Cloth diapers?
I have been thinking of cloth diapering the new LO. I was looking at cloth diapers at Blue Cocoon the other day and I am just not sure which type I want. I was wondering what your experience was with cloth diapers? What type/brand are your favs? I am thinking I might go with an AIO but I love the Idea of a cover and even the hybrid. They have some great trial packs and I think that would give me a great intro to it. If any one is or has cloth dipaers what are your thoughts? I want to reduce waste and of course cost save over time. I have heard that they potty train faster in cloth is this true? I do not mind having to was them I have heard of the bio liners any thoughts on those?
Sorry for all the questions but cloth will be a new adventure for me and with this perhaps my last (due to age) I want to do all I can for my LO. My last one she had diaper rash all the time and my girl friend said hers did as well but got better once she made the switch. Just trying to figure out the whole thing! From style to how to clean them... I know once I jump in it will be easy. I think just getting started is the hard part, but I am excited to do this.
Re: Cloth diapers?
I'd suggest taking a class as well, if you have the time.
We're using pockets right now and have been happy with them. I am fairly new to cloth diapering as well, so I'm not a great source, but can tell you what I know:)
The way we wash the diapers is by running a cold rinse cycle first to get any residue, etc. off the inserts and diapers. Then we run a Hot cycle (with extra rinse) and use The Honest Company detergent with some vinegar (to help with unwanted smells). Then we dry the inserts on warm and hang the diapers to dry. I also wash the wetbags at the same time as the inserts/diapers.
I went to the Free diaper class at Blue Cocoon last week. That really helped my understand what is right form my LO. Loved it! Thanks for the suggestions.
I would highly recommend doing a cloth diaper trial! I had all kinds of ideas about what I thought I would like, but in the end I liked the simplicity, cost and re-usability of Flip diapers with the microfiber inserts. I did my trial through JilliansDrawers.com and had a great experience.
I couldn't tell from your post how old your little one is, but keep in mind that unless you want to buy multiple sizes, you'll probably have to wait until he/she is around 2 1/2 or 3 months for them to be big enough for the one size diapers.
I also recommend checking out the Cloth Diapering section on here and Googling for a few cloth diapering blogs (there are tons). Just don't let yourself get overwhelmed, because it really isn't all that complicated once you get into it.
A few things that I discovered that made cloth diapering even easier than I expected: Until you introduce solids you can put soiled diapers straight into your wetbag and then the wash on wash day without rinsing. (I know it sounds gross, but it really isn't) You don't need special detergent - I do a cold rinse, a hot wash using regular Tide and an extra rinse every 3rd time or so and have never had any problems. (I've been cloth diapering for a year now.) And it was ah-mazing how many fewer poop blowouts there were - especially in the earlier days. Cloth does such a better job of containing everything!
Good luck!