Newbie here, need CD advice.

cnctf

Hi ladies! my DD is 6 months so I'm late to this game. I haven't bought any CD yet and I know everyone will have different opinions, but I was wondering what is a good CD for a baby with chunky thighs? And I mean chuunnnnnky! Hehe. Thanks!

Into+the+Kitty

My BG 4.0s and flips were my favorite during her super chunky thighed stage.

Roxie5739

I second BG 4.0s. Their snaps are better then aplix too

cnctf

So I'm looking at getting the BG AIO, how many would u ladies suggest getting if I intend to do laundry 2 times a week

freezorburn

I suggest looking for a diaper trial that will allow you to try out several brands, and building your stash from there.

It is as much about figuring out what fits your baby, as it is about figuring out your laundry routine. If you want to do laundry 2x a week, and you have AIOs that take a long time to dry, you will need a lot more diapers than if you were to wash EOD.

km_md

I second the recommendation of a diaper trial. You never know what will fit best until you get it on the bum.

I'm not sure I would want to wait that many days before doing a wash, but natural fibres would probably be best if you do. They are much more forgiving. So that is something to consider.

mrshudson618

Doing laundry twice a week is really pushing it. I tried it for a while, and it was a lot harder to get the diapers clean, even though we were using all prefolds at the time. I switched back to 3 days a week and its much better. EOD is usually recommended.

24 changes is recommended for washing every other day, but like PP said if you are going with AIOs they can take up to two days to fully dry, so you would need a stash to last more like 5 days if you are only washing twice a week, so that would mean more like 40-50 diapers.

CLLDLL

I agree with the advice about needing more diapers if you are going with AIOs and only washing every 3-4 days.  Also AIOs in general are harder to get clean than other types of diapers, so going that long between washings may set you up for some issues.  Or not.  Just depends on your water/detergent/washer.

My DS2 had really chunky thighs at that age.  Our favorites were BG 4.0s, Blueberry pockets, and SoftBums Omni/Echo.  The SBs have adjustable leg elastic so you can make it just the right size. We didn't try Blueberry Simplexes until recently, but I bet they would be good on a chunky thighed babe too.

emmylou78

BG, flips, and nickis pockets and AIO work good for my chunky thighed 9 mo old

countrycotton

I just want to add one thing about AIO drying time. When we say it takes longer to try that is in reference to line drying. You can dry in the dryer, this is what I do. Only use low heat! I do find that I have to use two cycles. Some say that the dryer can mess up your diapers elastic, or ruin the PLU. I haven't had this problem. Only dry on low heat and you should have any PLU damage, and don't stretch the elastic until the diapers have cooled off.

freezorburn

For us 3 days is pushing it for laundry. I've found that even though DS goes through fewer diapers as a toddler, if I wait 3 days then there is more time for ammonia to develop and build up. So I've been sticking with EOD/fewer diapers per load. Our stupid DC that will only use sposies throws that off a little bit, but then during that part of the week we seem to be okay with 2.5 days.

Drying AIOs on a line/rack vs. drying in the dryer -- line drying may or may not be practical for you, depending on what kind of space you have, and how humid of a climate you live in. We've been having a good summer for line drying, so I've been doing that a lot, but will probably go back to using the dryer (or a combination of line and dryer) when the weather turns cold. I used to dry all of my diapers on med/high because I didn't want to bother separating out my AIOs. I started to see a little bit of wear and tear on my Simplex at around 18 months of usage.

I have found that Blueberry Simplex and TotsBots v4 dry relatively fast for AIOs.

freezorburn

So, the math goes like this: say you go through 12 diapers per day. If you wash every 3 days, that's 36 diapers in a load of laundry. If all 36 of those are AIOs and you decide to line dry them, they can take at least 1-2 days to dry. Let's assume the larger number. So, you have 36 clean, wet diapers that will be dry enough to use in 2 days. That means you need at least 24 more diapers that are ready to use while your laundry is drying.

Or, if you use your dryer, assume that your diapers are still out of commission for 12-18 hours, because unless you have a fancy programmable washing machine, there might be some time in between when you are able to get to your machine to start the next cycle or move it to your dryer. If you have an HE machine, cycles tend to take more time. And if you are putting AIOs in the dryer on low, that will take a few hours as well.

This is another argument in favor of having a diverse stash. You could have some pockets and prefolds that dry more quickly, so they can get back into circulation more quickly.

YellowLily2013

I tried to do all BG elemtentals and it took a stash of 50! To line dry... Quickly we started to use the dryer and haven't looked back.

I completely understand the appeal of AIOs. That's all I used in the beginning. But being on this board I have branched out. And I'm proud of using flats and prefolds! Especially look at the cost comparison $1 vs $25!! Wow!

I think a balance stash would be:

12 AIOs
12 prefolds / pockets
12 flats
4 - 6 covers

Also, while you change a lot of diapers in the early days. Now at a little over a year we only go throw 6-7 a day. And some of those are dry!

cnctf

Ladies,

Thank you all very much for the info, advice and time you've taken to help me out. I will definitely broaden my horizons to prefolds/pockets. I guess cause CD is so much to learn, I figured AIO's is the easy way out, but with all the info you've given I see it has its cons also. 

I live in Hawaii so its really humid here and DD sweats profusely. Even though she doesnt have diaper rash or anything, I feel bad that her butt is in plasticky disposables daily. I want her to be comfy and have something more breathable so hoping CD will be a help. 

Thank you again and I hope soon I can be more active on this board with CD knowledge!!