Me 29 I Him 26
Married 4/22/16
December 2017 Moms
katiegeminimoon
member
Cloth Diapering?
katiegeminimoon
member
Does anyone cloth diaper or plan to? I want to CD but DH is still a little unsure about it. What brand/type of CD do you use/plan to use? Tell me everything!
TTC 9/2015
**TW**
BFP 2/1/16 I MC 3/21/16 (11w)
TTCAL 6/15/16
BFP 3/23/2017 Team pink! Quinn Leigh EDD December 1, 2017
**TW**
BFP 2/1/16 I MC 3/21/16 (11w)
TTCAL 6/15/16
BFP 3/23/2017 Team pink! Quinn Leigh EDD December 1, 2017
Re: Cloth Diapering?
It it really is easy once you figure out a routine that works for you. We don't have blowouts, haven't had diaper rash since we got the fit of his diaper right, we don't spend a ton of money on diapers, etc. I even took it to the "next level" and use cloth wipes, which really even makes cloth diapering easier because I can throw the wipes in the wash with the diapers rather than having disposable wipes smelling up a garbage somewhere.
cloth diapers are not what they were when our parents were diapering us. They really are so easy.
Married 4/22/16
**TW**
BFP 2/1/16 I MC 3/21/16 (11w)
TTCAL 6/15/16
BFP 3/23/2017 Team pink! Quinn Leigh EDD December 1, 2017
Married 4/22/16
**TW**
BFP 2/1/16 I MC 3/21/16 (11w)
TTCAL 6/15/16
BFP 3/23/2017 Team pink! Quinn Leigh EDD December 1, 2017
Me: 36 DH: 41
Then again, I am a pretty low-energy lady, so I may end up just being SAH eating bonbons and asking my baby-child to fetch their own food
No, I'm not an early bird, but that doesn't mean I'm a night owl.... I guess I'm an afternoon duck?
Type A personality, Type B body
First BFP with donor sperm 04/11/2017
We started when DD was about 4 months (she was just too tiny before that and we didn't buy the newborn size). It has been pretty easy to manage. I recommend using the liners from 18 months on (the poops get harder to manage).
We don't use a sprayer and just put the dirties in a wet bag until laundry--I have about 12-15 diapers and wash them every 3 days.
I do a soak cycle, then a regular cycle using Charlie's Soap. Then I dry on low heat. I wish I hung them to dry, but currently convenience is winning (I also usually wash them late at night, so the sun isn't out to dry them).
We did a nanny-share, and the nanny was fine with using CD. I'm hoping she'll be potty trained by the time preschool starts in September.
I used a couple BG all-in-ones, mostly BG pockets, and a couple off brand charcoal pocket ones from Amazon. I also bought some bamboo inserts for night time. We used cloth wipes and made a solution to keep them wet consisting of water, coconut oil, lavender, tea tree oil, and a little bit of natural baby soap.
The liners are a lifesaver after baby starts eating solid food and their poop changes and gets stickier. We never used the sprayer or cleaned diapers off before washing them but they always got clean. The wash process that I did was kind of long (1st cold wash with no detergent, 2nd hot wash with homemade cloth diaper detergent) and then I'd hang dry the AIO and pocket covers and dry the wipes and inner liners for the pockets in the dryer.
The laundry isnt terrible and I loved how much money we were able to save by cloth diapering. I'm hoping I can CD this next baby longer.
ETA: my son also never got a diaper rash with cloth diapers! It was amazing. He did get a rash when he had some antibiotics though and you have to use a liner so any diaper cream you use (unless it's like, straight coconut oil) doesn't ruin the diaper. I also second the wet bag for on the go and we got 2 big planet wise wet bags for our diaper pail at home and would just throw the bag in the wash with the diapers and put the back up one in the pail.
Me: 36 DH: 41
The alvas and "china cheapies" on Amazon work just as well as any other kind, for us.
Join the group " fluff love and cd science" on Facebook, find your washing machine, and establish a good wash routine right off the bat. That's one thing that I made a mistake on!
We have 30 cloth diapers total - 25 BG Freetime snaps (no velcro) and 5 "china cheapies." I have exactly 15 light colored diapers and 15 dark colored diapers, so we split the laundry between the two colors. What I mean by that is DS goes through all 15 light colored diapers while the 15 dark are washing and drying. By the time we've gone through all 15 light diapers, the dark are dry so we use the dark while the light diapers are washing and drying.
Bumgenius Free times cannot go in the dryer, but with the system we have, we've only had a handful of times where the opposite set of diapers weren't dry in time (and that was always because I forgot them in the washing machine or I thought my husband had already taken care of them). When that's the case, I'll either use disposable for a couple hours or just start DS off in the china cheapies.
For us, the cheap diapers really do not hold up as well. DS is a HEAVY peer, and even the cheap diapers stuffed with the nicer inserts (charcoal bamboo) simply don't hold up as well. So we just change him out of those more often. (Usually we save the cheapies for when he needs a diaper change close to bedtime or if I think he's going to be pooping soon and won't be in the diaper long). The bumgenius diapers were actually our baby gift from my parents (which was at my request), so my parents bought 24 diapers at once, which gave them a slight discount per diaper - it ended up being 24 diapers for the price of 20 on Bumgenius' official website.
We do have a diaper sprayer and a Spraypal to prevent poop water from going everywhere, but as someone mentioned, you don't need to spray out breastmilk poop, and now that DS is completely on solids, his poop is also much more solid so it just dumps completely into the toilet 90% of the time, so I rarely spray anymore.
Wash routine: Once all 15 diapers and dirty wipes are in the pail, I put them in the washing machine on warm with a small amount of Tide detergent - I put them on a "lightly soiled" cycle just to loosen anything up that is still in the diapers. Next is a heavily soiled cycle on HOT with more Tide detergent (about 2-3 times as much as the first cycle). Then I do an extra rinse on cold. For my washing machine, it ends up being a 37 minute warm cycle, 50 minute hot cycle, 17 minute extra rinse. The reason I was specific in saying I use Tide is because that has worked the best for us - I found that the free and clear or more "natural" detergents just didn't have enough cleaning power and my diapers would be clean but still have stains. Plus, Tide is what we use for our regular clothes so I didn't have to buy anything special for the diapers.
Once the diapers and wipes are clean, I put the wipes and inserts in the drier and hang up the diapers on a drying rack. They are usually dry within 12-24 hours, depending on how humid it is.
2 - We had trouble for a while with DS peeing through everything and being soaked by morning when he started sleeping through the night. Our solution was to take a flour sack towel and fold it and stick it in the diaper as an extra soaker in the night. These towels are suuuuper cheap and are in the kitchen section at a store like walmart or Target - it's like 10 for $6. We do still occasionally have leaks on nights where DS drinks a ton before bed, but otherwise he wakes up leak-free most days of the week. I throw the towels in the wash with the rest of the diapers and they go in the dryer.
Married 4/22/16
**TW**
BFP 2/1/16 I MC 3/21/16 (11w)
TTCAL 6/15/16
BFP 3/23/2017 Team pink! Quinn Leigh EDD December 1, 2017
We've cloth diapered the twins for 2 years and love it. We plan to CD the next baby too
Diagnosed : unexplained infertility
6 rounds of IUI and a MC 2/2014, rainbow twins 4/2015
TTC #3 5/2016
Restarted Fertility tx
IUI 2 rounds, baby girl 12/17
I LOVED IT. and I plan to cloth the next one and may even take it a step further with cloth wipes (I already have some).
I use bumgenius. I love the 5.0 and 4.0 diapers, which are pocket diapers and you can just stuff them with what you need for different absorbency levels. There are some all in ones that they make that are also great but he pockets are the most convenient for us!
DH was very skeptical at first but one time during Xmas we were completely out of disposables and all the stores were pretty much closed-so no going out. I was like, "well good thing we have cloth!" and we haven't gone back since.
And maybe TMI but the last couple of years I have been using cloth pads for myself during AF and I LOVE them. I buy them from Pink Lemonade.
Let me know if you have any questions!
Together since May 19, 2001
Baby #1 was born in May 2013.
Together since May 19, 2001
Baby #1 was born in May 2013.
Love this thread!
Wanted to add that we have hard water here so we wash with tide original powder and little borax. I use shout free & clear for anythiing I think might stain. I first do a quick wash and then I do a heavy duty wash. We have no issues with stains or stink, everything is so fresh and clean. We dry the liners in the dryer but the pocket diapers and anything with PUL gets air dried-which is super nice on a sunny day like we had here today.
I just prefer to air dry them because in my mind I think they will last longer some how.
The bumgenius ones we use only have snaps, I was never a fan of the velcro ones.
We didn't use a sprayer til DD was on solid foods and even then her BMs usually just plopped on into the toilet. She was ebf and those diapers don't need to be rinsed.
We used a big hanging wet bag in the bathroom and washed every few days. I am not going to say how many diapers we have because I am embarrassed it's too many. :X
I will say when we were using disposables it was disgusting every time having to take out the trash..so I will go for washing the cloth any day over taking out the nasty trash! haha! Something about washing it all makes it feel so fulfilling.
Together since May 19, 2001
Baby #1 was born in May 2013.
@rachswi I have not used reusable pads but I
Diagnosed : unexplained infertility
6 rounds of IUI and a MC 2/2014, rainbow twins 4/2015
TTC #3 5/2016
Restarted Fertility tx
IUI 2 rounds, baby girl 12/17
Also not sure but is your username a tori amos reference? If so, extra hearts!
Together since May 19, 2001
Baby #1 was born in May 2013.
We use disposables at night, because the amount of padding necessary to absorb all the urine hurts my daughter's back. We also use disposables when traveling or out of the house. Our diaper bag is full enough without keeping dirty diapers in there.
We just unfold the flannel and toss everything in the wash with all my other clothes. I always wash on 'hot' with plenty of Tide with color-safe bleach. I run through another cycle after the first one without adding detergent, to make sure there is almost no soap residue (it irritates my skin). We have a rolling clothes rack with two levels that I use for drying; I hang my flannels and diapers on the top short rack, and the rest of my clothes on the bottom rack. We have a dehumidifier to prevent mold from the extra moisture in the air (we live in an apartment and cannot install a dryer).
I use BG 4.0 (pockets) and Flip covers. I put prefolds in both, skip the microfiber inserts, they don't absorb enough.
I follow the recommendations from Fluff Love & CD Science (or whatever it's called) on their FB group. I have a toilet sprayer that I use to spray off the poop (which I highly recommend). I do a quick wash with a little Tide or Persil to get off the yuckies, then a main wash with more Tide or Persil.
Once you establish a routine, it becomes relatively easy.
We still keep disposables on hand for nighttime, church nursery, etc.
We plan to CD and I have my whole stash very nearly complete! There are some different nighttime solutions out there - I have heard rumparooz (which come with a double insert) and grovia ONEs are good AIO choices for nighttime, but we will plan to have fitteds + wool as our go-to nighttime solution. Not all fitteds are created equal however, but people swear by the sloomb ones for overnights. You can often find them for less preloved on ebay or other diaper bst sites if you want to save.
Our main stash is made up of covers + geffen prefolds and geffen doublers. We also have a stash of various AIOs/pockets for caregivers, quick changes, possibly diaperbag etc. then bamboozle fitteds for naps/quicker changes, and working on finishing out with my sweet sweet sustainablbabybish/sloomb fitteds. + wool.
There's definitely a lot of info out there, so just do your research and go with what makes sense to you! There's no one-right-way to CD these days, and you'll hear a million different opinions, so ultimately you jusy have to go for it and decide what works for you! Most daycares, if they are receptive to CD, will want you to bring AIOs/pockets tho.
** December BMB Siggy Challenge - Animals in Pools **
Me: 31+ H: 32
TTC Since 11/2015
#1 - MMC 6.5 weeks (2/16); #2 - MC due to cystic hygroma at 20 weeks (10/16); #3 CP (2/17); #4 - Due 12.16.17
Married 4/22/16
**TW**
BFP 2/1/16 I MC 3/21/16 (11w)
TTCAL 6/15/16
BFP 3/23/2017 Team pink! Quinn Leigh EDD December 1, 2017
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