FTM cloth diapering!

cjm724

Anyone have any tips for cloth diapering? What brands and styles do you like the best and why? I want to be fully prepared and stocked for when our baby gets here in July!

 

 

 

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YellowLily2013

I'd check out the cloth diaper board, there is a FAQ at the top of the board and it has tons of information.

There is also a 7 part series on youtube that helps you see and learn all the different styles.

First step would be to determine how much you want to spend, if you are using daycare, and how much ease you want in your wash/dry routine.

 

aehamilton13

I'm a FTM mom too, but DH and I went to a CD workshop the other week, and after seeing and feeling all of the different types, I'm leaning towards a pocket style, either Bum Genius 4.0's or Charlie Bananas. Just seemed easiest in terms of laundry, care, use, etc. and I like the one-size idea so I just have to buy them once!

dreadiemama

There are a lot of factors involved.

Budget

Time per change

Time to wash

personal preferance

We are doing prefolds inside thirsties covers mostly because we are poor and its the cheapest options behind old skool flats. We also registered for some gdiapers for when we go camping, that way we can just burry the compostable inserts and have less to pack out. 

OctGirl80

We have a mix of prefolds & pockets, with a couple newborn AIO's. A few size smalls and then the rest are OS's. We've got BumGenius, Happy Heiny's, Blueberries, Swaddlebees, etc. Just a big ol'mix.

 

The CD board is really great for info, as well as taking a class and watching YouTube. That's where we started as well. Here's a link to a few blog posts I wrote a while ago if you're interested. https://lifewithblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/friday-favorite-cloth-diapers.html (it's a 3-part, so just click Newer post at the bottom for the next one)

laurelkirsten

I cloth diapered my son from about 2 weeks old until he started on solids. The first 2 weeks it is easy to use those newborn disposables that have a color changing line which indicates if the baby peed.

I preferred Green Mountain diapers (website) I would use their prefolds inside diaper covers (thirsties were my favorite cover). I would not recommend the organic unbleached because it was much rougher than the regular prefolds. I tried pockets and all in ones but honestly they just dont get as tight as prefolds around the legs so I found they leaked baby poop a lot. But if your baby has fat legs it may not be as big of a problem. I think your baby's anatomy and shape will determine what type of diaper you like best. So its best to only by a few of a couple different types before you really invest in one type. Also the one sized fits all tend to not fit as well as the ones that are designed for a certain weight.

As far as cleaning them, I tried all the specialty detergents but honestly All Free and Clear and Arm and Hammer (sensitive I think?) worked fine. You can find websites that tell you which detergents work. 

Also you may consider doing cloth wipes. I actually think these are amazing and clean much better and gentler than disposable. I used the prince lionheart wipes warmer and the green mountain wipes.

Lastly, if you plan to CD after solids are introduced you need to look into a potty sprayer to spray to poop off into the toilet. Breastmilk poop just rinses out in the laundry. 

Hope that helped!  

laurelkirsten

One last thing... when you CD your child will need larger sized clothes/pants faster than with disposables. You can't really go by the size on the tag and their age because most modern baby clothes are designed with disposables in mind. Cloth diapers are maybe triple the thickness of a disposable.

periwinklebloom

I am a FTM and planning to use cloth diapers. The best resource I have found for introducing cloth diapers is the seven part series the pp recommended. It doesn't take long to watch and she goes over types of diapers, accessories, and how to clean them.

Here's the link for the first part:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVo6SMebcX8

Eshugars

aehamilton13:

I'm a FTM mom too, but DH and I went to a CD workshop the other week, and after seeing and feeling all of the different types, I'm leaning towards a pocket style, either Bum Genius 4.0's or Charlie Bananas. Just seemed easiest in terms of laundry, care, use, etc. and I like the one-size idea so I just have to buy them once!

 

I'm a FTM too, and I agree that taking a CD class was beyond helpful.  It helps make the cloth diaper board here a lot less overwhelming.  We're planning on doing prefolds for the newborn phase (most likely thirsties) and then rumparoo pockets after the baby is a few months old. 

JCWhitey

If you have a store in your area that sells cloth diapers definitely go in there and ask questions.  Feel the diapers and see the differences.  Most of those places will have classes or even diaper swaps that are a great place to get started on a stash without breaking the bank.

Right now I have about 50 diapers of numerous brands and types.  Mostly because I have no idea what will work and what won't work for my baby.  Most I got for free or cheap from friends and the attending a couple of diaper swaps myself.  Others I got directly from the companies for reviews and some I won on blog giveaways.  Total I've spent *maybe* $100 on all 50 diapers.

sonflower1427

I tend to use prefolds and covers when they get bigger, but for newborns, my husband and I found that we really like fitted diapers with a cover.  They contain the runny breastfed poo a lot better.  We use pocket diapers at night (so we can stuff them with more fluff) and I prefer pockets when we go out places.  It's just easier to change.  To me, newborns are harder to cloth diaper, just because not all babies are big enough for the pocket diapers at first (if you get the one-size diapers, they tend to be for babies 7-35 pounds.)  We could never justify spending $20 per diaper for newborn pockets.  So we did fitteds instead (I got them from a lady in our homeschool group for cheap because they are expensive, too.)  Whatever you decide to go with, remember that there is a learning curve, so don't get frustrated if things don't seem to go perfectly at first.  Once you get the hang of them, though, you will never want to go back!