A question for the CD moms
I also posted this on the cloth diapering board, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask here as well. Besides no one over there has offerred any advice yet.
My DH wants us to look into Cloth diapering for baby #2. He got it in his head because his brother is adopting and they are going to use cloth diapers for her. I agreed to do some research and see if it is something that will work for us.
So ladies here is where I need your help, I am overwhelmed trying to figure out the different brands and the whole how-to. Is there a place you could steer me to that can help me to get the information I need? You know kind of "Cloth Diapering for Dummies" kind of idea. Is there a website that gives a step by step guide? Any and all advice is appreciated. TIA
Re: A question for the CD moms
I found www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com good for general info in the beginning. Good luck!
https://rmtnmama.blogspot.com/p/cloth-diapers.html
Super helpful :-)
CD-ing is GREAT & very overwhelming to start but so much fun. I found myself SUPER addicted to buying diapers. We have a crazy stash :-)
1/1 Spotting, 1/3 beta 36,000, 1/5 u/s empty sac measuring 7w (9w5d), 1/6 d&c
You will always be loved & missed our sweet angel.
I see you are in IL if you are in the Southern part there are Cotton Babies stores in St. Louis that are a great resource. I purchased all of my diapers from them and they actually have a cloth diapering class that is free of charge.
I use the Bum Genius 4.0 pocket diapers.
CDing for dummies:
Prefolds with covers: cheap. You only need 24 prefolds and like 5 covers.
Fitteds with covers: more expensive but you don't have to fold the prefold
Pockets (my fav): works just like disposable if you get velcro and you can double stuff at night, bleach the inserts, dry the inserts and not the covers to save the elastic but get them dry fast.
All in ones: No stuffing or anything.
Buy 24 pockets or all in ones and you will wash every other night.
Use a free and clear detergent so the softners, brightners, etc, doesn't wear on the elastic/velcro and those chemicals don't sit next to LO's skin. Go to pinstripes and polkadots site to see what diaper creams you can use because some can build up on diapers causing them to repel liquid instead of absorb.
Breastfed: Take diaper off kid. Throw in pail (just any ol' trash can).
Formula/solids: Take diaper off. If poopy, I just either plop poop out into toilet or if not totally solid, I take toilet paper and swipe it off. Just like swiping your kids bottom one more time. You don't have to get it all off, just don't want chunks in your washer.
Wash: Cold rinse/drain. This is just to get the pee and poop off the diapers and out of the washer. Wash on regular cycle with HOT water. You can dry but you don't want to dry covers every time because it'll wear on your elastic/velcro.
Simplified CDing for dummies
It is very overwhelming at first when looking into it. Not so bad once you get started. I have a friend who did sposies for two kids then switched for her third. She says she's shocked at how easy it is and wishes she had done it for her others. She says it actually saves her time with laundry because no blowouts! I love it and know you will too!
Go Phils!!
ditto the BG 4.0's, they are the easiest I've found to use
If you are in the Chicago area, there is a store in Orland Park that sells all different types of CD and they also offer a diaper trial. I did that right after DS was born and that way you can try each type to see what kind you like the best.
It's called Cutie Poops and Bottoms....they have a website, but there are also other websites where you can do trials and all you're out is like $10 or so if you decide to return them all.
Thank you ladies. I am excited to look into this. I thought about doing it for our DS, but it just seemed to overwhelming then. Now that #2 is on the way, I actually feel less overwhelmed about having 2 under 2 then I did about having just one baby period. Go figure!
Hopefully I will be able to find a way that will work for us.
THANK YOU!
You can do a cloth diapering trial through Jilliansdrawers.com. They send you a bunch of different diapers (mostly pockets, one or two all-in-ones, and a bunch of prefolds) so you can try them all out. My package came with instructions on how to "prep" each diaper for use, how to wash them, etc.
Search for cloth diapering classes in your area, too. They offer them at our local cloth diapering/"green" baby store. And, as a PP mentioned, the FAQs on the CD board are helpful, too!
CDing really is easier, and I wish I'd started sooner (we started when DS was about 9 months old). I feel like it's a million times CLEANER, even if I have to deal with the poop myself. We just use flushable diaper liners - they catch the solid poo, and you flush everything together. For poops, we use flushable wipes, as well, so there's very little poop-infested laundry in our wet bag.
The pee smell can really build up, but it's still better than a diaper genie full of crappy, sopping wet diapers. Blech.
Good luck!
Here's what we did:
When DD was about 6 weeks old I bought about 10 BumGenius one size aplix diapers. She fit into them when she was about 8 weeks old and had fully outgrown NB diapers and clothes. We used them and disposibles in a mix. Once we found we liked them I added more to our stash slowly and we used sposies less and CDs more. It took a big leap of faith to go to sposies overnight when she was STTN so well, but we didn't have any problems and I felt stupid for holding out on it.
We use one size pockets mostly- BumGenius and Blueberry with some sized Fuzzi Bunz and Knickernappies thrown in. I have bought a lot used to save $$ since $$ is our motivating factor. People will tell you that you should do a trial or try a bunch before you committ. I did not find that to be necessary. I love my BGs and if were up to my husband, we would only have those, but the Blueberries were too cute to resist and the Fuzzi Bunz and Knickernappies were a great price. Plus at first I did not want snaps because my DD is super skinny and we needed aplix for the fit, but now that she can remove her aplix diapers, I use the snaps a lot more.
One rec is to go to the Rockin Green website and look for distributors in your area. That will help you find CD retailers in your area. It definitely helps to see them and get an idea for what you are looking for.
I found the CD board very confusing in the beginning because there was a lot of talk about fitteds and different brands and things I didn't understand or care about. Now I have figured it all out and can skip it. Don't be overwhelmed. It is really easy once you get the hang of it. And cuter than you could imagine. Saving $$ got me started, but the cuteness keeps me coming back, even when we got a new washer and had some stinkies.
Feel free to PM me if you have more questions or if you feel stupid asking a group. I know the feeling and am happy to help.
I know a lot of people like FuzziBunz and BumGenius (and I have a few of these), but I thought I would recommend the Thirsties duo diapers (pockets). They are not all-in-one, but the size 1s fit my newborn right away (8lb. 4 oz. and dropped down to 7 lb, but I feel like they could have fit him if he were way smaller too). The size 1's fit up to 18 lb. (which unfortunately was 4 mos. for us) and then we invested in size 2, which will fit until PT. I liked that the size 1 wasn't huge-- I never noticed diaper bulk being a problem under clothes.
Best of all, they are quick stuffers because they are open on both ends-- you can reach in and pull them through. This also is beneficial because the inserts agitate out in the wash.
Good luck CDing-- it is way easier than it appears (once you get everything sorted out)!