Need Help/advice Using Cloth Diapers!

What is the cost of cloth diapers plus laundry service versus disposable diapers? Go with disposable. less hassell/stress.

I am cloth diapering my second child right now. He is less than a month old. I have several Thirsties and Bummis Whisper Wraps. I like the gusseted legs to prevent poop leakage. I bought 2 dozen prefolds to start (although wish I had gotten 3). I have Snappis I've never needed to use. 6 years ago when I cloth diapered my first, I didn't know about Babies Bottoms and More or Peppermint in Richardson. This time I bought while at Peppermint since I was there learning about my sling. www.peppermint.com (I hope to get to Babies Bottoms and More, but they do have weird hours. Check website or call before driving out there. Sounds like they are helpful people to know for cloth diapering.)

Kissaluv contour diapers look trim & convenient, but I've been too cheap to get them. With my DD, I had some hemp prefold diapers that were very slim and absorbent, but they required extra care when washing. If you got all-in-ones, you might save them for going out or Daddy. (I had prestuffed Fuzzi Bunz last time since I hated washing the all-in-ones from the sampler pack of diapers I bought. Fuzzi Bunz were also great for night time sleeping with a doubler)

Diaper dunking is not necessary. Read "Diaper Changes" if you are overwhelmed by the options and the gazillion websites out there. There are flushable liners that will come in handy when your child is eating solid foods. Usually by that age BMs happen at certain time so the day so you don't even have to line the diaper all the time.

Leakage is usually do to poor fit or diapers that aren't squeaky clean. (Disposables do leak sometimes despite what other posts lead you to believe. I just had it happen today while we were out wearing a disposable. Ah, The joys of breastfeeding.) Poor fit issues are usually related to the elastic around the legs or you might have some of the diaper outside of the diaper cover- "wicking". On getting diapers clean- make sure you have a fully rinsing soap/detergent. I usually hear about other's using Allen's Naturally or BioKleen, but I got Charlie's Soap (it's not actually a soap product) this time. www.charliesoap.com . Dreft is actually not recommended for diapers- especially all-in-ones. Bio=Kleen Bac OUt is a good enzymatic spot cleaner. Several of our cloth diapering cohorts pretreat soil with it. (I haven't been and don't have any stained diapers, but I'm washing every other day since I only bought 2 dozen.)

Since your diapers are new, leakage could also be related to not prewashing the diapers as instructed. (Prefolds usually need 3-5 washes so that they will be absorbent.)

If your diapers ever stink, you could be using too much soap or something that coats the fabric. Also consider any barrier creams you use. Many of the diaper creams on the market include petroleum, animal based, or even nut based ingredients that don't wash well from diapers.

If you are going to use some disposables, too, there are gDiapers which are flushable and I just saw the Earth's Best now has a chlorine free diaper.

If you have a shelf near the changing area, you can have some diapers prestuffed or prefolded to make cloth diapering as convenient as disposables. Really it's not like we are hand washing these things. The washing machine does all the work.

Rather than stabbing around, please feel free to email me. I'm also happy to help now that I am SAHM with a newborn.

Hi N.,
Congratulations on your baby and on deciding to use cloth diapers! I'm sorry you've received so much un-encouraging advice here, telling you you should quit cloth and use disposables. I've cloth diapered three kids (the youngest is still in diapers) and LOVED it. Cloth is so much easier these days.

First, you will need more than 6 diapers, unless you plan to do laundry every day, and even then, I would pick up a dozen or so prefolds. Gerber makes some, you can find them at Babies R Us. They are cheap. Then order a thing called a Snappi online. They're about $3 and then you don't need any pins with the prefolds.

Next, are you using waterproof covers? You will need to use some. Don't bother with the vinyl pants. If you need cheap cheap cheap stuff, look online for some nylon pants. Dappi makes a good version. You can find them at ebay under the seller name granitesmith. She also sells prefolds and snappis, actually.

If you can afford something a little better, I recommend either Proraps, Bummis, or Thirsties. They are all velcro diaper covers. Much easier if you have a poopy diaper.

As far as poopy ones go, you don't have to scrape them or dunk them. If there's anything actually solid, shake it out over the toilet, but if its still newborn poop, don't worry about it. It will wash out in the washing machine.

Detergents: ideally you want one that has no added fabric softeners, scents, etc. Because these will all leave residue on your diapers and make them less absorbent. Like one of the free and clear. I use Charlie's Soap, which is awesome, but you have to buy it online and it only comes in huge quantities. A no-residue laundry detergent will become more important if you decide to use any synthetic or hemp fabrics in your diapers. As long as you're using 100% cotton diapers it won't be such a big deal. But you don't have to use expensive Dreft, in fact, Dreft is not recommended by most diaper companies.

For more info I recommend checking out Green Mountain Diaper's website. (Google it, I"m not sure of the actual address.) I'd also REALLY recommend contacting the people at www.babiesbottomsandmore.com, they have an actual cloth diapering store in Farmers Branch and would be more than happy to answer any questions you have. I think they even have cloth diapering workshops where you can try a bunch of different kinds. If you want to cloth diaper, you really need advice in cloth diapering from people who have done it successfully, not people who are just going to tell you to give up.

Hope this all helped! Feel free to contact me if you have any more questions.

Hey N.
I'm an antique mom (my kids are a lot older now!), so I don't know if what I have to say is that relevant nowadays.
I was gifted with diaper service for the first month by someone. Then I bought my own and started washing them. You need more than six, sweetie. I bought the ones that don't need that much folding, they have extra padding in the middle. I bought them at WalMart. I put plastic pants over them and did fine. Used disposables when I went out shopping or to church, but used cloth even when visiting friends because I could empty them in the toilet, rinse them out and bag them to take home. I didn't use fancy diapers - just inexpensive cloth ones.
When I was a young mom I had a hard time finding out how to wash the diapers - no internet to ask! If I remember correctly you empty any solids or loose bowel movements into the toilet, rinse the diaper, flush, then rinse diaper in toilet again. (and flush again). I definitely used rubber gloves! Collect the diapers in a pail of water with disinfectant (I have forgotten what!Lysol?) in the bathroom. When you have enough for a load you wash it. The trick is to rinse them out and put them into the disinfectant so the whole thing won't get smelly.
Sometimes I hung them out to dry outside (am I a dinosaur or what?), but drying them in the dryer makes them softer. I tried not to use softener.
As for the leaking: they all leak at times! Cloth, disposable - whatever! Sometimes it's because you didn't get a diaper tight enough, other times it's because baby had a nuclear bm. Maybe the disposables have improved to the point of perfection, but I doubt it. Ask around and see if parents still get leakage with the disposables.

Maybe you didn't need this much info! Oh well! God bless you and your babies!

A.

PS. You don't have to wash the cloth diapers as soon as they are used. You empty them, then soak them in a container with a lid (to contain the smell of the disinfectant)! Reading one of the other responses helps me remember that it was a bleach solution in the container. I think I had the machine do a second rinse when I washed the diapers. I also made sure that the kids' bottoms were absolutely dry before I put any kind of diaper on them - rarely had diaper rash - maybe twice for each kid. Diaper changes were a little challenging for my daughter who was as busy and active as she could be. Putting her diapers on was fast and creative business, especially when managing the safety pins!

I agree go to call ###-###-#### and talk with Diana at Babies Bottoms and More. She has a great store and has many cheap used diapers to buy or a trial pack that lets you try all the kinds of diapers at once and find your favorite. If you buy from her she will buy back when you go into the next size. She can teach you all about diapers and babywearing( which will help you keep your little one asleep while you take an online course and save your schooling life, it is so hard to find a free hour if you don't babywear. I have three kids and almost exclusively cloth diapered til she was 18 months and now we do a split between g diaper fillers( with the bumpkins outer wrap) and 7th generation when we are out and we use cloth at home. We love our cloth diapers. I am an all in one type of mom however I've tried them all. Diana also has a diaper delivery service. She taught me to babywear and has really been a valuable asset and became a friend. She treats everyone with great respect and kindness.

The reason disposables are so popular is that they far more convenient. Cloth is not easy. I bought some diaper covers that had velcro and the cloth slipped inside of them, no pins. They do leak sometimes and so I used them at home and places that were easy to use them and disposables on outings. I also used a diaper service. They gave me a bucket that had a solution of water and bleach (don't know the %) I dumped the big stuff in the toilet then dropped the diaper in the solution. They came and picked it up once a week. It was about $40 month with all the diapers and the once a week delivery. That was 12 years ago though. It may be more now. There are pluses and minuses to both. Once I got used to it, it was not bad, just different. My daughter in cloth trained to panties far easier and faster than my daughter who had disposables, and had not toilet issues, but the disposable child had issues training, she could not feel when she was wet. Good luck, don't give up and get a diaper service. It is far easier than washing your own. If you do your own you will need more than 6 so you don't feel like a slave to the washing machine. You can sometimes go through 6 a day.

As you can see already, cloth diapers are so inconvenient. You'll need alot more than 6 diapers and since you will be washing them as soon as they are soiled, why not Pampers? They are expensive too, but well worth it to save you time. Or, maybe you should try a diaper service. They pick up the dirty ones and deliver fresh new ones right to your door.

I appreciate you deciding to use cloth diapers. I used them with all 3 of my kids. The youngest is now 9, so I bet things have gotten better. I used a diaper service since I was a working mom. It was just a few dollars cheaper then pampers, but the benefit to my kids was worth every bit of it. There are some studies that the heat a pampers retains on the boys can cause prostate cancer. (Just a study)
My neice in Houston uses some sort of wrap. She has used it with both kids and swears by it. They have pretty colors and all. No need for the rubber pants. Please don't give up!

I use and love Bum Genius. I have never had a leakage and I can't wait to get purchase again. I started with a six pack and definitely need more. Peppermint Boutique in Richardson offers free cloth diaper classes and they are very helpful.

Check out diaperswappers.com - they have a great forum with lots of people that can help you out.
Did you wash your dipes before using them on the babe? If so, depending on the detergent you used, you may have gotten some build up on it. (Don't take my word for it tho, definitely check out DS, they are the CD'ing gurus!)

Good luck!!

I'm an ancient mom, too. After raising three kids and used cloth diapers and disposables. And then had to deal with my mom in a nursing home with diapers. The main thing is to change the diaper when it is soiled and not have it against the skin wet for long. That's what will cause rashes. I always used A and D ointment if they did get a rash.

6 will never get you through the day. I could use 6 before noon on any given day. You might want to alternate disposables & cloth diapers or purchase more cloth. Cloth is great for diaper rash days and lets them breath, but they aren't the best and keeping them dry or very convenient.

Good luck!

I don't think it matters what kind of cloth diaper you use as long as you wash it in something gentle like dreft. I used the single layer diapers and folded them how they worked best for me. I liked being in control of how they fit. You can find them at any Wal-Mart or similar store I'm sure. As far as her using two in one changing, thats what all of my newborns were best at. I have 4 little ones, and I would sit down to change a diaper and use 3 to change one diaper the first month or so they were born. There's no schedule with their potty's, at least you haven't figured it out yet anyway, it took a month or so with me.

As far as leaking through, I would get those little plastic diaper covers, they work wonders. If you only have six diapers, that's a lot of washing, if it were me, I'd go ahead and just at least try the diapers I suggested or something a little less expensive that way you at least have back up's.

I hope this helps, and good luck, your doing great I'm sure!

A.