June 2020 Moms

Cloth Diapering

Just a place to discuss. Questions, answers, ideas.
_______________________________________________
Me: 33
DH: 32
Married 7/18/15
1st born at 35+4 on 6/6/16
Team green turned BLUE!
2nd born at 38+6 on 8/30/18 
Team green turned PINK!
Due with #3 on 6/6/20 Team Green

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Re: Cloth Diapering

  • So we just got our almost 4 year old out of cloth overnight a couple months ago.

    Our 18 month old is full time in cloth, and other than first 3-4 weeks of new baby (where we use primarily cloth but usually a couple disposables overnight or if we leave house [LOL this time]) this one will be full time as well. Which has been a massive help this last month. 

    My kids are super soakers. They pee out of any single type of diaper by 6 weeks old. 

    We have used every style of diaper out there.  But with needing to double up on absorbency on everything, we need to be extra cost conscious.

    All-in-One are definitely the most expensive, and we have to add in a hemp insert minimum to every single one to make it through 2 hours. So we have a couple of them for sitters or grandmas or when we know we'll be changing them in a public place, so ease is important. If we're visiting a friend and changing at their house it's not a big deal - but public changing tables need quick! Ours have held up well, but again they're not our go-to option. 

    Pockets. They're again, ok. But we can't make use of the inserts that come with basically any of them. Microfiber and bamboo generally just don't work for us. We again still have a couple because I stuff them right after laundry, so they're easy for sitters/grandma's/public. They work better for us than AIO usually because they're cheaper to get and because I only use a few here and there I don't mind stuffing them. And, I have to stuff AIO anyway. We use a flat folded into a pad shape and a hemp insert for stuffing. 

    All-in-2. We love the idea of them, but due to absorbency issues they haven't worked well. The Buttons/Best Bottoms systems (different brands but completely interchangeable shells and inserts!) are awesome. Just snap in inserts and go. Then when wet, just pull out the wet inserts, wipe shell/cover, snap in new inserts. Get a new shell out whenever there is poop or the cover gets totally soaked. But, we couldn't get enough absorbency. We used their hemp insert with their overnight hemp insert both snapped in together and it wasn't enough. My friend uses a microfiber with a bamboo or hemp and they work great for her. My kids are just difficult. When we used 3 of their hemp inserts it did hold enough for one daytime use, but...wasn't cost effective for us. Luckily you can use the shell over flats or prefolds and I can use the hemp inserts in other places as well. So it wasn't at all a bust. We love the Buttons shells used as covers over our normal set up.

    Prefolds. We love prefolds for newborns. Regular cotton prefolds work well for us for first couple of months, maybe 2. We secure them with a snappi. Put them under a cover. Once my kids are older though a cotton prefold doesn't hold enough and is too bulky. Hemp prefolds *do work* but still need a small insert for extra absorbency in there, but it can be a cotton or even a small cotton flat folded into a pad. Hemp prefolds are much thinner so there is room to put in insert in there. Unfortunately due to the relatively hefty cost of hemp prefolds. If I had a ton of money, I'd have a bunch. The thing I most don't like about prefolds though is needing several sizes as kids grow. 

    Fitted. We do love our fitted diapers. We use them for overnights (we need hemp fitted with 2 or 3 hemp inserts of course) and were gifted a couple cotton fitted that we use with hemp inserts. They hold as much as prefold with insert or flat with insert set ups and don't need a snappi because they have snaps, but still run slightly more money. The overnight hemp fitted really cost a lot. BUT for us, no disposable, even overnight disposables, hold my kids all night long. So once we're either using extra absorbency disposable pads in our overnight diapers OR using two regular disposables on them at once to hold them overnight - we decided investing in the expensive cloth was worthwhile.

    Flats - we mostly use flats. They size adjust from newborn to toddler generally and wash and dry easier. And in a pinch I can use one as a pad or a dish towel or a cloth napkin or a burp rag or so many things. They hold enough for the newborn by themselves until 6 ish weeks old. Then we have to fold in an insert to increase absorbency. By 4 months old it needs to be a hemp insert, but before then we can usually use a cotton or bamboo. Flats are cheap. Usually $0.75-$1.50 per for cotton. We've tried and loved some hemp blend flats. But they're $12 each and still need more absorbency added for us, so it's not cost effective. Our hemp inserts need to be 6 layers of hemp blend fabric to work. Our favorite brand is Thirsties. They're $4.50-$5 each for 6 layers. I've found cheap hemp inserts on Amazon that are either 2 layers of hemp, or 2 layers of hemp with 2 layers of microfiber. They just don't hold enough. It's not worth $2.50-$3.25 for 2-4 layers of hemp for us. Once baby is y ish months old we use more cheap flannel receiving blankets as flats. They're still super cheap but a bit bigger, so hold a little more, and I can sometimes get them for $0.25 or less at a garage sale or goodwill. But with flat plus hemp insert, our normal daytime diapers cost about $5.50 per diaper. But then you need a cover over it. And hold am amazing amount. Some people could use that diaper for overnight! We have tried out many many brands of covers and would love to answer brand specific questions. Our favorites are some homemade and Buttons. 

    Flats have the disadvantage of needing to be folded up before use. But it doesn't take me more time than having to stuff a pocket with insert and flat. Or finding all three inserts and putting them into our fitteds. Once on baby the flats or prefolds do need to be secured with snappi and also rolled in around the legs to make crotch narrower. It takes some learning to do it well, and then you have to put a cover over it. 

    We also do wool pants/shorts/covers over our diapers for overnight and some daytime use. It's simpler to not have to put a cover over our diapers and the wool can be washed every 3-4 weeks only. So that helps.

    I wash in Tide powder, it's good for harder water to help keep mineral deposits out of diapers. I use two cycles, first cycle just gets excess pee out, then a second wash to get them clean. I dry in two cycles as well. First dry is only 25 min roughly on low. Then I pull out anything with PUL in it - AIO, covers, shells, wet bag, pail liners, menstrual pads, etc. Most of those are fully dry after that, but any pads or AIO still damp sit on a drying rack. Then I start the remainder of load for an hour on high. By then everything is usually dry. 
    _______________________________________________
    Me: 33
    DH: 32
    Married 7/18/15
    1st born at 35+4 on 6/6/16
    Team green turned BLUE!
    2nd born at 38+6 on 8/30/18 
    Team green turned PINK!
    Due with #3 on 6/6/20 Team Green

    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker

    Pregnancy Ticker
  • We cloth diapered L from 6/7 weeks to 2.5 when he potty trained. We used our cloth diapers over night until about October because he refused to give them up but wasnt actually peeing in them at night at all. 

    My suggestion is to try several brands. I mentioned this in the March Randoms too. What I love you may not like, or may not work for your baby. L was chunky until about 8 months but had skinny legs. I needed something to accommodate that. 

    Brands I use:
    Best Bottoms, these are an AI2 so you can change just the pad if they are wet. I used Microfiber with L because I didnt know any different. They worked fine but are prone to compression leaks. I'll use the MF inserts  again because it's what I have and DH is tried of my diaper obsession. 

    GroVia- I actually disliked these and got rid of all but one that I love the print on. 

    Bumgenius Freetimes- this is an AIO. BG makes pockets and such too. The freetime is a MF inserts that is attached. We loved them. They make one called the elemental that is 100% cotton vs the MF. I haven't had issues with these but have heard of the elastics being shot pretty easily. However they are also easy to replace. 

    Lalabye Baby- These are a pocket/ AIO hybrid. They can be used as either. I'm pretty sure the inserts are bamboo? I'd have to double check. Once I washed these enough to get the absorbency up I loved them. They fit super trim. Also they have a rainbow snap system for easy fit! 

    Lighthouse Kids Company- these are an AIO. I love them for my son. 

    I'm going to excitement with Flats and Covers for the newborn period this time since I didnt use newborns last time. 

    I do two washes like @pourmeanothermocktail. And I use Tide as well. I will say when I first started I got pulled into thinking I needed a TON of detergent to get them clean. But you really don't. You just need the right amounts. 


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  • mariabelemariabele member
    edited April 2020
    Thanks so much for all of the information @pourmeanothermocktail@ErikandAfton !!

    So, as I understand it:

    Fitteds, prefolds and flats are all different types of interior padding. They require a waterproof shell/cover.

    AIO, AI2, pockets are all combinations of shells and padding sold together for convenience. Though, as @pourmeanothermocktail you mentioned, the padding that's there alone hasn't been enough anyway so you've had to supplement.

    Did I get that right?  :#:#:)

    Seems that the best option initially is to get a bit of a variety and see what works for your particular situation before buying too much of everything!
  • @mariabele I did not have to supplement any kind of padding with either of my kids once they were in full size diapers.  My second out peed his newborn diapers at 6 weeks which was terribly sad since I had doubled my stash from my first since he was able to wear them til 4.5 months, lol.  I'm excited to be able to use those newborns again!  It just really depends on the kid :)
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  • Seems that the best option initially is to get a bit of a variety and see what works for your particular situation before buying too much of everything!
    Yes! Yes you translated all my too many words into a good summary, and yes, having some of each type is usually my suggestion, before going hog wild.

    And absorbency is SO SO SO SO variable. My kids ARE NOT the norm, so many or even most people can use pockets, AIO, AI2, and fitted exactly as purchased. Or use flats or prefolds without adding stuff to them.

    One thing I think I didn't mention - the AI2 shells that have a slick wipe-able interior and all diaper covers can generally be used several times over several different absorbent diapers with only a quick wipe out (some people choose to rotate 2 during the day to let one air out) for wet diapers (always wash after poor) which does let some of us save money because for instance I have about 50 diapers for my two kids but only 15 ish covers. 

    The Freetimes mentioned above that other people love, complete bust for us. But, most people would find our daytime diapers are enough absorbency to handle 10+ hours overnight, and the thickness of our overnights to be completely unacceptable. So there's no one right diaper for everyone.
    _______________________________________________
    Me: 33
    DH: 32
    Married 7/18/15
    1st born at 35+4 on 6/6/16
    Team green turned BLUE!
    2nd born at 38+6 on 8/30/18 
    Team green turned PINK!
    Due with #3 on 6/6/20 Team Green

    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker

    Pregnancy Ticker
  • @pourmeanothermocktail I was not a fan of the freetimes, either.  I have one, maybe two?  And I always grabbed them last if I even grabbed them at all.
    Pregnancy Ticker
  • I used Bumgenius Flips with my boys but I just donated them last summer because we were done having babies. Anyway, that's what we went with again. That and rumparooz covers too. I did see some reviews that rumparooz leak around the tag on the back but after getting them they look easy to seal with some fabric glue. I used some other brands like Charlie Banana and some brand I got off ebay back in they day as well as G Diapers. The hidden adjustable elastics were nice in the charlie bananas but the metal pieces that adjusted got ruined very quickly with regular washing. The G Diapers were a little too much work for me and the no name brand leaked every time. Flips ended up being what worked for us before we were to throw in the towel and just used disposable diapers. 
    married 9/2010
    DS1 11/2010 (angel)
    DS2 5/2012
    DS3 4/2015
    New baby 6/2020
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