I have been thinking about using cloth diapers for this baby to help cut costs so I can stay home. Is anyone else considering cloth diapers or used them in the past?
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I have been thinking about using cloth diapers for this baby to help cut costs so I can stay home. Is anyone else considering cloth diapers or used them in the past?
I use them! Defiantly a money saver! I use disposable at night just out of pure laziness (never got a good system down, heavy wetters k guess) but I feel like I am at least cutting down to just one disposable a day rather than many!!
I use bum genius and baby kangas. They work the best if your babe is a chub. My first had stick legs so leaked a lot! But my 2nd had chunky thighs and he maybe leaked 3x the whole 2.5 years?!?
We've cloth diapered since DS2. I wish I'd done it with DS1! The initial startup costs were a bit brutal (around $500 for the startup stash) and I didn't really keep track of utility expenses of washing/drying, but with two in diapers for awhile I just couldn't bear all that garbage. Honestly for one child's period's in diapers if you include washing/drying costs it probably doesn't save you much money, but after the second child it certainly does.
We went with flat prefolds and I knitted soakers for DS3 and it was even cheaper than pocket diapers. And, now that DS3 is being ridiculously stubborn about the potty training, we got a stash of washable cloth pullups which has been a Godsend as Pullups were costing a fortune (especially when he poops in a fresh Pullup! ARGH!) and the stupid Pullups leaked too. We do use a disposable at nights now though, no cloth dipe in the world holds enough otherwise.
If you have a cloth diapering store near you do buy a few different brands to try out before investing in a huge stash of one kind, different brands/styles work for different babies depending on their body shape. Oh, and I learnt that velcro style pocket diapers suck - for one they're really bulky, and secondly baby learns to rip them off REALLY fast! Snaps are the way to go for sure.
Nope - i had a whole stash for ds1 and just couldnt be arsed with it - I am so lazy plus the tought of having pooed in nappies soaking away in a bucket didnt appeal to me. I wanted to try again with ds2 but bythen washing for a family of 4 was enough without adding nappies on too.
I admire those that do it tough my best friend does for her 2 dd and she has the cutest little covers and nappies !!
Yes. Used them with all my kids. Not only did it save money, but it saved money because they all potty trained between 18 months and two.:D
I used them with both of my boys, I even had them in nappies at the same time for around 9/10 months. I love using them and can't wait to get them out of the attic again! I used the ones that you have to fold and enjoyed making them up, I didn't have to soak them though, only sluice them when they were pooey and dry-pail. I used the 60c eco-cycle on my washing machine and some white vinegar in place of softner along with non-bio washing powder. As a SAHM I think they're a brill way to save money and I never ran out of nappies! We did use a disposable at night times though, especially when both got to around one year old. GL!
Yes I use modern cloth nappies and love them.
No i barely keep up with the washing as it is lol ;-) and this is my last baby so to buy everything for onr baby would not work out cheaper.......if i knew about them a couple of babies ago then maybe i would have
used the same ones for 2 kids now(my youngest is pt) and my nb diapers I loaned are on their way back to me right now whoohoo:)
last time I bought some cute girlee goodness which I sold after ds3 was born:)
newborn goodmamas are THE best and I like bum genius also when they are bigger especially for overnight and going out. we also do gmd prefolds w/ a cover especially great for a nb stash on the cheap since they are going to outgrow them so fast.
mum- lots of people don't soak their diapers:) and you don't even have to rinse them if they are breast fed until they start eating solids:)
Oh, and I never soaked mine either. I have a wonderful wetbag that holds in all the smell and just gets tossed in the wash with the diapers. And with bf'ed newborn poop it doesn't smell and is totally water soluble so you don't have to soak/rinse, and later on when they go on solid food the poop is a little more 'grown up' but nothing I've had trouble with upending anything solid into the toilet. The rest does just fine in the washing machine.
I used to do cloth wipes too but it got too time consuming to fold and put away all the little wipes so I use regular baby wipes. But it all goes in the washer with the diapers (they don't fall apart in the washer like kleenex) and I throw away the wipes as I fold and put away.
I must say I've loved using basic prefolds with DS3 (no diaper pins, just a Snappi) and a hand knitted soaker on top. Very easy. My front load washer has a sanitize cycle too so I don't have to worry about all the germs being washed out. And once the dipes get too worn out to use they make great cleaning rags.
I am def. excited to start knitting. I knit my sil the cutest girlee soaker and am going to knit up several of them in the most girlified colors since I already have lots of boy woolies.
My all time favourite soaker pattern is the Curly Purly (free): c u r l y p u r l y
We used them with my 2yo and will use them again with this new baby. It's a definite money saver, and the time involved is really not that much -- for me, 2-3 extra loads a week. No soaking, just using a wet bag. My son got an awful rash -- like a chemical burn -- using disposables and we have never gone back after that.
The modern pocket diapers and all in ones are EXTREMELY easy to use and will convince even the most stubborn anti-cloth person. My mom said that if we switched to cloth, she wouldn't watch my son because the diapers are just so nasty. But once she saw the cloth diapers we were using, and saw how similar to disposables they are, she changed her mind.
Thanks for all of the input!
I used cloth with both my boys and would love to make a suggestion. I have tried over 20 different kinds and they really do vary on many points. What are the most important factors for you- cost, ease of use, quality, durability, green and community+ , design/color choice (may seem petty to some, but on days your up to your eyeballs in poopy diaps, sometimes a silly print can make you smile), and what diapers have you used before? Let me know and 'll throw in my 2 cents. You should also check out jilliansdrawers.com they have a try before you buy program that let's you rent diapers .
I haven't used cloth in the past so it all seems a little overwhelming at the moment. I think I am leaning toward trying Bum Genius pocket diapers, G diapers and maybe some prefolds with covers like the flips or thirsties. What does everyone think about these?
I absolutely hated the g diapers. The inserts did not stay in place where they're supposed to and we had a ton of leaks and nastiness. A friend down the street used the disposable inserts for convenience and they clogged her moms plumbing system (to the point where they had to call a plumber). They come in great colors, but if I hadn't tried other brands I wouldn't still be using cloth.
We have used both the BumGenius pockets (4.0) and their all-in-ones (Freetime). I actually like the pockets better, especially with a toddler, because they're so easy to double stuff for overnights. I love all our BumGenius diapers, though, and would highly recommend them. They have worn very well.
You can always buy used ones online , I always sold mine when I was done. And I bought too , saves more money. Might sound gross ? but I would just sanitize them and it would be fine. I bought off hyena cart and diaper swappers . Love hyena cart, lots of nice wahm diapers there.
bum genius are great diapers. I like the one size pockets but still wouldn't use till around 10+ lbs so I think prefolds work best for nb stage and are cheap-
I guess I will be the one out. I used old school squares with ds1 10 years ago now hahah it was good but he got a lot of rashes and we had to stop using them due to the rashes after we changed to disposables it went away strait away and no it wasn't washing powder problem some babies are allergic to there own urine, after $$ and specialists appointments! Ds2 has sensitive bum also :p ds3 was Modern cloth nappies ( I love the idea of mcn and have always wanted to cloth diaper my babies so we tried again) his skin was fine but they were a bad fit and leaked after he was about 3m also the cloth liners got very smelly and the urine poo smell wouldn't budge. So I got a different $ brand. Still leaked. It was messy and smelly and constant washing. I gave up!! All that money down the drain, with a box of 100 nappies costing $20 I doubt it would save money and if it did it wouldn't be much plus the stress of washing rinsing plying pooh off it. $20 is worth my sanity! That's my opinion :P
I did have major problems with microfleece (the stay dry stuff or whatever ) they use on bum genius and fuzzibunz and all those kinds. Since they wouldn't rinse well the pee would wick off of them and leak. Which Is why I preferred fitteds or bg organics. The natural fabrics didn't have that issie
Bum Genius are great diapers- they don't stain like others, fit better,dry quicker, and they keep kids drier with their lining. I have used the all in ones for DS from 9lbs up to 30( 3 year old sleeps in them at night with triple liner and does not soak through!) They also have a great resale value when you are done with them. However the initial outlay is more expensive then a lot of others.
Pre-folds with a cover are one of the cheapest options and easy to wash, but aren't as convenient and require more work. I do use them as a cheap insert in my pocket diapers. I also would choose Thirsties covers over Flips because they tend to leak less.
I would not recommend G Diapers as I found them to be more work and fit poorer and leaked frequently. Also the inserts aren't a savings over normal diapers.
I would definitely recommend an all in one pocket diaper (like Bum Genius) especially for someone new to cloth diapering. You will want 2 days worth (when washing one batch still have others) so usually 18-24. Snaps are much more durable and don't get caught in the wash, but you might want a couple velcro ones for those midnight bleary eyed changes. Most say they will work on a newborn but are really too big til 9-10 lbs. Also you will need a wetbag (get one that zippers not cinches or else the smell gets out) and although not necessary I love my diaper sprayer. It attaches to the back of the toilet and allows you to spray the poop into the toilet rather than having to do a rinse wash before washing.
If looking for a deal on a pocket diap I would recommend signing up for zulily.com About every 2-3 months they have on Bumkins diapers which are a good all in one pocket diap for $10 per. They only come with a small (but absorbent) liner so you do need to pick up more when they are older. If you figure you get about 50 diapers (store brand) for the same cost that means if you use the diaper over 50 times you are saving. Hope this helps make it a little less overwhelming.:wink:
It truly can seem overwhelming. And we/some people can get sooooo OTT about it!Quote:
Originally Posted by Mommyof3boys
Sometimes good to see someone with some experience in real life - link up through someone you know, local NP association etc?
FWIW we loved our thirsties covers - they still look good after 2 kids. We used them from the get go for both of ours (with liners for the first few tar-like motions)! Just used natural inserts designed for pockets (some purchased, some sewn - hemp / bamboo / flannel) and just laid them in the thirsties (the ones with the extra leg bit / poo catcher - can't remember the real name for it) until kids were really mobile. If there was no explosive issues then the cover was good to go straight away / after airing on change table until next nappy change.
Our favorites from mobile to training have been the:
* sized all-in-two nappies (Jam Tots with hemp inserts) - didn't have the wicking / washing issues I found with other stay dry surfaces (like many of the pockets). These have lasted like new even after nearly 4 years in rotation.
and
*multi-size all in two nappies (Fluffybubs - Sydney SAHM site) - again really durable and cute and lovely fit / washability
Our "little squirt" has been perfect for getting the poo off nappies before dry-pailing. Extremely un-handy DH managed to attach it to the loo in less than half an hour - so I'm thinking it's pretty straight forward.
And I hemmed some bamboo velour and cut up some of our excess bunny rugs for wipes.
Good luck with whatever your decision. I think it has been mentioned earlier, but often there are associations that will hire out newborn packs to get you started. It can delay the finality of the decision of style until you've figured it out yourself. And means you don't need quite so many as the nappy changes slow down a little.