Tell me more about CD - may want to switch...

bigbear

I know I could probably look up previous posts and I"m sure it's been discussed over and over again but I missed it all and I'd like to hear from you moms NOW after you have been doing CD for a while how you do it, how long it takes you to maintain it etc.

As I mentioned before I really wanted to do it, then got kind of scared and overwhelmed thinking with all the laundry that's already piling up I won't be able to keep up with it. I also have to admit that I still picture it like it was done in the old days as I"m just not that educated about it anymore. But it isn't just one big piece of cloth you pin to your baby is it???? LOL

So I see those ADORABLE printed "undies" for babies and I"m assuming there is those inserts that go inside? at least that's what I've seen at target and other stores. Is that what you use? Are those washable, or just the "undies" part as I call it.

This must be totally dumb, and admit I'm totally clueless so help a mama out I would really appreciate your input/explanation/experience. I'd love to switch if it's really saving a lot of money and is not that difficult of a thing to do. Is it pointless at this point??

Thanks so much!!

meg_2006

You still have a good 2 years of diapering left with your LO now, and if you want more kids you have many many more years.  

There are many different methods, and more often than not, the easier the diaper is the more it costs.  We use one-size pocket diapers (BumGenius 4.0), which are a happy medium.  Definitely not as cheap as prefolds (the semi "old fashioned" kind), but they're easy to use, and we only need one type and size diaper from 1 month to potty training. They have the "undies" , and you stuff a microfiber insert in the undies.  The advantage to this is you can get different inserts with different absorbancies.  Plus the diapers dry faster since you can pull out the inside to machine dry it while the outside line dries.

I wash 3 times a week, and have about 25 diapers.   You don't have to soak them, and I only rinse off the now-somewhat-solid-poopy diapers with a bidet sprayer.  For washing, I just do a cold rinse, then a hot wash with a 2nd rinse cycle.  I don't find it as annoying or time consuming as doing laundry because I don't have to fold things, or flip them if they're inside out.  Actually, I HATE doing laundry, but I don't mind washing diapers at all.  Plus they're just so darn cute!  

This website has a tutorial on CDing and other helpful resources:

https://www.jilliansdrawers.com/resources

If I were you I'd also stalk the CD board.   

Huahine

How much money you save depends on what kinds of diapers you buy.  If you do pre-folds with waterproof covers (these are reusable so you only need a few), it is really cheap.  If you do all in ones, it becomes more expensive. 

We do a combo of bamboo fitteds with a waterproof cover for nighttime (a bullet-proof, no leak solution), and all in ones for daytime. 

Like Meg, we use a diaper sprayer to spray off the chunky stuff.  We have grown out of our newborn stash of fitteds and smaller pre-folds but the all in ones that I love (Tots Bots Easy Fit) are back-ordered.  So I currently have about 14 diapers that fit him.  We are doing diaper laundry every other day, and that's with catching the occasional pee or poo in his little bjorn potty. 

I work from home, and our washer/ drier is in the bathroom, so it is easy for me to drop a load of laundry in and change it over to the dryer.  If the w/d was in the basement, or if I worked out of the home, it would be more of a hassle.