Cloth Diapers vs Regular

ShepMD

Expecting my first baby in September and have started researching the many diaper options.

 I would like to be as eco-friendly as possible so am looking into cloth diapers. Does anyone have reccomendations regarding best brands?

 

 

Lisa and Mickey

I could never get DH on board, but there is a cloth diapering board on the bump. Here is their FAQ which should help. I can tell you from my research it varies greatly mom to mom and even baby to baby. Had I done cloth diapering, I would have started with this trial package.

photo_nut

Most people will tell you to start with prefolds and covers because the baby pees and poops so much in the first few months. Green mountain diapers has the best and I used thirsties covers.

When they get older, a lot of people like FuzziBunz, BumGenius and then those Flip brands. I like smaller companies, WAHM moms so I usually buy my diapers from etsy or hyenacart.com

There is really no "best" brands - it usually a preference of what you like. I never had a problem with any brand I have tried.

kelleymark82606

Ditto pp, it's not really a matter of best brand, every baby/parent is different and like diff ones.  I loved the rumparooz.  The happy heinies made my child look like alittle sumo wrestler but i still liked them.  I think HH and fuzzibunz and BG's seem to be the most popular.

tlh_marine

I would spend some time on the cloth diaper board and read reviews to help make up  your mind as to what you want to do because it really is all about personal preference. Also check out https://dirtydiaperlaundry.com (a blog about cloth diapers, the mom has reviewed over 100 diapers) and mothering magazine, you can search for cloth diapers on their site (they had a great article about cloth diapers a while ago and have some good info on their site. 

 I have been cloth diapering my daughter since about 3 weeks old. We did disposables the first couple of weeks because someone gave us a pack. Then I had purchased some newborn all in ones off of craigslist and we also used kiss a luvs and prefolds with thirstie duo covers. When she grew out of those we have been using Bum Genius and Fuzzi Bunz pocket diapers since then. Dad and Grandma like these because they are really easy to put on. I have purchased all but maybe 8 of my diapers through craigslist so that is a good place to start if you don't want to buy all new.   

anonsouthernbell

I highly recommend going to the free cloth diaper workshop at Greenberries in Columbia.  It really helped me out a lot.  There is also one at Soft and Cozy Baby in Hamilton but I haven't personally attended that one.  (I am sure that it is great though).

lauranne

My husband was resistant at first, but now will talk up cloth diapers to other dads!

We started when Aiden was just shy of one, and our stash changed a lot as we found what worked for us.

For this baby I have a multitude of dipes, but not a lot of one particular kind.  We'll see what works and go from there.

Soft and Cozy Baby in Baltimore often has cloth diapering classes.  It might be worth checking out so your husband could see some diapers and that they aren't as scary!

SnoopyLuv

I would recommend signing up for a trial like the one at Jillian's Drawers. For a $150 deposit ($140 will get refunded when you return) you can try a bunch of different types and see what works for you.

I was too overwhelmed for the first month to use my cloth and I ended up having a peanut child who barely fits in most of her diapers. I wish I would have done the trial instead. I ended up purchasing quite a few of my used diapers from Jillian's for much cheaper than buying new and most were barely used (they are returns from the trials).

I agree that you should go to either Soft & Cozy in Hampden or Greenberries in Columbia for a cloth diaper class to show your H. Just don't go and buy a whole stash while you are there!

daisyterp

Ditto PPs- definitely check out the CD board and maybe the Eco-Friendly Family board here on the bump. 

Do you have any friends who use cloth? 

I have loaned out my newborn cloth diaper stash to a few friends so they could try cloth.  As photonut mentioned NB pee and poo frequently so you need more tiny diapers than you do for say a 6 month old. 

We use a variety of brands and types of diapers. Prefolds, fitteds and pockets. All-in-ones weren't good for us w/ our well water, also they are expensive and "wear out" the fastest.

Just like with disposables different diapers are going to be better for different babies. 

 

seralee5804

I found a diaper service-

 

https://www.greenspringdiapers.com/index.html 

 

I actually called the lady yesterday and they pick up in my neighborhood. She told me to call closer to my due date and they could come out and go over everything. 

 

Might be something to look into. 

daisyterp

seralee5804:

I found a diaper service-

 

https://www.greenspringdiapers.com/index.html 

 

I actually called the lady yesterday and they pick up in my neighborhood. She told me to call closer to my due date and they could come out and go over everything. 

 

Might be something to look into. 

Metropolitan diaper service serves most of MD as well.  I have a friend who used them the first 2 or 3 months w/ her first son and maybe the first month or so w/ her second son (while son #1 was also still in diapers.)  She also bought most of her prefolds from the diaper service. 

Services are a great way to try out cloth and not have to bother w/ washing, but they are just as expensive as using disposables and not that much better ecologically, because they use bleach and a lot more water to wash them, etc. Also I know w/ metropolitan I think you still have to buy/wash your own covers and snappis. 

Diaper laundry really isn't that big of a deal.  We do maybe 2 loads of diaper wash a week.  Also we wash all of our clothes (baby and adult) together, so it's probably the same amount of laundry that someone who separates the baby stuff from the rest of the family's wash.  

seralee5804

Good Points, I never thought about the water use etc..

daisyterp

The one thing I will say about diaper service is that it is something that some people might like to give you as a gift- older women especially- people can pay for a month of diaper service as a shower gift, this used to be a pretty popular thing to do.  My mom said she got at least 6 months of diaper service as baby/shower gifts when she was pregnant w/ me.  Then they went to Sears and bought their own diapers. 

 

madladybride

We got the diaper service as a gift and it's great, but it's not really like using cloth diapers - there is only one kind of cover that they give you and IMHO it is OK, but not great.