo all over the place. Also, the snaps aren''t the easiest on the Flip.

Also, the organic insert took FOREVER to dry! I put it in the dryer at least 3 times and it was still damp so I ended up line drying it. The cover is good though and I think that if you got an insert that was wider and had a baby with chunkier legs, it would be pretty good. I''m so disappointed. I wanted the Flip to be "the one," because it was the cheapest option besides prefolds and covers.

So, we''re going to do prefolds with Thirsties covers once my snappi gets here. Hopefully tomorrow.

 

[lovelylulu]

cello - thanks so much for your reviews - very helpful

 

[geckodani]

Date: 3/11/2010 10:40:19 AM
Author: Blenheim
Cello - Unfortunately, the best way to make the BG less bulky is to wait for the baby to grow so that the bulk is distributed among a bigger area.

You could also play around some with inserts. Hemp inserts are a lot thinner than microfiber and hemp''s very absorbant. The Blueberry inserts are combo hemp and microfiber and are also pretty trim; you can buy them separately from the diapers. Or you can just embrace the fluffy butt and make the baby dance around while you sing ''I like big butts and I cannot lie...'' not that we do that of course.

Oobicoo - I figured the same thing about pockets and family members, and then they all refused to use them - ''We used prefolds on you and so we can figure out how to do it again, we don''t need the fancy diapers.'' Babysitters like them though, and easier-to-put-on options are great for when you have a squirmy baby.

Detergent - Check out this website for reviews. We used Allen''s Naturally for the first 8 months or so, and then when we ran out we opted to go with Purex Free and Clear (available at Target, plus much cheaper). You want to watch what additives are in the detergent and unfortunately most of the detergents in the grocery store aren''t the best for cloth diapers, and you should use about half of the recommended amount so that you don''t get detergent buildup (will cause repelling issues).

This made me LOL at me desk.

 

[oobiecoo]

Date: 3/12/2010 1:17:51 AM
Author: cellososweet

So the knickernappies was really great. Good fit and everything. I like how flat they were across his belly and the rise was great. They are so expensive though, compared to others. So, we''ll see if we can find a cheaper one that''s just as good.

The bumgenius organic all-in-one was great. It was absorbant, fit well, and the snaps were surprisingly easy to use. I didn''t want to like these because of the cost but, darnit, I like them! I like pocket diapers a bit better because it''s easier to add extra absorbancy, but there are pretty awesome for people looking for an all in one. They dried really well in the dryer too.

The two Fuzzibunz were equally good. Really absorbant, wicks the moisture away well. I''ve yet to have a poopy one for either of them and we''re trying them all overnight starting tomorrow. So, we''ll see.

The Flip didn''t work for us. With the regular insert they gave us, the cover got poo all over it. It just wasn''t wide enough. With the organic insert, the absorbancy was good, but there was still a gap around his thighs which means that if it were a soiled diaper, there probably would''ve been poo all over the place. Also, the snaps aren''t the easiest on the Flip.

Also, the organic insert took FOREVER to dry! I put it in the dryer at least 3 times and it was still damp so I ended up line drying it. The cover is good though and I think that if you got an insert that was wider and had a baby with chunkier legs, it would be pretty good. I''m so disappointed. I wanted the Flip to be ''the one,'' because it was the cheapest option besides prefolds and covers.

So, we''re going to do prefolds with Thirsties covers once my snappi gets here. Hopefully tomorrow.

Bummer about the Flip. I imagine the Grobaby would be similar since I think its the same kind of setup. Have you seen the Thirsties Duo Covers? They are adjustable and come in 2 sizes and they are supposed to adjust to fit small, medium, large, and x-large sizes. If you decide to get some thirsties covers then this option is a bit cheaper I think since you don''t have to buy every size.