Cloth Diapers...your Experiences?

[KellyTheChef]

Hey all...Gillian really has me considering cloth diapers. She uses Bum-Genius 3.0 diapers which can adjust all the way up to your child being 35#'s. I am seriously considering these. I am figuring that a child in diapers till the age of three can cost $1500-$2000 in diapers alone. Not to mention all of those diapers sitting in a landfill somewhere. Even if I get TWENTY of these diapers, it will only be $360 and that should be all I ever need to spend on diapers while this next baby is still not potty trained. (Aside from detergent, time, water and such...)

What are your experiences?

Hints?

Tricks?

Cons?

I have a diaper Champ now, and would love to use that to hold them in between washes for a day or so...will that work?

Where I will buy them recommends Allen's Naturally Detergent (leaves no residue, so keeps them absorbent and helps so no diaper rash...) and she said she gives out a flyer that talks about "stripping" them as needed and such.

 

[janetupnorth]

A pail of vinegar around is great to put the soiled diapers soaking in until you can wash them. It takes out the urine smell.White vinegar is cheap too.

 

[pamperedlinda]

A friend of mine uses cloth diapers and she's very happy. She uses these cute little clips for them too: http://www.babyworks.com/catalog/product.asp?dept%5Fid=14&pf%5Fid=1406&gclid=CJmbh6O_xZUCFQNbxwod13CjjQ

 

[ChefJWarren]

Sorry, no experience, but have a friend that uses cloth diapers and makes her own wipes. It was an adjustment, but she is very happy with it! She also recently recommended G diapers to me. Very "green" for the environment, but a little more costly than disposable. I really want to use them because I just can't go the totally cloth way, but we just can't afford it right now.

 

[KellyTheChef]

Oh! The BumGenius 3.0 are totally pin free! (Seems the "closest" to disposables...so DH can't say he won't be able to figure them out!! lol)

The "adjustable" part is snaps...and where you put them on and close them is velcro. Lemme find a picture or something....

 

[janetupnorth]

Oh! The BumGenius 3.0 are totally pin free! (Seems the "closest" to disposables...so DH can't say he won't be able to figure them out!! lol)

The "adjustable" part is snaps...and where you put them on and close them is velcro. Lemme find a picture or something....

Sounds like a lame attempt to not change diapers to me.

 

[janetupnorth]

http://www.bumgenius.com/one-size.php

 

[KellyTheChef]

 

[KellyTheChef]

Sounds like a lame attempt to not change diapers to me.

Don't they all try those lame attempts?

I still change the majority of the diapers, and honestly I don't mind...but I didn't want to bring home cloth diapers and have him act all dumb and say it was too confusing to figure out!! lol

 

[chefann]

These cloth diapers are made and sold by a cheffer, Crys: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5054867

 

[pampcheflisa]

Wow, they have come a long way in cloth diapers!! I had no idea that they made cloth diapers like that. If I knew that, I might would have tried those!! My 2yo DS is just almost ready to start potty training now.

 

[raebates]

The Furry Guy never shirked his diaper-changing duties. He never even tried. However, I couldn't bear to watch him. He is probably the most patient man on the planet. He would attempt (several times) to get our baby boy to put his legs down. On the third attempt I'd leave the room. I never complained, though. The fastest way to get any man (or woman, for that matter) to stop doing anything is to criticize his effort.The second-fastest is to re-do what they've done.

 

[chefshawna]

My husband changes lots and lots of diapers. Matter of fact, it seems like for the last 3 1/2 years we've not done nothing but change diapers!! But, these look like they're all really cute! Good luck with them.

 

[DebbieJ]

I did cloth and it was great. We just used basic Chinese Prefolds with Snappis and Prowraps covers. Worked great!

 

[Liquid Sky]

I use bum genius and fuzzi bunz. LOOOOVE them!!!!!

 

[gilliandanielle]

Soaking in vinegar is for old school diapers, not bumgenius or fuzzi bunz. It will break down the fibers. I put the stinkies in a wet bag (a zippered bag lined with PUL (waterproof fabric) to hold in yuckies and smells). I ordered PUL off eBay to make my own wet bag and I am so proud of it. I would love to make you one as a baby present! Even if you don't end up doing cloth it is great for soiled baby clothes while you are out, etc.

I think your diaper champ would still work, but it would be more of a pain than just throwing them in the wetbag.

 

[gilliandanielle]

Oh yeah, I use All free and clear and Planet detergents. It is cheaper than the Allen's and as long as you strip them monthly they will be fine

 

[pampchefrhondab]

I used cloth diapers for my oldest child always. She would get a terrible rash from disposable since her skin could not breath. I thought they were very easy to use. I just had a diaper pail w/the deodorizer compartment in the top of the inside. I never soaked them. I would of course dump any bowel movements into the toilet.

My daughter is 18 now so I used the old fashioned diapers w/the pens and plastic pants. When my second was born I had a few of the ones like Gillian uses, but I personally didn't like them as well. They didn't seem to keep from leaking like the others did. They may have been improved though. The old ones I would wash in hot water w/tide w/bleach. They would come out white and clean.

For my third I mostly used disposable just because of my work schedule and time. He didn't have the problems w/the rash either. I did put him in the cloth training pants w/plastic cover pants in order to potty train him. The disposable diapers just don't get wet like cloth so it's harder to train children.

 

[gilliandanielle]

I have actually heard that babies who used cloth diapers potty trained earlier on average than other babies, but I don't have any experience with that yet

 

[Stampaholic1961]

I lived with my sister when her babies were little. They were 14 months apart. The older one was in double diapers & the baby had to have triple diapers because her hips were "dislocatable". It was a nightmare! I hated every minute of cloth diapers! Of course that was 28 years ago so I am sure things have improved since then! After my experience with that, I never even tried cloth with my babies! If I hadn't found a brand of disposable that they weren't allergic to, maybe I would have but I wouldn't have done so otherwise!!!

 

[gilliandanielle]

When I told my mom I was going to do cloth she thought I was nuts just because cloth used to be so much harder than it is now. I dump out the poo and pull the insert out to throw them in the wash, but that is the only way they are different from disposables. If you have more time than money it is by FAR the best way to go, but if you have more money than time I would stick with disposables

 

[KellyTheChef]

When I told my mom I was going to do cloth she thought I was nuts just because cloth used to be so much harder than it is now. I dump out the poo and pull the insert out to throw them in the wash, but that is the only way they are different from disposables. If you have more time than money it is by FAR the best way to go, but if you have more money than time I would stick with disposables

HeeHee! That's a good way of looking at it!

You have a PM!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Tell your DH that cloth diapers make the absolute best waxing/polishing rags, ever. While everyone else recommends microweave and Turkish toweling for waxing/polishing, take it from someone who's been waxing antique cars for 35 years that diapers are the best! (And I learned that from someone who's been polishing cars for another 20 years before I started - which is why his kids were all raised in cloth diapers!)

 

[janetupnorth]

That bag is so cute Gillian. I bet if you made Kelly a pink/brown one (even though she's having a boy) she will go nuts over it!!!!

 

[Ginger428]

Tell your DH that cloth diapers make the absolute best waxing/polishing rags, ever. While everyone else recommends microweave and Turkish toweling for waxing/polishing, take it from someone who's been waxing antique cars for 35 years that diapers are the best! (And I learned that from someone who's been polishing cars for another 20 years before I started - which is why his kids were all raised in cloth diapers!)

I was waiting for you to chime in....
Back in the old days....
We had Diapers,a diaper pail, Ivory Snow flakes, this stuff called Diaper Pure. Then there were these plastic panties W/elastic around the legs & waist. They looked like old time bath hats or what ever they were called The pail was in the bathroom, so you cleaned out the REALLY messy ones in the toilet:yuck: & then they soaked till it was time to do laundry! Don't even get started on sterilizing bottles,nipples etc....

 

[pampchefrhondab]

KG you are so right - they are the best for dusting and polishing.

I was so lucky my MIL gave me a huge stash of cloth diapers when my daughter was born. She was a baby sitter for 25 years and had collected them from people who brought them for their kids!

I've almost run out of them now! I hate to think of having to buy some!

 

[janetupnorth]

Tell your DH that cloth diapers make the absolute best waxing/polishing rags, ever. While everyone else recommends microweave and Turkish toweling for waxing/polishing, take it from someone who's been waxing antique cars for 35 years that diapers are the best! (And I learned that from someone who's been polishing cars for another 20 years before I started - which is why his kids were all raised in cloth diapers!)

They are the BEST dust rags too!!!!

 

[pampchefrhondab]

I forgot to mention my Dear Mother bought me diaper service for 8 weeks when my first two were born. It was great they would be delivered and they would pick up the dirty ones once a week. They smelled really good when I got them. They were so much softer for a newborn then the disposable diapers! Unfortunately by the time I had my third in 1995 they were out of business. Maybe them will come back someday!

 

[KellyTheChef]

Well...a friend of mine gave me a TON of disposables when Connor was born, and I am just now getting to the end of them. So, yesterday I went shopping for cloth diapers for Connor. Once there, I decided to get the FuzziBunz. I hope 16 diapers is enough! I will have to keep you all posted on how they work out!

 

[pckellyd]

16 is NOT going to be enough.... unless you're washing every day and a half. You may want to pick up some prefolds and covers for just in case, their cheap and if you decide you don't like them they still make great burpers. you can get a dozen for under $30 and covers are about 11-13/cover check out Cloth Diapers & Parenting Community - DiaperSwappers.com it's a forum cloth diaper users, and can help you out with anything you may need. I LOVE using cloth! they are SOOOO much easier than they used to be. DH also uses them without complaint, and we only have fitteds and prefolds which both need covers... so it's two steps with a super wiggly little one.

 

[myinnerchef]

Unless you're doing laundry multiple times a day, I don't think twenty will be enough! My son went through at least that many in a day but we also used them for burp rags and changing pad liners. Inevitably, as soon as you'd change his wet diaper, he'd poop in the clean one. I'm so thankful he's potty trained now. :-D

 

[princessmeshelle]

Haven't read what others have said, but here is my 2 cents:
I LOVE my cloth diapers. EVERYONE thought I was nuts. But I figured even going the cheap route, I could spend as little as $300 for the entire time my children would be in diapers. Now, I will admit. I trouble committing to them at first. (it can be so easy to just say, I'll start next week...) But I finally bit the bullet with baby # 2. I will never go back to disposables.

Since changing to cloth, I have only dealt with diaper rashes that have to do with new foods. And they don't last long.

I do prefolds with the water proof covers and the go on like a disposable diaper. ( All in ones are nice, but I can't afford that) When I change, If the cover is wet, I switch it out, otherwise I leave it. I launder once a week. To me, they are no big deal. I like to do a dry pail, but that is just so I don't throw my back out trying to empty the bucket. Baking soda and vinegar are my best friends when laundering these.

One thing I think is an absolute MUST is the sprayer that you hook up to the toilet. It makes spraying out solids so much easier than dunking. There is also something called the potty bucket that I use. It saves me from being hunched over a toilet while I spray. Plus if you need to soak but keep a sry pail like me, you can use the bucket for that. I have found a few websites I like to deal with for my diapering needs. I can send them to you if you would like.

Hey all...Gillian really has me considering cloth diapers. She uses Bum-Genius 3.0 diapers which can adjust all the way up to your child being 35#'s. I am seriously considering these. I am figuring that a child in diapers till the age of three can cost $1500-$2000 in diapers alone. Not to mention all of those diapers sitting in a landfill somewhere. Even if I get TWENTY of these diapers, it will only be $360 and that should be all I ever need to spend on diapers while this next baby is still not potty trained. (Aside from detergent, time, water and such...)

What are your experiences?

Hints?

Tricks?

Cons?

I have a diaper Champ now, and would love to use that to hold them in between washes for a day or so...will that work?

Where I will buy them recommends Allen's Naturally Detergent (leaves no residue, so keeps them absorbent and helps so no diaper rash...) and she said she gives out a flyer that talks about "stripping" them as needed and such.

 

[SpiritdancerIA]

Very happy with FuzziBuns, here

DS2 switched to cloth at about 9 months (he's 20 months, now), and we started out with a dozen FB. We've expanded our stash with another dozen, plus 3 Haute Pockets used for overnights. Works out that I do a smallish load daily, and one smallish load in the dryer, and one set for use that day.

There are at least two places I found online offering FB 2nds at a pretty decent savings - and the ones I got as seconds are working just fine.

Detergent: I use Planet, purchased thru Amazon. Sign up for their subscription program, and you get a discount on your first order. It's worked well for our _really_ hard water.

 

[Ann F]

My babies are 25 and 27, so my cloth diapers were just "ordinary" ones. Every morning my DH would pour the very heavy diaper pail full of dirty diapers and water into the washer for me and spin them, then when I got up I'd set the machine for the wash cycle and go from there.

I later used them for what I called "hay fever rags" or "nose diapers"-- they were SO much softer than handkerchiefs, and if you've ever had hay fever you know you can't use tissues b/c they just aggravate the problem.

 

[byrd1956]

When my son was a baby I had a Diaper Service. It was awesome and totally worth it. :love:There was a blue line and green line of diapers and the blue were definately softer. We had Huggies around and back then they were definately better than Pampers. Been out of the baby business for too long to know if Diaper Service is avaliable anymore.

 

[KellyTheChef]

Here is Connor in his new diapers...FuzziBunz!

This one is "double stuffed" cuz I was getting ready to put him down for the night. Last night was his first night, and no leaks! Today was good, too...now I will just have to get my system in place for keeping up with washing/drying/stuffing them!

 

[KellyTheChef]

BTW, I love the bright colors! I got 5 of this bright blue, 5 of a periwinkle blue, 5 bright spring green, and one bright red one. Too fun!

 

[myinnerchef]

Yes, there are still services that delivery cloth diapers weekly. Check in your yellow pages under "Diaper Services."

 

[JDooley]

I used cloth with my first until she started going to the babysitters – 8 weeks. And then when we were home she always had cloth. Just out of pure laziness on my part I used disposable at night and when we went out. My #2 is on the way and my new daycare lady is 100% ok with cloth diapers so Hannah and #2 are going back into them!!! Hannah is 15 months and I want her potty trained quick so I am going back and I just prefer them for little ones

 

[KellyTheChef]

Update (for those who may be considering using cloth)

I am still loving them! I am washing about every 2-3 days, and I don't freak out if I have to use a disposable here or there. I have to say, he has not had any diaper rashes since switching over to cloth. Now that he is 7.5 months old, he is eating more baby cereal and other "real" food so his poops are not the type that can go through the wash. Instead of getting a sprayer for the toilet to spray off the poop, I got some flushable "liners" (look like a cloth strip of toilet paper) that I lay inside the diaper. Then, when he poops, I just pull out that liner and toss it into the toilet. I have to say...I was VERY nervous about using them and having enough time to keep up with the wash, and it has been less of a PITA than I thought it would be. Honestly, the biggest problem is the fact that my washer goes off balance many of the times (those inserts weigh a ton wet!) so I have to fix it and finish the cycle. Other than that, I can't complain!

If anyone ever has any questions about using cloth, lemme know!

 

[JDooley]

I love my cloth diapers! I had to stop using them on my first at 3 months because my day care would not use them, and I used cheaper cloth diapers. My next Daughter will be in a better cloth diaper because I am keeping her in them clear through I am so excited!
Congrats on your decision on using cloth. it is not a good fit for everyone but personally I love them!

 

[vonfirmath]

is this a newborn? The pockets, etc. rarely fit a newborn well and it is VERY expensive to get enough to keep a newborn in diapers.

Two recommendations:
1. Start out with disposables until you get into a "pattern" and can handle the extra effort of cloth (more washing, stuffing if you use pockets)

2. Use prefolds for the earliest years. Cheaper, easier to keep clean, and they work fine.

My experience with cloth: we didn't start until 15 months because of not having laundry in our house. Once we started, we did it daytime, at home only pretty much for 6 months (Nighttime can be harder to figure out, and we KNEW 1 disposable diaper held just fine so we kept doing that). And then the diapers started leaking and we couldn't figure out why. We stripped and rewashed and rinsed and rinsed and the diapers would just leak. And we were getting lots of rashes with the cloth, that then cleared up in disposables. Though we also get rashes in disposables, I have not found cloth to be particularly rash-free in our circumstances -- and the medication you use on rashes can affect the non-leakiness of the fancy cloth diapers!

Brand new diapers worked fine. But the diapers that had been in rotation for 6 months didn't. We got frustrated -- it's too expensive to work for only 6 months! So we're on "break" at the moment. But we'll try again I'm sure.