Planning to CD--Lots of questions though!

Heidi - posted on 10/17/2010

1. Tossing a load of diapers in the washer is a lot faster than packing up the baby and driving to the store to buy a package of disposables.
2. I did not like the pocket diapers. I found it a lot cheaper to buy a few covers, and lots of diapers. I also found putting pocket diapers together to be time consuming.
3. I dumped/rinsed the poo, but it was only one every day or less.
4. Creigs list. Consignment stores. Between Friends Sale (twice a year giant garage sale) they move from area to area. Check the web to see when they are in your area. I have even gotten them at the ARC and goodwill. You can make them yourself, or buy them on e-bay. If you want to reduce the cost use the gerber plastic pants for covers. You can get the small sizes art babys r us. But don't use the gerber cloth diapers great burp cloths, and liners, but skimpy diapers. If you get used diapers I would sanitize them. My washer has a cycle for that or you can use bleach. Rinse extra to prevent a rash from the bleach.

Jacqueline - posted on 10/15/2010

Hi.

I have two children my eldest i never used cloth on and is now toilet trained and my youngest boy is 10mths and i have been CDing for about 6 months. I have found that pocket diapers are the go cos the 'all in ones(AIO)' take forever to dry. you can get flushable organic liners for the nappies which keep the poop from coming into contact with the fabric of the nappy(they are great). I have a mix of brands and my favourites are Cuddlebots and Baby Beehind. the Baby Beehinds are my night nappies and the only ones that i have tried that will last when they start sleeping through the night. I would recommend strip washing before use...wash them at about 40-50degrees with a grey water friendly dishwashing detergent...then wash them again with just water. and never ever use fabric softener....hope this is helpful.

Cheri - posted on 10/15/2010

Here's some info for you:
1) The easiest and most convenient way to try cloth diapers is to try a diaper service. They usually pick up/drop off the diapers and of coarse, clean them for you! You could check to see if there are any in your area. My coworkers got together and gave a few months for a shower gift.

Otherwise, they are really easy to deal with. Just get a pail (with a lid) and as you use them put them in the pail. Just throw in the pee diapers directly. The poop diapers need to be "swished" of in the toilet, then drop them in, too. I was able to keep up on them by washing, generally twice a week.

2) I didn't try Rumparooz, but did use Bummies, and Fuzzy Bunz, and a few other. I found the other (prefolds) to be much easier or at least less) to wash.

3) I think that even BF only babies poop and you'll want to rinse the poop diapers first!

4)Look for some at the thrift/gently used stores. Also I know there is a place online to get gently used diapers on the web.

Jennifer - posted on 10/15/2010

1. I found it really easy to just throw a load of dipes in the washer at the very end of the day, and then into the dryer in the morning. Especially since NB diapers do not need to be rinsed before going into the washer. That being said, I always do a cold rinse of my diapers before moving on to a hot wash, so that helps.

2. OS diapers are great - when the baby grows into them. You may find that your little one doesn't fit a diaper like that right from the start. Or you may not like the absorbency - which is my own personal issue with AIO diapers. I have heavy wetters because we nurse on demand.

3. - Yep, see my answer to #1

4. - I would look for a place that does a sampler pack of diapers and lets you try a little of everything. That way you know what is going to work for you, and you get to try everything out. I personally started with pockets, went to snap-in AI2 diapers, prefolds, and then flats/prefolds. Now I use fitteds, and sometimes pocket diapers. I seem to have come full circle! LOL You can try DiaperSwappers, especially if you don't mind used diapers.

Melissa - posted on 10/15/2010

Hi! My son is almost 17 months old, and we have been cloth diapering him since he was about 3 months old. I absolutely LOVE cloth diapering!
1. CDing really doesn't take that much extra time. We use pockets here, and I wash them every other day. I put them in the wash as I'm heading to bed then hang them to dry in the morning. I stuff them with my son's "help." He loves to dive into the pile of clean diapers!
2. I have never used Rumparooz. We use Fuzzibunz and BumGenius and absolutely love them!
3. Everyone told me that exclusively breastfed baby poop doesn't stain. That was not the case here. The only stains I ever got on my diapers were from EBF poops. I always just use toilet paper to scrape the excess into the toilet before putting the diaper in the pail. I don't own a sprayer. I hang the diapers outside to sun them on sunny days, and we don't have any permanently stained diapers.
4. DO NOT BUY A BUNCH OF DIAPERS BEFORE YOU HAVE TRIED THEM!!!!! I bought 24 Crickett's b/c I had heard good things about them, and we hated them! I have bought most of my diapers since then on diaperswappers.com. They are used, but much cheaper. I boil them and wash them before using them. We had a really tough time at first getting rid of foul odors in our diapers. (Not b/c they were used but because my son's urine is very potent.) I found out I was using the wrong detergent even though I was using what the diaper makers had recommended! I swear by Rockin' Green detergent. I'll never use anything else!

Good luck with everything! I get so excited when other people decide to do cloth diapers. You will see that it quickly becomes an obsession! :)

Jenna - posted on 10/14/2010

Hi! I CD'd my first who is now three and I'm currently CDing my 6 mo old. It's not hard! Do you live in an area where there are any actual stores that sell CDs? I work at a store in Denver and we have a Cloth Diapering 101 class for free which is really helpful.

Rumparooz are great, but I agree with someone else who said to get a variety of things because you never know what you will end up liking and what fits best until the baby's born.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Jenna

Laura - posted on 10/08/2010

I used cloth diapers with my son and never regretted it. They were easy to use and better for the environment. He potty trained earlier too! If they can't tell they're wet, it doesn't bother them.

I would rinse any diapers of fecal matter before throwing them in the washer. There is a lot of bacteria in poop. I washed on hot and added an extra rinse cycle for really nasty ones. I also used a cloth diaper delivery service because I worked and loved it! I didn't even have to rinse the diapers, they did all for me. We had the extra CD's for when we traveled etc. I liked using a cloth diaper and a wrap because you can use the wraps more than once before they need to be changed and washed.
There are a couple of websites out their that offer samples of their products so you can try them without buying in bulk. I even have a friend who uses a diaper service that will be launching a new store on the web called DyDeeBabyBoutique.com this week or next that carries cloth diapers, all in ones and wraps, etc, BUT the cool thing she told me is that they will be offering a money back guarantee on their regular cotton cloth diapers. Might be worth checking out

You won't regret going with cloth!

K - posted on 10/07/2010

I'm planning on CD with my baby due this winter, I tried a few with my daughter but she is almost out of diapers now. I tried Kushies which I didn't like, they were too bulky and took forever to dry. G diapers are really neat cause you have the option of flushable liners or cloth and they were much easier to use I found. The ones I'm getting for baby #2 are Greenline, take a look at them - they are slim, colourful, and very adjustable! You can find them on Facebook or at their site http://www.greenlinediaper.com/

Tammy - posted on 10/07/2010

I also use a one size pocket nappy during the day as you are right, they are very easy to use and also very dad/grandparent friendly. I havent used Rumparoos before as I purchased mine off ebay which was a no name brand- very cheap and still very good quality- one year on and they still look brand new. For night time I use Motherease One Size Fitted Nappies and Airflow cover, which is fantastic as we havent had any leaks whatsoever. We didnt start cd'ing our son until he was three months old so with our next newborn I am planning on using Mother Ease Sandy Fitted or Kissaluv Fitted as One Size Nappies can tend to be a bit big on newborns.
You dont have to rinse the poop off with breastfed babies only as it is very soluble and dissolves in the wash- but some people are a bit queesy on this so you can rinse them before putting them in the nappy bucket- a diaper sprayer attached to the toilet is great for this. Alternatively, you can line the nappies with a disposable liner to catch most of it. I line all my nappies with liners as my husband will refuse to change a poopy unless there is a liner in it- but if there is only wee I will pop it in the nappy bucket to wash as well and can get a few uses out of it.
I wouldnt worry about purchasing 24 before your baby is born, as you said you may not like them. Have a look on ebay, they have some great deals on there from mums selling used nappies in great condition, that way if you can purchase some at a time. If you dont like them, sell them again to recoup some of your costs.

Majaliwa - posted on 10/06/2010

1.) True enough everything will be new, but you'll be surprised at how much maintaining the cloth diapers will NOT be that difficult. I recommend practicing changing them on a teddy bear to get used to it. Since you'll be using a diaper like Rumparooz though - you really even won't need to practice - they're fairly easy to use. Here's a great site that can help you get prepared for what to expect: www.pootersdiapers.com/howto-guides.



2.) Rumparooz are great quality diapers but a little thick. I didn't find them to fit well under my little guys' onesies so that's something to keep in mind. Other than that, they're easy to use, don't leak, etc.



3.) If you're BF'ing only then you can just toss the dipes in the washing machine. However, the idea of poop does still bother some people (i.e. my husband) and so I still rinse with a diaper sprayer before tossing them in the wash - but this isn't necessary.



4.) I don't recommend purchasing 24 cloth diapers to start because you may not like them. Instead I recommend purchasing 5 or so and mixing them in with disposables until you find what you're looking for. I've listed below a few good brands you can check out. You can find gently used diapers on sites like diaperswappers.com, swapmamas.com, and re-diaper.com (this is a really great, reputable site). Other cloth diaper retail sites like www.pootersdiapers.com have clearance sections where they sell gently used cloth diapers also.



GOOD BRANDS (in alphabetical order): You can find diaper reviews on www.diaperpin.com.



Apple Cheeks

Bum Genius

Fuzzi Bunz

Green Acre Designs

Happy Heinys

Kissaluvs

Knickernappies

Mother Ease

Pooters

Softbums

Sustainablebabyish

Swaddlebees

Thirsties

Emma - posted on 10/06/2010

Hi! I have 1 in cloth right now and my toddler is potty training, but we used cloth with him as well.
1. For me, keeping up with the house and baby was an adjustment. The diapering didn't get in the way at all. Being a new mom and tired all the time and I was recovering from a c-sect both times so the house work became secondary. It got done eventually, but wasn't my main concern. My husband and MIL were excellent in doing housework and cooking etc. while I took care of baby. My 2nd didn't fit into her cd's because she was small and I got mostly OS diapers and covers. At 2 mths though she was big enough and we cd'ed full time. So be aware your new one might not fit right away depending on the kind of diapers you buy.
2. I haven't used rumparooz, but i am all about ease of use as well! We used kissa luvs fitteds and covers at first and are now in fuzzi bunz, and bumgenius os and love them. I also have a couple grow babies now gro via and am not fabulous on those.
3. yes as long as you BF you don't have to do anything extra. It's water soluble and won't harm anything in your washer. yay for that!
4. There are diaper swapper websites and ebay that have seconds, but myself personally i wouldn't buy them for first time trying. Just because I don't know how the previous person used/treated them. I have borrowed from friends that CD and then bought what I liked. If you do go that way i would say definatly strip the diapers before use. I would recomend ordering a sample pack that has a few different diapers to see what you like and then get the rest of your stash.
Good luck and enjoy your new one! hope this helped some.