Thinking About Cloth Diapering...Suggestions?

expectingnugget

I feel so guilty about throwing away bags full of poopy diapers that I'm considering cloth. How does that whole thing work? Tell me about prices and sizes. We have a fairly small budget, so they'll have to be on the cheaper side. Thanks!

candaceleigh21

I have 26 cloths dipes ready to go but i will be using all the sposies that we were given first. I am personally excited to try them but i am a SAHM so i dont mind all the washing involved. I bought all mine through a Co op on FB. I got involved with a local cloth diaper group and they ran the co op and I got a great deal. Check with the cloth board on TB and see what you get in on!

Petunia844

We use the bumgenius all in ones, super easy, we wash every other day and line dry.  They are easy and work well...but to buy new no cloth diapers are super cheap.  We have bought some on Craigslist though and that worked out great, so I would check there for sure.  The thing is in the long run you save money either way, especially if you line dry and if you have another LO.

Schrodenger

we love our cds - when DS was really tiny we used prefolds, which were not very expensive.. we have a ton of them. A friend gave us all of her smartgenius brand diapers. We lucked out because these type of diapers are more expensive than the prefolds.. but the prefolds work just as well. I love cd - our trash company loves the cd - the landfill loves cds ....!

CLLDLL

We've been CD'ing for about a month and LOVE it.  Depending on how often you want to wash, you need somewhere between 12 and 36 diapers.  (Figure around 12 diaper changes a day give or take, so 36 diaps lets you wash every 2-3 days.)  You'll also need CD safe laundry detergent, CD safe diaper rash cream (or fleece liners to use on days when you use something like Desitin), and 2-6 wetbags to store the soiled diapers in. I say 2-6 because you want at least 2 for home so you have one to use on laundry day, but you may want some smaller bags to use in your diaper bag and/or at daycare.  To purchase that all new will run anywhere from $220 to over $1000 depending on what type of diapers you get.  But remember you will spend anywhere from $1500 to $3000 on disposable diapers by the time your LO potty trains.  

Here's what I would suggest if your LO is over 12lbs (most one size diapers start fitting around 10-12lbs), first do the diaper trial from some place like Jillian's Drawers.  You get to try like 4 or 5 different types of diapers for three weeks.  That will give you a feeling for what types you like and whether you even want to continue with cloth.  Then if you want to continue CD'ing decide if you want to buy new or used.  Used is more cost effective and a lot of times you can resell when you're done and get most of your purchase price back.  Then just start purchasing what you like, keeping in mind that as LO grows you may change your mind about your favorites because of the fit you get during the rolling vs crawling vs walking stages.  So don't buy too many of any one style and get stuck with a bunch of diaps you hate.

Prefolds and covers are the cheapest route and actually are the easiest to care for too, but they are a little harder to put on and some dads, grandmas and daycares don't care for them.  A lot of people like pockets or all-in-ones (AIOs) which can be as cheap as $8.00 a piece for ones made in China or as expense as $30 or more a diaper for USA made with natural fiber inserts like bamboo or hemp.

I highly recommend lurking on the Bump CD board, watching YouTube videos on CD'ing (I like InformationMommy on the Cloth Diaper Channel), and even clicking on the new to Cloth links on websites like  kellyscloset.com to learn more.

Good luck! I hope you love it!

numberonemama

I def rec a diaper trial. I bought a bunch that were a great deal and they do not fit her body shape so I've made up my own trial and def have favs! 

We still use sposies some but I feel much better about throwing out a grocery bag or two a week instead of daily.  DH is not comfortable with the CD so I have disposables for him and nighttime.  

Starry Again

I got a lot of mine at either diaperswappers.com or seconds sales (diapers not up to manufacturer specifications). I got a bunch of BumGenius 4.0 that appear new for $9 / each on diaperswappers and $12 BG Freetimes at the seconds sale.

Prefolds really aren't bad to use once you get the hang of them.

Detergent isn't a huge deal - any Free and Clear is fine, or we use Charlie's Soap on all our laundry, including CDs. 

numberonemama

I was under the impression that all free and clears were not okay for CD...def check this out...there's a great website that has a list of all the detergents. It may be linked in the CD FAQ page

CLLDLL

Technically most F&Cs are not ok because of brighteners.  However, a lot of CD moms and even some stores recommend Tide, so I think unless you are doing a diaper trial or planning to resell soon a F&C is ok.  Just watch out for stinky diapers which can mean you either aren't using enough detergent or the detergent isn't washing out well enough.  (Barnyard stink means not enough, ammonia stink means the soap isn't all getting washed out - which is common with liquids and F&Cs.)

danienross

numberonemama:

I was under the impression that all free and clears were not okay for CD...def check this out...there's a great website that has a list of all the detergents. It may be linked in the CD FAQ page

From what research I did the only recommended mainstream free and clear is Purex.

MadamePresident

I think cloth diapers are great. They save money, are better for the environment and are cute!