Lets have a cloth diapering roll call

RachelCA29 · February 2014

QOTR said:

I have another dumb question to add to the mix (I think I'm about to reach my quota for these, surely).

When you guys reference coconut oil, is that the plain ol' coconut oil that you'll find in the oil section at the grocery store? I've seen it (next to the olive oil, etc.), but never used it. Is it oily or creamy? If oily, do you just pour it on?

It's creamy, but has a really low melting point, so you buy it in a jar/tub and it's solid - yes you can use the cooking kind. As soon as you put your fingers in the jar and rub it (like on your baby's bum) it will melt into a nice coating of oil from the heat of your skin.

My husband uses the kind from the grocery store to soften his beard in the winter. It smells delicious!

TaylorHam86 · February 2014

QOTR said:
I have another dumb question to add to the mix (I think I'm about to reach my quota for these, surely).

When you guys reference coconut oil, is that the plain ol' coconut oil that you'll find in the oil section at the grocery store? I've seen it (next to the olive oil, etc.), but never used it. Is it oily or creamy? If oily, do you just pour it on?

I use coconut oil as face wash. It's kind of an oily, liquidy solid? It turns into a liquid when it gets warm and re-congeals at about room temp. So I stick my fingers in the jar, scoop a little bit out, and it liquifies as I spread it and it thins.

QOTR · February 2014

thanks ladies! And a coconut-smelling beard sounds wonderful!

TaylorHam86 · February 2014

ArmyMedic7588 said:
Ok so I kinda thought of this while on the "dumb questions" thread...
Meconium... it's sticky!! And I know many of the non CD ladies said they use vaseline or something of the sort to prevent it from not wiping off and having to rub your poor newborn's bum raw. Obviously vaseline isn't good for CD... so what do you recommend to use to make the icky sticky come off easier? Can coconut oil or something else do the same kinda thing?

FTM so I have no knowledge about the meconium details, but I went to a CD "class" recently that was led by a rep from Grovia. She suggested two different balms that Grovia makes - one is for regular use and the other is in case they get a rash. Normally I'm anti-whatever a company rep tries to push, but both balms smelled delicious (rose hips, mmm) and she said they last forever, so I might end up getting them. It seemed like it would help get the meconium off easier.

runningyogimama · February 2014

We hadn't switched to cloth yet, but I didn't think meconium was hard to get off. And we weren't using any kind of diaper cream or Vaseline or anything when she was brand new; it just wasn't needed. Honestly, with cloth, we never really needed a diaper cream of any sort until she started solids and some things would be more irritable coming back out....

ArmyMedic7588 · February 2014

Thanks @TaylorHam86!! BTW, every time I see your name I always chuckle cause I think of DH and I fighting over taylor ham and pork roll and the difference (I'm from PA, we have pork roll, he's from Jersey ...poor him... and calls it taylor ham) Sorry thought you would like to know your name makes me smile some days!

TaylorHam86 · February 2014

ArmyMedic7588 said:
Thanks @TaylorHam86!! BTW, every time I see your name I always chuckle cause I think of DH and I fighting over taylor ham and pork roll and the difference (I'm from PA, we have pork roll, he's from Jersey ...poor him... and calls it taylor ham) Sorry thought you would like to know your name makes me smile some days!

I get it! It's a combination of my maiden name and married name. At my bridal shower, a friend from NJ gave us a package of Taylor ham as a gag gift. Too funny! I'm a southern girl and had never had it, but I had several friends in college who were from up north and raved about it. I didn't realize the name thing until my bridal shower. It works!

ETA: Oh, you're welcome!

limechiffon · February 2014

Late but wanted to join in and say thanks for everyone for sharing their comments. I'm planning to use cloth and so far my husband is fine with it. Oddly my mom thought I was crazy, which was surprising because she re-used everything when we were growing up.

My plan for now is get prefolds and newborn covers to start, and order more as we go. We actually already have the toilet sprayer, my husband put one in after a trip to India last year (all the hotels had "bidet sprays" which I gather is the same thing -- not an actual bidet, just the toilet attachment). He was pleased to find out it would have a 2nd use.

RachelCA29 · February 2014

limechiffon said:

We actually already have the toilet sprayer, my husband put one in after a trip to India last year (all the hotels had "bidet sprays" which I gather is the same thing -- not an actual bidet, just the toilet attachment). He was pleased to find out it would have a 2nd use.

My husband isn't the biggest fan of the sprayer idea ... maybe this could convince him.

ArmyMedic7588 · February 2014

TaylorHam86 said:

Thanks @TaylorHam86!! BTW, every time I see your name I always chuckle cause I think of DH and I fighting over taylor ham and pork roll and the difference (I'm from PA, we have pork roll, he's from Jersey ...poor him... and calls it taylor ham) Sorry thought you would like to know your name makes me smile some days!
I get it! It's a combination of my maiden name and married name. At my bridal shower, a friend from NJ gave us a package of Taylor ham as a gag gift. Too funny! I'm a southern girl and had never had it, but I had several friends in college who were from up north and raved about it. I didn't realize the name thing until my bridal shower. It works! ETA: Oh, you're welcome!

I never heard of it either... and I'm the next state over! haha NJ people are just weird (sorry @talksthewholetime!! and anyone else from NJ haha)

Lild09 · February 2014

Mapleme said:

Lild09 said:

DH has switched to wanting to do CD from his original Eco/organic disposable thought! He likes just how healthy and organic it all is plus the cost savings - woo hoo!

Once we went to a CD store and he saw them and how easy they are to use he got all into it - he's also all into baby wearing and getting a baby hawk ahh I'm one lucky lady!

For NB we are planning on using bummis newborn pack (comes with 2 covers and 12 prefolds...we will probably buy 3 packs and maybe a couple thirsties size one covers for extras). The bummis covers have double gussets and a dip in the front for the umbilical cord.

Then it's on to flips (mostly bc my DH loves them and the cover is easy to wipe if need be!) I'll prob throw in a couple grovia or thirsties too.

When it comes to tide do you ladies use powder? I heard it's better for CDing....

Also anyone try any good organic wipes (like seventh generation, honest company...)?

DH is pushing we do cloth wipes too but I'm stuck on if there will be tons of additional laundry and what solution to use to help clean up extra messy changes.... Also where do you get your cloth wipes from? Is it more economical to make them?

Detergent: Liquid detergent has binding agents (so that it stays a uniform liquid) that can bind to synthetic fibers in the wash. If you're using all natural fibers (like cotton prefolds), that won't matter though and you can use whatever you want. Powder is harder on septic systems too (if that's relevant to you).
Wipes: I'm planning on using cloth wipes because then I won't have to have two separate systems (trash vs wet bag) to deal with at home or out and about. I bought some Osocozy and I've made 2 dozen single layer flannel wipes (just zigzag stitch the edges). Some folks like two layers, usually terry and flannel, but I've gotten the impression that cloth wipes can be just about anything (old tshirt even). I've heard about folks finding great deals on baby wash cloths as well (every time I've looked they've been more expensive than the wipes). Some folks make or buy wipe solutions, but I'm planning on a bottle (peri or spray) of water. If I feel like I need something more, I'll add it, but plain water works on my butt, so I don't feel like overcomplicating it if I don't have to.

ETA: wipes will add a negligible amount of laundry. I doubt you would notice the difference. Just toss the dirties in your wetbag and put everything in the wash together.

So if I'm using organic cotton prefolds/inserts for flips in the future I should be ok with a liquid detergent? What kind of fabric do I need to worry about using a powder instead (aka not natural)....

Washing the wipes along with the prefolds makes sense so I guess it's no big deal to go cloth wipes and maybe just have a small pack of disposables on hand for traveling/shopping if needed.

Do you recommend a certain wet bag over another?

usernewname · February 2014

My MW said coconut oil is even better than vaseline for those first few days! Hip hip hooray!

spacepotatoes · March 2014

We're finally ready to get serious about choosing CDs to supplement our starter kit. The kit will have 24 infant sized prefolds and 6 covers. From reading/videos around the web, it seems like people tend to prefer a 2:1 ratio of prefolds to covers so my thinking was to get at least 6 more covers. I'd also like to mix it up a bit and get a variety of types in there. I'm not sure what the best way to do this would be. My initial thought was to get:

2 pockets - I could use the prefolds with them
2 fitteds, with covers
2 AIOs

And I was thinking of getting those all in the one-size style so that we can continue using them as baby grows. Does this seem practical? Should I get more covers on their own? More of some other type? I'm not sure. Our starter kit only goes up to 15 lbs so my goal was to try a few different styles so that when we're ready to go up in size, we'll know what works best for us and can get mostly that type. That's why I'm hesitant to get too many of any one type right now.

pistolpackinmomma · March 2014

Lild09 said:
DH has switched to wanting to do CD from his original Eco/organic disposable thought! He likes just how healthy and organic it all is plus the cost savings - woo hoo!

Once we went to a CD store and he saw them and how easy they are to use he got all into it - he's also all into baby wearing and getting a baby hawk ahh I'm one lucky lady!

For NB we are planning on using bummis newborn pack (comes with 2 covers and 12 prefolds...we will probably buy 3 packs and maybe a couple thirsties size one covers for extras). The bummis covers have double gussets and a dip in the front for the umbilical cord.

Then it's on to flips (mostly bc my DH loves them and the cover is easy to wipe if need be!) I'll prob throw in a couple grovia or thirsties too.

When it comes to tide do you ladies use powder? I heard it's better for CDing....

Also anyone try any good organic wipes (like seventh generation, honest company...)?

DH is pushing we do cloth wipes too but I'm stuck on if there will be tons of additional laundry and what solution to use to help clean up extra messy changes.... Also where do you get your cloth wipes from? Is it more economical to make them?

I use powder but either will work. I think the powder is supposed to work a little better if you have hard water which we do.

pistolpackinmomma · March 2014

spacepotatoes said:
We're finally ready to get serious about choosing CDs to supplement our starter kit. The kit will have 24 infant sized prefolds and 6 covers. From reading/videos around the web, it seems like people tend to prefer a 2:1 ratio of prefolds to covers so my thinking was to get at least 6 more covers. I'd also like to mix it up a bit and get a variety of types in there. I'm not sure what the best way to do this would be. My initial thought was to get:

2 pockets - I could use the prefolds with them
2 fitteds, with covers
2 AIOs

And I was thinking of getting those all in the one-size style so that we can continue using them as baby grows. Does this seem practical? Should I get more covers on their own? More of some other type? I'm not sure. Our starter kit only goes up to 15 lbs so my goal was to try a few different styles so that when we're ready to go up in size, we'll know what works best for us and can get mostly that type. That's why I'm hesitant to get too many of any one type right now.

I think we had 30 prefolds for our 6 covers. 6 covers were fine for us. One thing I tended to do was to hang up one if it was an extra wet diaper and trade out between 2 covers throughout the day. As long as you are actually wrapping/securing the prefolds around the baby (compared to tri folding them and just laying them in) I didn't have much issue with poop getting on the covers.

pistolpackinmomma · March 2014

So last time we just used sposies for the first 2 weeks waiting for the circ to heal (do not turn this into a circ/non-circ debate) but just curious if anyone used cloth instead and what they used instead of the Vaseline. I figure DH will just want to do the sposies route again, and we might but I like to know my options.

jane8188 · March 2014

pistolpackinmomma said:
So last time we just used sposies for the first 2 weeks waiting for the circ to heal (do not turn this into a circ/non-circ debate) but just curious if anyone used cloth instead and what they used instead of the Vaseline. I figure DH will just want to do the sposies route again, and we might but I like to know my options.

I don't have experience with this, but I have heard unsented cj work very well.

Xath · March 2014

pistolpackinmomma said:

So last time we just used sposies for the first 2 weeks waiting for the circ to heal (do not turn this into a circ/non-circ debate) but just curious if anyone used cloth instead and what they used instead of the Vaseline. I figure DH will just want to do the sposies route again, and we might but I like to know my options.

We did the same thing as you, but I think I read something recently about coconut oil?

spacepotatoes · March 2014

Thanks @pistolpackinmama! Based on your experience, it sounds like my plan should be ok? I don't want to get more prefolds but combined with the fitteds and AIOs, that would bring me up to 28 actual diapers so I think we should be good?

runningyogimama · March 2014

@spacepotatoes‌ At 28, you may still be washing every day and a half at least for the first couple of months...I found my 36 changes absolutely necessary to go every other day for washing in the newborn stage. If you get one size for the AIOs, fitteds, and pockets, those also won't fit for a while. Even if baby is at the minimum weight, newborns have such skinny legs that one size doesn't fit yet, which is why people suggest newborn. I'd grab some more newborn or small prefolds...you can always stuff pockets with them later!

spacepotatoes · March 2014

JmeJme said:

@spacepotatoes‌ At 28, you may still be washing every day and a half at least for the first couple of months...I found my 36 changes absolutely necessary to go every other day for washing in the newborn stage. If you get one size for the AIOs, fitteds, and pockets, those also won't fit for a while. Even if baby is at the minimum weight, newborns have such skinny legs that one size doesn't fit yet, which is why people suggest newborn. I'd grab some more newborn or small prefolds...you can always stuff pockets with them later!

The Bummis kit we're planning on starts at 8 lbs for the infant size (though I know you can't rely just on weight). Right now, we're planning to do disposables for the first couple of weeks until she fits into the CDs.

That's good to know about the laundry situation, thanks! Our goal is to wash every other day. I'll have to give it some more thought, or maybe wait and see how many of the disposables we go through once she's here and then buy some extra prefolds or something locally if we seem to need more.

pistolpackinmomma · March 2014

I used the newborn stash for a few weeks until he hit about 10 lbs.

ecinereb · March 2014

spacepotatoes said:

JmeJme said:

@spacepotatoes‌ At 28, you may still be washing every day and a half at least for the first couple of months...I found my 36 changes absolutely necessary to go every other day for washing in the newborn stage. If you get one size for the AIOs, fitteds, and pockets, those also won't fit for a while. Even if baby is at the minimum weight, newborns have such skinny legs that one size doesn't fit yet, which is why people suggest newborn. I'd grab some more newborn or small prefolds...you can always stuff pockets with them later!

The Bummis kit we're planning on starts at 8 lbs for the infant size (though I know you can't rely just on weight). Right now, we're planning to do disposables for the first couple of weeks until she fits into the CDs.

That's good to know about the laundry situation, thanks! Our goal is to wash every other day. I'll have to give it some more thought, or maybe wait and see how many of the disposables we go through once she's here and then buy some extra prefolds or something locally if we seem to need more.

I have the same kit plus some NB fitteds. I took a CD class from our local store and they said the Infant Bummis will fit NB you just have to fold them down and then they are a bit bulkier, she recommended the Infant over the NB because most babies won't ever fit or will outgrown the NB ones really fast.
We have the same plan to get a few to try and then decide what works.

ecinereb · March 2014

pistolpackinmomma said:

So last time we just used sposies for the first 2 weeks waiting for the circ to heal (do not turn this into a circ/non-circ debate) but just curious if anyone used cloth instead and what they used instead of the Vaseline. I figure DH will just want to do the sposies route again, and we might but I like to know my options.

I've been told you can just use liners (washable or disposable) to keep the vaseline off the actual diaper.

SunnySky06 · March 2014

So happy I found this thread! We just finished building our newborn stash, we are going to do prefolds. I can tell now it will be a problem, I'll end up buying more covers just because they are so cute!

tjkdlhb · March 2014

ecinereb said:

spacepotatoes said:

JmeJme said:

@spacepotatoes‌ At 28, you may still be washing every day and a half at least for the first couple of months...I found my 36 changes absolutely necessary to go every other day for washing in the newborn stage. If you get one size for the AIOs, fitteds, and pockets, those also won't fit for a while. Even if baby is at the minimum weight, newborns have such skinny legs that one size doesn't fit yet, which is why people suggest newborn. I'd grab some more newborn or small prefolds...you can always stuff pockets with them later!

The Bummis kit we're planning on starts at 8 lbs for the infant size (though I know you can't rely just on weight). Right now, we're planning to do disposables for the first couple of weeks until she fits into the CDs.

That's good to know about the laundry situation, thanks! Our goal is to wash every other day. I'll have to give it some more thought, or maybe wait and see how many of the disposables we go through once she's here and then buy some extra prefolds or something locally if we seem to need more.

I have the same kit plus some NB fitteds. I took a CD class from our local store and they said the Infant Bummis will fit NB you just have to fold them down and then they are a bit bulkier, she recommended the Infant over the NB because most babies won't ever fit or will outgrown the NB ones really fast.
We have the same plan to get a few to try and then decide what works.

I had the Bummis NB kit and was really happy I did... but ONLY because DD ended up being preemie sized. If she was any bigger it would have been absolutely useless. She soaked through it by about 7 lbs. It really is more of a preemie kit than a NB kit.

elizabethb3 · March 2014

I'm never on TB anymore, so I'm super late to this thread...but yes, we will be CDing and I'm a FTM so it's all new to me. I've already learned so much from the ladies on this board. We're planning on doing mostly prefolds, some fitteds, and covers. I'm frantically trying to sew my own stash of covers and fitteds. Long live cloth!

Dellaramsey · March 2014

Slightly off topic but, I will NOT be CDing. We are potty training DD and we just had poop in her training pants. I just wanted to say "God bless all y'all for taking on this challenge/adventure". Y'all have my utmost respect!

tjkdlhb · March 2014

Dellaramsey said:

Slightly off topic but, I will NOT be CDing. We are potty training DD and we just had poop in her training pants. I just wanted to say "God bless all y'all for taking on this challenge/adventure". Y'all have my utmost respect!

I used both CDs and disposables for the first 2-3 months.

I'm still using CDs... Can't say the same for the disposables. They were way too messy.

Cloth and disposables are comparable to real plates and paper ones. Cloth diapers are much better quality and that elastic can hold pretty much anything in.

jackiemary · March 2014

We are planning on doing cloth diapering. Can't wait to read through the thread. Also, many many helpful videos on YouTube and many good blogs.

Xath · March 2014

kitchencolors said:

tjkdlhb said:

Dellaramsey said:

Slightly off topic but, I will NOT be CDing. We are potty training DD and we just had poop in her training pants. I just wanted to say "God bless all y'all for taking on this challenge/adventure". Y'all have my utmost respect!

I used both CDs and disposables for the first 2-3 months.

I'm still using CDs... Can't say the same for the disposables. They were way too messy.

Cloth and disposables are comparable to real plates and paper ones. Cloth diapers are much better quality and that elastic can hold pretty much anything in.

Seriously about the mess. We've only had blowouts in disposables. Any poop leaks in cloth were user error, and were significantly milder. I like that the poop stays on the diaper. Cloth diapers actually have elastic in the back, so the poop doesn't just go up and out the back. It's awesome.

And the smell. Poop smells so much worse in a disposable.

RachelCA29 · March 2014

I'm all about bumping threads this week ...

So I just did my last big "pre-baby" cloth diaper order to complete my newborn stash before Colin arrives. I waited until after my baby shower so I could get the registry completion discount that the website I am using for my cloth diaper stuff offers. So now it's time for a stash review ... what am I missing?

- 24 GMD prefolds - newborn size (bought used)

- 10 flannel flats

- 6 birds flats (Imagine brand)

- 3 pinless fitted diapers - size small 6-12 lbs (Dappi brand)

**I can't order workhorses from GMD without paying crazy duty and shipping costs, so these were the closest thing I could get for a similar price

= 43 changes

- 6 diapers covers (2 Sweet Pea newborn size, 1 Thirsties Duo size 1, 1 Bummis Super Bright newborn size, 2 Rumparooz newborn size)

Accessories:

- 3 small/medium wetbags (1 Kushies, 1 Sweet Pea, 1 bumkins)

- 2 pail liners (Kissaluv brand)

- Angle Baby bottom balm

- 2 Snappis

- 1 pack of Boingos (my husband thought these looked "easier" than Snappis)

- 3 newborn size "quick absorber" hemp liners (Geffen Baby brand)

- 36 cloth wipes (24 Bumkins, 12 Kushies)

Am I missing anything for newborn stage? I wanted to get some Kawaii P & N's for easy changes for my husband, but with the Canadian dollar the way it is right now, combined with shipping, $7 diapers would turn into $12 diapers pretty quickly, and I already have 36+ changes ... I'm kind of sad about it, I wanted to try them out.

Thanks ladies!!

spacepotatoes · March 2014

@RachelCA29 I'd just get some more covers.

tjkdlhb · March 2014

Ditto getting more covers.

The Bummis NB superbrite is really small. It ended up being great for my 5 lb baby... but wouldn't be so good for a 8 lb baby.

RachelCA29 · March 2014

tjkdlhb said:

Ditto getting more covers.

The Bummis NB superbrite is really small. It ended up being great for my 5 lb baby... but wouldn't be so good for a 8 lb baby.

I'm kind of worried about that, the newborn stuff being too small, or not lasting very long. But there is always re-selling!

Do you think 8 covers will be enough? I thought 4-6 was idea, but maybe that's ideal for post-newborn phase?

tjkdlhb · March 2014

RachelCA29 said:

tjkdlhb said:

Ditto getting more covers.

The Bummis NB superbrite is really small. It ended up being great for my 5 lb baby... but wouldn't be so good for a 8 lb baby.

I'm kind of worried about that, the newborn stuff being too small, or not lasting very long. But there is always re-selling!

Do you think 8 covers will be enough? I thought 4-6 was idea, but maybe that's ideal for post-newborn phase?

The Bummis NB is more of a "preemie" than a newborn. The others you listed are bigger.

I think I have around 8 NB covers. I have 6 of the OS covers and use all of them when we use prefolds.

RachelCA29 · April 2014

CD questions seem to be popping up this week. Thought I would bump this to the first page for all the CD ladies.

RachelCA29 · April 2014

I actually have a cloth diaper question to rebump this thread ....

I know lots of people have been asking about prepping, but I feel like I've heard a mix of answers on this.

So I have some inserts to prep. 22 bamboo inserts for pocket diapers(I'm pretty sure they are bamboo rayon) and 3 hemp/cotton blend quick-dry inserts. The hemp/cotton inserts say to wash 3 times to strip the natural oils. I also have 6 birdseye cotton flats and 10 flannel cotton flats to prep.

Questions:

1. What can I wash together?

2. Do I have to separate the bamboo rayon from the others?

3. Could I wash the flats and hemp/cotton inserts together?

4. Do I need to wash the flats more than once to have them prepped fully?

I also have pocket shells to prep (the shells that go with the bamboo inserts). I've heard just one wash is fine for those, especially since they are non-natural fibers. Could I wash them with the bamboo rayon?

Thanks all!

ThereBeDragons · April 2014

I'll throw my recent worry in since this got bumped.

Everyone on the CD board seems to know some secret about free and clear detergents making diapers stinky. I'm allergic to tide (and its bad enough I'm not even willing to try their subcategories of detergent) and very gun shy about trying new detergents for fear of another full body eczema break out for me. Obviously I have to be able to hold and handle the diapers... So if free and clear is out and tide is out- what should I be looking for?

Or should I just keep going with my original plan of washing everything from adult to baby to dipes in All Free and Clear since I know it works with my skin?

ecinereb · April 2014

I'll also ask my question here as this thread got bumped. Also sort of a prepping question but I bought a lot of used diapers, if you did this what's the best wash routine to sterilize them? I've heard goods and bads about bleaching them?
If you bleach what does your routine look like?

Want a personalized experience?

Lets have a cloth diapering roll call

Re: Lets have a cloth diapering roll call

Choose Another Board

Search Boards