Cloth diaper chat

Gwyneddlesliegrace · July 2018

I haven’t seen a cloth diaper post yet, I I thought I’d start the conversation!

I’ve been cloth diapering for 10 years. At this point we’re transitioning to natural fibers and mostly wool. I’ve been shopping all day and bought 2 nb fitteds and 3 bigger fitteds that my two year old will wear!

For the most party we’ll use bamboo hemp stretchy flats with wool during the newborn stage.

echo-charlietango · July 2018

I know nothing about cloth diapering, but I'll be here lurking

Gwyneddlesliegrace · July 2018

echo-charlietango said:

I know nothing about cloth diapering, but I'll be here lurking

Yay!

artemis618 · July 2018

FTM to be - also following!

kadeephd · July 2018

I also am a FTM and know nothing about this but am planning on cloth diapering. I'm thinking we'll do a diaper service, at least for a while. It's more expensive than washing at home, but still cheaper and more eco-friendly than disposables. Has anyone done a diaper service?

hkom · July 2018

Mostly lurking as well. We are planning on cloth. I'll probably start with both prefolds and fitteds at first, and then incorporate pockets as baby gets bigger, since those seem to have a lot more cover options and will probably be easier for grandparents, sitters, and daycare (if they will do cloth).

tumbleweed-1 · July 2018

I have experience with cloth in terms of working with kids and babysitting, but also a FTM here. I plan to use them. I think I prefer some type of prefold or insert with a cover. It seems to make sense that it would be the least amount of laundry. I’d totally do a diaper service if I had shared laundry, but luckily my apartment has a nice washer and dryer, so we’ll start with our own.

ebk20 · July 2018

I did cloth and disposable last time and will again. I used the kind with inserts but often would soak through and I would need to change the whole thing. No diaper service around here so washed it all myself. I preferred to use disposable at night since they can soak up way more and when we would go somewhere. I also didn't ask babysitters to use cloth. I would recommend trying a few different kinds and see what works best for your baby. Mine were one size where you tighten it based on snaps so they didn't fit well for the first few months.

PensiveCrayon · July 2018

We use cloth and disposable as well. Let me just paste an entire chunk of text about cloth diapers that I sent to my friend who's pregnant with her first:

I was advised to use disposable at home for the first few weeks and swore I wasn’t going to, but then all the A stuff [3 weeks in NICU] happened. By the time we got home from Utah the stainy gross meconium had cleared out of his system, so I started in with my newborn cloth diapers pretty quickly thereafter. I never loved them — I had Thirsties all-in-ones. I mean, I’ll use them again for this one (after the initial period of disposables, haha), but they always seemed to be leaking. Once I switched over to our BumGenius Freetimes (also all-in-one) the leaks ended. A has been in them ever since, and I’m 100% satisfied. I give them the occasional bleach [or use a GroVia MightyBubbles tab -- literally did this yesterday] when they start to smell a little. The reason I chose all-in-ones is because they’re super easy to use and I was too lazy to do a lot of research. I don’t have to worry about stuffing or covers or inserts or anything like that. Just fold the bottom wing toward the front because he’s a boy, snap him up, and we’re set. Dump ‘em in the washer when the wet bag is full. I started out with 24 of each size, and it’s been just fine, I wash around twice a week. AIO’s are a bit more expensive but worth it to me. That said, I’m not a diehard cloth user! If we’re going on vacation or even just a day trip, those suckers are staying at home. I don’t want to worry about toting stinky used diapers around, or the wash situation wherever we are staying.

Like @ebk20 I also use disposables when we take A to the on-post daycare or when there's a babysitter/we leave him with the IL's, because I don't want to make them mess around with snaps and everything.

A random thought: poops are not awful to deal with...90% of the time. When A was breastfeeding and pre-solids I literally didn't have to do anything but fold up the diaper and stick it in the wet bag. After he started solids (and therefore the poo wasn't water-soluble anymore) the poop firmed up enough that most days I can just plop it in the toilet with zero fanfare. There is the occasional sticky nasty diaper that needs sprayed off, and that can be unpleasant with the AIO wings that want to flop everywhere. (And if your kid gets diarrhea that's it -- just give up cloth until it runs its course. No one will judge you! No one!) All that said, if you're going the CD route I'd definitely recommend a toilet sprayer -- they're very easy to install and also double as a butt bidet! (We lived in India for a year so we had them before we even had our son.)

OH ANDPLUSALSO! One more random thought. Cloth is GREAT for containing blowouts. The only outfit-ruining blowouts we've had have been in disposables.

hbmama21 · July 2018

Love my AIOs. I use almost exclusively blueberry AIOs and some bumgenius AIOs bc I’m ultra minimal effort. The blueberries worked perfect at every stage, and bumgenius fit him later, but not well at first as he had super squishy thighs.

Did disposables first 3 Days (meconium), and off and on due to GI issues, traveling, inertia. CD were great for containing leaks, even the explosive stuff and really helped with allergic diaper rash.

I use ~24nb, 36ish one size, washing 2x a week it works, will rotate a few extra nb this time. Use an ubbi diaper pail with reusable liners- just unfolded diaper if tongue was in, rinsed with toilet sprayer if needed, and tossed in ubbi. No smell issues. Dumped entire bag in washer and added a cleaning pod 1-2x a month as needed to avoid stripping. It was honestly super easy to get into that way as a FTM and will be (I think) easy to maintain with kiddo #2 bc it’s so low maintenance. I’m honest that if it requires more effort, it wouldn’t have been for me, but this worked great for my spouse and I.

We also did cloth wipes after a bit, and I loved that! Smelled great, I could tailor it to his skin needs, and they just went in the hamper with the diapers instead of needing separate trash. I made up a batch 1x a week, took about 5-7min to mix the oil and water and soak the clothes before putting them in the warmer (need a warmer to keep them wet).

If you want to try it out, you can just buy a few NB to see if it’s for you before picking up a stash. To save money and space, my friend and I pooled our NB stashes since our kids are staggered and just strip and transfer them to the other after the bigs moved into OS. Hope this helps!!

CecilB93 · July 2018

Hmm...I feel like we've had a cloth diaper discussion somewhere, maybe it wasn't its own thread though? Idk.

Anyways, we did cloth part time with DS. Daycare wouldn't do cloth, so we only did it at home. Eventually we moved away from cloth, but I kept it all. Now our new daycare will do cloth, I just never got back into it with DS, so I plan to do it with this baby!! I preferred mostly pockets or prefolds and covers. I don't mind AIOs, but the others were cheaper and easier to add absorbency when needed. My favorite overnight diapers were Happy Flute Heavy Wetters! Though I do know someone who swears by wool, it can be expensive and requires extra care though. I did make some fleece covers for a friend and she said they worked well! You'd put the cover over the normal diaper and it acts as an extra water resistant layer. It's not as fool proof as wool, but still good and much cheaper!

Things I hated: microfiber inserts for starters. I feel like DS leaked more with MF inserts than any other insert we have. Plus I hate the feel of it when I'm stuffing the pockets with MF, it's always rough against my skin. Also, not having a diaper sprayer sucked. Our apartment wouldn't allow one. Planning on getting one this time!! And our diaper pail. I got the Dekor pail because it's CD friendly, comes with wetbags even! But I never liked putting the wetbags in the pail, and I didn't like having to shove the diaper into the pail, some AIOs or thicker stuffed diapers were almost too big for the hole. I know a lot of people have success with wire trash cans that allow air flow, I'm thinking about something like that. But it would be in DSs room and idk if I trust him to stay out of it or not lol. Plus we have to keep doors closed because of our cats, so I feel like it's going to stink no matter what I do.

I feel like that was a lot of rambling...but there's a lot of my thoughts.

timesacharm · July 2018

I'm definitely interested in CD. Hubby isn't really on board though. I think my plan is to buy a few different types to try out and if it seems to work for us then we'll commit to investing in a full line-up.

Boobopgirl · July 2018

We've done cloth with all 3 to varying degrees. 1qHonestly, the best advice I have is to buy a few of several different types (maybe even used if that doesn't eek you out) and start with a mix. After a wash or two, you'll find yourself reaching for certain ones above others. Then get more of that kind. I like fitteds for my brand new babies, prefolds and covers for my slightly bigger babies (also I have skinny babies so the dipes keep their pants up), and trim and quick pockets for once they are wiggling more and you have less than 2 seconds to get the diaper on before they escape.

hkom · July 2018

We do plan on using disposables until the meconium is gone. And probably for longer outings and trips. Things like that. I know my mom will be on board with using cloth if baby stays with her. My dad I'm not sure. The in-laws, definitely not. They think making bacon and eggs at home instead of going to a diner is horribly inconvenient, so I can't imagine how they would handle cloth diapers.

Can you presoak cloth wipes in just a regular refillable wipes holder instead of a warmer? I'm a bit gadget-averse and I'm trying to avoid all of the automatic warmers/mixers/etc.

mschill22 · July 2018

I did cloth diapers for my son for about a year until he was having significant irritation of his bum because I do t think the diapers were wicking away enough moisture...(and that was with changing him every 2 hours). I was using the Grovia hybrids with microfiber terry soakers but it just wasn’t cutting it. Any recommendations for better absorbency or better diapers? I may even consider buying a whole new set of cloth diapers this go around...

coybig · July 2018

I'll admit I wasn't on board with CD initially, but came around when I saw how easy the AIOs were. We had a few different types, and I'm sure my wife would rattle them off the top of her head. The laundry portion isn't that bad, maybe 2 loads/week.

For DD we used them nearly all the way through, for DS we stopped a bit earlier because it seemed no matter what we tried he would pee right through, even with adding extra inserts. He also never really hit solid poops in them which made it a bit worse.

We'll use them again at least early with #3.

snugglyduckling25 · July 2018

Definitely lurking this thread. I used them for a few months with the twins, but working FT in addition to daycare not being on board, I quit quickly. I really want to use them this time though! It’s been 7 years though - so I feel like I’m starting my research all over and I do want to keep the cost down since this is definitely our last baby.

I have a question regarding NB diapers - I’m debating just skipping these and starting when baby grows into one size. Approximately what size/age is that? My first never even wore NB disposable diapers which is why I’m nervous to invest in a stash of NB cloth. But maybe they last longer than NB disposables?

runrinserepeat · July 2018

@snugglyduckling25 our NB dipes typically last 4-6 weeks. Our babies were 6lbs 8oz and 7lb 2oz at birth fwiw.

snugglyduckling25 · July 2018

@runrinserepeat thanks! That’s good to know and I might just get a few and if he’s smaller, add to the stash at that point. My first was 9lbs 5oz and the twins were 6lbs 7oz and 6lbs 4oz. They seemed tiny compared to DS1, but for twins I was definitely happy with their weights. Part of me is expecting another large baby, but every baby is different, so who knows.

PensiveCrayon · July 2018

@snugglyduckling25 Honestly if I had it to do over again I would skip the NB cloth. As I wrote above, we had leaking issues and I feel like my son really wasn’t in them long before we sized up. (I could check, but #lazy.)

runrinserepeat · July 2018

@snugglyduckling25 that’s great for twins! My sisters were barely 5 lbs when they were born!

artemis618 · July 2018

@snugglyduckling25 I agree with @runrinserepeat that is great for twins - my brother and I were maybe 5lbs 5 oz and we were a week late.

My current thought (not having done this before) is to use disposable for newborn-sized then to try the bumgenius OS all in ones. It’s a little fuzzy to me how the inserts work with these though? I saw there are bamboo ones?

Also planning on cloth wipes - same question on the bamboo vs other materials. TIA.

PensiveCrayon · July 2018

@artemis618 Do you mean BumGenius Freetimes like these? I don't use inserts at all -- the AIO aspect means that the wings are sewn right in to the diaper. I've never had any leaking issues with them, so I've never felt the need to add any more inserts for extra absorbency, but I'm sure you could put one under the wings if you needed to.

For cloth wipes, I sort of made my own by cutting up extra receiving blankets and making a homemade spray, but it seemed to aggravate my son's sensitive bum. Maybe I did it wrong though.

runrinserepeat · July 2018

PensiveCrayon said:
For cloth wipes, I sort of made my own by cutting up extra receiving blankets and making a homemade spray, but it seemed to aggravate my son's sensitive bum. Maybe I did it wrong though.

We mostly used washcloths with water. I made a solution for the wipes about once and then after that was like, “ain’t nobody got time for that”

misscheapandchic · July 2018

I gotta break out all my bumgenius and strip them. I have a couple WAHMs that we’ll see if they survived the test of time like my BGs did.

hkom · July 2018

@runrinserepeat Do you just wet them in the sink right before or do you keep a spray bottle at the changing station?

katy0990 · July 2018

I did not cloth diaper, but we used cloth wipes at home. I just used a damp baby washcloth for pee and used soap on it for poop. They were much better on his skin and I thought it was easier than having to wipe a million times with disposable wipes.

runrinserepeat · July 2018

@hkom I think we mostly used the peri bottle they sent me home from the hospital with. When that got lost, just the sink.

runrinserepeat · July 2018

@hkom I think we mostly used the peri bottle they sent me home from the hospital with. When that got lost, just the sink.

hbmama21 · July 2018

@mschill22 microfiber can actually wick away too much moisture and cause rash issues due to that. I used the cotton sides only for my son since he had the GI issues. If I used microfiber he’d have a bad reaction. Not sure d that was your case, just a thought.

@hkom I used a warmer bc I love them, not sure they’re necessary, just some case to keep them from drying out. I also used a peri bottle and cotton pads (no oils) for a long time and that was great.

mschill22 · July 2018

@hbmama21 very helpful! He had a rash almost every day towards the end so I switched him to disposables to give his little bum a break. This time if baby#2 has an adverse reaction, I’m going to try to switch up the material because dangggg disposables are expensive. Also, might sound really weird but the nightly cloth diapering routine we had was kind of unwind/meditation/stress relief time.

binxybaby · July 2018

Does anyone hate the smell of disposables? Above the environmental concerns of them, I just don't like the smell.

Planning on doing disposables until baby runs out of the size 1s my in laws bought us. Might get a box of newborns too just in case.

miranda6275 · July 2018

Joining in on this thread to learn! Stm but DH was against cloth first time. Now he knows how much it'll save. I nursed passed 1 with dd so BMs shouldn't be bad at first. Talked to a mom friend who added me to tons of CD groups on FB and now I'm completely overwhelmed and not sure which brand/ style etc.

AdorkablePixie · July 2018

Not sure if someone already said this but we do have a cloth diaper thread that got started maybe a month or two ago. I will try to find it and paste the link when I get the chance.

I’ll also come back and comment something useful. lol We cloth diaper here (or we did, DD is currently potty trained when awake) and love it.

fernsy · July 2018

Yay cloth diapering. My DD is 3.5 and its all a little fuzzy to me now. We did mostly prefolds and flats with some fitteds when she was really young. I experimented with pockets and AIOs but preferred my easy-washing prefolds. The pockets and AIOs were good for other people, though. We did end up switching to disposables at night around 9 months or so -- it helped us all sleep through the night which counterbalanced my conscience at using them. CDing was easier than I thought -- and she did potty train relatively early, around her 2nd birthday, which I attribute to the CDs a little.

AdorkablePixie · July 2018

Found it: https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12728548/cloth-diapers

Gwyneddlesliegrace You were actually commenting on that thread too. lol

We use mostly pocket diapers along with some prefolds and covers. I LOVE the prefolds and covers, especially as they get older because I feel like they hold more. As DS got older, I stopped using the snappis. We loved Bum Genius pockets and Just Simply Baby. My MIL and DH couldn't really figure out the prefolds and covers, so that's why we mostly used the pockets because they're easy. For night time once he started wetting through the normal diapers I started using either hemp or bamboo fitteds with a fleece cover. They work great. Kinda sucked in the summer though.

As far as storage of dirty diapers we have a dekor pail with wet bag liners. We only needed to liners and just switched them out and washed as we did the laundry. With a BF baby, the poopy diapers don't need to be rinsed because the poop is water soluble. Once he started having solids, we started to rinse diapers. We bought a sprayer attachment that we attached to the toilet. It can be messy, I hope to find a better method with this next baby.

Cloth diaper chat

Re: Cloth diaper chat

Choose Another Board

Search Boards