Cloth Diapers?

[Kunzite]

PG - Our bathroom/wash room is literally right next to O's room so we keep the pail in there. Obviously that makes it much easier for us to rinse. You have quite the trek! I won't lie, there's a little bit of a learning curve to the prefolds and I was happy when we were able to switch to OS, but they weren't hard by any means. Just a little more time getting them on. We just did a trifold in the beginning. Like you said, the fitteds are so much more expensive compared to prefolds that I just couldn't justify the expense for the few months that we used them. O was about 8 pounds when we brought him home, but I think the Duos would be just fine for a smaller baby too.

We use cloth wipes. We don't worry about a wipe solution, we just wet them in the sink before we change him. His poo is so stinky that we nearly always know before we change him whether we need to wet a wipe. I do have disposable wipes on the changing table in case I get a surprise poo and it's too hard to get to the bathroom. That's only happened twice and I didn't see that the disposable did a better job than the cloth by any means. We have Diaper Lotion Potion just in case we need a little extra spray, but rarely do.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Kunzite - Do they use cloth wipes at daycare?

PG - I know you're not wanting to go spendy on nb diapers, but if there is a second for us, then I'd totally do a Tots Bots Tiny Fit, just for fun! http://www.kellyscloset.com/Tots-Bots-Easy-Fit-Tiny-Fit-One-Size-Pocket-Diaper_p_3867.html I do love my tots bots! Oh, that DS mama totally sold you seconds!! They are an untrustworthy bunch, aren't they?!?! I am going to reply to your post in my fireplace thread, just in case you don't go back there, I thought I'd alert you to it here. Hint: pics? Sounds like exactly what I want!!!

Puppmom - I've never heard of that detergent. I'll have to google it!

**********

Thanks for the stain advice. I put an extra scoop of oxyclean in the last wash. I use a small scoop (from the Charlies container) not the oxy scoop and all of my Tots Bots look GREAT, the others not so much. I think I am just going to spray them with Oxy spray if I can remember to buy it!!

 

[phoenixgirl]

LV, I'll add the Tots Bots to my Christmas wish list. I think I'm going to get a bunch of different options and then see what I like when the baby comes. I don't want to buy 12 of any one diaper in case I don't like it.

I asked about the "X"s - if that meant they were seconds - and she said, no, she got them new at her local store and trusted that they weren't seconds. Hmmm . . . I kind of feel like maybe one of my OSs has an X too, so maybe they're floating around in circulation for some reason. Sounds like FB does have quality control issues. I am NOT liking my new gigantic made in Turkey ones. I have an order of 6 new Diaper Rites on the way, but I'm going to stuff them with FB inserts. That will hopefully last me until she's PTed.

I'll go reply to your fireplace thread. Glad you gave me a heads up!

 

[Puppmom]

PG, sorry about the bum diapers. I would not feel bad for one second calling in the 1 year warranty even though your diapers are in heavy rotation for just about a year. I would expect maybe a loose snap or busted elastic but not for the dang thing to split! That's not cool. FBs were totally my favorites at first but they're definitely not holding up as well as the BumGenius. My Blueberries and Applecheeks are still in excellent condition too but those are less than 6 months old.

AFM, that third wash worked. Thank goodness. I wasn't looking forward to a hand scrubbing.

 

[Kunzite]

LV - Yes, our daycare is okay with the cloth wipes. They've had quite a few babies in cloth. They do the same thing we do, just wet the wipes in the sink before they change him. We offered to find a way to bring them in already wet but they said that wasn't necessary.

pupp - Glad to hear the extra washes helped! My diapers are starting to get a little funky so I'm going to try RLR during the week and maybe soak them over the weekend. I might have to try the Dapple Baby to see if it works better.

 

[phoenixgirl]

Pupp, glad the stripping worked! I've never scrubbed and wouldn't know where to start.

Kunzite, how old is your LO? Maybe it's the wipes I got, but I just don't see the sticky poop coming off with just water on them (but an EBF baby, definitely). And then do you use diaper spray/soap on the bum at the end to "clean" it or just the water?

Fuzzibunz is replacing the other two diapers, even though it's been over a year. So that's good. But I am not a fan of these made in Turkey ones. The fit is super big and different. Why mess with it?

I'm having "one of those days" - snagged my bumper on the curb at my OB appt this morning and ripped a bolt off the, um, bumper? Something in the front there. It's loose now. Gained 8 pounds in 4 weeks. Forgot an ingredient for my crockpot dinner, DD won't nap, etc. BUT THEN . . . the clouds parted and the sun shone through and my new package of Diaper Rite pockets arrived. I just ordered them on Sat but the store is only an hour or two away, but I'm still impressed. I'm going to open them now, hope that will cheer me up.

 

[phoenixgirl]

Ew, I took my CDs to my mom's with me for 5 days. I'd never washed them in a top-loading washer before, and they came out smelling stinky. She only had Tide with Febreeze and I didn't bring my own detergent so I just used it knowing I'd want to strip them well later. Also, her washer is super old (I think she said 23 years), so maybe that has something to do with it? I figured with all the extra water they'd be fresher than with my front-loader. Giving them a good wash back home today . . .

 

[phoenixgirl]

OK, I know I said I didn't want to be spendy on the newborn dipes, but I do, I do! I can't help it!

Has anyone used Blueberry Mini Deluxe pockets? They are soooooo cute. I couldn't find any good BF deals that had any good colors so I'm really trying not to buy them now but I want to!

 

[Loves Vintage]

I haven't tried them, PG, but maybe you can find them on a Cyber Monday deal?

I have yet to place my order, and not sure if I'll get around to it today. I see Mom's Milk Boutique has buy 2, get 1 free baby legs. I've been using them as leg warmers over pants, but only have one pair. Shame!!

 

[phoenixgirl]

LV, believe me, I've been looking! If I actually find them on sale, I'm not sure the $$ I save will be worth the time I've put into scouring the internet . . .

Babylegs are definitely cute. We used the tights and still use the knee high socks, but I never really got into the leg warmers. But I didn't CD when Claire was a newborn so this time around I may get on board.

ETA: OK, they are 10% off at Pinstripes and Polkadots, but I really want the cute pink colors, which are only available at LC Pals. But they seem a little sketchy - only 60 FB likes and no Cyber Monday updates. They do sell on Amazon though.

 

[Puppmom]

I sure do hope you find a deal because those are the cutest dang diapers I've ever seen!

 

[phoenixgirl]

I got a 15% off coupon by registering with LC Pals, but I'm trying to make sure it works because you can only check out with PayPal and I can't figure out where the coupon code goes. Urgh . . . If I can get it work, I'm placing the order! The annoying thing is that there's no free shipping but fine, can't win them all.

ETA: Yay, did it! He he he, so now I've spent $200 on newborn diapers this weekends. Gulp. BUT I think this will really work out because the kinds I got (6 Happy Heiny's Mini One Size and 6 Blueberry Mini Deluxe) adjust to go bigger than the average newborn pocket like FB or BG. So theoretically these should last me until the true one-sizes fit . . . Claire was only 9 pounds at 2 months, 11 pounds at 4 months (she was 8 pounds at birth but dropped to 7 lb 1 oz and didn't regain her birth weight for three weeks), so I am expecting these to be used for several months.

Oh, and I know I need more than 12 diapers for a newborn, especially since I want to keep washing every other day. I like the routine of waking up every second morning and throwing them in. If I had to go every 36 hours and switch up morning and night, I'd get confused, and every 24 hours would be crazy with the 4+ hour wash process. So anyway, I'm planning to see what I like and then get more. I also have 3 covers, 2 fitteds, some prefolds, and 2 AIOs coming, and I'm expecting to get 2 more pockets, one more cover, and one more fitted for Christmas (the Diaper Junction newborn sampler pack is on my list).

 

[pancake]

I am joining this thread - don't have anything to contribute as I don't know anything, but I am reading with interest and hoping for tidbits of advice along the way!

I'm a first-time mum-to-be and am planning to initiate myself gently into the CD world by hopefully using CDs during the day at home, and using disposables overnight (at least initially) and when out.

I've bought a varied selection of stuff so far to try out - about 7 or 8 Bambooties snaps in size small (both the Easy Peasy and the Easy Dry), a few different OSFM Bumgenius 4.0s (elementals, hooks, snaps) and a handful of Designerbums OSFMs to see how we go. Since I'm in Australia, my choices are a little more limited as I don't want to pay astronomical costs for shipping. I'm looking out for local online sales (where I got the Designerbums and Bambooties) and I bought the Bumgeniuses from Figure 8 (which had 20% off over the weekend with reasonable shipping costs from the US).

I've also looked a little at Thirsties Duos (although would like to try AIOs first) and Fuzzibunz. Are there any other brands that I absolutely must have on my radar?

 

[phoenixgirl]

Pancake, welcome!

I used FuzziBunz exclusively for over a year, and then when they stopped fitting I got some cheaper, small-brand pockets (Diaper Rite) recently, so I don't have too much experience with anything other than FB (which, BTW, has changed its manufacturer and is not the same quality IMO, though I've heard good things about the OS elite . . . but I'm concerned the sizing on the perfect size is off). But I've been going on a buying spree in anticipation of DD#2. I will be sure to compare notes with you when I have them!

I want to try the BumGenius pockets too. Do you have a clothes dryer? I know they are not universal in Australia, and if you don't, I'd worry about the drying time of AIOs, so I'd probably stick with pockets which I know the 4.0s are.

Some brands I am trying out are Happy Heinys, Blueberry, Thirsties, and Rumparooz.

 

[lliang_chi]

Hey ladies,

I've been following along your posts as well. I'm going to try a cloth diaper experiment. DH didn't say "No" so hopefully we'll be able to try it out. I think I'll work with pockets and AIOs. It sounds like I need to get newborn sizes as well as OSFM when the baby gets big enough, huh?

PG, sounds like you got some great bargains. Go you!

~LC

 

[pancake]

Hey PG, thanks for the reply! We do have a dryer, but are thinking of buying a new washing machine if we like the cloth nappies. Ours is perfectly functional but it's a bit slow and the capacity is not as large as I would like if we're doing cloth most of the time. Tempted to get a top loader but we'll probably stick with a front-loader to save water, provided it has more quick cycle options.

The Bambooties and Designerbums are Australian pockets, from what I can gather (correct me if I am wrong and they are not Aussie products!) and I am looking forward to trying them out. CDs are insanely expensive here though so I am only buying them at big discounts!

Has anyone tried some of the cheaper CDs eg. Kawaii? I have read some quite good reviews of them but would appreciate PS-er CD-er input on some of the lower budget options

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Ooohhh, CD virgins

Welcome Liang and Pancake

I have some Sunbabies from ebay (I think I got them for $7 per diaper, new with inserts) they are made in China. Definitely flimsier than my beloved applecheeks and without the ruffles that help to contain poo explosions and pee leaks. I bought them b/c they had great reviews, were cheap, and had really cute prints at the time. I don't know if I have ever tried them at night, but they work great with no leaks during the day. The fit isn't quite as good on my son, and the snaps are a little awkward to do, but for the price and the awesome prints I am quite happy with my purchase.

PhoenixGirl-I remembered the other newborn diapers I have they are fitted diapers by drybees, I think called drybees gone natural, they are SO SOFT and SO ABSORBENT.

I have only diapered a toddler as B was 2 1/2 when he joined our family, but our favorite diapers by far for the toddler stage are:

Bumgenius elementals AIOs (never had a daytime leak, trim, comfy for him, organic cotton, no stains or stinks, easy to snap/unsnap, drys fast--1 45 minute cycle in the dryer and then about 30 minutes laid over the back of a chair to totally air dry. I bought 6 more in a black friday sale to have for daycare.

Applecheeks covers (awesome for night time, no leaks at night!, fit is great on my son, trim, and super cute) stuffed with a clotheez infant-yellow edged prefold or 2 loopydo inserts. The clotheez prefold works great and absorbs a ton! I think I can send these prestuffed to daycare too with no issues.

We also have knickernappies pockets, jamtots berry plush, motherease one size fitteds,motherease sandys fitted, thirsties covers (1 large velcro, 1 size 2 duo snap), motherease airflow covers (m/l and l), the sunbabies, 2 ragababes AIOs, 2 ragababe 2 steps (bought before the prices went through the roof and although I like them, they don't quite live up to the hype), clotheez prefolds and some wool covers, as well as some random stuff.

DH and I both ALWAYS reach for the bumgenius and the applecheeks first, then the sunbabies, then the motherease sandys fitted, and then it's a crap shoot as the rest all have significant pluses and minuses...

If we are ever blessed with a newborn in the future, we have newborn clotheez prefolds (orange edge), applecheeks size 1 covers, kissaloves size 0, drybees gone natural, and newborn motherease sandys.

Diapers we have not liked that much (I am going to sell them as other people love them, they just didn't work for us):
-dreameze AIO and fitteds. I thought I would love these but I don't. They don't absorb more than my favorites, but are more bulky and hold some pee odors in the wash.
-motherease 1 size, I thought I would love these but I don't. the fit isn't great on B and they aren't as absorbent as the sandys.
-thirsties fitted and aio, meh and kind of leaky
-applecheeks inserts, the clotheez prefolds are way more absorbent and a ton cheaper
-wool diaper covers (we have 6 biobottoms covering all sizes) we may keep these as I think I'd like the natural option for future children, but we love the applecheeks and bumgenious so much that we rarely use these.
-goodmamas-don't get the hype
-fuzzibunz-we infinitely prefer the applecheeks

Got to sell these and get some cash to get a few more applecheeks

 

[pancake]

Oooh thank you Bella! I don't think we will be using cloth nappies on Dot (as she is currently nicknamed) for the first few weeks - I plan to wait until we settle a little bit at home before trying to establish a washing routine, so I sort of have the 4-6 week mark tentatively pencilled in my head. But these things are totally unpredictable so we'll see!

Whilst a lot of the nappies I've bought are Australian that is not really an issue as CDs are so expensive here that it is almost invariably cheaper to buy them online from the States and swallow the shipping cost. Exception to that was the Bambooties, which were about 70% off (!) so I stocked up on those a little more.

 

[phoenixgirl]

PC, I haven't heard of those brands, will have to check them out.

When you say your washer is small, how small is small? Even for a toddler a 2 day load of CDs is pretty small (like yesterday I only washed 11 diapers for two days - I kept wondering if I had lost a couple because it's usually more than that but no more than 15 or so). We have a pretty small front-loader (I think the smallest/cheapest FL the big box store had - FIL was buying and I didn't want to ask for something extravagant). But it's not compact or made for small spaces. I'd say an average diaper load is 1/4 the size of our normal laundry load. In fact, I often add a towel just to get the washer to add more water, and it's still a smaller load.

I'm planning to CD as soon as possible with DD #2 (so at the very latest after the umbilical cord falls off -- I'm not sure which diapers will rub, and I'm not going to buy a whole umbilical-cord friendly stash for just a couple of weeks), but I've gotten a bunch of "mini one-size" pockets. They are more adjustable and go bigger than the average newborn diaper (so possibly they will be relatively big and bulky at first), but I'm hoping they will last me until 4 months or so (DD#1 was only 11 pounds something at 4 months) when the normal one-sizes will fit.

 

[phoenixgirl]

PC, they look cute! The Bambooties look like FuzziBunz, but they are AIOs, right? Except the easy dry ones have semi-attached inserts I think? And the DesignerBums reminded me of Blueberries.

You've probably seen this but I looked at the Bambooties on this site: http://www.darlingsdownunder.com.au/ They have some of the same brands we have here - Happy Heiny's (but not the mini one size, just the micro for preemies, and do people really CD preemies when they're two pounds???), Thirsties, Itti Bitti, etc. I didn't see the bigger names like FuzziBunz or BumGenius though.

 

[pancake]

PG, I'm not sure what our washer capacity actually is, but it's definitely smaller than I would prefer. It is fine for the two of us at the moment but I am concerned that because it's so slow (which is actually more the problem - the size would be ok if it were faster I think), we'll struggle if we're doing cloth nappies as well.

Yep, you are right I think - Bambooties are AIOs, the others I bought are pockets. Thinking of getting some prefolds and covers also.

I thought I had already posted this, but has anyone tried cheaper CDs like Kawaii? Wondering what I can do to make the exercise a bit more budget-friendly in the initial outlay...

 

[phoenixgirl]

PC, hmmm, I'm seeing sites saying that BumGenius can't be shipped to Australia. I guess you found a way, though?
http://www.kellyscloset.com/Shipping-Policy_ep_41-1.html
http://www.diaperjunction.com/ordering-information.html#ishipping

I haven't tried Kawaii diapers, so I'm no help there, but they get good reviews.

 

[pancake]

I bought the Bumgeniuses on Figure 8 - they were 20% off and shipping was $14, which is about as good as it gets unfortunately. I have noticed that most sites won't ship them to Australia and the mark-up is exorbitant locally!

Am thinking of buying a lot of 12 Kawaiis as that would only be about $100 and then even with shipping costs I think it would be ok, and the reviews look positive - thinking of the bamboo minkys.

 

[phoenixgirl]

PC, speaking of cheap, I saw these mentioned on Diaper Swappers (but for all I know it was a shill for the company . . .). Apparently they run small so they might work pretty quickly: http://www.assuntastore.com/Diapering/One-Size-Pocket-Diapers-p53.html And free shipping to Australia if your order is over $75.

ETA: Oh, they're not THAT cheap if you have to add the inserts for $2.50.

 

[pancake]

Oooh even at $8 including an insert that is a great price given the free international shipping! Thanks PG, I will Google some reviews and put those on my possibles list!

ETA: They are out of stock BUT I am looking at the bamboo AIOs with interest!

 

[pancake]

Anyone used Charlie Bananas? They get good reviews - am thinking of buying a 6 pack of the OSFMs to try.

ETA: I have no patience. I have bought them already! Now have 9 Bambooties, 3 Designerbums, 5 BumGenius and 6 Charlie Bananas on the way. Think that will be enough to start with...all except the Bambooties are OSFM.

 

[Puppmom]

Lliang, welcome! My DH was hesitant at first. He didn't think it was yucky, he just thought it seemed like a lot of work. We've used disposables twice since starting to CD and both times we couldn't wait to get back to cloth. Once, we were on vacation and my bro gave me some sposies that were too small for my nephew. I brought my dirty diapers to wash at our shore house so they didn't sit all week at home and ended up washing every day to avoid using the disposables. Then, we pulled them out again recently when N got diarrhea from an antibiotic. The diarrhea stopped as soon as we started the disposables (go figure!) but poor thing got a diaper rash. We put him back in cloth and the rash was gone in the morning. Anywho, I digress...maybe you could try one of the diaper trials when your LO is born? A few of the major sites offer them - Jillian's Drawers is the longest at 21 days and, if you call them, they'll help you to decide what to put in your trial stash. For me, I knew I wasn't doing prefolds and covers or AIOs so I wanted to try as many pockets as I could.

Pancake, that stinks that diapers are so expensive for you. I haven't tried any of the brands you mentioned. Since I was a total novice when I started I went with *name brands* - Fuzzibunz and BumGenius. As time went on, I expanded a little and added Applecheeks to our stash. They are my favorite! I just buy the covers and use the inserts I have. I just bought 3 Tot Bots Easy Fits and I can't wait to try them. I'm really digging how it's an AIO yet a pocket all at once!

Bella, what a stash! I can see why you like the BGs and Applecheeks for B. Even though they definitely fit on smaller guys, they're cut nicely for a toddler. N now has plumber's butt in his Fuzzibunz!

Phoenix, great idea to ask for diapers for Christmas! I didn't use cloth until N was 5 months old so I didn't get to use the cute little diapers.

LV and Kunzite, I got my Tot Bots on Monday. Any pointers for prepping them? There weren't any instructions. Maybe I'll just include them in a few washes and not send them to daycare until I'm sure they're fully absorbent. I love how trim they are! I also got my new AppleCheeks. I got the Wild Child print...adorable!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

And...now that I just bought the 6 more BumGenius elementals, and my BFF is sending back some diapers I loaned to her (including 2 applecheeks)...B may be making pottytraining progress We just put him comando in sweatpants yesterday and NO PEE ACCIDENTS! He's uncomfortable peeing in the pants, so he waddles and squats and makes it really easy to tell when you need to pick him up and put him on the potty....hopefully this is not a fluke, eitherway I keep telling DH we'll just have to have a second child soon to get the most mileage out of our new diapers

 

[lliang_chi]

Pupp, really interesting about the diaper trials. I'm going to look into that to start with the cloth diaper experiment.

Has anyone heard of Kushies cloth diapers? They have a sale on Zulily.com. A 5 pack for $35 (newborn size).

Also are there any thoughts on getting newborn dipes? PG went on a shopping spree (Good for you mama!) so now I'm tempted to get a some newborn diapers. I take it you can't use the regular OSFM diapers on a brand new baby, maybe when they get a little bigger.

Has anyone started their babies on just the prefolds as a newborn? Or do you NEED a diaper cover for because the prefolds will get soaked immediately?

~LC

 

[phoenixgirl]

LC, welcome to the dark side. Mwah ha ha ha.

Take my advice with a grain of salt because I didn't cloth diaper my daughter until she was 9 months, but from what I understand, the OS diapers don't fit well on newborns. If you have a big newborn and/or a fast grower, then buying NB size diapers is probably a waste of money. My daughter was 8 pounds at birth (so not tiny), but then she went down to 7 lb. 1 oz. in the hospital, took three weeks to regain her birthweight, and 6 months to double it. She was still under 12 pounds at 4 months. So I'm expecting that smaller diapers will last a while longer than for some with DD#2 (watch me get a voracious feeder who turns into a chunkster!).

I've asked for this for Christmas: http://www.diaperjunction.com/cloth-diaper-sampler-package.html You get a pocket diaper in newborn size (Fuzzibunz), an All in One in newborn size (Bum Genius - similar to the pocket but the absorbent stuffing is sewn in so you don't have to stuff them, but they also take longer to dry), a cover (the Bummis whisper wrap), a couple of prefolds, and a fitted diaper. Yeah, you do want a cover over the prefolds to make it waterproof. The good news is that the cover can be used over and over until it gets poop on it, and you can wash it by hand so it doesn't have to go in the washing machine (but it can if you want). So you'd only need 3-4 covers per day to use with prefolds, from what I've read, which is a lot cheaper than buying 12-15 pockets or all-in-ones per day.

The diapers that have really intrigued me are the "mini one-size." They're a cross between the newborn size diapers and the OS. So they supposedly fit from 5/6 pounds until 15 pounds and are adjustable, whereas a regular newborn diaper will stop fitting around 11 or 12 pounds. But the downside is that they are a little bulkier than a straight-up newborn diaper. I'm hoping I'll be able to bridge the gap between birth and when the one-size diapers start fitting with the mini one-size. I'll let you know what I think of the Happy Heiny's Mini One-Size and the Blueberry Mini Deluxe when I get them!

As much as I want to buy a bunch of tiny, umbilical cord friendly diapers (and probably will, ha!), it's probably wiser to wait a few weeks to start. You've got the tar-like meconium poo at first and the umbilical cord to worry about. Plus newborn-sized Pampers change colors when they pee so you know when the diaper is wet, which is actually pretty useful when you're sleep-deprived and trying to figure everything out for the first time.