Some newbie questions! Please help!

OurJellybean

Hey guys. Think ive officially made the decision to cloth diaper, but im still stumped on a few things.. im such a newbie lol.

1) Everyone says that you have to trial different kinds cuz u never know what will work for your baby. What works for one doesnt work for another right? Well... then how do u know what kind to get for your initial stash?!

2) Where the heck do u get cloth diapers from? I live in Canada so i need somewhere that would ship to Canada. Cheap is good! thanks

3) What do u do with the poop? Do you have to scrape it off into the toilet? or do u just chuck it into the washer, diaper poop and all?

4) Diaper pails... are the diapers suppose to soak in something in the pail? or do u just throw the used ones into the hamper until ready to wash

5) detergant? Is there a special kind your suppose to use?

6) Are you suppose to use liners in the cloth diapers in addition to the plastic diaper covers? do u have to use the diaper covers??

7) how many diapers should u have???

 

Thanks guys!

tokenhoser

1) The more complicated the diaper, the more likely it might leak on you. Prefolds or fitteds and covers will work for pretty much every newborn.

2) I'm in Canada, too! Well.ca is great, as they've got free shipping. I've also purchased from some other random sites (https://www.ecobebeboutique.com/, https://www.theclothdiapershop.com/, https://www.bynature.ca/). Most of my diapers I got used on kijiji or the boards on diaperswappers.com (sellers will often ship to Canada).

3) You can wash poop and all until they start solids. Then you have to scrape/swish/use liners/whatever. I haven't got that far yet.

4) I just leave them dry. I bought an 8 gallon step trash can and 2 pail liners (one to use, one to wash).

5) Yes, you want something enzyme/brightener/fragrance free. You can buy something like Rockin Green or Country Save. Or you can mix up some washing soda, borax, and oxyclean and use that.

6) You need covers if the diaper isn't waterproof - like fitteds or prefolds. Other diapers have the cover built in. Liners are for later when you have to worry about poo, if you're talking about like kushies disposable liners.

7) For a newborn, I'd say around 30 to wash every second day. Now, I can get by with about 20 or so for washing every second day.

LetsBeNice

OurJellybean:

Hey guys. Think ive officially made the decision to cloth diaper, but im still stumped on a few things.. im such a newbie lol.

1) Everyone says that you have to trial different kinds cuz u never know what will work for your baby. What works for one doesnt work for another right? Well... then how do u know what kind to get for your initial stash?! Get what works best for you and your baby. Some people love pockets, some people hate them. I like my varied stash. I have AI2s, fitteds, pockets, wool longies, etc.

2) Where the heck do u get cloth diapers from? I live in Canada so i need somewhere that would ship to Canada. Cheap is good! thanks Everything I have I have either made from supplies I bought online or ordered online. Many places will ship to Canada.

3) What do u do with the poop? Do you have to scrape it off into the toilet? or do u just chuck it into the washer, diaper poop and all? When your baby is breast fed or formula fed, you can just wash it; it's water soluble at that point. I still chose to get off as much as I could before washing. Diaper sprayers are a.maz.ing! Totally worth the investment. Once baby is older you will want to flush as much poop as possible. Hopefully the poop gets "ploppable" and it will just drop off in to the toilet.

4) Diaper pails... are the diapers suppose to soak in something in the pail? or do u just throw the used ones into the hamper until ready to wash We use a wet bag and keep the dirties in there. Poopie ones get washed off in the basement next to the washer and kept in a separate pail down there.

5) detergant? Is there a special kind your suppose to use? There are many detergents you can use. It all depends on your water. You may have to do some trial and error. Rockin' Green is highly recommendedby many people, but did not work for us. We had stinky diapers until I figured out that the RNG was the reason. We use Tide Ultra (2 heaping TBSP) in our top loader and add 2 extra rinses to get out any soap residue.

6) Are you suppose to use liners in the cloth diapers in addition to the plastic diaper covers? do u have to use the diaper covers?? It depends on the diapers. All in ones are just that, AI2's (all in 2) are a cover and insert. The insert is the absorbant part. Fitteds are the "cute" diapers, but they require a cover to be waterproof. You can use the "plastic" (it's not actually plastic) covers or wool.

7) how many diapers should u have??? Depends how often you want to do laundry. I think 24 is the recommended # for newborns. DS at age 6 m. goes through about 8 diapers a day right now. I do laundry on Wed and Sat (he is only p/t CD'd)

 

Thanks guys!

amberry

1) Everyone says that you have to trial different kinds cuz u never know what will work for your baby. What works for one doesnt work for another right? Well... then how do u know what kind to get for your initial stash?!  Ditto PP, prefolds and fitteds with covers are probably your best bet for the newborn stage.  You could look into doing a trial.  I know Jillian's Drawers has one for the newborn stage.  Your preference might change though as your LO grows, but that's what is great about CDs, you can always sell them.

2) Where the heck do u get cloth diapers from? I live in Canada so i need somewhere that would ship to Canada. Cheap is good! thanks  Online stores such as Cotton Babies, Jillian's Drawers, Kelly's Closet, etc will sell the big name brand diapers and will ship to Canada.  You can find WAHM dipes on HC or Etsy and I think most sellers will ship to Canada.

3) What do u do with the poop? Do you have to scrape it off into the toilet? or do u just chuck it into the washer, diaper poop and all? When LO is EBF or EFF, you don't have to do anything because the poop is water soluble, so just toss it in the pail until laundry day.  Once LO starts solids, you'll have to remove poop by scraping, dunk & swish, diaper sprayer, etc.

4) Diaper pails... are the diapers suppose to soak in something in the pail? or do u just throw the used ones into the hamper until ready to wash  I just use a plastic garbage pail with a pail liner.  It's advised to not use a wet pail (pail with water in it) because it poses a drowning hazard.

5) detergant? Is there a special kind your suppose to use?  Short answer- yes.  Check out the FAQs at the top of the board for links to websites that will help you out.

6) Are you suppose to use liners in the cloth diapers in addition to the plastic diaper covers? do u have to use the diaper covers??  Hmmm, not sure what you're referring to...check out the FAQs for a good overview of the different types of CDs.

7) how many diapers should u have???  Depends on how often you want to do laundry.  The average seems to be to do laundry every other day, and you will need at least 12-15 CDs per day for the newborn phase, so about 30.  But I think you can never have too many diapers

Dr.Loretta

See the FAQs please