The Cloth Diapering Thread

pshaortao · January 2017

It seems like there's a lot of interest (from other threads) in cloth diapering so I figured I would go ahead and start this for anybody who has questions or just want to discuss. I personally won't be doing it because DH is absolutely not on board with the idea, so I will be living vicariously through those who do it.

nda_roxybabe · January 2017

Here's the blog post that piqued my interest and had me wanting to cloth diaper. https://www.younghouselove.com/2010/08/the-much-requested-cloth-diaper-post/

I have since changed my mind for our family, but I still think it sounds pretty doable!

bubsalicious · January 2017

We are planning on cloth diapering. Currently our plan is to do prefolds until 15lbs then switch to hybrids (hopefully flips). Then we will have the pocket diapers for heavy nights, babysitters, daycare, etc. Currently our stash is a whole bunch of pockets (free yay!).

livin541 · January 2017

@nda_roxybabe I personally think a cute cover or two can still be a good investment, even if you use disposables most of the time. Our son ended up being a heavy wetter at night, and a cover over his dipe saved a lot of leaks!

Squirtgun · January 2017

So would this be the place to show off my favorite cloth diaper then?

We have mostly pocket diapers, and some all in one newborn sized ones.

pshaortao · January 2017

@squirtgun Yes show them off! I love the cute prints, and HP prints are a bonus

CherryBananas · January 2017

We are totally planning on cloth diapering. My boss sold me her whole stash for $150 and it's all still in excellent condition so we're really excited. DH was a little put off by the idea at first but the $ savings is what has gotten him on board.

SKZW · January 2017

@CherryBananas: Score!

My hubbs came around once he saw me load the diapers into the clothes washer and I had some directions written down (next to the said washer). I told him, "you don't even have to touch a thing, just dump everything in," and he was sold.

psherman42wwsa · January 2017

I have no idea about cloth diapering BUT I did see this lightning deal and think of you guys... deal ends in 1 hour 41 minutes

https://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Banana-Reusable-Diapers-Girl/dp/B008S0LJD6/ref=gbps_tit_s-3_bb19_ff061b1c?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=41fd713f-6bfe-4299-a021-d2b94872bb19&pf_rd_s=slot-3&pf_rd_t=701&pf_rd_i=gb_main&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=959Q3BSS5TMQHX4HSZ4K&th=1

rebecca517-2 · January 2017

I am still working on DH but I really want to do cloth. I know the money saved will win him over. What's the average amount spent on diapers in a month? I need numbers to big to the table!

@Squirtgun omg I love it! I am a HP nerd and will definitely need one of those.

jayandaplus · January 2017

I'm on the CD bandwagon! We don't have anything yet except a toilet sprayer. We're planning to buy Best Bottoms and Buttons because they have interchangeable inserts. They are all in twos with a reusable outer shell.

Does anyone have experience and/or thoughts on nighttime and newborns?

starphish18 · January 2017

@Rebecca517 Based on when I asked the group the same question a while back, it seems like around $150 a month is pretty typical for disposable diapers.

I'm still interested in going cloth after we get "stabilized" with the new baby. I mentioned this in another thread, but my husband is pro-cloth but doesn't want to clean them. He's weirdly squeamish about certain things. I don't want to be the only one dealing with it right off the bat, which is why we're going to start with disposables. But I'd love to hear about what goes into cleaning them. If it's not as bad as he probably has in his head, I might be able to get him involved. Personally, the cleaning aspect doesn't bother me at all... I just don't want to be so overwhelmed in the first couple months.

chickyclg · January 2017

I am planning on cloth with this one too (at least for a long while). I have a bunch of Grovia shells and ind inserts, 4 all in ones (that I LOVE and want more of), and 4 Grovia ONES (that I used only for night time rotation). I am planning on buying a few more Grovia AIOs and possibly some BumGenuis Elementals (I've heard those are very similar to Grovias).

I am am still trying to decide if I am going to invest in a newborn stash/ prefolds and covers.

chickyclg · January 2017

@starphish18 we didn't start cloth until the twins were a couple months old out of desperation to get DS's diaper rashes cleared up. At the time we spent about $150 a month in disposables, so we said we would stick it out 2 months regardless (to pay for themselves) and if we hated it we would sell them after that point. I used fleece liners that I DIY'd from Walmart (poo doesn't really stick to it), pee was super easy and I'd toss them into the pail liner. With poop it would usually just "plop" in the toilet and if not I would toss that liner, they were cheap enough that I wasn't worried about tossing the occasional liner here and there.

ETA: I'm road tripping so I feel like my thought are all over the place.

Squirtgun · January 2017

@jayandaplus we did disposables for newborn, until they could fit into the cloth (I know they fit pre fold earlier, but my kiddos took a few months to fit into the pocket diapers.) As soon as they fit into the diapers for daytime use, we used them at nighttime too. We would (and still do!) add an extra insert to double stuff the diaper at night.

@starphish18 for washing the diapers- we take the insert out of the pocket when the diaper comes off the baby, and put them into the wet bag/diaper pail that way, so you're not having to Unstuff all the diapers at once when you wash them. We do a rinse cycle, and then wash normally like we do other baby clothes. (We use normal detergent, and have never had issues. I know a lot of people use special diaper soaps.) Dry on low heat, restuff, and you're good to go! (Although in the summer I love to line dry them, as they smell so fresh from that!!). When they're still solely breastfed, you don't do anything about the poop. It rinses off in the wash without any extra work from you. Once they start solids, we use disposable (biodegradable) diaper liners, they're super thin and make poop cleanup super easy. You just lift it off the diaper and throw away! (Some are flushable, but we have an older house and don't really trust that with our pipes!). Every now and then the poop gets onto the actual diaper, but not that often, and usually it's on their clothes at that point anyway if that happens!!

Random- if you ever need to use ointment on baby for any reason, either use lanolin (yes, the stuff you use on your boobs when nursing) or cut up a flannel blanket to create a barrier between diaper and ointment. Most ointments get into the diaper, and you can't wash it out.

Wow that was long! I always feel like I type way too much, sorry!

mspacman34 · January 2017

@pshaortao Thanks for starting this thread!

@Squirtgun That is the cutest diaper I have ever seen! Love HP!

These are the ones I have so far. They are all pockets, so I hope we end up really liking pockets! I have enough fabric that I will make some NB size diapers since the that's all that will fit to cut. I'm enjoying hearing about all of the tips! My question for moms that have already had a little in cloth is do you find that your cloth diapers leak? Or any other things that may make using cloth diapers difficult?

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/un/svtd0t1bsaep.jpeg

SKZW · January 2017

@mspacman34: re leaks: As a first-time mom with a newborn, I found there was a learning curve with diapers, both disposies and cloth. For each new type of diaper I tried (dif. brands, dif. cloth types, prefolds, all-in-ones), there were a diaper change or two in which I learned real quick how to properly secure them (velcro or snaps) based on my son's size (small waist, skinny thighs, no hips. so jealous!). There were a few leaks in my experience but this was across all diapers. Blowouts, however, will happen in any type of diaper... so don't be too quick to blame it on the cloth. (I'm betting this doesn't answer your question though...)

SKZW · January 2017

Super cute stash, by the way!!

Jellybeanqueen13 · January 2017

I cloth diapered my daughter and plan to do so again with the twins. It really is easy once you get a routine going, and there are so many different diaper options out there these days.

kns1988 · January 2017

We're going to cloth diaper and my husband is totally on board. He was watching youtube videos on his own about it yesterday for tips! I found some reasonably affordable ones to buy, but I would really love it if I could find someone selling their whole stash or doing a bulk sell. We'll do prefolds with thirstie covers at the beginning and then switch to the adjustable snap ones.

JCWhitey · January 2017

We cloth diaper. I prefer Happy Flutes AIOs which tend to be super affordable. I wholesale through a distributer, but eBay is the cheapest place to get the. When we only had one in diapers I preferred pocket diapers, but with two in diapers stuffing became such a pain that I switched to mostly AIOs. Of course, I held onto a few select favorites.

cclaineDC · January 2017

I want to use cloth diapers eventually, but my apartment building has shared washers/dryers. Too gross?

L1C4gal · January 2017

@cclaineDC I'm in the same boat. I'd love to but I'm sure that wouldn't go over well, haha. Not to mention that not having W/D in the unit makes laundry a complete PITA anyways, and adding another laundry task to our list is probably not something we'd handle very well (we're looking at subscribing to a laundry pickup service as it is). But I really love the idea of cloth diapering--maybe with future LOs, or if we change our minds and decide to move before this one gets here!

chickyclg · January 2017

cclaineDC said:

I want to use cloth diapers eventually, but my apartment building has shared washers/dryers. Too gross?

Why would it be gross? I would probably only use the washers and let them air dry since a lot of times laundry mat style dryers get hotter.

BabyMC517 · January 2017

There are so many different types to choose from! It's so overwhelming haha but I think we are going to do pre-folds with cute cloth covers, the bumgenious AIOs, and the flips with inserts. I've read those are what most like the best...but then I start to second guess and all that haha sometimes I really hate making decisions!

Oh, and I know this was talked about on other threads (no idea which one at this point), but I checked with a couple of child care centers around us and they don't accept cloth...so it's like adding an extra expense to have disposables for child care and cloth at home. Might look into at home services too, maybe they will be less expensive in general. Just my random thought process at the moment that's still sort of related to cloth diapers!

jayandaplus · January 2017

cclaineDC said:

I want to use cloth diapers eventually, but my apartment building has shared washers/dryers. Too gross?

No. If the diapers are clean, so are the washers.

You can also look into a service, they tend to be affordable still vs disposables.

cclaineDC · January 2017

@L1C4gal exactly! There aren't any other babies/kids in my building of 90+ units, so I don't think it would go over well. But I'm really glad to hear that others don't think it would be gross. I'll probably give it a shot and see if someone complains.

roper2617 · January 2017

For those in apartments with shared laundry, I hear you can purchase portable washers that clean the diapers well.

mdlorenz · January 2017

roper2617 said:

For those in apartments with shared laundry, I hear you can purchase portable washers that clean the diapers well.

We did this -- tiny apartment bathroom but saving myself the 3 flights of stairs and the wait for the machines to be free was so worth it.

roper2617 · January 2017

Any STMs out there use nb size cloth on their babes? Any tips in terms of brands and styles would be greatly appreciated! I want to use cloth as soon as possible from the start, but personally don't like how bulky OS looks on a little wee babe. So far I have a couple AIO and pockets in newborn size. Thoughts on covers and prefolds?

museic-2 · January 2017

I wanted to CD sooo badly, but will be going back to work and don't know any daycares around here that are willing to. On top of it DH may not deal with #2s well (already having a difficult time with the kitty litter), so using disposables he can toss immediately interests him more. I have used CD in the past on kids I've taken care of and definitely plan to switch over when we have our second and I can stay at home longer! Totally jealous of you ladies and all the adorable prints

chickyclg · January 2017

roper2617 said:

Any STMs out there use nb size cloth on their babes? Any tips in terms of brands and styles would be greatly appreciated! I want to use cloth as soon as possible from the start, but personally don't like how bulky OS looks on a little wee babe. So far I have a couple AIO and pockets in newborn size. Thoughts on covers and prefolds?

I have been trying to debate if I want to invest in newborns, the Grovia AIOs are calling my name but I should probably stick to regular prefolds and covers. My luck this baby will be huge and not even need them (ok, maybe not that big). I just don't know if I should just do disposables for a month.

champhe · January 2017

Just wanted to jump in for a recommendation. We did cloth with DS and loved it. We truly saved a lot of money. I tried bumgenius at first because it was highly recommended but we always had leaks. We switched to green mountain diapers which are all cotton and awesome and never looked back. I just wanted to mention that brand because it is truly great and I feel like it's not as well known as the others you hear about all the time. The fact that they are cotton make them easy to wash and easy to wear.

jayandaplus · January 2017

@chickyclg We're planning to just do (Bambo) disposables for the newborn size. We're first timers, so our thought it that it'll also help us transition. DH has changed maybe 2 diapers in his life, so at least this will buy us time to get used to the whole thing before going right to CD. Plus, we'll use Bambo disposables for the few times when sitters won't do disposables or we're in a situation where it's easier than CDing.

chickyclg · January 2017

This thread gave me motivation to go through and unpack our diapers

chickyclg · January 2017

The diaper that always cracked me up

PS: apparently storing diapers in the garage is hell on the elastic, anyone have a recommendation to have them replaced? I used to do it myself but I don't see me having the time now that school is starting back up, I also want to have snaps added since most of mine are Velcro.

rebecca517-2 · January 2017

@champhe I'm going to check out that brand. Thanks!

@jayandaplus I plan on doing the same. I don't have any experience with Bambo but I read up on them and im really interested in trying them.

livin541 · January 2017

@chickyclg we have quite a few Grovias too! They seemed to fit best on my skinny legged boy who had no butt! I hope they fit this one too!

chickyclg · January 2017

@livin541 I started out trying to love pockets, but Grovia won my heart for sure. My kiddos both had skinny legs too lol! I only wish I could do their AIOs full time because I love how trim they are but as of now they will be our diaper bag diapers again since they are so thin.

laurapalmier · January 2017

Has anyone tried gdiapers? I ordered the try me pack which includes 2 newborn gpants and the first pack of disposables. I really like how fitted they look and that the disposable liners are biodegradable. Reviews online are very mixed but I was won over by the people who swear by them. The try me pack was only $35 so if they don't work it's a minimal loss

Jkp7749 · January 2017

I was going to ask the same thing @laurapalmier , I was just given a stash of cloth diapers to add to ours and don't have clue what to do with that kind.

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