Cloth Diaper Mamas

Charla1224 · June 2016

I'm lazy and didn't dig up our old thread. I think it was specific to newborns anyway and we could use a general thread.

Just to get things started:
1. What type of diapers do you use?

2. Is this your first time using CD? How's it going? Experienced CD? Is there much of a difference CDing this child than your other child(ren)?

3. What's your favorite thing about CDing?

Charla1224 · June 2016

1. What type of diapers do you use?
We use a combination of pocket and AIO diapers. Most of our stash is pockets. DH loves BumGenius AIOs but we can't afford a full 30 diaper stash of those. So we have about 10 AIOs and then 30 Alva (Chinese brand but they work great) pocket diapers. These are only $5- $8/ diaper so I'm always ordering new designs.

2. Is this your first time using CD? How's it going? Experienced CD? Is there much of a difference CDing this child than your other child(ren)?
We're first timers and struggled in the beginning. Now that I have a stash I feel confident about it's so much easier than people make it seem. She wears them, we wash them. That's it. This is also why I had to give up on the flats and prefolds I attempted to use before. Too much diapering work for our family.

3. What's your favorite thing about CDing?
I'm slowly but surely becoming an addict. She has every color and lots of patterned diapers. I just started trying to match her diapers to her outfits and I can't wait until she has more t-shirts instead of onesies. Then I'll be able to dress her in a shirt and diaper Tommy Pickles style.

mmemartinez · June 2016

1. For the newborn phase it's mostly prefolds with thirsties covers and fuzzibunz that I stuff also with prefolds! My favorite kind is probably rumparooz but those are still too big.

2. I used CD with my first. The biggest challenge comes later from use - stripping the diapers. Even with cloth safe cream there's some build up that can cause leaks. I will also have to switch to sposies for daycare, but will use CD on weekends and holiday times.

3. My favorite thing is not producing garbage. I mean I have a giant bag of diapers at the end of each day that goes into the wash...not the trash outside. It's also nice not being as bothered when he poops or pees in the middle of a change. A diaper is never "wasted" when this happens.

evalynn24 · June 2016

1. I have about 20 Alva Baby diapers and about 20 other pocket diapers. The only ones that haven't leaked are the Alva Baby diapers. I don't know if it's because it's a different kind of fabric or what.

2.1st timer and it's going alright. He just started fitting in them this last week so we haven't gone very long yet.

3. Favorite thing is not having to buy so many disposables. It's way cheaper and I'm excited to continue with them.

PYLWhammy · June 2016

1. We're using prefolds and covers, Imagine brand

2. It's going pretty well. Even the newborn size still seems huge on LO, though, especially the covers. We've had some leaks but are learning from our mistakes as we go!

3. Not having a ton of disgusting diaper garbage! Yuck!

lionstigersbears · June 2016

Squeeeeee diapers!

1. What type of diapers do you use?
After lots of experimenting over the past 20 months we use Blueberry simplex AIO and Smart Bottoms 3.1 AIO on DS during the day, 2 large bamboo flats in a Blueberry cover (Capri or coverall) for DS at night, and blueberry newborn simplex for LO all the time right now. I have some workhorses and rumparooz Nb covers that I use when I get behind on wash--I love them but they take more time with a toddler so haven't gotten as much use this time. She will eventually use the one size AIOs at night, then during daytime and night, then end up with same set up as DS as her absorbency needs change.

2. Is this your first time using CD? How's it going? Experienced CD? Is there much of a difference CDing this child than your other child(ren)?
We started with DS in Oct 2014 when he was a week old. I had one phase of stink issues that resulted from using Charlie's Laundry detergent with our hard water, which ended up being a problem. We did a bleach soak, switched to Tide and never looked back. So far cloth diapering two is going great! I'm looking forward to when they are both in one size diapers though, so I'm not constantly separating out two different sizes.

3. What's your favorite thing about CDing?
Less garbage, cute prints, and using them through multiple kiddos!

dshannah · June 2016

1. Using bumGenius AIOs (15), and I just bought two Thirsties AIOs because I wanted cuter patterns:) It isn't a large enough stash: even doing a load every day we still run out while they are drying (doesn't help that it's insanely humid here right now)! We have a bunch of hand me down prefolds/covers and pocket diapers, but they all seem to leak a lot! I think we aren't skilled enough to use them. So when we run out we use disposables, and when we are out and about we use disposables. I'm hoping that we can build up our stash of AIOs over time.

2. First time! And going great:) Super easy (with the AIOs, at least) and dare I say enjoyable. There is a store in my town that sells cloth diapers and runs a class on how to do it, which we took, so that has prepared us well, I think.

3. The styles! The reusability (the sense that these are his permanent clothes that he won't be growing out of for years--he's grown out of most of his other clothes, but also the sense that these are for future children as well)! The cost (we got most of our diapers as shower gifts, and I love that we will never have to buy more, compared to the never ending diaper purchased when using disposables)!

Charla1224 · June 2016

@dshannah I love the BumGenius AIOs but if you're looking to bulk up your supply you should check out ALVA diapers. They're a Chinese brand and have AIOs and pockets. Some are sold on Amazon but there's a larger selection on their website. Lots of cute colors and designs but cheap. We're hoping to eventually buy more BumGenius or (my favorite) Romperooz but the Alva diapers are carrying us over until we can afford the expensive stuff.

Lusitano8 · June 2016

1. What type of diapers do you use? Bumgenius AIO and pockets. I like the AIO but it seams like the pockets are cleaner since I could replace the inserts if needed.

2. Is this your first time using CD? How's it going? Experienced CD? Is there much of a difference CDing this child than your other child?
First time! And starting a little late as they seemed really big and bulky on him till this point, and I didn't want to bother with laundry till I was feeling confident about life with baby!

3. What's your favorite thing about CDing? The savings! Good for the environment too

I've heard they can help with rashes and also bathroom awareness when it comes time to potty train. Anyone know about this?

Does everyone use a diaper sprayer? If not what do you do immediately after changing if anything?

Charla1224 · June 2016

@Lusitano8 we don't have a sprayer although I plan on buying one. She's EBF so I don't do anything right now. Just drop them in our pail. We do diaper laundry every other day and haven't had any issue with smells. When we wash I do a rinse cycle first and then wash everything

lionstigersbears · June 2016

Charla1224 said:

@Lusitano8 we don't have a sprayer although I plan on buying one. She's EBF so I don't do anything right now. Just drop them in our pail. We do diaper laundry every other day and haven't had any issue with smells. When we wash I do a rinse cycle first and then wash everything

EBF babies (and from what I hear from those who actually do it even though sources say no, formula fed too) have water soluble poop so the sprayer isn't necessary until they are eating solids. Even then, you really don't have to get the poop off until the consistency changes which isn't right away. I think DS didn't really change until he was eating enough food that I noticed a difference in my supply/our BF relationship. I love our sprayer for diapers, I keep a "poop" wetbag at the charging station so I don't have to dig through the dirty diapers to find what needs to be sprayed. Sometimes I spray right away other times it's a day or two later and no problems. Sprayer is also great for cleaning off shoes (we have dogs)

dshannah · June 2016

Formula poop is also water soluble! No need for a diaper sprayer until they start on solids:)

JoMunson · June 2016

Stuck in a box!

1. What type of diapers do you use?
were still using our five newborn size AIO thirsty snaps and we have a ton of pocket (AI2?) diaper rite. In addition we have one box of disposable we use in emergencies

2. Is this your first time using CD? How's it going? Experienced CD? Is there much of a difference CDing this child than your other child?
First time! I love it! We used disposables until he was about three weeks old and could fit into the clothies.

3. What's your favorite thing about CDing?
Oh man so many reasons. I went on a field trip with a summer class once to the dump and the man said that if the children were born in town all of their diapers were at the dump! It really convicted me so I went to reusable pads and am so happy Ezra isn't contributing to the diaper dump. I also think disposables make the poops smell worse because of the chemicals in them and I noticed they stuck to his body in a weird way. Plus they're colorful and fun and (humble brag) he's almost two months and has never had real diaper rash. He got a small rash in his thigh crease but it went away after a day and some breast milk.

dshannah · June 2016

So I do have a question about pocket diapers: What are the advantages over AIOs? Why not make/use AIOs?

From what I can tell (and my experience hasn't been the best), pocket diapers don't work as well because liquid hits the inside of the cover and wicks to the side and throughout the inside of the diaper as well as straight into the absorbent pads, which means that leaks happen a lot, and even when they don't, baby is uncomfortable.

And then, to top it off, they are harder to launder, because of the added step of stuffing the diapers before folding them to put them away.

And from what it seems to me, they are also harder to make! The Thirsties and BumGenius diapers I have seem absurdly simply constructed: make a diaper, sew on a flap or two.

So why are pocket diapers so much more popular than AIOs? What am I missing?

JoMunson · June 2016

dshannah said:

So I do have a question about pocket diapers: What are the advantages over AIOs? Why not make/use AIOs?

From what I can tell (and my experience hasn't been the best), pocket diapers don't work as well because liquid hits the inside of the cover and wicks to the side and throughout the inside of the diaper as well as straight into the absorbent pads, which means that leaks happen a lot, and even when they don't, baby is uncomfortable.

And then, to top it off, they are harder to launder, because of the added step of stuffing the diapers before folding them to put them away.

And from what it seems to me, they are also harder to make! The Thirsties and BumGenius diapers I have seem absurdly simply constructed: make a diaper, sew on a flap or two.

So why are pocket diapers so much more popular than AIOs? What am I missing?

One thing I like about my pocket diapers is I can add more liners if I need to for night time etc. laundering isn't so bad now that I've got the hang of stuffing.

lionstigersbears · June 2016

JoMunson said:

dshannah said:

So I do have a question about pocket diapers: What are the advantages over AIOs? Why not make/use AIOs?

From what I can tell (and my experience hasn't been the best), pocket diapers don't work as well because liquid hits the inside of the cover and wicks to the side and throughout the inside of the diaper as well as straight into the absorbent pads, which means that leaks happen a lot, and even when they don't, baby is uncomfortable.

And then, to top it off, they are harder to launder, because of the added step of stuffing the diapers before folding them to put them away.

And from what it seems to me, they are also harder to make! The Thirsties and BumGenius diapers I have seem absurdly simply constructed: make a diaper, sew on a flap or two.

So why are pocket diapers so much more popular than AIOs? What am I missing?

One thing I like about my pocket diapers is I can add more liners if I need to for night time etc. laundering isn't so bad now that I've got the hang of stuffing.

They also tend to be less expensive than AIO's

Bellodomani · June 2016

lionstigersbears said:

JoMunson said:

dshannah said:

So I do have a question about pocket diapers: What are the advantages over AIOs? Why not make/use AIOs?

From what I can tell (and my experience hasn't been the best), pocket diapers don't work as well because liquid hits the inside of the cover and wicks to the side and throughout the inside of the diaper as well as straight into the absorbent pads, which means that leaks happen a lot, and even when they don't, baby is uncomfortable.

And then, to top it off, they are harder to launder, because of the added step of stuffing the diapers before folding them to put them away.

And from what it seems to me, they are also harder to make! The Thirsties and BumGenius diapers I have seem absurdly simply constructed: make a diaper, sew on a flap or two.

So why are pocket diapers so much more popular than AIOs? What am I missing?

One thing I like about my pocket diapers is I can add more liners if I need to for night time etc. laundering isn't so bad now that I've got the hang of stuffing.

They also tend to be less expensive than AIO's

To me the most obvious benefit of pockets is that you can tumble dry the liners & the shells dry super fast so your turn around is much quicker. I CD'd my son in pockets from when he started solids at 5 months until he potty trained at 30 months and only ever had 13 daytime diapers in my stash, never had an issue. Also, if something on the diaper starts to fail, it's not a total loss- i.e. if your shell is breaking down or your absorbent part gets screwed up and you can't successfully strip it, you'd have to toss an AIO, whereas with pockets you only need to replace the part that isn't working.

lizChesnut · June 2016

thinking of getting a fuzzibunz first year pack. Anybody else try them?
I change my baby after EVERY pee, people tell me wait for another, since I'm currently on disposable. But I can't leave my baby in a wet diaper

I got talked out of reusable diapers but now I'm thinking of them again My Lo is 5 weeks. I feel like I've got the hang of him pretty good and extra laundry doesn't scare me anymore

Bellodomani · June 2016

lizChesnut said:

thinking of getting a fuzzibunz first year pack. Anybody else try them?
I change my baby after EVERY pee, people tell me wait for another, since I'm currently on disposable. But I can't leave my baby in a wet diaper
I got talked out of reusable diapers but now I'm thinking of them again My Lo is 5 weeks. I feel like I've got the hang of him pretty good and extra laundry doesn't scare me anymore

Haven't personally had experience with fuzzibunz, but a girlfriend of mine had a horrible time with constant leaks. May have been just a bad fit for her baby's body type. I always recommend people start by getting 1 each of 3-4 different brands/ types, find out what works best for your baby, then fill out your stash. Www.paddedtushstats.com also has a helpful chart based on surveys they've done that recommend different brands for things like fat babies, skinny babies, big thighs, etc. My son was super fat and bum genius pocket diapers were my jam for daytime.

Charla1224 · June 2016

I'll second buying one or no more than two of several diaper types and trying it that way. gDiapers just didn't work for us which sucks because we have 6 of them. If you have a local store that sells cloth diapers it might be helpful to see and feel what you're purchasing too.

lionstigersbears · June 2016

@lizChesnut in general (not everyone of course) I've noticed that people will like microfiber diapers (microfiber is the synthetic absorbency in fuzzi bunz) for awhile then start having issues. These issues may be stinky issues and/or compression leaks which microfiber is more prone to than other materials such as cotton, bamboo or hemp. I agree with @Bellodomani and @Charla1224 that all of your eggs in one basket is particularly risky with CD because the fit can be such a factor in how well CDing goes for you. I am likely biased here though since I prefer natural materials in my diapers for a variety of reasons-so can't truly review fuzzi bunz as I haven't used them. FWIW...I was a little put-off by their owner on shark tank....

jenl1681 · June 2016

@lizChesnut I agree with others, I wouldn't commit to all one brand without trying them to know what you like. I used fuzzibunz with DD when she was little. They worked well for her because she had chicken legs and you can adjust the elastics on the leg and use the hip snap to get a tight fit. The are also narrow through the crotch compared to say, a bumgenius diaper. I used thirstiest hemp doublers instead of the microfiber insert. Actually I am not a fan of MF as an insert and mostly used hemp inserts, until we got rid of pockets and went to bumgenius elementals and fitteds. This is the only pic I could find

lalala2004 · June 2016

1. What type of diapers do you use?

Half Best Bottoms AI2s and half prefolds and covers. 1 pocket and one fitted for overnight.

2. Is this your first time using CD? How's it going? Experienced CD? Is there much of a difference CDing this child than your other child(ren)?

Its going pretty well, I think I like the Best Bottoms best. They're more expensive, but I think you get what you pay for. The only issue is night time.

I've tried the following:

1. Doublers for Best Bottoms
2. Double stuffed pocket diaper
3. A fitted diaper with two inserts and a cover.

For all 3, we put them on around 8pm. If we don't change him before 6am, he leaks. The fitted diaper also seems more uncomfortable to him when wet. The pocket diaper seems to feel best. This is ok for now, but knowing kids end up sleeping long hours at night, I'm afraid we won't be able to keep this up. Although maybe he'll pee less when he gives up nighttime feedings?

3. What's your favorite thing about CDing?

I love it all, but #1 is the money we've saved.

Runners Up: Less waste and not having to worry about chemicals in the diaper.

Bellodomani · June 2016

lalala2004 said:

Its going pretty well, I think I like the Best Bottoms best. They're more expensive, but I think you get what you pay for. The only issue is night time.

I've tried the following:

1. Doublers for Best Bottoms
2. Double stuffed pocket diaper
3. A fitted diaper with two inserts and a cover.

For all 3, we put them on around 8pm. If we don't change him before 6am, he leaks. The fitted diaper also seems more uncomfortable to him when wet. The pocket diaper seems to feel best. This is ok for now, but knowing kids end up sleeping long hours at night, I'm afraid we won't be able to keep this up. Although maybe he'll pee less when he gives up nighttime feedings?

When they start sleeping longer stretches they also eat less at night so it usually works itself out. Viv is sleeping from 8-5, then nurses, goes back to bed til 7 or so, and she's in the same diaper the whole time without leaks.

JoMunson · July 2016

Ezra leaks about 75 percent of the time and he only eats once at night. He's so skinny but has wide hips so the diapers just aren't fitting him quite right and he's not ready for the next snaps out

Bellodomani · July 2016

@JoMunson Have you tried any other brands? That website I mentioned earlier- www.paddedtushstats.com - has recommendations for specific brands for babies with skinny thighs, you should check it out.

Charla1224 · July 2016

JoMunson said:

Ezra leaks about 75 percent of the time and he only eats once at night. He's so skinny but has wide hips so the diapers just aren't fitting him quite right and he's not ready for the next snaps out

I've got a skinny thighs baby and prefolds or fitted and covers went horribly for us. However, bumgenius AIOs and Alva pocket or AIO diapers have been great. Romperooz are AMAZING but too expensive.

JoMunson · July 2016

I would try other brands but we just can't afford it

weirdly the leaks only happen at night.

dsmith211 · July 2016

1. Rumparooz and BumGenius AIO's

2. First time. But it seems like it's going well. Right now we're transitioning out of disposable diapers. But I like the cloth a lot better.

3. All the patterns! I'm addicted. DH says this is the only reason I actually want to cloth diaper.

Bellodomani · July 2016

@JoMunson You live in Eugene, right? There might be a local store or mom's group that facilitates trading diapers. I found a few in Portland and in Palo Alto.

JoMunson · July 2016

Bellodomani said:

@JoMunson You live in Eugene, right? There might be a local store or mom's group that facilitates trading diapers. I found a few in Portland and in Palo Alto.

Oh that's a good idea!

dshannah · July 2016

https://cgmrb.blogspot.com/2013/10/cloth-diaper-washing-myth-busters.html?m=1

Found this this morning when I googled "stripping diapers"--what do you all think?

I am excited to use regular detergent, but I don't think I will use the dryer just yet. Also, am pleased to know that hard water makes detergents work differently: we have insanely hard water and it didn't occur to me until now that that's why my husband's gym shirts smell no matter how often we wash them. Glad to be able to get ahead of that with the diapers! I bought water softener this morning, and I'm hoping that it helps make the diapers smell like new, because they were already smelling musty after only 5 weeks of using them!

Bellodomani · July 2016

dshannah said:

https://cgmrb.blogspot.com/2013/10/cloth-diaper-washing-myth-busters.html?m=1

Found this this morning when I googled "stripping diapers"--what do you all think?

I am excited to use regular detergent, but I don't think I will use the dryer just yet. Also, am pleased to know that hard water makes detergents work differently: we have insanely hard water and it didn't occur to me until now that that's why my husband's gym shirts smell no matter how often we wash them. Glad to be able to get ahead of that with the diapers! I bought water softener this morning, and I'm hoping that it helps make the diapers smell like new, because they were already smelling musty after only 5 weeks of using them!

Most of that sounds about right. I use country save because it's cheaper than Tide and Portland has really soft water, but my wash routine has always been pretty low maintenance and quick. The only time I've had to strip my diapers was when my son had a persistent yeast issue. I had to strip them twice and keep him
in disposable for a couple weeks because the yeast kept going back & forth between him and the diapers. Never had an issue with absorbency or leaks, although I don't use a ton of microfiber which is what I hear tends to develop issues over time. I will say, if you dry AIO's it really will wear your elastic out faster, my sister in law's diapers were jacked when she gave them to me and I had to replace all the elastic. But that's a pretty easy process.

lalala2004 · July 2016

So we used disposables this weekend because we were out of town, and he still leaked by morning, so it seems like he's just a heavy wetter for now! Of course, they were Huggies, not Pampers...

Bellodomani · July 2016

@lalala2004 Huggies are the absolute worst. But if he really is a heavy wetter, I recommend trying the Kawaii Baby Goodnight Heavy Wetter diapers. They're pretty cheap and rhey worked really well with our son who is definitely a heavy wetter.

lalala2004 · July 2016

@Bellodomani thanks for the suggestion!

lionstigersbears · July 2016

Blueberry diaper users...if you follow The Berry Patch on FB there's a link to donate at least $10 to a charity and get a 20% off coupon to use on Blueberry and Me (which is a site Blueberry uses to release limited edition/exclusive stuff, plus their grab bag sales a couple times per year).

dshannah · July 2016

Ugh!!! Just back from the pediatrician, and DS has yeast!!!! Like, in the diaper area and then again (?) around his neck:(. All the moist areas. We are off cloth for a while, it looks like.

So we are going to use sposies until it clears and apply lotrimin every time we change until it's gone--maybe as long as 2 weeks--per our Dr's instructions, but I don't know what to do about the cloth diapers.

1. Our Dr. doesn't think it's a cleanliness issue, just a moisture issue, and so we shouldn't need to do anything special to clean the diapers. I mean, when I get a yeast infection I just wash my clothes like normal. But everything I've read online says that yeast stays in diapers, even through washing. So... Stripping? @Bellodomani How did you strip yours?

I think I am going to take all my cleaned diapers, soak them overnight in some Rocking Green or bleach, then leave them in the sun for a few days before washing them again like normal and putting them away. Thoughts?

2. We have not been using any diaper rash creams because we've been using cloth. I am thinking of trying coconut oil and/or angel baby bottom balm in addition to diaper liners, just to keep the diapers safe. Thoughts?

meh and sigh.

Bellodomani · July 2016

Yeast is a pain

I used pockets, so I washed everything as I normally would, then boiled all the inserts for 10ish minutes (in batches of 10ish per stockpot). Then I soaked everything-insides and outsides- in bleach (I think 1-2 Tbsp per load, but we had a pretty small washing machine) for maybe an hour and washed again as usual, with an extra rinse or two thrown in for good measure. I had to do the whole process twice because his yeast wasn't fully gone when I put him back in cloth, so be certain he's clear before you put him back in! There's a couple good cloth-friendly creams you can use without a liner- haven't personally used angel baby but I have read it is cloth diaper safe. I really liked Motherlove Diaper Rash and Thrush- it also feels great on sore nipples just FYI, even if you don't have thrush.

ETA- I added a probiotic into my son's diet as well. It can be challenging to do if he doesn't do regular bottles/ isn't on solids yet, but I hear you can make a paste and rub it on your nipples before nursing.

mmemartinez · July 2016

Bleaching and sunning are the best bets to kill yeast. I would do it twice as @Bellodomani said

lionstigersbears · July 2016

Unfortunately your doctor is wrong--I've seen so so many people on FB groups battle yeast because they didn't properly handle the diapers. You really should bleach or LO will likely get yeast again. If you don't kill it the transfer back and forth will continue. Don't bleach overnight though! That'd be way too intense. You can do it in the bathtub with cold water, 30 min or so. I didn't have yeast but a fishy smell which was bacteria growth. After the bleach soak (look up proper dilution because I forget) I do a hot wash no detergent, then regular wash routine with detergent. Extra rinses until no bleach smell. I'm sure sun after that would be icing on the cake!

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