Opinions on cloth diapering please!

kamroberts · April 2016

Hello ladies!
My DH & I are really interested in cloth diapering. I love many things about cloth diapering: baby's comfort, the environmental component, the cost, and the lack of unknown chemicals in the cloth diapers. My DH found a service that will come pick up and clean the dirty diapers. I wouldn't mind trying to wash the diapers myself but my DH thinks that it would be too much combined with new mommy duties. What do you ladies think? Do you have any experience with cloth diapering? Are you thinking about cloth diapering too?
Thank you!

moquat · April 2016

I have not used cloth diapers but my parents did for us and probably single-handedly kept their diaper service afloat since they had three in diapers at once! I say go for the diaper service if you can. Do you really want to scrape baby poop out of a diaper once they're onto solid foods? Especially if you don't have to convince your husband.

lovelybabybumpz · April 2016

I haven't browsed extensively but there is a clothe diapering board over at te specialty forums section!

lovelybabybumpz · April 2016

That is mainly to say...I don't have any experience and don't know

kmtz89 · April 2016

We cloth diaper almost exclusively at the baby home where I work. Except for the tiny preemies and if any of the children are having diarrhea (we cant keep up/dont have enough nappies) or severe nappy rash.

Of course we have people on staff whose main job is laundry but also the lead nannies for each group are in charge of at least scraping the poop out. I've changed thousands and thousands of these nappies and overall I'm a fan. You will have to decide which style/brand works best for you. Our staff swears by bum genies or the like (with added inserts), mostly all in one type that feel a bit plastic-y on the outside. We also have a bunch of "hippy buttomus" which were carried over from Australia that work really well. With around 35 kids in nappies we can't be having leaks all the time.

We have had a small problem with the dryer melting the snaps but that is most likely due to the irregularities in electricity voltage and probably a Tanzania only issue... hah

mrskratt · April 2016

I still cloth diaper (well, incurrent my potty training my 2 year old).
I didn't start until my daughter was 4ish months. Newborns poop A LOT. I didn't want to deal with washing them, even though BF poop you can pretty much just throw in the washer. But if you could get a service, that would be great. And maybe a nice intro to it.
However, I love CDing! Love it. My husband was skeptical at first, but he loves it too. DD has never had a diaper rash. I actually don't mind the laundry, it's actually my favorite laundry (as silly as that sounds). Plus, fluff butt is adorable.
I'll be CDing with this one, after the newborn stage.

PeggyOlsonFTW · April 2016

I cloth diapered. I loved it. We started when DS was 6 months, but I plan to start with this one as soon as we're home from the hospital. IMHO, a diaper service is unnecessary. Cleaning diapers isn't that hard. Check out www.fluffloveuniversity.com They have detergent recommendations and a washing machine index where you can search for yours and see what the best routine for your washer is.

kmvisioli · April 2016

I did CD for a little while with DS, and couldn't stay on top of the laundry. I would wash them all, but then DS would be in disposables for a couple days while I waited for them to line dry...but that could also just be because I didn't have a big enough supply to really exclusively CD. They aren't that bad to wash yourself, though I would suggest disposables for the early (meconium) poop.

ScootsMcG · April 2016

We cloth diapered with our first and not with the second. We started a couple weeks after we brought our oldest home. We mostly used fuzzy bunnies brand. I thought it was pretty easy the first six months. The newborn poop isn't bad to scrape off and it didn't seem like too much extra work to wash the diapers. We purchased enough so that I only had to wash them two or three times a week. We also used disposables when we were going out for more than an hour or so. When the solid food started, I still didn't mind scraping, but I couldn't stand to have the dirty diapers sitting around. We had a couple washable bags we stored the dirty diapers in, but as you can imagine letting them sit around for even a day got pretty stinky. So, then the laundry got to be a little more work. Plus, we had purchased the one-size-fits all size and my 97 percentile son grew out of them long before we was potty trained and I didn't want to invest in the larger cloth diapers, so we eventually went to all disposable.

With our second we talked about using the diapers at least for the first six months, since we already had them and using them for the second kid would make them even more cost effective. However, all the sudden the baby arrived and it seemed like way to much work to even take them out of storage. Six months later I abandoned all hope and gave the diapers to my sister. I work and my husband stays home with the kids and I think if I'd been the one home I would have given them a try, but my husband wasn't very excited about them and I wasn't going to make him use them if he didn't want to.

So, number three is definitely getting disposables. I still like cloth diapers and they really aren't that much work in theory, but sometimes after baby everything seems like too much work:). We didn't use a diaper service, but I don't think it would have made a difference with our cloth diapering success.

maysmiles · April 2016

I did cloth diapers with DS from 10 weeks until about a year. We couldnt start right away because we used a one size fits all brand (Flip), which we loved, but he was too small to wear them in the beginning. I washed them myself and it really wasnt a big deal. I was doing a ton of laundry anyway, it really didnt add much stress. We stopped using them when it because more difficult to change him because he was more mobile. Fighting with him to get the snaps on so it wouldnt leak was a battle we just chose not to pick. I will be trying cloth again with baby #2, even for the 10 months we used them, Im positive we got our money's worth and saved a bunch of money .................and a ton of diapers that didnt go in the landfill.

ammiddleton3 · April 2016

We cloth diapered the first and will this one as well! I don't think a diaper service would be as cost effective as doing it yourself. In the beginning it is painfully easy to wash. At least I thought it was! The only issues I started running into at about 2 was keeping up with absorbency. I never had that issue before then. My son went through a phase of drinking all day non stop and soaking everything I put on him! I can't wait to start cloth for the newest little one! It's really not nearly as bad as everybody thinks they are! Definitely do your research on the different types and find what works for you!

coffee89 · April 2016

I did it for a little while and it was okay. The laundry was simple once I had a good laundry routine down and stuffing them (pockets for us) was easy to do while watching TV before bed. We did China cheepies but they worked great. We had issues with my son not being proportional and pants weren't accommodating to CD (and I despise any of those maniloons or pants with a circle cut out of the but to make them bigger) and he had horrible allergy poops and we never went back.

We had a good wet bag, rinsed poop immediately, had a travel wet bag and washed every 5 to 7 days. There was no smell compared to disposables, and aside from the laundry learning curve it was super simple. We did use disposable over night, when out for a full day instead of just a few changes, and when he was staying with someone else.

I've been thinking about using cloth for this one in the beginning, but I would probably just invest in some covers and flour sack towls to supplement our pockets if we keep it up. It all depends on of this one follows it's brothers stomach issues or not because scraping bloody acid poop while holding a screaming kid was no fun.

kateleap · April 2016

I'm also really intrigued by cloth diapering (FTM here). One of my friends on the other side of the country is a cloth diapering master--I happened to email her this past weekend for advice, and this is what she sent (some useful links/resources and tips on what to buy for different phases). I found the video super helpful as someone who had no real clue about the process!

[From my friend]
If you haven't seen this already start here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVo6SMebcX8 it's old, but a really good series. It breaks everything down and sort of demystifies cloth diapers. There's different types, prefolds, flats, pockets, all in ones, all in 2's, fitteds, and covers. With Carter I used prefolds and covers (sort of old school) until he was big enough for the one size pockets (one size is 8-30 lbs usually). I used cheap $5 alva and sunbaby pockets for him. With Lovie I do mostly all in ones and some of Carter's old pockets. For her my favorite brand is blueberry simplex because they're as trim as disposables.

They sit in a garbage can like this https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/simplehuman-plastic-semi-round-50-liter-step-on-trash-can/3250471?skuId=17096702&mcid=PS_googlepla_nonbrand_cleaning_&adpos=1o8&creative=43742632789&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CjwKEAjw_oK4BRDym-SDq-aczicSJAC7UVRtV5aAobRtGjW5zVS7TwePedcqRP22OYiKtE8uq4XFGxoCnI7w_wcB in a pail liner like this https://www.kellyscloset.com/Planet-Wise-Diaper-Pail-Liner_p_3437.html until laundry day. Laundry isn't so bad, I just toss everything in the wash through one rinse first then a wash with some tide, then an extra rinse...I do laundry everything 3 or 4 days.

Newborns go through about 12 diapers a day, older babies go through 6. It's good to have enough to do laundry every other day at first. Once you get a system going it's pretty easy. We've never used disposables except for the ones they give you in the hospital so when people say cloth diapers are so hard I really have nothing to compare it to lol.

Oh and at night I use a hemp or bamboo fitted, an extra soaker (an extra layer of hemp or bamboo) with a cover. Nights are the hardest to figure out because it's like 12 hours of pee it has to contain so some people use cloth during the day and disposables at night. Hemp is the most absorbent but slowest to absorb followed by bamboo followed by cotton which is the fastest to absorb. This is another good resource https://www.kellyscloset.com/Cloth-Diaper-Information_ep_34-1.html

alygator11687 · April 2016

We CD. I thought it would be disgusting but poop is going in your washer regardless (blowouts = very messy onesies) so once I got over that thought it wasn't bad.

We started CDing when DS was about a week old. He had an irritation from the one sposies brand and his legs were too scrawny for the others so we started earlier than we had planned. We wash every 3 days and haven't had any major issues. Now that he's on solids, spraying poop is pretty gross but we have a sprayer attached to the toilet and use a spray pal and it's not bad at all. We mostly use Cotton Babies Flips diapers which also has disposable inserts. We have to use sposies at daycare but he's in CDs at home.

We've CDed on vacation... It hasn't affected our life much.

sheviolentlyknits · April 2016

I CDed both of mine, though I admit I slacked a bit more with the second baby and used the disposables quite a bit too.

The first couple weeks it is a lot to add to the mix to cloth diaper, but it can be done. Definitely wait til after the meconium stage unless you want them all stained black.

My favorites are the plain old trifolds covered with a one-size waterproof cover. Fewest leaks for my skinny-legged babes that way.

von1976 · April 2016

We plan to cloth diaper. Some of our friends/co-workers have been very down on it, which irritates me to no end because they have either not tried it, or tried it for just a few weeks. I'm sorry, but there's a lot of different diapering systems out there and maybe they just didn't find the one that worked for them and their babies. To say that it won't work and that we'll fail at it because they did is stupid and really obnoxious. But I digress.

Hubby isn't totally on board, so I plan to get at least a dozen pockets for him to use, plus 8 diaper covers and 2 dozen prefolds for me. I also have a dozen bamboo doublers on our registry for overnight use. I'm planning on using Rumparooz because they have a double gusset to help hold in messes, they're one size, and they fit babies at 6lbs--so I hope they'll work right when we come home from the hospital.

Our plan is to wash every 2-3 days. We'll dry the inserts and prefolds in the dryer, but put the covers on the drying rack to make them last longer.

Unfortunately the cloth diapering forums on TB are not really active. I guess some of the regs left.

jillianpardo · April 2016

I really wanted to cd full time but didn't. I bought a huge stash which I still have and can't seem to get rid of. We were doing EC and the osocozy flats with snappis were perfect for that. I used receiving blankets a bunch too. I preferred those over my hemp inserts and thirsties duo covers because they would dry very quickly. You aren't supposed to dry your covers because it breaks down the waterproof seal. I didn't find the washing to that big of a deal but the drying was annoying. If we could have hung them outside for bleaching/drying I would have been much happier. We picked up some fuzzybuns pockets and I preferred those over my thirsties duos. The nice thing about not having pockets is you can reuse the cover. We had 6 covers and loads of prefolds and inserts. If the inside of the cover was a bit damp I would just wipe it and use a new insert. I never figured out cd at night even with two soakers but I didn't try different materials. Fluff university is a good place to check out. Many cd advocates (manufacturers too) recommend products that don't actually clean your diapers. You really have to use detergents otherwise you start to have issues with stink, diaper rash. I would grab a couple of different brands/types and figure out which you like best for your baby. Used diapers are definitely OK to get and Fluff university has great instructions on how to strip them and get them fully sanitized. If you can opt for a diaper service it would be nice in the beginning. I agree with using sposies in the very early stages with meconium and little newborn baby legs that might not fill out the gussets.

I'm going to give cd another try with this baby along with ec and try to skip sposies. I'm not putting any pressure on myself though. Cd still uses up precious resources and while they don't end up in the dump there are better options if you are looking for something extremely eco friendly.

lmno304 · April 2016

My sister has been CDing since birth with her son. I asked her advice and she said don't worry about it for the first 6 months. The baby is so little and they go through so many diapers it isn't worth it. She said start at 3-6 months anf she prefers the bum genius all in ones. She has 16 in her stash, and does laundry every day (she's a sahm) so that's 8/day which is really more than she needs at this point. She has a little sprayer hose attatched to her toilet and you just spray down the poop into the toilet before washing it. Its almost unnecessary at this point because once he was eating solids the poop just plops right off the diaper without having to touch it. Butshe says line drying is a must, so account for that in your laundry routine.

kamroberts · April 2016

Oh my goodness! I love all of your wonderful responses and I am so excited to try Cloth Diapering. I have been getting some negative opinions from my friends (mainly because of the washing factor) but all of you ladies have such great advice and I am excited to try. There are so many decisions that go into CD. Do I go the pre fold/cover route? All-in-ones? Pockets? So many options! I am excited to do some more research. I might just purchase a couple of each kind and see what works best for my little babe.
Thank you ladies again! I'm excited to interact with you all(:

lmno304 · April 2016

Prefolds are better as burp cloths! They're easier to find but i don't think they're worth the work. AIOs and pockets. Pockets tend to get a little bulky and make for silly walks, but are good for overnights, because you can double up on inserts. Make part of your nightly routine getting them all down from the line and folding them up, ready to use for the next day. My sister has 2 bins with everything ready to go, one in the baby room and ine in the living room. Also, wet bags everywhere. Bathroom, nursery, living room... make it as convenient as possible for yourswlf!

barblovesryan · April 2016

I'm a FTM. My parents used CDs on all my siblings and I and I want to do the same for my child. I finally got DH on board which took several months! I mention it to MIL a couple weeks ago when we were at a friends baby shower and she gave me the most disapproving look I have ever received from her and told me that my baby would have diaper rashes all the time. Her response was so unexpected and the only thing I could think to say in the moment was that if you keep the baby changed all the time there won't be as many rashes. I don't remember my youngest siblings ever having constant diaper rashes and I was old enough to change alot of diapers with my youngest sister. What do you experienced moms think?

von1976 · April 2016

barblovesryan said:

I'm a FTM. My parents used CDs on all my siblings and I and I want to do the same for my child. I finally got DH on board which took several months! I mention it to MIL a couple weeks ago when we were at a friends baby shower and she gave me the most disapproving look I have ever received from her and told me that my baby would have diaper rashes all the time. Her response was so unexpected and the only thing I could think to say in the moment was that if you keep the baby changed all the time there won't be as many rashes. I don't remember my youngest siblings ever having constant diaper rashes and I was old enough to change alot of diapers with my youngest sister. What do you experienced moms think?

I have heard that diaper rashes are more common with disposables. I'm a FTM and don't have experience with it yet, but I've done some pretty extensive research.

lmno304 · April 2016

My experience is that diaper rashes are more common with disposables! The problem with CD and diaper rashes is that it's a little harder to keep under control. You keep them in disposables (or naked!) for a few days to let the rash air out and to give yourself time to really get the diapers thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. If you keep them in cloth while they have thrush or the like it just spreads to the other diapers and is next to impossible to get rid of. But there are specific diaper creams to use to keep your stash in great condition. You can't just use desitin or dr smiths. This is also why you should be careful buying secondhand CD, but really, don't discount craigslist to build your stash! Also keep resale in mind fir once your baby is out of diapers!

jillianpardo · April 2016

My girls got diaper rash in sposies as often as they did in cd. Irritants in urine are bothersome to little bums (not the only cause of dr). If cd aren't properly cleaned babe will experience irritation. Leaving baby in a soiled diaper for long periods of time is going to cause issues too.

PeggyOlsonFTW · April 2016

You'll get rashes in cloth if your diapers are not washed properly. Ammonia can build up in the diaper and cause some nasty problems. A good wash routine is key.

vcabbyw · April 2016

I CDed my daughter for approximately the first year of life. You've gotten some excellent advice so far!

My suggestion for anyone considering it, don't worry so much about what system or what brand you want. Find a source of used diapers, and experiment. Some Sites even have diaper trials. I found a lady off Craigslist listing her stash. I was able to go look and play with all of hers, ask questions, etc. You can drive yourself crazy looking online. In the end, I bought all my newborn stash, plus random brands to try when she was older.

I had found that I much preferred prefolds over pockets until she was crawling. Then I switched over. And the best part is that the used market for cloth diapers is SO good, you can easily sell if you decide it isn't going to work.

It is extra work for sure to laundry them, but the benefits to me outweighed the extra work. I wanted to be able to control what they were washed in, what type, etc. An extra load of laundry every 2/3 days wasn't a big deal since I was home.

greenlia · April 2016

I've cloth diapered both my kids so far and I love it. You're never out of diapers! And diaper laundry is the easiest laundry since it's just a bunch of the same things and you barely have to fold. Tiny baby clothing laundry (socks, ugh) is annoying. You do have to wash the dipes twice each time (once to rinse poop and pee away, once to actually wash them with detergent). You don't have to treat them like gold - I use Tide for everything and bleach or Oxiclean if they seem like they need it during the less sunny parts of the year. I use Bumgenius Elementals since natural fibers last longer, leak less, and are easier to clean, but there are many good options. Plus they're so cute! I say do it.

jillianpardo · April 2016

Yes, they are so cute! ! Cd addicts. It's a real thing.

duckmay · April 2016

I have to say, I've been really lax with my cloth diapers -- I wash them in whatever detergent I've got, don't do anything to compensate for our insanely hard water, and occasionally use rash cream -- and I've never had any problems with stink or repelling, not in almost 2 years.

WildMama · April 2016

We are looking into a company called Earth Babies that makes compostable diapers and even composts them for you. They've got all the convenience of disposable diapers and all the environmental benefits of cloth. Bonus!

ByeBabyBunting · April 2016

I did cloth with my first and the best advice I have is find a store near you. Most of them do trade in and you can get advice and try different ones. I also found that what worked one day didn't work the next so I was trying new ones regularly. I have a great stash for this baby and I'm excited to buy a few of the new ones on the market. I wish I had a better washer and I'm actually thinking of investing in one considering the savings on disposables

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Opinions on cloth diapering please!

Re: Opinions on cloth diapering please!

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