Wanting to start Cloth Diapering!

aehansen9

Hello!

 I have a 4 month old, who is my first child. We have been using disposables but, i hate them!! They leak and they smell horrid when she pees. I hate all the chemicals and am definitely looking for something more eco-friendly. 

 

I have been trying to dive in and learn about cloth diapering but there is SOOO much information and so many varying opinions. So I figured getting advice from someone who has experience would work well..

 

A little about us. I'm 23 and a stay at home mom currently.I am wanting a one size diaper for sure... as I don't want to have to keep purchasing as she gets older. She is relatively small. Only about 14lbs right now at 4 months, she was premature by a month. So i am looking for a trimmer diaper so she doesn't have too puffy of a butt. Our max budget is $400 but I'd really prefer to spend as little as possible. I've been told I need at least 24 diapers. Which makes sense. 

I really don't know a whole lot about the laundering process, sunning or stripping process, wet bags, pails, where to buy, what BRAND to buy, how much I should spend, a diaper sprayer?, laundry detergent... etc.. Actually, I suppose I'm just clueless lol

 

I want to learn!!! If anyone out there is willing to hep me learn about this process so we can jump right in that would be great!  You can email me or respond on here. 

 

aehansen9@gmail.com

 

Thanks,

Ashley 

reillyea

Hi ashley,
I personally plan on using cloth diapersthat I have been making. But I know that my sister had success with the g diaper system. You will still ebend up buying different sizes some of the diapers have snaps to make them usable for awhile, but baby grows quite a bit. They have ones that have removable insert soakers so that if it isn't too big a mess u just change the pad instead of the whole diaper every time. As far as laundering its kind of up to you, you can rinse them in the toilet before putting in the wash. And you will definitely want a couple of wet bags if you plan to do cloth diapers while away fron home. I love cloth diapers and they are so much easier to use now. Good luck and I hope this helps somewhat!

freezorburn

You may be able to find a diaper trial that allows you to try some different brands and types of diapers.

flummadiddle85

Ditto the previous posts. Don't rule out prefolds. I've ended up loving them way more than I thought I would. Snappi'd you can always find the perfect fit, easy to care for, and cheaper. 

I love them so much I've even considered getting flats! But I think a part of me also has fun trying all the different folds.

 And we do have a variety of pockets, fitteds, and AI2. 

DiannaVB

You will find that everyone likes something different. We do all pockets and all-in-ones. Make sure you check out the seven part cloth diapering 101 series on youtube if you haven't already.

If you choose to go the pocket route don't go out and buy a full stash of the cheapest ones you can find. Try a few different ones before you fill out your stash. You can mix cloth and disposable until you figure out what you like.

As far as trim, I think Fuzzibunz are quite trim and I like them. Other don't care for them. This will be the case with any diaper. Different diapers work for different babies. Also, I have found that Kawaii and Alva are much bigger than the other mainstream brands and are not particularly trim. They don't fit smaller babies as well.

For a full stash, 24 diapers are great but you can probably get by with 18 or so. This depends on how often you change and if your baby sleeps through the night.

My wash routine is Warm Soak/Prewash, Hot Wash with Tide Original and Calgon, Cold Rinse, Cold Rinse. This won't work for everyone. You will need to figure out what works best with your water/washer combo. I put inserts and AIOs in the dryer and line dry my pockets, pail liners, and wet bags.

We have a kitchen trash can with two pail liners. Two large wet bags for daycare. Two small wet bags for the diaper bag. We have two of everything so one is in use and one in the wash. Some people prefer to just use large hanging wetbags instead of a pail and liners. It depends on how much space you have to work with.

I love my diaper sprayer. Others prefer to dunk and swish.

Be willing to adjust your routine to figure out what works best for you and your family. Some popular websites are Kellys Closet, Cotton Babies, Diaper Junction, Nikkis Diapers, Green Bean Babies, Amazon, and many many others. Most of these website also have cloth diapering 101 information that is good to read.

Feel free to post any questions you have here. There are lots of very helpful people.