I am a single mother of three great kids. My youngest is a baby girl that just turned 3 months. i have never tried cloth diapering and am about to jump head first into it.
I am changing from disposable to cloth. She hasn't had a rash or anything I'd just like to try to be more earth friendly and cheaper. And we are home most of the time and im a stay at home mom. I am planning on using the snappies instead of pins.
any ideas, or advice for cloth diapering.
Thank you in advance everyone!
I used a service with all 3 of my kids, it was great. It was a few years back, but it was only about $50.00 a month. Well worth it. Pins are not so bad when you get used to it. I have heard the snappies are great.
I cant recall the name of the service at the time, but I have heard that there is a service that will pick up the dirty diapers, launder them and return them, clean! And I was told that this service is available for just about the same price as if you were going to buy disposable diapers.
I used cloth diapers with my daughter and plan to do it again with my next one when he/she comes in the next couple of weeks. Here are some tips:
1) Have enough that you're comfortable in terms of doing laundry. You'll probably want at least 36 so you can go 2 or 3 days without needing to do laundry.
2) Snappies are great and very convenient. Use inserts for nighttime so you don't have to get up and change diapers in the middle of the night. I found with my daughter a couple of inserts and a good heavy cloth diaper did the trick. Babies usually aren't as prone to diaper rash with cloth diapers as they are with disposables.
3) Don't forget you can use baby facecloths as wipes and not have to buy wipes. You're already doing the laundry for the diapers, so it's not really even any extra work.
4) Make sure you have a diaper pail. A dry pail is easier to work with. Just dispose of solid messes before putting the diaper in the pail. If you're concerned about smell a little tea tree oil or something will make sure the pail always smells fresh. You don't even need a bag. The pail can be easily cleaned or hosed down outside if necessary.
Hope that helps!!
Check out the site www.diaperswappers.com. There is a huge amount of info there regarding cloth diapers: different kinds, how to launder, etc. You can also buy/trade with other cloth-using mamas.
I have been using cloth for almost a year with my daughter and love it. Feel free to send me a message with any specific questions you might have about getting started...I am by no means an expert, but have tried lots of different styles.
Good luck an I commend your decision to try cloth!
