I made this a product spotlight because it just made sense to me but let me know if you'd rather I make this a more casual discussion/running thread style.
Please use the prompts below to try to share as much relevant info as you can in a format that is easy for those reading to absorb/respond to. If you'd like to recommend/ask questions about more than one product, please copy/paste the prompts as needed.
For S+TMs:
For FTMs
Re: Product Spotlight 5/21: Cloth Diapers & Accessories
For FTMs
yessss I've been waiting for this product spotlight! I'm even using a computer instead of mobile because I'm so excited!!!!!
For S+TMs:
For S+TMs:
For S+TMs:
I also use cloth wipes and like them WAY better than disposable wipes. I just use water, no solution or anything. BUT, I do use disposable wipes when I am out as I find it just too hard to keep wet cloth wipes on me.
I have a diaper sprayer and it works OK but I sometimes just use the old fashioned swish in the toilet method to or shake it off method to get the poo off.
Also, cloth diapers got me into cloth menstrual pads which I do recommend as well!
Daughter #2 - Oct 2014
Daughter #3 - Nov 2016
Baby #4 - Sept 2018
We did not exclusively cloth diaper. I would say most of the time, but if my parents watched DD they preferred disposable, or if we had a dressy outfit for an event that looked weird with the poofy diaper we did disposable, or for long car rides. I do think that disposables have a gross pee smell that cloth didn't have. I thought cloth was easier out and about if there were limited trash cans (like hiking or randomly in the car) because everything went in the wet bag
1. A lot of the covers seem to have a plastic or vinyl outer shell. Does this chafe around LO's thighs where it touches? I've added some different ones to our registry so hopefully something works well.
2. Do you just up-size onesies? Or do you do a shirt with the diaper and no bottoms? I imagine that would work better during the summer. Any other tips for making clothes fit over CDs?
Finally, the daycare we're considering said that they would give CDs a try, but if it becomes a problem we'd have to stop. I guess that still gives us a year to do CDs at home, but I don't see a CD service being worthwhile to do just at home if they won't do it at daycare when she goes.
Married Aug. 2013
TTC #1 Sep. 2016
***TW***
BFP Jun. 5, 2017; MMC Aug. 2, 2017 at 11w6d
BFP Nov. 20, 2017; ended in CP
All the tests. Everything normal except treated for ureaplasma and DH potentially has high DNAF.
BFP Dec. 25, 2017; EDD Sep. 5, 2018; DD arrived Aug. 26th
My chart: https://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/63f71d
Depending on the price/terms for the service it may not be worth it if you can’t use them at daycare. But cost wise it makes a lot more sense to just buy your own and wash them. The washing part really isn’t that bad. Right now we use about 35 or so cloth diapers a week and the rest disposable since daycare won’t do cloth. It still seems worth it to us since that’s 140 fewer disposables we use every month.
Most covers are made of PUL, polyurethane laminate. I have never had an issue with it chafing her legs.
If you don't want PUL, the main other option is wool. Wool covers are typically more expensive. They are knitted or made out of wool fabric. They have to be lanolized occasionally. You have to buy lanolin and then do a specific wash every few weeks to get lanolin into the wool again. If you're at all a sewer, I know people who make them cheaply by buying 100% wool shirts at a thrift store and then cutting it up and sewing in elastic. I plan to do this at some point just to try wool and have been keeping an eye out when I'm thrift shopping.
There are also fleece covers, which aren't as popular. You don't have to wash them specially like you do with lanolizing wool, but they tend to not work as well and can leak easier than wool or PUL when compressed. (Like when the baby sits in a wet diaper.)
- Favorite [cloth diaper]: I'm a die hard user of flats and prefolds with covers! Favorite covers are Thirsties and blueberry coveralls!!!
I have pockets in 4 brands, all-in-ones in 3 brands, 7 brands of fitted, 3 brands of flats, 4 brands of prefolds, 6 brands of covers, plus wool covers/shorts/pants, and idk how many brands of various inserts in various materials (micro fiber, cotton, bamboo, hemp, etc) by the dozens. My son is a super heavy wetter so pockets were very hard for us, and so were overnight diapers. PLEASE ASK ME ABOUT ANY SPECIFIC BRANDS OR MATERIALS YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT, I HAVE PROBABLY TRIED THEM.- Link/picture: Nah, not right now, I believe in the power of Google.
- Cost (either actual dollar amount, or just $, $$, $$$, etc.): $ for flats/prefolds, and $$ for Blueberry coveralls-they're not cheap, but I have tried dozens of brands of covers and they are my favorite.
- What you like about it: Well first costs, second the padding for learning to walk. The cuteness, the lack of poop leaks, never having to run out at an inconvenient time to buy diapers, not having the disposable chemical smell, and finding an overnight diaper that holds him (he wets through an overnight Pampers or Huggies at 3 am).
- What you don't like about it, if anything:
We are full time cloth since 4 months old, when we ran out of disposables from the shower, he's now 2. The first month or so of solids was hard, but my sprayer saved the day (more on that below). My only complaint is fitting cloth into little baby clothes. Once he hit 9 or 10 months old clothes weren't as issue anymore, and traveling by airplane I can't do cloth-I don't want to pay to check a bag just for diapers.- Is there a [cloth diaper or accessory] you don't have but are considering? Why?: Don't think so, I have pretty much everything. My sprayer is adjustable pressure at the valve to turn on (under the toilet tank) and at the sprayer head. I love my snappis rather than pins to hold flats on.
- Is there a [cloth diaper or accessory] you've tried that you absolutely hate? Why?: I don't love Bum Genius-the elastics at legs wear out quickly, I prefer double gussets on legs to keep mess in better, and I feel like less expensive diapers do a better job. Also, micro fiber inserts do not hold enough at all for my son. Like, I threw them out or used for cleaning (they work great on a swiffer).
- Additional thoughts on [cloth diapers + accessories]?:
- Two cheap dollar store bathroom garbage cans and a couple binder clips make a much better way to spray and contain water plus store better than a spray pal-just cut bottom off one can, use clips to hold diapers, and place whole thing in the second can to dry after use.
I second that if you full time diaper them cloth wipes are easier.My wash routine came from Fluff Love university-a great website and a great Facebook group for learning, and troubleshooting rashes and wash problems.
I have helped dozens of ladies solve their wash problems. Seriously, two washes with detergent and adding a water softener if you have hard water, but avoiding all fabric softeners covers most of the wash issues. Plus using a readily available normal detergent. I use Tide.
Please ask me any silly cloth question-and I know what stuff helps heavier wetter babies.
We started cloth as soon as we got home from hospital, and used disposables overnight only for a long time.
Fleece liners can be made, $3 for like 40 of them-they keep baby dry in cloth and help catch poop. No sewing needed.
DH: 32
Married 7/18/15
1st born at 35+4 on 6/6/16
Team green turned BLUE!
2nd born at 38+6 on 8/30/18
Team green turned PINK!
Due with #3 on 6/6/20 Team Green
Micro fleece is the thing for liners. Walmart actually sells throw blankets made out of it for less than $3, and you can just cut off seams and cut them up, it won't fray. Polar or anti-pill fleece doesn't work-that will repel fluids rather than let them through. I usually just cut rectangles a bit bigger than insert size-maybe 5.5"x12", but you can cut any shape you want, I've heard of hourglass shape for fitted diapers overnight to keep baby extra dry.
Also, for whomever asked about the chafing-PUL fabric is just that, fabric, not plastic. Generally the softer parts of it are against baby thighs anyway-they're very different than old-school rubber/plastic pants. My son has gotten a small chafe rarely because the leg elastics got wet, we didn't notice, and he ran around with it wet for a bit, or because my husband got diaper too loose and droopy.
Also, one last advice to everyone-for sitters/daycare/grandmas-we use either pockets or all-in-one that are pre-stuffed whatever we need, and liners laid in already, because they're much simpler than others.
DH: 32
Married 7/18/15
1st born at 35+4 on 6/6/16
Team green turned BLUE!
2nd born at 38+6 on 8/30/18
Team green turned PINK!
Due with #3 on 6/6/20 Team Green
We’ve been exclusively cloth diapering since my son was about a week or two, 19 months now.
https://www.thefluffypenguincompany.com/
DH: 32
Married 7/18/15
1st born at 35+4 on 6/6/16
Team green turned BLUE!
2nd born at 38+6 on 8/30/18
Team green turned PINK!
Due with #3 on 6/6/20 Team Green
I highly recommend the website (and associated Facebook group if you're into that) Fluff Love University for washing instructions and assistance. They actually do science to back up their recommendations and can explain where all there suggestions come from. The health of your baby's bum and your longevity of your washing machine are most important to them, shortly followed by your diapers health.
They recommend washing in readily available detergents (synthetic or plant based options exist!) like Tide, Gain, Seventh generation, etc.
OK, getting off my soap box, I'll do my best to not talk about washing again.
DH: 32
Married 7/18/15
1st born at 35+4 on 6/6/16
Team green turned BLUE!
2nd born at 38+6 on 8/30/18
Team green turned PINK!
Due with #3 on 6/6/20 Team Green
DH: 32
Married 7/18/15
1st born at 35+4 on 6/6/16
Team green turned BLUE!
2nd born at 38+6 on 8/30/18
Team green turned PINK!
Due with #3 on 6/6/20 Team Green
DH: 32
Married 7/18/15
1st born at 35+4 on 6/6/16
Team green turned BLUE!
2nd born at 38+6 on 8/30/18
Team green turned PINK!
Due with #3 on 6/6/20 Team Green
As for prefolds, the ones I bought are the Geffen hemp / cotton ones. I have heard good things about osocosy, too.
https://www.mysweetpickles.com/Geffen-Baby-Jersey-Prefold-Diapers_p_245.html
Those hemp/cotton are going to be amazing. I haven't tried that brand, but hemp jersey is where it's at for heavy wetter. Soft, stretchy, and absorbent. I totally prefer stretchy flats and prefolds. I like osocozy cotton flats better than Green Mountain Diapers cotton flats, but the GMD prefolds have more helpful sizes in my opinion and both hold the same.
DH: 32
Married 7/18/15
1st born at 35+4 on 6/6/16
Team green turned BLUE!
2nd born at 38+6 on 8/30/18
Team green turned PINK!
Due with #3 on 6/6/20 Team Green
DH: 32
Married 7/18/15
1st born at 35+4 on 6/6/16
Team green turned BLUE!
2nd born at 38+6 on 8/30/18
Team green turned PINK!
Due with #3 on 6/6/20 Team Green
25% off Kawaii this weekend
<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/4v/0h80e1ba8zbn.jpg" alt="">
https://www.amazon.com/ClosetMaid-1578-Cubeicals-6-Cube-Organizer/dp/B00BHXL508
I plan to get two to hang in our nursery, but one lady in the customer images bought two... and then bought two more! I don't know why it took poking around so darn long to find something with the right proportions... but here's hoping it is just the thing!