Cloth Diapering

TinyAlligator

Would it be weird to start this thread? I know we've got a while to decide but I figured maybe any of us 2nd/3rd/4th+ time moms who did it could maybe share experiences and answer any questions. 

TinyAlligator

Maybe a questionnaire would help...

How many kids do you have and how many have been cloth diapered?

Do you plan on doing it again? Why or why not?

What styles and brands did/do you use?

Are you diapering from birth this go? What have you done in the past?

Any tips? Tools you couldn't live without?

TinyAlligator

How many kids do you have and how many have been cloth diapered? Just the one right now plus the one on the way. DD is still in diapers and she's in cloth

Definitely plan on using cloth again. Mostly for $$ reasons but also because I already have this nice size stash in great shape.

I have a combo of some aios, pockets, and ai2s. Brands are mostly thirsties and grovia. I have a few China cheapies (alva, happy flute, and baby wizard) alva and happy flute aren't bad if you find decent stuffers.

We did not use it from birth because my daughter was too small for even nb cloth at first.. but as soon as she fit then we put her in them. I'm hoping to get the new baby in asap as well.

Keep your wash routine simple. Look up fluff love university on fb (or their website) Lots of good information for washing and fixing stink issues. Try a few types of diapers. I found what works for my kiddo now is not what worked best when she was tiny. I'm going to get a diaper sprayer soon... I'm tired of the toddler poop. Lol. Ebf poop is the best 

shevaCC

Both of mine have been cloth diapered and this next will be too. I'll do it again since it's what we know, saves a lot of money, and I don't like the trash and smell from disposables.

I use mostly BumGenius covers with tri-folded Green Mountain Diapers (GMD) prefolds set inside. I use the orange-edge infant prefold size all the way to PTing. I learned long ago that I'm lazy and hate stuffing pockets, plus I'd rather reuse the covered and change out the insert after a pee.

From birth I like prefolds with a snappi, and a cover (I like thirsties duo ones), since it seems to be the best way to contain the runny poo. I'll need some new newborn covers since mine were hand-me-downs pre-DD and fell apart by the time DS was through them. I also have some newborn AIOs but it annoys me how long they take to dry.

I like the 529 baby wetbags...I think they're cheaper than the planetwise ones, and seemed to use thicker PUL. I need some new pail liners since mine are starting to fall apart after 4 years of use and lots of hot wash cycles, but I think that's pretty expected wear and tear.

I don't like dealing with poop so I use EC methods to work on teaching my kids to mostly poop on the potty by the time they start solids. I don't know that that's really a tip, just how we do things.

TinyAlligator

@shevaCC love gmd prefolds too! I still use the occasional yellow edge when I've been lazy with laundry. I also used snappi and prefolds for the nb size. Thought they were great. I bought a few workhorses and liked how they kept the runny nb poo in, but they're more $$, take more time to dry, and every time I changed to a regular prefold THAT'S when my daughter would decide to poop.

AlexLindzz

I want to consider CD for #2 but I'm so overwhelmed by the different types, brands, etc

TinyAlligator

AlexLindzz said:

I want to consider CD for #2 but I'm so overwhelmed by the different types, brands, etc

I too was overwhelmed at first. If you can't decide, I say go prefolds and covers. They're easy peasy with nb/nonrolling babies. You can get down to the nitty gritty with brand pros and cons but they all work different for different people. What do you want out of it? Ease of use? All natural fibers? Cheapest option?

Eta- I have a few brands and styles and prefer different ones for different reasons but in the end any of them would work just fine.

AlexLindzz

TinyAlligator said:

AlexLindzz said:

I want to consider CD for #2 but I'm so overwhelmed by the different types, brands, etc

I too was overwhelmed at first. If you can't decide, I say go prefolds and covers. They're easy peasy with nb/nonrolling babies. You can get down to the nitty gritty with brand pros and cons but they all work different for different people. What do you want out of it? Ease of use? All natural fibers? Cheapest option?

Eta- I have a few brands and styles and prefer different ones for different reasons but in the end any of them would work just fine.

Primarily ease of use and cheapest. I feel that would be the best to get my H and mom (our child care) on board. 

TinyAlligator

@AlexLindzz the good thing is you have a while to decide! Maybe it would be best and sit down with your mom and see what exactly she'd be comfortable with. If she doesn't want to rinse the poo, I have an friend who just has her MIL leave the poop diapers for her to take care of at the end of the day. My H likes velcro/hook and loop over snaps because it's easier, so that's another thing to think about. There are tons of videos on YouTube explaining the different types. I remember stumbling across a graphic when I was getting familiarized with cloth that was super useful. I'll see if I can hunt that down.

AlexLindzz

@TinyAlligator that would be so great if you can! Thank you! I read a few articles on google but still was confused. I'm much more of a visual learner 

een23

I started cloth diapering DD around 6 months when I got fed up with how much we were spending on disposables. She's only 11 months now so we're still really new to it but I finally have a good routine down. 

I'm planning to start right away with it this time. I'm excited to get to experience the simplicity of EBF poop since DD has been eating solids the entire time I've used cloth.

I started off with prefolds and thirsties covers but I struggled to get a good fit with them. I've since moved on to flats with combination of blueberry coveralls and wool covers with a few blueberry AIOs. 

I love how quickly the flats dry and the customized fit I can get using different folds. My DH was very tentative about using them at first, which is why I picked up a few AIOs, but I also fold most of the flats as I take them out of the washer so he doesn't need to do much work when trying to change a squirming baby.

Allisong124

AlexLindzz said:

TinyAlligator said:

AlexLindzz said:

I want to consider CD for #2 but I'm so overwhelmed by the different types, brands, etc

I too was overwhelmed at first. If you can't decide, I say go prefolds and covers. They're easy peasy with nb/nonrolling babies. You can get down to the nitty gritty with brand pros and cons but they all work different for different people. What do you want out of it? Ease of use? All natural fibers? Cheapest option?

Eta- I have a few brands and styles and prefer different ones for different reasons but in the end any of them would work just fine.

Primarily ease of use and cheapest. I feel that would be the best to get my H and mom (our child care) on board. 

@AlexLindzz when it comes to the people caring for tiny one, I always told them "if there is poo, just fold it up in the CD and put it in the wetbag and I'll deal with it later. It was never a big issue. BF poo can go right in the wash. I also used this tech when out and about. I also used disposable wipes. When I would get home, I'd just take the wetbag in the bathroom, rinse each CD out with my diaper sprayer and toss the wipe in the trash. Bothering with cloth wipes was never my thing, but I LOVE cloth diapering!

Little+Tiny

Cloth diapering is great imo. I definitely plan on doing it with mine. My sister used G diapers for her son and has nothing but great things to say about the company. That is probably the company I will be going with.

Roxell

All you ladies have me seriously considering CD and I've never really thought I would! Definitely gonna have to look into it more.

Thewizardofrhythm

I really wanted to cloth diaper but we don't have a washer and dryer so it wasn't really an option. I love reading this thread though. It's like you guys are speaking a different language. 

TinyAlligator

Thewizardofrhythm said:

I really wanted to cloth diaper but we don't have a washer and dryer so it wasn't really an option. I love reading this thread though. It's like you guys are speaking a different language. 

I remember reading a post on fluff love (fb wash routine group) about a few people who would wash their diapers with a plunger and a bucket. Blew my mind. So it's possible without a washer!

jstinkz

How many kids do you have and how many have been cloth diapered?  I have 1 and have done cloth since day 1. 

Do you plan on doing it again? Why or why not?  I love cloth diapering and have everything I need so will be cloth diapering this baby as well from day 1.

What styles and brands did/do you use?  I have done GMD prefolds from the get-go. It's the cheapest option (meaning prefolds) and it contains new born poo great and has done great on my now very mobile toddler. I tried a couple different brands at first but found that GMD are far superior.  I've done the jelly roll and have read I can switch to a different fold, but since it's what I'm used to I just continue to do it. I have the prefolds in size newborn, small, and medium. Depending on how soon she leans to use the toilet I may have to buy some in large too. As far as covers go I actually like the Imagine brand and Nicki's brand because they are cheaper than thirsties, blueberry, bummed and rumparooz. But I honestly like all the brands and it's nice to like so many because they all have their own prints. 

Once I had the money I did invest in GMD workhorse diapers for overnight which works AMAZING. And I trifold a smaller prefold to go in the workhorse. I've also very recently bought some wool covers for night time which I wish I had done a long time ago.

Are you diapering from birth this go? What have you done in the past?  Yes and I did with DD. I took two wet bags to the hospital and my entire newborn stash and it worked great! The nurses were great in trying to learn with us. They adored the cute little covers. Some nurses did a much better job than others, but hey who am I to complain when I wasn't changing the baby!

Any tips? Tools you couldn't live without?  I highly recommend the rumparooz wet bag. It's huge and holds up WAY better than planet wise. I bought a few smaller ones (planet wise) to keep in the diaper bag when we are out and about.  They have had to be replaced a couple times even though they aren't used nearly as much as my daily rumparooz ones. 

Get a good wash routine down and you should never have stink problems. Keep the wetbags open to prevent stink. 

I even stayed in a hotel for a week at a time for 4 weeks straight and still cloth diapered and it was no big deal. 

Diaper sprayer is a life saver once baby is eating solids. 

Thewizardofrhythm

TinyAlligator said:

Thewizardofrhythm said:

I really wanted to cloth diaper but we don't have a washer and dryer so it wasn't really an option. I love reading this thread though. It's like you guys are speaking a different language. 

I remember reading a post on fluff love (fb wash routine group) about a few people who would wash their diapers with a plunger and a bucket. Blew my mind. So it's possible without a washer!

That's pretty impressive. I didn't want to do it that much...