Cloth Diapering Decisions...S.O.S.!!!!

Hi, mamas!

I've been on and off of here a few times...have mostly spent my time as a lurker. DH and I are 35 weeks along, anxiously awaiting our darling baby girl to join us in the world. We are trying to wrap up preparations for her arrival as best as we can.

Forgive me if this was covered in another thread. I'm a little overwhelmed right now, so I feel the need to do this this way.

The decision DH and I made to use cloth vs. disposable was an easy one. We quickly chose cloth...a decision that was butt-based, tree-based, and money-based.

Now the tough decision...what kind of cloth diapers to use?

I have so many questions...like how can a fleece or wool cover be waterproof? Just seems like anything made out of cloth wouldn't really be that waterproof.

What kind of material is the best diaper made out of?

Liners? What about them? Do they come in different materials, too? Should I use liners at night or all the time?

How do I take care of the diapers...covers...liners? We don't have a dryer right now, and line-dry everything. Will they get stiff since I can't use fabric softener on them?

How many of everything will I need to start with?

How long do they last?

What about fasteners?

OMG! Am I even thinking of the right questions? Am I leaving anything out? Please, please, please help. There is so much to think about it's making my head spin. Every time I sit down and try to research this I end up in tears. Our darling baby will be here before we know it, and we don't even have anything to wrap her precious little butt in!

I know a lot of these questions are subjective, but any and all input will be welcomed and appreciated. Also, if any of you would like to share what kind of baby skin care products you like and why, that would be great. Thanks again!

Peace to all!

 

Okay, I am currently researching diapers. I'm not near as far along as you, but I have come across some interesting information.

http://www.diaperpin.com/howto.asp This is an amazingly wonderful site with tons of info on diapering and availability of services and stuff.

What I've heard is that if you're using prefolds (diapers that YOU pre-fold) you'll need about 6 dozen so you're not doing laundry every single minute of the day. You can use diaper covers so you won't have to use pins, and the wool is for night time. Wool does absorb a LOT of liquid, because of the properties of wool.

Some people swear by the all-in-one diapers. And while they are very convenient, some of the types you might invest in, the outer covering in them can't handle so many washings and many times might split or tear.

I've heard that using vinegar in the rinse cycle when you're cleaning your diapers will help to make them soft. Not sure on this one, but never hurts to try. It does take out bacteria, so you should probably invest in a gallon of white vinegar for your washer. Also, baking soda in the wash will help take out the smells.

One important thing to remember is TO WASH YOUR DIAPERS BEFORE YOU USE THEM ON BABY! It makes them more absorbent for some reason. So when you have all of them bought, wash them all once.

Oh yeah, and one more thing. My gramma recently told me to invest in not just one, but two diaper pails. One for poo and the other for just wet diapers. You wash the poo-ones once by themselves to remove the poo and get them pretty clean (with no soap), and then add the others, run them through again with soap, baking soda, and vinegar. Cuts down on sorting through, as well as rinsing the poo-ones.

I hope all of this helped!

 

Oh yeah! Liners!

My mother-in-law (well, future anyway) told me that she used liners when she was out with baby. It cut down on the number of stinky diapers you had to carry with you. You just place the lining in the diaper, and when you change baby, throw the liner away and replace it with a new one. No more messy diapers kept in the diaper bag!

 

We use prefolds for the most part. Our covers are snap-ons and they hold the diaper in place so pins or Snappis are not necessary. We also have some all-in-ones for daycare and outings. I've found that the brand of AIO's with snaps (I forget the brand name) work much better than the kind with velcro. They hold better, don't leak, and look much cuter.

The prefolds are the cheapest by far. You can use plastic pants, wool covers, or snap-on covers. I've never used the wool ones myself, but I've heard they're very water-resistant and they're cute. Check out www.katieskisses.com. That's where we got our prefolds - $215 for 5 dozen diapers and a dozen covers. A great deal! PM me if you need more info.

 

Fuzzibunz are a brand of all-in-ones with snaps.

http://www.cottonbabies.com/index.php?cPath=56 A website that sells them.

 

Fuzzibunz aren't the brand we use, but I've heard nothing but good things about them and I'm thinking about trying them.

 

I've gotta go with velcro as a fastener. It rocks and only requires one deft hand.
If you have to line-dry the pre-folds are the way to go. They dry quickly.
We used soakers at night (heavier more absorbant material...it let us sleep through the night, but I don't know how it'd do on a clothes line).
As for covers I never tried any fancy materials....just the raincoat type stuff, so I haven't a clue.

 

I liked using two diaper pails. I would put a little baking soda in with the soaking diapers. Then put them through the spin cycle on your machine before you wash them to spin out all the water. My grandma swore by vinegar in the wash, so I always put half cup in. NEVER bleach your diapers, its harsh for the baby and will wear out your diapers. Just hang them in direct sunlight and it will bleach out any stains.
We used mostly prefolds, as they are the cheapest way. I used plastic pants, velcro covers and some all in ones. Mostly I used whatever someone gave me or I could find at a second hand store. Around where I lived yuppies buy all these cloth diapers and then find out daycare won't deal with them and I was able to get cloth diapers and accessory's cheaply. I had like 10 of these great all in ones. I loved them. I don't know what brand they were but they had a great canvas like cover. I never put them in the dryer and they lasted forever.
Its not as hard as it seems. soon you will be changing diapers and washing out "poo" like a pro.

 

Let me try and help 'Venus on a Clam'.

When it comes to choosing cloth diapers one has to be happy with their choice, for you will be changing lots of diapers! But as far as getting all worked up and frustrated over the decision as to which ones or what type you want to use, or which ones are better, don't.

Something that really helped me decide on what kind of cloth diapers to use, was all the years I spent babysitting for neighbourhood mothers when I was younger. All but a select few of all those mothers used the plain, old-fashioned style of cloth diapers that required folding, pinning, and rubber pants.

With pin and fold cloth diapers you can really customize the exact fit you are looking for, or may want for your little one, regardless of what shape he or she is, or how big the baby or child is. Flat fold cloth diapers fit from newborn, right through to toddlerhood, and even beyond if needed. ie: Late toilet trainers, bed wetters, special needs, etc.

Flats can also be easily "doubled" or even "tripled" when extra added absorbancy is needed, like at night-time, naptime, or for outings, making flats the most versatile re-usable diaper around! Something that cannot be accomplished with an All-in-one diaper.

When it comes to "topping" cloth diapers, traditional pull-on rubber pants in my opinion are still the very best way! Rubber pants made out of 100% vinyl are 100% leakproof! Something you won't get with an All-in-one cloth diaper!

As far as diaper pins go, don't listen to all the nonsense about them, and lastly, do not be scared of them. Pinning provides a really exceptional fitting cloth diaper, which is why so many mothers today still opt for diaper pins when using cloth.

Our baby is not quite yet a year old, and I have strictly used nothing but flannelette flat fold cotton cloth diapers on him, with rubber pants and safety pins. As expected, we plan on having more children and they too will also be diapered in cloth!

If you need any further help with your dilemma or have any other questions, please (PM) me. I would be so happy to help you! In the mean while, let's see a great big happy smile!

 

Listen, my wife is a diaper addict. Fuzzibunz, Lucy's Hope Chest, we've tried em all. Right now I'd have to say Fuzzibunz is about the best.

Insert liner into diaper, snap on, when diaper requires changing, unsnap diaper, remove liner, drop into hamper, drop diaper into hamper.

As for "how many times you can wash them" there's ways you can wash them that do no harm. Baking soda, tea tree oil, all that stuff is VERY GOOD. I'd personally sun/air dry the diapers.

Each has pros and cons, some will work for your baby some won't. I found with the others it was a bit of a hassle to put the vinyl pants over top, but then again, you can change your stuffing to more or to less, you'll need MORE at night.

RE: I've gotta go with velcro as a fastener. It rocks and only requires one deft hand

NO. The baby will find it JUST as easy to undo. So as you're doing it up one side with "one deft hand" the baby will happily play the "undo the nappy she just did up" game.

 

I would like to mention the option of a using a diaper service. We pay 65.00 dollars a month for our service. For this we get a pail, and 50 diapers per week. If we need more we can pay 25 cents per dozen extra. They come once a week and take the sack of dirties we leave outside our door. In exchange they leave a sack of fresh clean diapers, so easy! We use Imse Vimse wool diaper covers, we have two of them. They are SO absorbent! When one is damp, I hang it up to dry and use the other. They dry pretty quickly. They only need to be laundered once every week or so or if they get poopy. We also have a few pull on wool covers we bought used on ebay, but these we use as backup. Still, they work just as well as the Imses, just a little more work to pulling them on. We use Snappis, they help keep the diaper snuggly on the baby, without worrying about pricking him with a pin. Just my 2 cents, good luck!!!

 

Eh, don't freak out mama! Making things as simple as you can will make life easier for you and baby.

Here's my suggestions and input as a VERY experienced cloth diaperer. I cloth diapered the babies I nannied for when I was a kid, I cloth diapered my kids who are now potty trained but both still in cloth pull-ups at night. I've got 6 years experience under my belt with just my kids. These are the things that worked for me. Hopefully this helps.

.DON'T use a wet pail! The diapers will just stew and soak in the gunk and it makes the smells soak in, it's uneccesary work really. Most women I know that CD'd did a dry pail. All you do is plop the diaper in a pail with a lid - if there's poop, dump it into the toilet. Scraping is way over-rated. If it's really mushy you might dunk it around a bit. No biggie. There's really no need to keep them in seperate pails. Why complicate things? Urine is sterile anyways.

.DON'T put your diaper covers in the drier! Always hang dry. They dry super fast anyways. You can re-use the same diaper cover like 2 or 3 times before you need to wash it.

.Line dry your dipes in the sun as much as you can. It helps to naturally bleach them and deodorize them.

.Skip the pins and velcro. Pins are dangerous and a pain. Velcro doesn't last long and it gets all stuck on everything and lint-y if you don't remember to close them all before you wash. Snaps are the best IMHO.

.Motherease diapers (motherease dot com) are the very best out there. I have tried many, many diapers and these just rock. Mine lasted through 2 kids and still looked great - no tears, stains - nothing. I was able to re-sell them. I've been using the same 7 'Bedwetter Pants' (pull-ups) for 4 years now and they show no sign of wearing out anytime soon.

.Cleaning them is simple - Run through a cold rinse/spin 1st on the largest load. THis way you get the major stuff off with out the hot water 'setting' the smells or stains in. Wash on the longest cycle in hot with detergent. If you feel like it, run them through another rinse at the end with some vinegar. Helps to deodorize them. Dry on low or line dry.

If you have any questions or whatever I would totally be willing to share my knowledge and experience. Feel free to PM me.

 

Oh crumbs, I typed out a huge response a few days ago, and it looks like the cyber-monster ate it! Let's see if I can remember everything I wrote...

I cloth-diapered my daughter after trying 6 different brands of disposable diapers on her. (yeah, I'm kind of thick-headed sometimes... and I was afraid of having to learn origami or sticking my baby with 9-foot long safety pins) Here's what we found, in a nutshell.

We found that fitted diapers were by far the most convenient. No pins, no origami, and no leaks! We had a few velour-lined diapers, a few terry-lined diapers, and tons of flannel-lined ones. The velour were by far our favorites. They always felt sooo soft, and messes literall fell out, when shaken. The terry ones seemed to, umm, hold more? But they would get slightly crunchy when air-dryed. We saved those for nighttime, when the holding-power was needed. My kiddies were not "heavy wetters" and we never really needed liners. They're not a bad thing to have on hand, but might not be necessary.
We used a fleece cover at night, but none during the day because DD was so darn prone to rashes.

Fleece & wool are not waterproof... they're water-resistant. What they do, is "wick" moisture away from them. This is awesome in a cover, because it means your babies bum will literally be as dry as physically possible at all times. The problem is, that the moisture has to wick away to somewhere... and that will be wherever their bum is laying. During the day that means that unless you check their diaper literally every hour, (easy on an infant; suicide on a toddler) you're running the risk of finding damp little butt-prints all over the house. At night, all you have to do is fold a towel under where they lay, and it'll keep the mattress & sheets from getting soaked.

Now for cleaning, I had a diaper pail. I'd shake any solid "goodies" off into the toilet, and dump them in as-is. Our cloth wipes & covers went in here too. On wash day, I'd take the whole pail to the washer, and dump them in to HOT water & a big squirt of Dr. Bronner's soap. When it was done washing, I'd run them through a second time, with hot water only to get rid of any soap residue. Fabric softeners are not a good idea for diapers; they can make the fabric "slippery" so that they won't retain moisture, and you'll end up with puddles all over the place. For drying them, I had a wooden sweater-rack that I would set up either on the deck outside, or in front of the sliding-glass door, during the winter. The sunlight would bleach away every last sign of staining, and we never had a problem with stiffness other than with the terry ones.

Now, how many do you need? That entirely depends on your budget, and how often you want to be able to go without washing them. I had 24 diapers to start with, and went down to 18 when my daughter "graduated" to the larger size. This meant I could go 2-3 days between washes. But she was 6 months old when we started... with a newborn, 24 would have only been enough for 1 1/2-2 days. You only need one cover for every 3-4 diaper, even if you plan on using them all the time... they just don't get dirty too quickly.

And as for lasting??? My daughter was given several secondhand. She wore these and the ones we bought her new until she outgrew them & was potty-trained, and we then passed them on to her younger cousin. And I've been told that the ones we bought new for my daughter were passed on to a third little girl. So I'd say they last more than long enough

Oh yeah... velcro & snaps. We found that the diapers with plastic snaps worked best for us. The WAHMS that made ours are no longer in business, but they put 2 layers of snaps in so we could make the diaper "wider" or "more narrow" as she grew. Also, there is a hook-and-loop fastener called "Aplix" that works much better than velcro. It doesn't wear out in the wash as quickly as velcro. BUT it will need to be re-stitched onto the diaper about every 6 months or so with regular use. It's not a huge time investment, but it starts to get on your nerves after awhile. Snaps just don't wear out.
Good luck
love,
mom

 

Man, thanks so much to everybody for the helpful advice! And yes, it has ALL been helpful. I'm still a litle confused, but not As bad as I was. At least now I have some direction! Sorry it's taken me so long to get back on here, but working 12-hour nights, it takes me a few days to catch up! Thanks again to all. I'm sure I'll be PM'ing some of you for more info.

PEACE!