So lately I've been seriously considering cloth diapering. I had already pretty much decided to give it a go with Calvin because I'm tired of buying disposables. They are expensive, even the "cheap" brands, and I hate the times when we run out and have to figure out where to come up with the extra cash to go buy a pack. I hate not having another option.
That, coupled with the fact that we will soon be blessed with another little one has pretty much made up my mind on the cloth diapers. I DO NOT want to have be purchasing disposables for TWO babies. We will go broke. Quickly. Plus, I feel kinda icky throwing them all away.
But apparently it's not as simple as choosing cloth diapers these days. I mean... have you looked around the cloth diapering arena lately? I have no idea where to start. Ideally, I would like to go with a one size diaper that way I can use them for both the new baby and the bigger baby. It seems a less expensive route is to go with the pocket type diapers which consist of a diaper cover that functions much like a disposable and an insert which is basically a pre-fold diaper stuffed inside the outer pocket. I would like to eventually have enough cloth diapers that I can go about 2-3 days before laundering them. I figure that way, I can buy a pack of disposables for emergencies, for when I'm doing the laundering, and for like baby sitters and stuff... but at least then it's only a once in awhile thing and not a once or twice week purchase. I'm thinking I will just buy a small starter pack to try out with Calvin... and then build from there.
Have any of you used cloth diapers? What works for you? Have any of you successfully made your own? I'm not entirely confident in my sewing skills enough to try it. I'm pretty sure I could manage making my own pre-fold inserts... but am not sure I could pull off the outer diaper. Any advice? Suggestions? I figure I'll get the best/most advice from the blog world.
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8 comments:
I used Fuzzibuns and BumGenius and loved both. I also tried Happy Heinies and hated them with a passion that burns. There's a learning curve for laundry, but still, loved them. I'd do it again if I ever have another wee one.
If you don't mind second-hand, you're welcome to try out my old ones. (Some folks get squicked out by this, which I totally understand.) Just let me know.
Ahahhahaha! My wv is "hotiness."
We've been cloth diapering for a few years--all three of them are in cloth diapers now. I've made some and I've bought some. For the most part we use prefolds and covers; this is the cheapest option. We also have a few velcro-closing pocket diapers for my husband's convenience.
You need 10-12 diapers a day for a newborn, and about 6 a day for a toddler. So if you have a baby and a toddler both in diapers and you want to wash the diapers every three days, you need about 50 diapers. This is a staggering amount if you're going to buy fancy pocket diapers or all in ones, but it's pretty manageable if you buy prefolds. You need two covers per baby per day (you can use them multiple times before washing); so that's 12 covers. With prefolds and covers you're done at under $200.
Thirsties covers are cheap and in my opinion they're the best, and you can order them from Amazon. They have a new one size cover, which would make perfect sense if you're diapering two kids.
We use disposables overnight.
That's all my experience, obviously some people love fancy $20 diapers, I just don't. :)
i think karen may have made her own...you should hit her up for advice-if she hasnt commented here already.
i never cloth diapered but wish i had, especially for the girl. at five, she still wets her bed at night so im STILL buying diapers. not a lot mind you, but some. and i dont like it. everytime i buy a package of diapers i think maybe this is the last one ill ever buy sigh.
i always see people giving away gently used cloth diapers on Freecycle. maybe you could get your hands on a couple of them to see if you like them before you buy, because from what i understand the initial investment can be costly.
Karen- I think the covers is what I was thinking of because I remember reading that you can reuse the covers a few times, and that they were cheaper if I was purchasing.
Thanks guys for the input! I had looked at some of the thirsties and the smartipants covers. If you have anything else to add, keep putting it here! LOL I'm going to go look on amazon to see what their prices are like.
Three more things (because, seriously, I change 25 diapers a day and it's all I think about so I'm so glad to have an excuse to hold forth on this topic):
We use Country Save laundry detergent. We use it on *all* our laundry. It's so cheap.
If you decide to use prefolds, don't waste your time with the stuff they sell at target/walmart/etc. Buy real Chinese or Indian "Diaper Service Quality" stuff. Can't remember if they sell them at amazon, but they're pretty easy to find at online diaper merchants.
I'm a huge fan of the snappi because i find that it keeps poop off diaper covers, which lets me use the covers more times before washing. However, I think I'm in the minority. They're so cheap it's worth having a few on hand to experiment with.
By all means, hold forth! Where do you get country save detergent? I 've never seen it. And what's a snappy? Do you use it to clasp the prefolds?
One thing about the prefolds/cover combination: if you have a baby with sensitive skin, you might run into issues. River was very sensitive to the ammonia in urine and if I didn't catch her the second she wet in a prefold, she'd get irritated. The lining in the pocket diapers (like FBs) or AIOs (FuzziBuns) suited her skin much better. I could even use them at night with no problems. The pds and AIOs can also be size adjusted. Riv was little for a long time, so the small Fuzzibuns lasted her for a looooong time. Same with the BumGeniuses. I'm not sure if they still do, but BG had a convertible pocket that could go from a newborn to an older baby. I bought one of them right before Riv started wanting to potty train and really liked it. I used the prefolds in emergencies, but the convenience and comfort of the AIOs and pockets made them worth it for me. (I also asked only for those for shower and bday presents for a year or so! :))
My fav diaper supplier was Abby's Lane. Stephanie has a huge inventory and was great about answering the questions I had. http://www.abbyslane.com/index.php
Thanks! I will definitely keep that in mind. I might try just a few of each and see what works best for us. As far as I know, none of our kids have had very sensative skin, but you just never really know.
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