Potentially very stupid CD question

WellersBo · June 2011

I'm interested in switching to CD. I have zero experience with it & the only person I know who did CD was my mom with my brother nearly 40 years ago. She said it was a huge PITA, but again it was 40 years ago.

My question is, what do you do with the dirty diapers when you're out & about? Do you just put it in a bag inside your diaper bag? What if its a poopy diaper?

Also, is it a lot more work than using disposables, for daycare purposes? My mom will be watching DD 2-3x a week & after her not-so-fond memories of CD with my older brother, I'm worried she'll not be happy about changing cloth diapers when she watches DD.

Thanks so much! I'm pretty clueless.

theprincessPAT · June 2011

Your questions aren't stupid and CDing has come a LONG way.

When we're out and about we have smaller zip wet bags that we use. Just fold up the diaper and stash it away until later. The ones we have have little tabs on the inside of the bag where you can put a dab of tea tree oil (or other essential oils that smell better than baby poop).

I don't think it's any more difficult than sposies if you buy the right ones. We use a mix of fuzzibunz and bumgenius 4.0. Day care likes the aplix (velcro) ones and we have snaps for home. I change her the same way I would if I was changing a disposable.

Another consideration for you would be cloth wipes. We use disposable wipes, but I'm learning why people don't use them with cloth. With the cloth wipes they go right in the pail with the diaper, with the disposable ones you have to walk them to the nearest trash can (and if they're poopy, it's kind of gross).

Good luck and I HTH.

MJCF · June 2011

anwarren:

My question is, what do you do with the dirty diapers when you're out & about? Do you just put it in a bag inside your diaper bag? What if its a poopy diaper?

Yes, you put them in a wetbag inside your diaper bag. If its poopy and you are bf or formula feeding, just put the whole diaper in there. If you've introduced any kind of solids you'll want to dump the poop in a toilet before placing in your wetbag. They make disposable liners you can place in the diaper to help with this.

Also, is it a lot more work than using disposables, for daycare purposes? My mom will be watching DD 2-3x a week & after her not-so-fond memories of CD with my older brother, I'm worried she'll not be happy about changing cloth diapers when she watches DD.

I wouldn't say its a lot more work, but it is a little more work just because you do have to wash them, but I don't find it to be a problem and I hate doing laundry. It will also depend on the type of CD you go with. I would probably suggest doing a trial so you know what kind you like. Before I started I thought I'd mostly use prefolds and AI2's. I purchased a variety of used diapers to try out. Well, now I mostly use pockets. I never thought I'd like a pocket but they are my favorite now.

Also, as far as for your mom it shouldn't be any different to her than using disposables. She will just change the diaper and instead of throwing it away she'll throw it in a wet bag and you'll have to deal with it later

Thanks so much! I'm pretty clueless.

needanustart · June 2011

Not stupid at all! There are all sorts of ways to do the CD thing nowadays anyway.

When we are out we use a wet sack (my DH's favorite new term) that we bring along with us. I keep a few plastic bags in the diaper bag as back up. Then we empty the wet sack in the zippered dirty diaper bag (hamper thing) at home and throw the sack in there too so it gets washed along with the diapers in the next load. If there are solids you could shake out into the toilet first or use a papertowel to put into a plastic bag for tossing (dog walker style).

We use prefolds with covers which works the best for leakage for us. If you are concerned about ease for daycare providers, I think that pockets or AIOs are the way to go if they work for your baby's shape (note if you are just starting out though- try out a few different types of diapers before buying a bunch of one kind. AIOs don't fit our DS very well at all). Because the pockets and AIOs don't work very well for us, I usually leave a hybrid type diaper like the Flip for people who are watching him. It's pretty easy for others to use but fits him better than the pockets. But honestly if your baby has chunky little legs and can wear AIOs or pockets those are the easiest! The AIOs are basically like changing a disposable anyway, you just throw the dirty diaper in a bag or pail to get washed instead of the trash. If they aren't doing the laundry they won't notice much of a difference.

HTH! Good luck, we love cloth diapering in our house!

theprincessPAT · June 2011

cruelsound:

It is more work, only because you don't have to wash disposables. And, when you start with solids, you're going to have to rinse the CD out in the toilet before you plop it into the dirty bag.

Lol, I forgot about the whole washing thing. That is a little more work and on some days feels like a PITA. We have enough diapers that we can go 2+ days without washing, but I wouldn't recommend going longer than 2 days. The diapers start to really stink if you wait too long to wash.

JustDoIt62009 · June 2011

I have 2 small zippered wetbags that are always in my diaper bag. They keep the smell contained and when I get home I just empty it into my bigger diaper pail and throw the wet bag in with it.

The only extra step compared to disposables is the washing it. I use pockets (Fuzzibunz, BumGenius, Swaddlebees), all-in-ones (Grovia and Bumcheeks), and hybrids (Grovia). All-in-ones are the most like disposables IMO, because there is no stuffing or unstuffing- literally just put it on baby. If you are wanting to try it out temporarily, I would get some hybrids like Grovia or gDiapers that have snap in cloth pads, or you can get disposable refills that are biodegradable. And definitely get aplix for ease for your mom (aplix is all my DH will use).

My mom wasn't a fan at first, but she thinks it's great now. I just tell her where to snap the ones that are snaps (I snap it close where it should be before I put it in the diaper bag) or I make sure to bring my aplix to my mom's.

nykimac · June 2011

We use a wet bag when we're out and it's never been an issue. In the hospital they put my LO in a disposable for like 10 minutes before she was changed into cloth and that's the only time she's been in a disposable and we've been traveling a lot, so it is possible (not that you have to only use cloth, it just isn't difficult after a few times).

laurapalmer · June 2011

1. You keep dirty diapers in a "wet bag" that's waterproof and has a zipper. I got mine from Monkey Foot Designs on Etsy and I love them. It's really not a problem at all, even if there's poop. Once you start feeding solids you have to plop the poop in the toilet but until then you don't have to do anything special. The bags are washable so when you get home you empty the dirty diapers into your diaper pail (garbage can with waterproof bag liner) and throw the wet bag in too.

2. Some day cares accept cloth, some don't, so you'd have to check around.

3. As far as your mom and the convenience, cloth diapers have come a long way since we were kids. You can get an AIO (all in one) where it works just like a disposable as far as structure and they even come with aplix (velcro) if you want so it's super easy. Check out Bum Genius, they're really popular for ease of use.

Meaghan26 · June 2011

All of the older women in my life are amazed at how easy it is to cloth diaper now! We mostly use prefitteds with a cover at home, and when we're out we use G-Diaper covers with cloth liners, so there's less to bring with us.

WellersBo · June 2011

Thanks so much everyone! I'm off to do some research.

I do have another quick question: is it expensive to start up CD? My thought was its probably a lot of money up front, but its cheaper in the long run. Does that sound about right? About how much did you pay for everything you needed to start?

Littledeer84 · June 2011

anwarren:

Thanks so much everyone! I'm off to do some research.

I do have another quick question: is it expensive to start up CD? My thought was its probably a lot of money up front, but its cheaper in the long run. Does that sound about right? About how much did you pay for everything you needed to start?

I am also just starting out with cloth. Right now we are only doing it part time, due to day care, and H not being fully on-board. But, I really like it and want to grow my CD stash. Anyways, the FAQs on the cloth diaper board here on the bump were super helpful to me. I bought my first diaps at jilliansdrawers.com...and I bought used. The fact that they were used does not bother me - I could barely tell. I got 6 pocket diapers and a wet bag for about $100.

chardonnay24 · June 2011

We use BumGenius 4.0, which are the easiest cloth diaper to deal with.

They consist of a size-adjustable outer layer lined with microfiber that you stuff with an absorbent insert. We have 26 of them and expect them to last through potty training and the next (future) kid.

We use a wetbag when we are out and about - basically a washable, reusable, lined, zippered bag that you put dirty diapers into. It's really convenient for dirty clothes when he has a blowout, too. We stuff the diapers and have them adjusted on the correct size already so when he goes to the ILs or my parent's for babysitting they are just like a disposable. The only difference is that you stick them in the wetbag instead of the garbage.

We have a large, lidded garbage can in the nursery that we line with a large, washable pail liner. We toss the dirty diapers in the pail and they get washed every other day. I do a prewash with cold water, adding Bac Out to the soak. Then I wash on hot with two cold rinses using Crunchy Clean Diaper Detergent. I dry the inserts in the dryer and dry the pockets on a drying rack in the nursery closet, or in the sun if they sun is out and it's warm that day.

I absolutely LOVE using CDs. If you have any more questions, let me know!

ETA: We spent about $400 on CDs and $100 on accessories (wetbags, pail liners, detergent, stain/odor cleaner, cloth wipes, etc).

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