Cloth Diapering

New to CD - Doing research

Hello all. I'm new to cloth diapering. I have a 5-year-old who was raised on disposables. At the time the whole thing seemed daunting to a working, first-time mom. But knowing what I know now, I'm ready to give CD another shot, for mostly environmental reasons and saving money is a nice plus too. All this info is making my head spin though. I'm seeing GroVia and BumGenius seem to be a couple of the more popular and recommended hybrids. Has anyone tried anything else they swear by? I'm also concerned about how easy the cleaning process is once we switch to solid foods. Neither of us really want to worry too much about cleaning poop every night after a 10+ hour work day. Has anyone tried rentals and would you recommend renting??? I found one online: https://jilliansdrawers.com/products/newborn-cloth-diaper-rental-pick-diapers-here. Thanks all in advance!
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Re: New to CD - Doing research

  • I have used neither of those brands. I do know people who like BumGenius though. I have a couple friends who really like their pockets. 

    I have fitteds and covers, which I like. I think having two separate sets of elastic really helps contain poo-splosions. It's also one of the less expensive options and is easy to add extra padding for night times. 

    I'll be honest, switching to solids is not fun. When I researched, I see lots of people talking about how, once you're on solids, poops become "ploppable" - they're firm and just "plop" out of the diaper and into the toilet. I think this really depends on how fast you wean. We added solids at six months, but I'm a proponent of "until they're 1, food is for fun." So my daughter was still on 90% breast milk until just over a year, and her poops were super soft and had to be sprayed out for all that time. They weren't ploppable until she was on more than 40-50% solids. So yea, not much fun.

    Additionally, once they are on solids, their poops are just like adult poops - depending on your diet, fluid intake, if you're ill, etc., your poop can be softer or firmer. Babies are the same way. My daughter is now 19 months old and on 100% solids, and her poops are still really messy at times.

    A sprayer that attaches to your toilet is really handy for poops! 
  • I swear by Alva's. I loved the Alva pockets and Alva covers over green mountain diapers organic prefolds. We used them exclusively for 2 years from birth until potty training and I'm a full-time working mom and we travelled multiple times. It can be done! The ultra low cost was our main reason for choosing Alvas- the price made it possible to buy a newborn stash which was awesome for the first 3 months. I thought BumGenuis were okay (we had 2 of their pockets). I've never tried Grovia. Disliked Charlie Banana, disliked Flips, and disliked Thirsties covers. Thirsties pockets were okay but outgrown earlier than Alvas and our little guy has always been a small dude.
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  • fyi: the cost to cover enough newborn cloth diapers for 2 or 3 days is probably more expensive than just using disposable for a month or so until they are big enough for one size (some brands go down to 8lbs in their OS). so, unless you know lo is coming early and/or little, i’d say that cding newborn does not really have a great cost/benefit ratio.

    yea, cleaning poop is the pits. if you end up formula feeding, you’ll have to rinse poop then as well. get a diaper sprayer with good reviews, one that has strong water pressure, and that will make the job easier. there are other accessories you can buy to make the chore less gross like diaper dawgs or spray pal, but i’ve never tried them so i can’t attest to whether they’re worth it. i don’t intend to buy them this time either because i never really had any catastrophes before while spraying. 

    if you’re looking for recommendations, i personally like bum genius, especially their flips paired with birdseye flats for diapering inexpensively. i also like their pocket diapers paired with birdseye flats for leaving with sitters (looks less confusing) and their pockets paired with hempbabies flats for overnight. i do not like their freetime diapers (i do not like microfiber at all period) and would recommend spending a few extra bucks to get the elemental if you want their aio.

    i do also really like smartbottoms aios and blueberry aios for the cute prints, but i think bumgenius is good bang for your buck. of the other major brands i’ve tried, i do not care for thirsties, grovia, or rumparooz/kangacare diapers.

    my bonus advice would be to get a few diapers from a system that seems practical (to you) and also some from systems that seem appealing/interesting. different types of cds are good in different scenarios, ime. best not to invest on a bunch of a single type/brand of cd just to find out you don’t really like them.
  • lingdesignslingdesigns member
    edited June 2019
    This is all so much info and it's helpful but my head is spinning! I'm expecting my second child in a week or so. (My first time trying cloth diapering). If I like what I've read about Thirsties and I think the all-in-one for night time makes sense for me to out to see if I can fully commit (and I do want to!). If there was one other type for me to buy, what would you all recommend at first?

    I also like what I've read about BumGenius when the baby gets bigger and may transition into hybrids.
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  • @lingdesigns My stash is mostly bumgenius elementals (organic aio’s), smartbottoms 3.1’s and Dream diapers, and Flip hybrids. I LOVE my flips over everything else, but it’s what was easiest for us. It doesn’t take up a lot of room in a diaper bag compared to pocket diapers or aio’s, and I found them less awkward to spray out. I did cloth full time with my first until we couldn’t figure out a good overnight solution and started using sposies for that. My second we do cloth part time. It’s a lot of laundry when the first isn’t fully potty trained :scream:
  • thanks @ivyvines6! Do you find the BumGenius too bulky? seems to be a common complaint. I'm thinking just to get through the first couple of months, go easy on myself and do Thirsties all-in-1 to see if I can adapt to it. What do you think? (Luckily my first is 6 years old. 1 set of diapers for me to change! Phew!)
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  • @highsteaks thank you for the info! Just narrowing it down to 1 brand still leaves you with so many different combinations/options! So with BumGenius, you can get their shells and choose the inserts from any brand? 
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  • @craftywitch hmm I haven't considered Alva. Thanks! I'll take a look!
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  • @lingdesigns I’ve never thought they were more or less bulky than any other cloth diaper I’ve tried /shrug 
  • I know my friend's CDs, which are Bumgenius pockets and AIOs definitely look bulky compared to my fitteds and covers, for what that's worth. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

     You can use any cover/shell or pocket with any insert. I would say having some prefolds, flats or extra inserts would be a good idea to add extra absorbency for night or naps.

    I love my Thirsties covers! I'm on my second child and have not noticed any deterioration in the elastic. 
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