I use Tide original powder too. (When my son was a newborn I bought fancy cloth diaper branded detergent. It worked fine for newborn poo, but once he started eating baby foods and had stinky poo, those fancy detergents didn't get them clean enough. Switched to Tide and had no issues, even though he has sensitive skin. We did a second rinse though to make sure all detergent gets rinsed out.)
@floatingelephy I had to do our other laundry before i could start and we've been sick for the last two weeks so it was a lot! Starting today. I've got a combo of pockets and prefolds.
I'm boiling the prefolds with water and some dawn dishsoap for 30 min. The pockets apparently just need a hot rinse and a long wash. I'll probably was them twice just in case.
@floatingelephy I had to do our other laundry before i could start and we've been sick for the last two weeks so it was a lot! Starting today. I've got a combo of pockets and prefolds.
I'm boiling the prefolds with water and some dawn dishsoap for 30 min. The pockets apparently just need a hot rinse and a long wash. I'll probably was them twice just in case.
You really don't need to boil them. Washing twice is fine!!
@floatingelephy I had to do our other laundry before i could start and we've been sick for the last two weeks so it was a lot! Starting today. I've got a combo of pockets and prefolds.
I'm boiling the prefolds with water and some dawn dishsoap for 30 min. The pockets apparently just need a hot rinse and a long wash. I'll probably was them twice just in case.
You really don't need to boil them. Washing twice is fine!!
I read that for the bamboo ones I could boil them 30 min or wash them 8-10 times!
@floatingelephy I had to do our other laundry before i could start and we've been sick for the last two weeks so it was a lot! Starting today. I've got a combo of pockets and prefolds.
I'm boiling the prefolds with water and some dawn dishsoap for 30 min. The pockets apparently just need a hot rinse and a long wash. I'll probably was them twice just in case.
You really don't need to boil them. Washing twice is fine!!
I read that for the bamboo ones I could boil them 30 min or wash them 8-10 times!
Damn! 8-10! What brand are they? I thought bamboo only needed a couple of washes and it was cotton that needed a ton.
@floatingelephy I had to do our other laundry before i could start and we've been sick for the last two weeks so it was a lot! Starting today. I've got a combo of pockets and prefolds.
I'm boiling the prefolds with water and some dawn dishsoap for 30 min. The pockets apparently just need a hot rinse and a long wash. I'll probably was them twice just in case.
You really don't need to boil them. Washing twice is fine!!
I read that for the bamboo ones I could boil them 30 min or wash them 8-10 times!
Damn! 8-10! What brand are they? I thought bamboo only needed a couple of washes and it was cotton that needed a ton.
I have bambino mio 100% cotton, grovia 55% rayon, 45% cotton and Osocozy 100% cotton. Thought I had some bamboo, I guess I changed my mind? no idea.
Off to do some internet sleuthing. I may need to change my plan!
@floatingelephy I had to do our other laundry before i could start and we've been sick for the last two weeks so it was a lot! Starting today. I've got a combo of pockets and prefolds.
I'm boiling the prefolds with water and some dawn dishsoap for 30 min. The pockets apparently just need a hot rinse and a long wash. I'll probably was them twice just in case.
You really don't need to boil them. Washing twice is fine!!
I read that for the bamboo ones I could boil them 30 min or wash them 8-10 times!
Damn! 8-10! What brand are they? I thought bamboo only needed a couple of washes and it was cotton that needed a ton.
I have bambino mio 100% cotton, grovia 55% rayon, 45% cotton and Osocozy 100% cotton. Thought I had some bamboo, I guess I changed my mind? no idea.
Off to do some internet sleuthing. I may need to change my plan!
PS- i shoulf mention that part of the reason I planned to boil is bc my washer only has a hot wash/ cold rinse cycle and I thought boiling might be easier/ faster
GL @Gretchypoo! I don't know much about boiling but I washed my organic cotton GMDs 5x and my few AIOs and fitteds (some cotton, some bamboo) just once. Hopefully it works!
I thought I had to do 5+ prewashes too, but basically I had to only do 3 - separate for microfiber/similar once, then two washes for any natural fibers.
I mean you can and it won't hurt!!! But they aren't going to soak through at first so your first few washes can count for all the times you want to get the absorbency up. Then by the time baby is peeing more they will be ready
I mean you can and it won't hurt!!! But they aren't going to soak through at first so your first few washes can count for all the times you want to get the absorbency up. Then by the time baby is peeing more they will be ready
That is really good to know. Okay so I've amended my plan (after starting.) I did my covers/ used diapers in a hot wash with detergent and a cold rinse after to get the residual detergent off. I'm still boiling my prefolds bc the majority of them are 100% organic cotton and now that I've done 1 batch it is super easy. The pockets are mostly polyester so I'm going to do a rinse on hot and a cycle on hot with detergent and then a cool rinse to get any detergent off. and I'm gonna call them good.
In our first cloth- lil joeys at 5.5lbs. I tried some of our other AIOs but most are still too big. Will try some prefolds tomorrow, but we still have lots of newborn disposables so no rush
Well, I think my CD stash is complete! I had registered for 6 BumGenius Freetimes (I am already set on prefolds and covers), and today I came home to a package with TWELVE brand new Freetimes, courtesy of my extremely generous childhood friend who is really into cloth diapers... Honestly, I was just blown away - that's, like, $200 worth of diapers! This same friend also sent me some hand-me-down clothes from her one year-old, plus some used CDs and a really nice LeSportSac diaper bag she never used. Never would have thought a bunch of cloth diapers would make me so happy!
I find this drawer highly satisfying to look at... 20 AIOs, 12 covers, 10 inserts for extra absorbency, 6 newborn prefolds (we plan to use mostly disposables for the first few weeks) 18 size 1 prefolds... I know it won't always look this nice, but it feels good to start with it all organized
@madamerwin 's photo above got me thinking tonight as I was washing and organizing my stash. Those of you doing prefolds - how are you storing them!? There are so dang many and I feel like I need half my dresser for all this fluff.
I have some liners to try once he's eating solids, but may not bother long term. We have known good city plumbing, not septic, or I wouldn't be trying them. Spraying may be easier anyway. For overnights I have bought two brands of fitteds to try (TotsBots and Sloomb). Both are expensive, so I'll see what works best and then get more during Earth Day sales. We're going to use powdered Tide. I don't have any pockets so can't give feedback there.
Disposable liners killed 2 of our ejector pumps so no liners here. I have a sprayer and spray pal and it works great. We use Tide original powder with no issues despite very hard water. We originally did Rockin Green Hard Rock detergent, but had stink issues so changed. You won't have to worry about overnight solutions in the beginning since they poop so often, but we have some GMD fitteds. Otherwise with my older with use Grovia ONE or Kawaii Hwavy Wetter stuffed with hemp insert in addition to microfiber insert. The only microfiber inserts I have are ones that came with my pocket diapers. And this is an old pic, but Bummis preemie prefold and Thristies cover. She is bigger now and starting to fit into lots more options. I can take more pictures if you all would like. I have SB born smart, BB simplex, RAR lil joeys, RAR covers which we don't fit yet, GMD fitteds, and bitty bee AIOs.
@Xstatic3333, that is a Thirsties newborn cover, not a duo. I think these tend to run smaller. It's our only cover we can fit right now. She was 6lb 4oz on Monday at 2 weeks old and gaining a little over 1oz per day. I will take some more pics as we do changes today.
I've been waiting on buying a few more newborn diaper covers until baby comes. We've got some NB prefolds and AIO, but a small supply. We didn't start cloth diapering until DS was about 2-3 months, so I wanted to be sure on sizing before splurging on too many newborn items.
I got 2 packs of extra inserts for the bum genius pockets but honestly didn't end up using them much. As for liners if you're talking about absorbers to help with overnight etc, we've used fleece stay dry liners on top and bamboo inserts. For disposable liners we used grovia liners when DS got to eating solids, but never flushed them. We had a separate trash for liners and disposable wipes, and one for cloth diapers.
We we also used tide for detergent and used bac-out to spray our diapers when putting them in the pail. The bac out wasn't necessary but a friend suggested it and we just kind of followed suit. It made me at least feel better about them sitting in the pail for a day or so.
SB born smart. First time trying this and it fit well. Lasted for our 2-3hrs between feeds fine.
Grovia newborn. We have worn this before and not had an issue but leaked out of it after 2-3hrs. Not sure if it was fit or absorbency. Will have to try again to see what happens.
NB stash: mostly GMD prefolds, a few workhorses, a few AIOs, Thirsties and Blueberry covers, and my two TotsBots Size 1 fitteds to try. Expecting a bigger baby, at least 8 lbs, so didn't get much in the tiny category.
OS stash: 8 covers, 12 GMD small prefolds, 12 GMD medium prefolds (not shown), 18 AIOs of assorted brands, 1 overnight fitted (will need more). We were lucky to get quite a few nice AIOs as shower gifts. I've also been working the sales pretty well. The stash could be complete but I'm a sucker so it probably isn't.
Our stash: 13 prefolds with 6 covers. Prefolds are a combo of osocosy and grovia organic cotton in the size or 2 up from NB.
27 OS pockets-- some used BGs a few from a friend's specialty shop but mostly amazon cheapies (mama koala and the like). I know other brands would have probably worked better but I'm hoping these do well enough.
Finally, we have a tiny NB stash but since she is already 8 lbs and we plan to use disposables the first week or so I doubt we will use them at all except as burp cloths. 9 prefolds and 3 covers (this drawer also has extra inserts and wetbags )
6 newborn prefolds (doing disposables the first few weeks) 18 size 1 prefolds 18 size 2 prefolds (not pictured above) 8 inserts (to be used with prefolds for nighttime if needed)
I get so excited when my kid poops and we have a new fold style on...still figuring out the best solution to contain this runny bf poo! Anyone else experiencing leaks at the legs? I think I may not be manipulating the folds correctly to get tight around her legs.
Day 2 of cloth! Experimenting today with Thirsties Duo Size 1 covers. They are a little big, but no leaks or anything yet using the jelly roll fold. I was nervous to start but loving it so far! Senna wasn't thrilled about having her picture taken though.
Who is already in cloth? We tried one on today and still have HUGE gaps around the legs. All ours are one-sized... Will try a different brand today but advice is greatly appreciated!
Re: Has anyone discussed cloth diapers vs. regular diapers with their SO?
(When my son was a newborn I bought fancy cloth diaper branded detergent. It worked fine for newborn poo, but once he started eating baby foods and had stinky poo, those fancy detergents didn't get them clean enough. Switched to Tide and had no issues, even though he has sensitive skin. We did a second rinse though to make sure all detergent gets rinsed out.)
@Gretchypoo how did the prep go? Care to share your routine?
I'm boiling the prefolds with water and some dawn dishsoap for 30 min. The pockets apparently just need a hot rinse and a long wash. I'll probably was them twice just in case.
Off to do some internet sleuthing. I may need to change my plan!
Who is using liners? What kind of liners are you using?
What detergent are you guys using? I'm seeing a lot of recommendations for tide.
If you have pockets that come with microfiber inserts , how many and what kind of additional inserts do you have?
What diapers are you using for overnights?
Disposable liners killed 2 of our ejector pumps so no liners here. I have a sprayer and spray pal and it works great. We use Tide original powder with no issues despite very hard water. We originally did Rockin Green Hard Rock detergent, but had stink issues so changed. You won't have to worry about overnight solutions in the beginning since they poop so often, but we have some GMD fitteds. Otherwise with my older with use Grovia ONE or Kawaii Hwavy Wetter stuffed with hemp insert in addition to microfiber insert. The only microfiber inserts I have are ones that came with my pocket diapers. And this is an old pic, but Bummis preemie prefold and Thristies cover. She is bigger now and starting to fit into lots more options. I can take more pictures if you all would like. I have SB born smart, BB simplex, RAR lil joeys, RAR covers which we don't fit yet, GMD fitteds, and bitty bee AIOs.
I've been waiting on buying a few more newborn diaper covers until baby comes. We've got some NB prefolds and AIO, but a small supply. We didn't start cloth diapering until DS was about 2-3 months, so I wanted to be sure on sizing before splurging on too many newborn items.
I got 2 packs of extra inserts for the bum genius pockets but honestly didn't end up using them much. As for liners if you're talking about absorbers to help with overnight etc, we've used fleece stay dry liners on top and bamboo inserts. For disposable liners we used grovia liners when DS got to eating solids, but never flushed them. We had a separate trash for liners and disposable wipes, and one for cloth diapers.
We we also used tide for detergent and used bac-out to spray our diapers when putting them in the pail. The bac out wasn't necessary but a friend suggested it and we just kind of followed suit. It made me at least feel better about them sitting in the pail for a day or so.
SB born smart. First time trying this and it fit well. Lasted for our 2-3hrs between feeds fine.
Grovia newborn. We have worn this before and not had an issue but leaked out of it after 2-3hrs. Not sure if it was fit or absorbency. Will have to try again to see what happens.
OS stash: 8 covers, 12 GMD small prefolds, 12 GMD medium prefolds (not shown), 18 AIOs of assorted brands, 1 overnight fitted (will need more). We were lucky to get quite a few nice AIOs as shower gifts. I've also been working the sales pretty well. The stash could be complete but I'm a sucker so it probably isn't.
13 prefolds with 6 covers. Prefolds are a combo of osocosy and grovia organic cotton in the size or 2 up from NB.
27 OS pockets-- some used BGs a few from a friend's specialty shop but mostly amazon cheapies (mama koala and the like). I know other brands would have probably worked better but I'm hoping these do well enough.
Finally, we have a tiny NB stash but since she is already 8 lbs and we plan to use disposables the first week or so I doubt we will use them at all except as burp cloths. 9 prefolds and 3 covers (this drawer also has extra inserts and wetbags
I'm waiting until she's here to figure out what else I need to stock up on. I'm hoping the pockets will fit sooner than later!!!
12 BumGenius Freetime AIOs
6 BumGenius Elemental AIOs
2 mystery brand AIOs (hand-me-downs)
6 OS Flip covers
6 size 1 Thirsties covers
6 size 2 Thirsties covers (not pictured above)
6 newborn prefolds (doing disposables the first few weeks)
18 size 1 prefolds
18 size 2 prefolds (not pictured above)
8 inserts (to be used with prefolds for nighttime if needed)