Cloth Diapering

[SterlingAcres]

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Thanks LOL That was for a cloth diaper swap with one of the boys Mommy groups. Is that outer shell on yours PUL? I think I have the same color that I made a few chicken saddles with...

 

[patandchickens]

I used chinese prefolds. SOme bleached, some unbleached. The unbleached ones never softened and got as absorbant, but they were perfectly ok, you know?

Snappies are The Way To Go for holding the diaper closed, btw. Best $3.95 (or whatever they are now) that you will ever spend.

In the plastic pants department, we used Bummis, the plain white pull-on (forget the exact name, whisper wrap?, it's the cheapest thing they sell <g>). Worked GREAT. We found that it was wise to have 3-4 of 'em, to let damp ones thoroughly airdry between uses. When laundered every week or two they eventually do start to stiffen and lose their waterproofing in spots but we found that happened about the same time the kid outgrew them *anyhow*.

Also highly recommend the squirty thing that plumbs onto your toilet to let you rinse diapers. However if you have hard water you will find you need to soak it in vinegar *frequently* otherwise the holes become so small that the spray becomes really really high-velocity and you end up atomizing poo all over the bathroom

Also, look for one with a shutoff valve. Our first one lacked that, and the hose exploded one night, flooded the bathroom, lots of fun there.

I would vote for prefolds over the fancy fitted cloth diapers or all-in-ones btw -- not only are they much cheaper and a single size lasts a longer time, they are incredibly useful as household cloths once the kid is no longer in diapers. Whereas a fitted diaper or all-in-one remains nothing more than a diaper, you know?

Have fun (and congratulations!

),

Pat

 

[Wildsky]

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Thanks LOL That was for a cloth diaper swap with one of the boys Mommy groups. Is that outer shell on yours PUL? I think I have the same color that I made a few chicken saddles with...

Yes PUL with black suede cloth inside - it was stunning!

 

[Wildsky]

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The pocket diaper (fuzzybunz) uses prefolds or what have you to stuff it with. They also get a pretty decent price when you're done with them. Not sure on Ebay prices (I don't like ebay) but you'll see lots of folks re-selling diapers that are too small. So its not exactly like you're throwing money away.

 

[smom1976]

I too made most of mine.. But when I didnt I used fuzzybuns.. they were great! I should get back into it.. he is almost getting real heavy into potty training tho..

But if you prefold.. get some snappys.. they are WONDERFUL!!!

check out diaperswappers.com it is another forum with nothing but info about cloth diapers... kinda like the equivelent to this about chickens.

 

[UrbanMama]

My last 2 kiddos have been in cloth. All my diapers came from http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/index.htm Can't say enough good about them!

I have and love the Growing Greens that they have (organic, unbleached and grows w/ the baby) they work awesome with any cover, but I love wool covers and wool longies ..... Here's a link to my blog where I have an easy do-it-yourself wool longies... http://www.homesteadblogger.com/4byGodsgrace/38914/ I have a bunch of unbleached pre-folds and they're great too. Throw in a hemp liner and a Bummi's super whisper wrap for a cover or a snappi.....or a wool cover... I can go on and on about this!

Love cloth diapering...wish I'd done it with my first 2 also....If you ever need any help or have any questions, please feel free to PM me

 

[xapikleia]

We mostly use prefolds and fitteds with wool or plastic covers. My favorite wool covers are Sugar Peas and a wool soaker whose name I cannot recall at the moment! We also have some Fuzzibunz and bumGenius pockets that we were given, which I love for older toddlers (they seem to be trimmer) and for sending to Grandma's house!

I know that it's all preference, but as far as cost-efficiency goes, you really can't go wrong with prefolds and covers. There are plenty of gorgeous fitteds, AIOs, and pockets out there, but IMO, some of the prices are waaaay too much to spend on diapers, and some people seem to get addicted quickly (I know someone with a one y/o who is in debt $3,500, because she bought 100 fitteds that were $35/pop [not all fitteds are this much, I know]. All of that money, and she still has to cover those diapers!!!), so be a good guardian of your pocketbook! If you really need stylin' diapers, but don't want to spend a lot of money, you can always dye your diapers, and/or buy cute covers, and/or just have a few cute and pricey ones (I do, but again, they were given to me; I can't bring myself to spend more than $8 on a diaper). I know that pricey dipes have a high re-sale value, but you have to be willing to fork out the money to begin with (I'm not, lol).

You asked about the difference between Indian and Chinese prefolds- the Indians are trimmer, but much less absorbent. I use them on newborns, but that's about it. I'm a CPF girl!

I also want to put in another vote for a diaper sprayer! If you don't care about stains, and you're breastfeeding, you won't need it until your baby starts on solids (bf poop washes out easily in the washer). We have the one from Cottonbabies, and we love it!

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You know, I've heard other people say this too, but I've never had this problem with my unbleached ones. Weird! I know that they initially need to be stripped more than bleached prefolds; maybe that's the issue?

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Yes, go for the Snappi! Buy a few though- they seem to migrate to the same land as lost socks, guitar picks, and bobby pins!

 

[ibpboo]

Thanks for starting this thread! I used cloth diapers when my boys were small, prefolds, but i do not remember the brand or anything. But links to sew your own diapers! i never thought of that. And now that I am going to be a grammie again, I think I'll give it a try.

 

[Namaste Mama]

I do cloth diapers too! Its cool to see more CD mamas here.

 

[GardeNerd]

Good for you doing cloth diapers! I did cloth diapers with my kids as babies. I didn't like all the chemical in disposables. They are now 8 and 11. I just bought what Babies R us had in stock at the time. The internet wasn't as good of a source for that stuff 11 years ago. I used prefolds. I started with wraps with velcro as newborns. Then vinyls covers and diaper pins (I'm old fashion) with elastic legs when they started to crawl and walk.

A lot has changed in diapering in that short time. It was considered a little odd when I was doing it. I only knew of one other mom at the time. Now it seems like there are more resources and support. I'm glad. My kids were potty trained at a year and a half because they knew when they were wet. All my friends fought a battle with potty training around the 2 1/2 - 3 year old stage.

I wish I had more help for you. I do see the covers a lot in second hand stores now a days and on the internet like ebay and craigslist. Check those places if money is tight because it can get expensive quick.