A big new trend I've heard about lately is cloth diapers, instead of disposable ones. Instead of me sharing some great things about this new trend, I need YOUR HELP!!!
Have you used cloth diapers??? Husband and I are trying to make the decision as to go that route, or fork over the extra money and go disposable...I'm hoping there are some of you ladies out there (or guys, if any read this blog) that can give me your experience and wisdom!!!
A few questions...
-What brand did you use?
-If you could go back and do it all over, would you still use cloth?
-Was it worth saving money?
-Did you find it a hassle, or did it become no big deal after the first few uses?
-What kind of process with use and cleaning does cloth diapers entail?
I would greatly appreciate anything you can share on this. I think myself and others can greatly benefit from all of us sharing our wisdom and knowledge on this!
Have you used cloth diapers??? Husband and I are trying to make the decision as to go that route, or fork over the extra money and go disposable...I'm hoping there are some of you ladies out there (or guys, if any read this blog) that can give me your experience and wisdom!!!
A few questions...
-What brand did you use?
-If you could go back and do it all over, would you still use cloth?
-Was it worth saving money?
-Did you find it a hassle, or did it become no big deal after the first few uses?
-What kind of process with use and cleaning does cloth diapers entail?
I would greatly appreciate anything you can share on this. I think myself and others can greatly benefit from all of us sharing our wisdom and knowledge on this!
31 lovely comments:
i have no good advice to give you on this subject, but they do make some pretty cute cloth diapers.
Good luck.
And honestly....buy some disposal diapers to take with you to dr. appts. You don't want to carry around a stinky poopy diaper for a long time!
I haven't used cloth diapers. Honestly, never even considered it-but great for you guys to be thinking of it. Can't wait to see what ya'll decide!!
I have several friends that use cloth diapers and LOVE them! I've done a little research myself seeing as though I will have 2 in diapers within the month! The brand that has been most recommended to me is Bum Genius. It requires an up front investment but in the long run will save hundreds of dollars! It has also been recommended to me that I carry disposables to church and other outings just for the benefit of others who may be changing the diapers. Let me know what you decide. I'd love to do cloth with baby number 2!
Allison Stebbins
I used cloth for my first baby. We only used disposables when we were traveling. We used a diaper service and it was wonderful. They picked up the dirty ones and dropped off clean ones once a week. We didn't use pins, they had those very cool diaper wraps. By the time my second baby came along, there was no longer a diaper service in my town. But I would have used them again if they were.
Hi. We haven't officially met, and hopefully you don't think it's creepy that I'm a bit of a blog-stalker, but I'm on staff at Highview, attend East, and have met your husband.
Anyway, we didn't use cloth diapers and don't plan on using them with our second (due in Sept!), but I do have a pretty good resource you can check out. It's a recent collection of articles written at simplemom.net. Cloth Diapering 101. Hopefully you can get some pretty good, honest, and useful information there.
Anyway, I enjoy checking your blog. I'll introduce myself if I see you around at church.
Keli B.
kbillingsley{at}highview{dot}org
I have no advice to give but i hope you find the info you are looking for :)
ok, i have a friend who has done a few posts on reusable diapers! i'll e-mail to get the links, i can't find them off hand on her site, and I'll get back to you!!=)
I have a friend who does it...me, sorry it's just not for me. Plus, with the overall expensive I truly think it evens out. Remember they change sizes so you'll need to buy more everytime they switch. Don't go old school towel and pins if you are going to do it. There are a ton of companies out there that make them just like a diaper now.
Good luck with your choice!
No kids here yet but when the time comes I'm really thinking about cloth diapering.
Bev over at A Baby Maybe... uses cloth diapers and has done product comparisons. Her blog is very helpful and honest.
http://ababymaybe.blogspot.com/
Good Luck! And I hope you report your experience. It's very helpful for those who are interested.
Hey lady! We are. Planning on cloth diapering! We are using a local diaper service because I just don't see myself dealing with washing. And drying etc. I have researched and they are better for their skin, the environment and your bank account! Also, babies that are cloth diapered on average potty train earlier! And the diaper service uses velcro so no safety pins!!
We've used cloth since C was 4 months old and are planning on continuing with Baby Girl when she arrives in a few short weeks... To answer your ?s: We use BumGenius OneSize, Fuzzi Bunz, and prefolds with bummis or thirsties covers. we're trying kissaluv contours and prowraps with Baby Girl. Yes, it's worth saving the money; it's really not a "hassle"--in the beginning you have the exciting newness of it (bc they're SO cute), and after that, you're used to it. re: cleaning--i wash them every couple days- once on cold with a teeny detergent, then on hot with a teeny detergent with an extra rinse. i dry them on medium. we usually use disposables if we're traveling or out for the day. let me know if you want more resources...
Hi!
I use cloth diapers exclusively, even when we're out, and I love it.
I've spent a total of $250 on diapers... ever... and she's almost 14 months old. We plan to use the same diapers again next time, so the savings is pretty monumental.
I like Bum Genius 3.0 Pocket diapers, and they are one-size so you don't have to buy multiple sizes (check cottonbabies.com for clearance, great sales). They go on just like a disposable and anytime grandma, or a babysitter needs to change, they use these.
I also use prefolds/covers with a snappi. It's much easier than it looks. My favorite brand is greenmountaindiapers.com, but her site can be a little overwhelming.
When we're out, I use a zippered wet bag. It's a little washable waterproof bag that zips closed, and then I just toss it in the laundry with the rest. No biggie, and I never have to worry about having disposables on hand.
I wash them myself-- a diaper service would really cut the savings, and they use tons of chemicals to clean them. My wash routine is simple: cold rinse, hot wash with detergent, extra cold rinse at the end. That's it. I wash about every other day, and it's only one load.
I know you don't know me (sorry, blog stalker extraordinaire here) but you can email me if you have questions!
Alicia
Love em, love em, love em...
I use Fuzzi Bunz (pocket diapers) and they are my favorite. I have tried Bum Genius but for various reasons, I do not like them (not absorbant enough for my little guy, cannot shake the insert out without touching it and I dont like to touch urine and poop, and sometimes the diaper would turn in and the velcro would rub his skin). I use Blueberry diapers at night (they are more absorbant and I only have 3 of these).
The are different at first but not a pain. I bought a trash can and a wet liner (I do not fill with water though) and use that as a diaper pail. Shake insert out after use and every 2-3 days (2 when baby was younger) take the bag, turn it inside out into the washer, rinse and wash using Charlie's Soap. I dry in the dryer and it is easy! I do use them full time so when I am out, I have a couple zipper wetbags that I take with me and I use cloth wipes as well because you can just toss them in with the diapers!
I would definately give it a try. I didnt use them with my first because unfortunately I did not know about them but if I could go back, I would. My husband even likes them and I was not sure he would go for them.
I do not rinse out poop and if it is solid, I just shake it in the toilet first before throwing it in the pail.
Honestly, it is more of a hassle loading 2 kids up in the car to go and buy diapers but that is just me!
If you have any questions, dont hesitate to ask (sj.birk@gmail.com. There were no stores in our area so I had to do a ton of research and I would have loved some help getting started!
Hope that helps a little!
No cloth diapers for us...I thought about it, but it snuck on me before I knew it, and wasn't prepared.
I can, however, take those disposable tri-fold diapers and tur them into the cutest monogrammed and personalized diaper burps!
k.Mac, baby!! It's one of many baby things we do! We call it, "Spit UP in Style!"
.mac :)
i've heard from multiple moms that fuzzi bunz are pretty great. also, i'm friends with alicia (see comment a couple above) and i would totally recommend her adivce! i've seen her in action and she makes cloth diapering look so simple, and it is...just an extra load of wash.
i have no experience (yet!) but hope to try them out come november!
not to be discouraging, but i wouldn't even go there! we used one cloth diaper...and we decided never ever again :)
I love cloth and have done it for both of my boys! It really is just a couple more loads of laundry a week, and you just get used to the process after a few weeks.
It saves a ton, and you can sell them when you are done, which makes it even better. You can usually recoup 50-75% of the cost of the diaper when you are done with them.
And they are really cute. :)
I have a cloth diaper website, so if you have any other questions shoot me an email at kim@gadbaby.com. I have some videos up and am putting up a couple more next week about how to wash, etc.
Hi! Weighing in here...
We did not use cloth diapers...didn't even want to...BUT I say if you really want to then try it. You can always buy the disposable afterwards. I was so overwhelmed with her arriving four weeks early, having the c-section, and having serious sleep deprivation I would have gone bonkers if I'd had to worry about one more thing. But that's just me, an older Mom. You're young and full of energy! :0)
i never considered cloth because of our go-go lifestyle. But I did read good articles about them on babycheapskate.com
We don't use cloth diapers. Just not for me. I'm a Huggies girl. But, if you like the idea...give it a try. You can always switch.
We never even considered using cloth. We help the environment in other ways...I just couldn't even bear the thought of cloth, but having said that, I agree with some of the other comments...if you do go the route of cloth diapers, make sure you take disposable ones with you out...easier on everyone, especially you!
We use gDiapers - they're a cloth/disposable hybrid that is FLUSHABLE!!! Personally, I don't flush them because I live in an apartment and don't trust the plumbing, but they're compostable and 100% biodegradable too, so I don't feel bad tossing them in the trash. At home, we use cloth inserts instead of the g inserts. Going out, I switch to the "flushies" and therefore don't have to carry a stinky, poopy diaper with me if he does his business. Since the covers and the liners are seperate, you can use the covers more than for just one wearing, unlike most cloth diapers. This means less laundry. I love these things. It's like the best of both worlds.
The little girl that i nanny for uses cloth. at first i was worried but really, Megan said all she does is pop them in her washer which is just like yours and it comes right out. also, because less chemicals are being used, it's better for her bottom. they used disposable ones when they went on vacation and it gave Avery a rash...i would recommend cloth for someone who has experience wiht both.
I use cloth and LOVE it! I used them for my first baby and am now using them with my second. Every time I have to use disposable my kids end up with a rashy bottom, not to mention I end up with more leaks using disposables.
Here's another vote for http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com
I love her site, espeically when trying to decide on what to buy and what size because she has tons of information and lots of pictures of the diapers on real babies.
I use prefolds with covers, my favorite covers are the bummis whisper pant. Easy and comfortable. Although if my budget allowed I'd probably like to try out more of the all-in-one, fancy diapers.
One nice thing about prefolds is that they are easy to take care of. I have a trash can with a waterproof liner. I wash every other day, once on cold, once on hot, an extra rinse. Very, very little amount of detergent. Then dry in the dryer.
I use cloth wipes too. So soft, they work better, and they just get washed with the diapers.
When I only had one I used cloth for outings. It's really not that hard. I took a zippered wet bag to put the dirty diapers in. That wet bag also comes in handy for all the other many things that end up wet and dirty when you have a baby or toddler.
The "gross factor" is basically non-existant. Let's just face it, when you have a baby you deal with lots of icky things that come from their bodies. But because it's your baby it's just not that bad. You'll see.
you rock my face off...i am a loser and use disposable. yep...i am. sad.
I use cloth and love it. I didn't for the first two months because I was afraid to jump in, but once I did, I was hooked. I wrote a blog about the basics of how I do it on a daily basis. Feel free to check it out.
http://babylimon.blogspot.com/2009/04/dl-on-cloth-diapering.html
here is the link for where our friend talks about the cloth diapers she used, she said you can follow the links from there =)
http://www.blogger.com/profile/14016162084810966866
hope you're doing great!
i don't use cloth diapers, but i have a friends that do & LOVE them.
i used to be a diaper snob & only buy brand name disposables, but i've seen the error of my ways and am a Parent's Choice (Wal-Mart) brand fan! they cost approx. $6 less/box!
now that my baby is 20 months i usually only go through one box a month (give or take a couple of diapers) so i only spend about $14/month on diapers.
have fun deciding!
Hey girly!
This is coming from a mom of 4 and at one point had 3 in diapers at the same time.....I personally never used cloth diapers BUT had I known there were diapers services I probably would have considered it (less $!!!). Love the "green" of the whole deal and you will only have 1 child to diaper....to me....if you're going to try it nows the time...BUT only if there is a diapering service in your area...diapers can get REALLY gross and I definitely wouldn't want to have to clean them myself...I couldn't handle it! I would however use disposable diapers for outings and vacations (Pampers were the best for us)
I will say the only thing I would be careful of would be moisture on baby's skin....diaper rashes could be an issue...only thing that I think would be a problem....oh and pins if there is an option of NO PINS I would recommend that one. LOL I've heard lots of stories of pins going through the cloth and baby.... OUCH!!!! :o)
I know you have a TON of decisions to make...this is a great way to get both sides...keep asking those questions! LOL :o) Ang
I randomly found your blog.
I am having a baby in 2 weeks and have gotten stocked up on cloth diapers by using the websites:
cottonbabies.com
pinstripesandpolkadots.com
and
kellyscloset.com
There are REALLY good articles.
Oh, and my mom found out I was buying them and started to make some. She could totally sell them on etsy.com.
I think its so worthwhile to research it!!
I never used cloth - I never thought too - I don't know why - disposable always just seemed so much easier!
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