Cloth diapering

carrieandr · April 2016

I started a post so @bgf1 can tell us her advice on cloth diapering.

So far I'm thinking of buying a GroVIA Hybrid, a BumGenius Freestyle and an Alva Baby AI2 color snap and trying them all before I stock up. I was going to get a diaper sprayer too, but I think I'll wait until I try the diapers. And I've read that while you're just nursing the diapers are easier to clean.

rspalding001 · April 2016

Its true that while you breastfeed baby poop is not bad. And to be totally honest it does not even smell bad, sweet even. But it can be weird colors, mostly yellow and orange which can be hard to get out of a white diaper. laying them in the sun to dry after a wash can help a lot since the sun will bleach the diaper. I only ever used prefolds with covers but I really liked using them.

alitria · April 2016

@CarrieandRoy I'm not who you asked for advice, but I did cloth last time and I'll be doing them again with this baby.

I tried hybrids and pockets and ended up preferring pockets because they were easier to customize, but plenty of people swear they love hybrids and hate to stuff pockets. Mostly I was going to say I tried a million brands with baby #1 and ended up using mostly Alva, JC trade and Sunbaby. As far as quality, I found my alva to be just as good as the other ones and for a way, way smaller price. I loved that buying the cheaper brands meant I could afford to buy enough that I stuffed a bag for a week of daycare at a time and took it in every Monday. I picked up the dirty diapers each day and took home the empty bag to re-stuff on Friday. I washed during the week but didn't have to worry about packing new ones each night.

I also picked up some AIO to try this time that have a pocket when I can add a layer of absorbency as he gets older if necessary. If you have questions, I'm happy to try to answer.

carrieandr · April 2016

Thanks @alitria! @bgf1 had mentioned in another post that we should do a cloth diapering post, but she was having technical difficulties and couldn't start one herself. I'd love advice from anyone that can give it.

I wish I could have my baby for a day so I could see what diapers and carriers work best with her. That way I'd be all set when she's born!

alitria · April 2016

I have way, way too many diapers of all types. I bought some to experiment, some were gifts, some were hand me downs. I have everything from fancy new hybrid and AIO to flats and wool covers. I've liked different things at different stages or for different reasons. Have you looked at one of the trial packages where you get a few different types of diapers and you can see what works best on your baby and send back what don't like? I ended up ordering most of my stash through facebook co-ops which is why I have tons of diapers, because the prices were so cheap it was easy to experiement. The trade off is that you have to wait a little longer, but that was ok for me. I have an order in now for some newborn AIO diapers from Happy Flute (a brand I previously used for pockets that's been highly recommended) and they run about $5 each. The extra bonus is the groups come with lots of helpful people who will recommend brands, styles, etc. and make suggestions about what to order if you ask.

carrieandr · April 2016

Thanks @Alitria. I'm looking into trials and facebook groups. (It all makes my head spin a little.)

jilligan14 · April 2016

I just scored a bundle of 10 bumgenius 4.0 diapers on eBay for a good price! I've used this kind before when I've babysat other kids and really like it, although the lining isn't as natural as I would like but the kids I used them with never had rashes and the such, plus they are sooooo easy to use and clean. On top of this, my friend gave me 4 more bumgenius diapers and my mom bought 10 diapers second-hand (2 comfy bebe, 3 real nappy covers, 5 Grovia AIO). So I currently have 24 cloth diapers. How many do you think I need in total? I was going to register for one of the Grovia Hybrid packages but don't know if I should register for 2, 3, or 6 (those are the package sizes). I really like that Grovia has an organic cotton insert and want to include them in the mix but don't want to go overboard with the diapers.

Also, has anyone tried using cloth wipes? I like the idea of them but have no experience using them.

carrieandr · April 2016

I've read that you should have 24-36 cloth diapers, depending on whether you want to wash them every two days or three days. I'm just going to have a few different kinds to try out and then stock up once I know what works for me and the baby.

I'm reluctant to try cloth wipes. Cloth diapering is already a big leap for me. I'd hose the baby from across the room if I could.

BernieRae · April 2016

You might be surprised, @CarrieandRoy. I've never used cloth wipes, but I've changed many messy diapers and cleaned bottoms with disposable wipes. They're so small and flimsy. I wonder if a cloth wipe might offer more of a barrier between hand and poop. Haha. I may try it out.

Random diaper changing thought: since my most recent diaper changing experiences have been in childcare centers I think it will feel strange to change a diaper without wearing gloves!

carrieandr · April 2016

Hmm...good point about the barrier, @jilligan14. And I don't know how much poop is on the baby vs. the diaper. If it's mostly in the diaper, maybe cloth wipes wouldn't be so bad. But you have to moisten them with something. I won't be changing the baby in the bathroom -- the counter isn't big enough. So I don't want the changing area to be too messy or difficult.

BernieRae · April 2016

I was thinking of using a spray bottle of water. Even if I decide to try cloth wipes I'm going definitely have disposable wipes around too. I figure you can never be too prepared! Are 2nd + time moms laughing at all of this poop talk? Learning curve...

carrieandr · April 2016

Lol...I'm such a FTM. I don't want to touch the poop!!!!!

BernieRae · April 2016

Oh, me too!

Wyattnash00 · April 2016

You guys will be shocked by how much poop and other baby fluids you will be in close contact with ALOT!! And if it wasn't your mid you'd still be wearing the plastic gloves, but something just changes when it's your baby. I admire all you cloth diaper mamas!! I'm disposable for sure, just want it off and in the garbage. Wipes are definitely disposable, pampers and buggies make very strong, moist wipes. I again, admire you ladies that do non disposable wipes, I just can't. There's always poop everywhere on my kid!

jilligan14 · April 2016

I've changed many of diapers in my lifetime (longtime nanny here) and there's always a ton of poop on baby. It's worse with girls because the poop gets up in their stuff and you have to really work to get it out (otherwise they get infections, etc.). With boys it's a little easier to clean up but still it's never fun. I was thinking of a spray bottle too but then what do you do once the cloth wipe is full of poop? I mean, you got to rinse that stuff off before throwing it in the wash. It just seems too messy. I just wonder if anyone has been successful with it...

Sporty1216 · April 2016

There sure is, @jilligan14. And there are more crevices than you think--somehow even with my boy I will sometimes find poop hiding out somewhere a diaper change or two down the road. It's not great. But I have been pooped on, peed on, puked on, snotted on, etc. and never once vomited myself. I count that a huge victory. And you'll manage it too. As @Wyattnash00 said, something changes when it's your kid. It really does.

A good place to ask about cloth wipes might be a cloth diapering FB group. I hear people talk about them sometimes, but I've never gone into the logistics.

As far as disposable wipes, HUGE fan of Huggies wipes over here. They're the only ones that I have loved and I've tried a lot of different kinds.

carrieandr · April 2016

I'm going to a free cloth diapering class at a local store next weekend. Hopefully I'll get some good advice.

@Sporty1216 (or anyone else) have you tried Seventh Generation wipes? Those are the ones I put on my registry.

Sporty1216 · April 2016

Ah, shoot! I've tried soooo many, but not those! I'll try to grab a small pack sometime if no one else here has used them and give you a report.

jilligan14 · April 2016

I was thinking of the seventh generation wipes too so I'd love to hear how they work out too.

pinkflowerpots · April 2016

I use cloth wipes with my cloth diapers, I love it. Easier to.get everything off and no chemicals to worry about. I use a simple 1 layer flannel and have had no issues. I fold them up so they pop out of a huggies wipes container and I wet as needed with a peri bottle filled with water. Easy peasy!
You can make.them super cheap too, a flannel sheet cut up and serged and done!

As for diapers, I like pockets. It's extra time stuffing and unstuffing but they get very clean and I find I prefer the fit. No bunching of inserts.

alitria · April 2016

I'm debating cloth wipes this time but I'm lazy and set in my ways from the first one, so I probably won't. For those who like them, do you just spray them when you spray your diapers?

I did order some probably totally unnecessary AIO newborn diapers this weekend as well as some new OS covers. Because they were cute I wanted to replace some of the more worn ones from my son. This where is where cloth becomes my downfall, it would be so much cheaper if I didn't get sucked in to buying the cute new prints.

BernieRae · April 2016

Any advice on a diaper pail or system of storing dirty diapers that has worked well?

Wyattnash00 · April 2016

We use the arm and hammer diaper pail, it doesn't smell and holds something like 30 diapers, had the same one for almost 2 years. Don't get me wrong when you open it to put on a diaper you get a smell but nothing when it's closed

carrieandr · April 2016

I have no experience, but from what I've read, plastic pails get smelly and steel ones don't. I also read that if you are using cloth diapers, the Ubbi is the best choice, but it's $80...

BernieRae · April 2016

Oh man now I want an $80 garbage can!

redheadbride15 · April 2016

I totally have the Ubbi on my registry. Bonus: it comes in a ton of really pretty colors! In fact, I feel slightly guilty that I don't have a nursery decor plan because if I did I could coordinate my diaper can. Instead, I just put a white one on there.

Sporty1216 · April 2016

Okay gals. I picked up a travel pack of seventh generation wipes. I'll report back once I have a poopy diaper to deal with!

Sporty1216 · April 2016

Okay! The verdict is in! LO had a mess of a diaper and the Seventh Generation wipes handled it with ease. They are easily as thick and sturdy as my beloved Huggies "simply clean" wipes. I think they run at a higher price point, but I may look into switching. Good choice, gals!

ETA: I used the Seventh Generation Free and Clear wipes.

rspalding001 · April 2016

To piggyback off the cloth wipes line of thinking, I thought I'd just mention that I ended up using dry wipes (not cloth) instead of standard disposable because my daughters skin was so sensitive in the beginning. Dry wipes and a peri bottle with some water in it so it's easy to squirt worked awesome for me and was better for her skin. I got them off Amazon in bulk, MedLine was the brand I think.

Mamafesto · April 2016

We used seventh gen free and clear wipes the entire 2 years that DS was in diapers and were very happy with them. I'm pretty sure DP ordered them in bulk on Amazon. DS has sensitive skin and they never caused an issue for him. I would highly recommend Boudreaux's butt paste. A tub of it will last you a good long while. We used it religiously and our pediatrician even mentioned that our baby had the dryest, rash free butt he had ever seen!

Sporty1216 · April 2016

While we're on the topic, this may be totally common sense to everyone else, but it wasn't obvious to me until a nurse told me when my son was a few months old: Be sure the skin is dry before you put on a "barrier cream". Otherwise, you're locking in moisture, rather than keeping it out, which is the point. I totally didn't know that. But I learned my lesson and it helped a ton!

carrieandr · April 2016

@Sporty1216 I didn't know that!

I also wanted to mention that if anyone decides to use cloth diapers, check if you are allowed to use creams. They can render the diaper waterproof, which means they can't absorb anything. Some diapers say no creams, some only allow specific ones.

ETA: From what I have read, babies don't get diaper rash as much with cloth diapers, so maybe cream won't be necessary? (FTM, so I don't know.)

BernieRae · April 2016

@CarrieandRoy please let us know how the cloth diaper class goes!

BernieRae · April 2016

I was just watching some how to videos and one mentioned spraying a product called Bac Out onto rinsed poop diapers. I hadn't heard of this before. Have any of you heard of or used something like this?

thistle8677 · April 2016

You know @CarrieandRoy there is another way.....https://godiaperfree.com

carrieandr · April 2016

Lol @thistle8677! Roy and I saw that on an extreme parenting show. Hmm...no thanks!

The cloth diapering class was interesting. I ended up changing my plan. I'm going to try regular prefolds with covers. It's the cheapest option, plus the girl said it's the best way to prevent blow-outs (aka poop up the back or out the leg holes). I thought people just folded the prefolds and laid them in the covers. (Some do.) But usually you diaper the baby with the prefold, use a "snappi" instead of a diaper pin, then put the cover on over it. It's totally old-school, except I'll get covers with all the snaps that let you custom fit to the baby rather than the old-school plastic pants my mom used on me. And I'll buy bamboo prefolds, which are more absorbant than cotton. And I might skip the covers while she's a newborn. (That was my mom's idea.) The prefolds might be enough to contain whatever comes out, and she'd be more comfortable.

It's definitely going to be an experiment, which is my view on all of childcare at this point. But that's where I'm starting. My second choice for diapers would be the GroVIA hybrid, with bamboo inserts that snap in. The diaper cover is very soft, inside and out.

alitria · April 2016

For a diaper pail we used a plastic garbage can with a snap lid and a planet wise liner. We didn't really have smell issues, because the snap lid worked pretty well and the planet wise liner was waterproof. I had two liner bags. When I'd dump my diapers in the wash, I'd drop the liner in the same load. Then it would hang dry with my covers. Super easy and quite effective. Plus it kept anything gross off the actual plastic. When necessary, I'd rinse out the plastic can in the bathtub with whatever spray bottle of all purpose cleaner I had around or, if he'd been sick, something stronger like bleach or a germicidal cleaner. If you're extra worried, you can always put some baking soda in the can, outside the liner, but we never really needed it because I washed pretty frequently.

For washing, I did a cold rinse, wash in hot and then another rinse in warm. We would hang dry our covers (we used pockets so they dried fast) and dry the inserts in the dryer on the regular cycle. It usually only took one cycle to get them dry. Be sure you don't use fabric softener or softener sheets because they will cause your diapers to repel moisture. We used dryer balls when the weather made things super staticky but it wasn't too big of a deal with just inserts.

@BernieRae I have used BacOut of my diapers as well as pretty much everything else in my house. It kept my diapers pretty stain free when I'd squirt it on gross poop stains that didn't come out with a sprayer. I usually put a couple squirts in the wash water with my detergent too, just to keep them extra clean. I used a scoop of Country Save detergent on the warm cycle with a squirt of BacOut. I know it varies widely based on your washer and your water but I never had to strip my diapers or had issues in the two years we used them so it was perfect for my area. I've read quite a few things about using tiny amounts of detergent but I stuck with a scoop because, um, poop. And gross.

Depending upon what type of diapers you use, it may be way more important which diaper creams you use. Anything with a synthetic liner like pockets will make it more important because of lot of creams will block the tiny holes in the fabric that wick away moisture. I know people who have used flats and prefolds and said it didn't matter what they used, it all came out fine. We used Angel Baby Bottom Balm because I liked it and it worked well for us if he got a little irritated, usually when he was pooping frequently from an upset tummy. The few times we had a serious rash issue were when my son was on antibiotics and had diarrhea and a nasty reaction rash. We either used disposables for a couple days and coated him in triple paste or we made sure to use a liner to keep the triple paste off the diaper. The one time he got a real "diaper rash" was when we were travelling and used disposables. That pretty much solidified my cloth decision for good.

Sorry for the novel, hope that helps some FTM. I was so completely overwhelmed when we started with my son, but we got in a routine, found what we liked and it just became our new normal. It never seemed like a huge burden because like everything else, you just adjust to all the stuff there is to do and after a while, it's your new normal. People kept asking me if all that laundry was horrible, but for me, it's WAY easier to pop a load of clothes in the washer than it is to have to run to the store to buy diapers. And way cheaper.

BernieRae · April 2016

Thanks soooo much for all the tips, @alitria! That's super helpful.

And thanks @CarrieandRoy for sharing what you learned! I'm interested in prefolds and snappis too so glad that looked good to you. I watched a Grovia video where the lady was demonstrating prefolds and a snappi for newborns. I figure it's worth a try since the snappis weren't too expensive and the prefolds can be used as burp clothes etc even if I don't end up using them as diapers. I can't remember if I mentioned it, but i was excited to find used bumgenius and some other brands at a consignment store near my house. At most, half the price of new. I know people have mentioned online sales/swaps of used diapers, but i really enjoyed being able to see the quality right there. Might be an option near you too! So I'll probably try a hodge podge of diapers based on what I can find used and if I really go for it by new ones as needed. And that way if we (me, DH, baby) hate it, not too much money has been lost.

carrieandr · April 2016

Thanks @alitria!

jilligan14 · April 2016

@CarrieandRoy How did they suggest folding the prefold with the snappi? I saw this video and am trying to figure out the best way to use prefolds:

alitria · April 2016

I totally get wanting to buy in person, but IF someone ends up buying online, we bought the "smart fit" unbleached cotton prefolds from Nikki's Diapers to use when my son was a newborn. They're cut a little different to fit in covers instead of the older style longer ones that have to be folded down. I'm sure other brands have that same cut (though I was very happy with the ones we bought) but it's a feature worth looking for if you go the prefold route because it helps with bulk, especially on those tiny babies.

And @BernieRae you're right about the prefolds, my son hated them, he freaked out at anything where he felt the wetness, so we switched to pockets but we definitely got our money's worth out of them because we used them for everything and they're still in great shape. I'll get them out again this time and if we don't use them for actual diapers, I'm sure we'll find a million more uses and then I'll be washing windows and dusting with them for the next five years.

These are the ones we had, just in case someone wants to check size/dimensions for the different sizes they offer. The newborn ones really are pretty tiny so if you don't expect a small baby (mine was 4lbs) I'd suggest going ahead and starting with small.
https://www.nickisdiapers.com/imagine-smart-fit-prefold-diapers-dozen.html

And for those of you considering snappis, they are one of those things that made WAY more sense to me once I had one in my hands. I could never figure those things out until I could use one in person, then it totally made sense.

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