Switching to cloth

kelseypie · August 2013

I ordered the 21 day cloth diaper trial from Jillian's Drawer's last night! I'm excited to get started! I didn't think DH would be on board but he's up for saving some money.

I'd been putting off ordering the trial until I can be a SAHM (DH's boss has promised a large raise soon) because I'm worried I won't be able to keep up the extra work, but I felt like time was getting away from us. DS is almost 3 months old already, so here we are! I'm very surprised at myself for wanting to do this, but I'm stoked about it.

Any advice from CDing mamas? Things you wish you'd have known before? For working moms (and SAHMs I guess), is it really hard to keep up with the work?

LaBellaVida · August 2013

I am also seriously considering 'trying' cloth diapering. I am curious to hear what CD mama's have to say.

YellowLily2013 · August 2013

I love it! We're cloth diapered since we were home from the hospital. We didn't even use all the newborn diapers we had from the hospital.

I know the cloth diaper board suggests trying out many options. And while this might be good, I wish I would have gone with my gut more. I knew what I would like and bought 16 of those. I would have bought more but didn't want to put too many eggs in one basket so to speak. And well now they don't make them!! Urgg! I did find some used on eBay but would have been able to buy new cheap during the second sales.

Washing is easy for me. Even easier if you have a programmable washer! I just throw them in in the morning, run and go change the settings as needed. And then either hang up outside, on the drying rack or throw in the dryer!

I love that we don't have to do anything extra during the EBF phase!

Cding is probably the easiest thing I have decided to do regarding baby. Much easier than bfing and pumping!

iggles09 · August 2013

I tried CDing at the beginning. It was really over whelming for me. DD was always getting a rash, she was always soaking through her AIOs bc she napped for long periods of time.

I just started back a couple weeks ago and I love it! I figured out that her horrible rashes were from the wipes and not the diapers. We use all pockets and I do not think I would use anything else. In my newborn trial, we used prefolds, pockets and AIOs. I hated the prefolds and her sensitive booty could not handle sitting in any moisture for even a few minutes. It seriously is so easy!

GL

kanga1622Wed220857 · August 2013

We used cloth from birth with both boys. We both work and found it best for us to wash diapers every night so they had plenty of time to hang dry. Plus, it meant we always had plenty of diapers available if we had to skip a day due to unusual evening plans. Even our DCP uses our cloth.

JinglesChic · August 2013

I'm surprised that I like it as much as I do. I use prefolds and have one hybrid with two panels or whatever they call it that I use for overnight. I don't want to spend too much, bit I'm thinking of getting some AIOs for babysitting. My ILs refuse to do the cloth, and I'm tired of buying sposies.

FWIW, it really wasn't too much work. Just dump it all in the wash and I dry them in the dryer.

riansmommie · August 2013

We started exclusive cloth diapering 2 weeks ago and I love it!! I've tried aio's, pocket and ai2's and prefer the pockets. We also use cloth wipes. I wash all of them together and dry them on a low heat, or line dry them when its sunny to remove any staining if there are stains. GL with cloth diapering!

LaBellaVida · August 2013

I have a question!!

What are the brands of CD you like best?

I haven't bought any CD yet, but I was looking at the Kawaii Diapers, Alva, Bum Genius, and Rumparooz.

My friend has some Thirsty's, BG, and Rumparooz. I really liked the Rumparooz because of the cute patterns, and they felt like a really good quality- but she only had 2 or 3 in NB size because they are expensive.

Wish82 · August 2013

We love it-we've also been CDing since we came home from the hospital. We use a mix of Prefolds/covers, pockets, and fitteds. I've even gotten some family members who were initially opposed on board.

daffy2k · August 2013

We have been cloth diapering since we got home from the hospital. I love it! Definitely don't find it to be much work at all. DD is almost totally out of her newborn diapers so we did a diaper trial to decide which brands of one-sizes would be right for us. Ultimately I settled on a mix of BumGenius Freetimes (AIOs) and 4.0s (pockets), a couple Blueberry pockets with bamboo inserts and Applecheeks with bamboo. BumGenius comes highly recommended, they clean well and fit well, but I am not a huge fan of the synthetic fibres. We have an HE machine and I find my Microfibre inserts much more prone to ammonia build up than any of my bamboo inserts. I absolutely love my Applecheeks, so I think that when I buy a few more diapers to round out my stash they will be more of those.

riansmommie · August 2013

@brandilc84 so far my favorite are the Alvas, I have 18 of them and loved the price as well. I think the one size diapers are the wtg also, they fit from newborn to potty training so no buying more bigger sized diapers down the road.

Cricket81 · August 2013

We part-time CD. I got 8 BGs for shower gifts and I use those in combo with disposables. I like the flexibility of being able to do both. One bump input road has been that LO is a very warm baby and if it's too hot in the house, he hates the cloth diapers and will just cry and cry. On cooler days, he is totally fine with them.
I do agree that the extra work involved is totally manageable.

LaBellaVida · August 2013

riansmommie said:

@brandilc84 so far my favorite are the Alvas, I have 18 of them and loved the price as well. I think the one size diapers are the wtg also, they fit from newborn to potty training so no buying more bigger sized diapers down the road.

Yeah, if I buy them I will def. do the one size.

deejohn2012 · August 2013

Thank you for this thread! I'm planning to do that same diaper trial. A friend of mine said to wait until she grows out of newborns, so I will be ordering the trial soon. Let us know how it goes!

kanga1622Wed220857 · August 2013

We use pockets. Mostly FuzziBunz one size with a few Kawaii and Charlie Banana one size. Our stash with DS1 was completely FBOS and tried a few other brands this time. We prefer the FBOS and will probably phase out the other brands when DS2 starts going through less than 20 diapers a day.

kanga1622Wed220857 · August 2013

Just a heads up that aplix closures tend to need replacing sooner as they wear out faster than snaps.

kelseypie · August 2013

Awesome advice! Thanks guys! I'm going to show this to DH, I think he's pretty worried its going to be too much work. A friend of our good friends tried CDing and gave up, so that's made him a little hesitant. It's so nice that Jillian's drawers offers that trial!

LaBellaVida · August 2013

A friend of mine suggested that I buy used to do a trial run. However; I am a bit skeptical on this because I know a girl here that was showing me her CD and they stunk really bad!! Like I didn't even want to touch them, and I had to hold my breath when looking at them.

They smelled like mildew, like if you leave a load of laundry in your washer for a while- that's what they smelled like. Terrible.

Anyway- so I am worried about buying used, because it kinda grosses me out that I am putting my LO into a diaper that has been used and may have bacteria on it if it wasn't washed right. I would be bummed to spend money on a CD that I have to work to get the smell out, and it may not even come out. Is there a place that you guys know of that I an buy used, and not have to worry about bacteria and smells, or stains?

KMeredith82 · August 2013

We have been using cloth diapers since about week 3. We used disposables when he was in newborn sizes, I was glad that I didn't buy newborn cloth diapers just because he would have been out of them quickly! I knew that I wouldn't do well with having a bunch of different systems and kinds of diapers so I just went with BG freetimes because I thought the AIO would be best for us and the daycare, and I knew that we would probably get frustrated stuffing pockets. I know I took a risk with committing to one kind without trying them out (we have 18, although we only bought 6, the rest were shower gifts). But it has been working out well for us, we love them and find them super easy to use! I really need a few more in order to get away with only doing laundry every other day. The laundry really is not difficult though, esp if your washer already as an extra rinse option. And i am amazed on how well then sun gets rid of stains. Good luck!

LaBellaVida · August 2013

Samanthaashley93 said:

I'm sure this is a ridiculous question, but do you clean them out prior to washing them or how does that work? We have a stockpile of disposables through size two, but I wanted to try CD after we were out. Not sure how any of it works though.

from what I understand, you don't have to rinse the poop off until they are older, and it more of a solid form. If you BF your baby- you just throw it in the wash without removing the poop first. Once baby starts to have more solid poop, then you will have to get rid of the poop in the toilet. They have little sprayers that attached to the toilet, kinda like a shower head, and you spray it off, then wash the diaper in the washer.

LaBellaVida · August 2013

Anyone try best bottom CD?? I am curious how you like them. Does anyone do the AI2 diapers? How do you like them if you EBF? I heard they hold up really well...and they are compared to rump a rooz.

Anyone try rumparooz CD? How do you like those.

riansmommie · August 2013

@brandilc84 I have tried the ai2 and with a BF baby I do not like them at all, I'm holding onto them for later down the road when the poop is more solid in hopes that they work better for us because I really like the idea of them.

LaBellaVida · August 2013

@riansmommie

What CD do you have and like for BF babies then?

riansmommie · August 2013

I love my Alva pockets right now. I have ordered a few more diapers in different brands but haven't received them yet to see how I like them. When I do Ill let you know how they work with a BF baby.

@brandilc84

daffy2k · August 2013

@brandilc84 - we have 1 Rumparooz pocket. I like it, but don't find it as absorbent as my BumGenius pockets. The double gusset is what sold me on this diaper and for that reason I would definitely recommend it for little babies. That double gusset can contain breastfed poop better than any of the others (not saying that my others don't...I don't get blowouts with cloth

).

dancedance1 · August 2013

I been cloth diapering for 5 years - 3 boys, and did Ds#1 and DS#2 for a year at the same time.

Everyone has different opinions, but my thought is figure out what you like and what works for you. Even if you can't do it full time, I think you'll save money. (Especially if you think you'll have any more kids) I think I've saved thousands with my second and now my third.

Give it a try and feel free to ask questions from other CDing moms!

ashlo618 · August 2013

Since one of our biggest motivators for CDing was to save money I was drawn to prefolds and covers, we use Bummies prefolds and Thirsities covers. We use bumgenius pockets overnight. We have been doing it for about a little over a month and its great!

We are definitely saving money and I can notice a difference when I have to put her in disposables with the redness of her bum.

They are so easy to use and not as much work as I thought they might be. The changing the diaper itself it basically the same amount of time and the washing is every other day for us - wash them then line dry or put them in the dryer. So far no stains, stink or feeling overwhelmed with the "work" of CDing.

Good luck!

GraceInCA · August 2013

I love it. We are using Green Mountain cotton prefolds with Thirsties covers, flannel wipes I bought from Etsy with a Kissaluvs wipe solution.

skio · August 2013

Love it. We have a mix of Kawaii pockets, Bumgenius pockets, Diaper Safari pockets, Bumgenius Elemental AIOs and Swaddlebees Simplex AIOs. I have about 26 dipes I think and wash every other day; washing is no big deal, I machine wash and tumble dry.

My faves are the Diaper Safari pockets and BG Elementals. The Kawaiis run bigger but I like them too. GL!

kacelle · August 2013

I've been CDing for 27 months now (started in the hospital at birth with my oldest), and it's seriously no big deal. I actually hated disposables the 2 weeks we used them (when DD #1 had a bad yeast rash and we had to use medicated diaper cream)--they smell so much worse! The laundry is significantly more challenging with two in diapers, as DD #1 isn't potty-trained yet, but nothing terrible. All in all, I've been thrilled.

My absolute favourite diaper for fit, durability, and versatility is the bumGenius 4.0. You can find "seconds" (second-quality diapers; you usually can't tell that there's anything wrong with them at all as it's usually minor cosmetic flaws) on cottonbabies.com regularly. A similar brand (although not quite as favourite, they're MUCH cheaper) is Rainbow BB on Ebay. We use a wide variety of diapers, but these are great for the older babies and toddlers!

kacelle · August 2013

brandilc84 said:

Samanthaashley93 said:

I'm sure this is a ridiculous question, but do you clean them out prior to washing them or how does that work? We have a stockpile of disposables through size two, but I wanted to try CD after we were out. Not sure how any of it works though.

from what I understand, you don't have to rinse the poop off until they are older, and it more of a solid form. If you BF your baby- you just throw it in the wash without removing the poop first. Once baby starts to have more solid poop, then you will have to get rid of the poop in the toilet. They have little sprayers that attached to the toilet, kinda like a shower head, and you spray it off, then wash the diaper in the washer.

It's not really when the poop gets solid--that won't happen for quite a while. It's when babies begin to eat solids that you'll need to pre-rinse/scrape (even though the poop isn't solid--"peanut butter poop" stage). Breastmilk and formula are water-soluble, whereas any solid food isn't and won't be cleaned off properly in the washer.

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