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January 2016 Moms
MollyA1011
member
Thoughts on cloth diapering?
MollyA1011
member
So this is my first child and I have heard a lot about cloth diapering and its benefits. I know it is a lot cheaper, more environment friendly, and supposed to be better for the baby due to the lack of chemicals in the diapers in which most every other country has been banned. It all sounds wonderful but it also sounds tricky? Just wondering if any other moms out there have cloth diapered before?? If so, thoughts/suggestions?
Re: Thoughts on cloth diapering?
Cottonbabies.com is where we got all of our diapers and covers from, and they have a great "101" section that teaches all about them.
Personally, I wanted the simplest things to deal with (there are a ton of brands and systems out there), so we just went with prefolds, snappis, and one-size expandable covers. They fit her from newborn to potty trained, although we did have to get bigger prefolds as she grew.
Good luck!
If your baby is breastfed, the poop is water soluble and can go directly in the wash. (I'm not sure about formula-fed poo...) Once food is introduced, the poopy diapers need to be rinsed. We bought a spray that attaches to our toilet and if we're lucky, the poop just plops right out of the diaper into the toilet without much mess. As for the dirty diapers when I'm out, I have a wet bag to put my diapers in. Keeps the wetness and smell in. I've never used disposables when out. Even not while on mini vacations (a few days)!
I have 24 diapers. That is enough to get me through 2-3 days now. You don't really want to go more than 3 days without washing. 2 is optimal. I use the bumGenius 4.0 with snaps. I have been noticing just recently that the elastic on the thighs are a little stretched out. It can be a little tricky to get the fit just right and like a PP said, your wash routine will be tricky at first and you will try many things until something works for you!
But in all honesty, I love CD! Like everything else, it becomes a part of your routine.
Sorry for the long winded answer. Hope it helps!
Oh and the bumGenius diapers that are not AIOs, you can use the shell (without the liner) as a swim diaper! Bonus!
DD 12/20/99, DS 12/14/12, M/C 9/2014, M/C 1/2015
You don't have to rinse the poo out once baby starts on solids; we used a scraper to clean DD's out. For the most part it worked pretty well, especially after her poos started getting more solid. But they do need to be cleaned out once they're no longer exclusively breastfed.
Eta we waited until DD had passed all the meconium before we used the CDs. Before that we used the pack of disposables the hospital gave us.
Poopies have been answered above.
When they're newborn and depending on how many you have, you may sometimes have to do daily washings. Newborns use 12-16 diapers/day.
Use a diaper pail or wet bag to contain odors.
You can use a wet bag for day trips out to catch your dirty diapers/wipes.
BFP #2 - EDD 1/25/16
Exclusively breastfed poop is water soluble. Formula fed or solids-fed needs to be sprayed or scraped. I just save them up in a wetbag till the end of the day and spray them and toss them in an open pail after my son goes to sleep.
Wash the diapers every couple to 3 days. The wash routine can be a little tricky at first, but once you find a routine that works for you, you're golden.
I'd definitely consider it, especially if you're considering having future children. You save $ with one child in cloth. Subsequent children in cloth equals even more savings.
I have lots of different brands and styles. I'm also a very busy working mom whose child is in daycare full time. The all in ones are the most expensive, but the easiest. All in twos and pockets are middle of the line for price and don't require a ton of extra work. Just a little more time to fold. Covers and prefolds/flats/inserts are the cheapest but are hardest for daycare. I used them a lot when I was home on maternity leave and I still use them for overnights because you can stuff those suckers like crazy for extra absorbency.
My all time favorite brands are
Tots Bots
Bumgenius
Grovia
Rock-A-Bums
With a newborn I would do a load every other day but now at 2 I can get by with every 3 or 4 days. Most of the time I add in my kitchen towels and rags and sometimes will add in bath towels if I need a bigger load.
So I don't feel like it's that much more laundry.
Also not sure if cloth wipes were mentioned but I LOVE cloth wipes. I sewed 3 or 4 dozen 2 years ago and still holding strong. Just flannel and some with terry cloth. I can use 2 or 3 cloth wipes on a big poopy diaper as opposed to 5 or more regular wipes. I feel like the savings alone for wipes as been worth it.
One of fav thing about cloth is the resale value. I've bought almost all my diapers used or on sale and will resell them when finished.
Last baby we thought we were done so I sold my newborn diapers for almost what I paid for them. So I essentially diapered my newborn for close to nothing!
I have to hand wash all my clothes and will be doing the same with the cloth diapers. I have hired someone to do this as it is impossible to get it all done myself and will be double impossible once babies are here.
But care wise what problems could you see by hand washing? For example @ChipMonster do you think ammonia build up would be a problem? Also the water won't be super hot for hand washing but would you think we would have to do a hot water soak first and then hand wash?
I have never done this but it's really my only option as I can occasionally find disposables locally but it's not constantly available and also mega expensive. I'm actually a little nervous about it being gross to deal with!
I'm also thinking about humidity.. Any one else live somewhere humid .. Do you think it will add to the stink?
Also how many would you think I would need? I will have a new born but also 4 months later bring home an 18 month old toddler through adoption.. So how many per child? Would you buy extra because of the hand washing because it might be every two days washing and then need to dry! Sorry for so many questions but would love some advice so I can better plan ahead!
I can't answer all the questions but with washing without a machine, I have read that the diapers can be boiled in a pot of water on the stove to disinfect them. I'd probably do a cold rinse first to try to remove as much of the waste from them as possible, then a warm soap wash, then boil and hang dry.
A good diaper pail should hold in the odors from diapers collected in it. You just want to be sure it is dried out completely before putting more in. We had an issue with condensation build-up in our pail during the summer months.
I would think for a newborn, you'll want around 40 diapers. That'll give you a couple days between washings (using the estimate that newborns use 12-16 diapers each day).
When DD was 18 mos we had started potty training so she was only using 4-6 diapers per day. Any idea whether your 18 mo old has had any toilet training at all? If none, the. Probably plan on 8-10/day, so a good stash there would be about 30.
Plus covers for them, we had 7 or 8 for DD. we used the Flip brand one size expandable covers. They get washed the same as diapers but hang dry only.
BFP #2 - EDD 1/25/16
Also, I have 24 diapers with a newborn and that was ok for a wash every other day. I will also have a 21 month old by the time LO is born so I may have to invest in a few more diapers, still not sure.