Talk to me about cloth diapering

mrshall1027 · October 2014

Do any moms here cloth diaper? I'm strongly considering it, but my H is not too happy with the idea. From research, it doesn't seem like it's as difficult/nasty as I pictured it, but of course still more involved than disposables. How has your experience been, especially when you are not at home?

amccul20 · October 2014

we cloth diaper and love it. my husband doesn't mind it either, and he's never known anything else so I don't think he finds it particularly hard.

sure you have to wash them, but its a load every two days, so it doesn't bother me.

this is a good website to check out - http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/

is there anything specific you want to know?

mrshall1027 · October 2014

Thanks for your input @amccul20. I guess I just wanted to get first hand experience about the whole process. Do you use the sprayer that attaches to the toilet to clean them off easier? How do you clean them off when you are out shopping? Where do you store the dirty diapers before washing them?

ETA: My H has two daughters from a previous marriage and they used disposables. The youngest was 1 when we met and I went along with whatever was already in place, so I only know disposables too.

carcrashheart · October 2014

We've been cd'ing since DS was 5 weeks old. We will probably start either as soon as we get home from the hospital or as soon as the stump falls off with #2. We used prefolds for DS's first year then switched to AIO's. We also used some fitteds but they were not the bulk of our stash. As DS grew we sometimes had to alter our diapering to accommodate (adding inserts or doublers). Those things made very little sense to me even when I started cd'ing. Most of my knowledge has come from doing, trying, finding issues and asking for help. I hate hate hate stuffing pockets, which is why we didn't use them, but they are usually the favorite option. We opted to cd to keep costs low, which is why we chose prefolds. I bought bigger sizes second hand from craigslist and second hand covers from local cd swap pages. When we decided to move to AIO's due to a wiggling child I bought some new (at great deals) and then ended up swapping a bunch for a brand I liked better. Those preferences come with time though, when you see how things it your child.

As for the actual process, it's not a big deal. We used a diaper sprayer to rinse all poop diapers, even before he started solid foods, just because it was easy and seemed like a good way to reduce poop in the washer. There is a myth that formula poop isn't water soluble and can't go in the washer, but it's not true. We are an FF family and have had no problems. So basically you change the diaper (and if a pocket or aio it's the same as a sposie except will have snaps or velcro to keep the diaper closed and on), place the dirty diaper in a wet bag or pail liner (which goes in a garbage can), put a new diaper on and you're done. It's an extra load of laundry every 2-3 days (or longer, depending on how big your stash is), but especially in the nb stage you will find a huge increase in your laundry due to newborn spit up and such so for me one more load was nothing.

I would absolutely read up. There are blogs that put down a lot of the common cd "rules" and makes it a lot easier than it seems. For instance, cd specific detergent is actually a bad idea, so your regular detergent is fine as long as it doesn't have fabric softener. You will hear that you can't use certain diaper creams, but that also turns out to not be entirely true.

And with any item that you want to reuse and have last you may have some maintenance to tend to. For instance, sometimes the diapers get some build up. A simple bleach soak will usually fix that. Sometimes they get a barnyard stink. Again, a bleach soak can fix that.

We have had to switch to sposies overnight bc DS is such a heavy pee'er overnight. I hate it, but I was spending money on options and not finding anything that worked 100%. DS didn't get his first rash until he was 7 months old and even then it didn't really fully break in to a rash. Once he got older I often switched to a sposie when leaving the house for a long period of time just to keep me from having to change a diaper on the fly (or reduce the risk at least-I hate changing in public restrooms). Our stash has cost us easily less than $600 and it was bought in phases since we were working with sized diapers and not one size (until we got to AIO's).

I would refer to Kelly's closet, Jillian's drawers, and the cloth diaper asylum for info (the first two are websites, the last is a FB group that is extremely helpful).

lindsayandjamie · October 2014

We cloth diapered from two weeks until 2.5yrs when he trained and plan to do the same with this one. We used prefolds (old school type, piece of cloth you secure to baby, then put a waterproof cover over top) in the newborn stage until he fit into the one size pockets (we prefer BumGenius 4.0 One Size pockets) which is basically a shell and you stuff a liner (piece of absorbant fabric) inside the pocket. When you do a change, you remove the diaper, pull or shake out the liner and drop both pieces in the wetbag. Putting a pocket on is the same as a sposie but, as CCH said, just with snaps or velcro.

We used a sprayer only when solid food was introduced and poops became tricker to clean off. The first 6 month he was EBF so poop was water soluable so everything just went straight in to the bag until laundry day. EBFpoop doesn't stink (it smells a bit sweet if anything) so smell wasn't an issue.

We have a small wetbag for going out and would bring our dipes along. If he was due for a poop we would sometimes put him in a sposie but most of the time it was cloth all the time when out and about. No rinsing needed for pee.

We switched to sposies at night as well when he was soaking through every cloth option we tried.

We have really loved the cost savings and the fact we never run out of diapers and have to run to the store. We did cloth laundry every 1-2 days in the early months, and were down to twice a week in the toddler years.

We have tried a variety of options, styles and brands, but it really comes down to personal preference, ease of use and budget.

Good luck!

GoodWolf · October 2014

We use bumbgenius one size (OS) all in one (AIO). We have 18 now and can go a day and a half between washes but we just do a load every morning to stay on top of it. We had 14 for the first 6 weeks. You don't need too many. Total cost for us was about $300. These will last until she's potty trained.

AIO are great because there's no stuffing or any added steps, just put it on like a disposable. We rinse poop diapers (even though she's EBF and its water soluble, her poop doesn't smell good and rinsing also helps prevent staining), and rinsed or just pee diapers go in a diaper pail with cloth/waterproof liner. Liner and diapers go in the wash together, heavy duty cycle (cold prewash, hot wash, extra rinse). We use ecos unscented detergent, standard amount for one load. Then we line dry the diapers, outside or inside. Sun helps get out stains.

I love CD because we never run out like @lindsayandjamie mentioned, the cost savings are awesome, she doesn't get a rash, and we don't fill up our trash every day with disposables like we did the first couple weeks before she fit into the OS diapers!

liall09 · October 2014

We use cloth and love it. We found that we preferred pockets (pretty much all bumGenius), although we tried prefolds and all-in-ones. It's really not that much extra work at all -- usually just an extra three loads a week. Pockets are a little more intensive as they require you to stuff them, but I can stuff 20 diapers in 10 minutes while I watch TV, so it's really not a huge deal.

A was EBF, so we didn't have to worry about rinsing the EBF poop before washing. Once she started eating solids at 6 months, we used disposable liners to get us through the transition until she had plopable poop. I had wanted to get a sprayer for the toilet, but honestly we've never really needed it. Very occasionally I've had to swish a diaper, but most of the time if little pieces of poop stick to the diaper, I can just use a couple pieces of toilet paper to pick it off.

At home, we have a wet bag in a 30 gallon plastic garbage pail where we put wet and dumped dirty diapers. When we're out and about, I have a couple of small wet bags that I rotate. If we're at someone's house, I just dump the poop there, but if we're out somewhere else and she poops, depending on the changing table situation, I just wait to dump the poop until we get home (most of the time I can dump it when I change her though).

The site that @amccul20 linked is a good one. If you're not sure of what type of diaper you might like best, you could think about doing the trial program offered by Jillian's Drawers: http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/products/clothdiapers/tryclothfor10/tryclothfor10 While I've never used it myself, I've heard really good things about it.

Also to consider, generally speaking, the time for babies to be in NB-sized cloth is pretty small. We did disposable diapers for A for the first few weeks. This time around, we're planning on using prefolds and covers to get us through those early days.

If you have any further questions, I'd be happy to answer them! There are also some good groups on Facebook dedicated to cloth diapering that can be very informative for answering questions you might have.

amccul20 · October 2014

so these girls gave you lots of info!

we have mainly AIO diapers. I do not rinse the poop out (he's EBF still) and all diapers just go directly into the diaper pail. I wash every 2 days and hang to dry if the weather is nice. we do have some pockets, but those are more work IMO and so I won't buy anymore.

I keep a wet bag in my diaper bag and when we're out and about or even just at the IL's we just put the dirty diapers in the wetbag and they go in the wash next time I do diaper laundry.

at home I have a diaper pail that I put a pail liner in instead of a plastic bag and when its full I take the pail liner and dump all its contents into the washer then throw the pail liner too and wash it all together. (I would add my wet bag contents and wet bag too if I had those to wash).

Bear goes to daycare and so we send diapers with him twice a week and a new wetbag every day and his daycare lady just uses the cloth and sends home the wetbag with dirty diapers every day. we have 3 wetbags so we can send a new one every day.

mrshall1027 · October 2014

You guys rock! Thank you for all the info!! Now I just need to get H on board... wish me luck!

LuckyAngel07 · October 2014

I'm late chiming in, but we're CDing, too. We started when F was 5 days old; her meconium poops were done, and she blewout 2 sposies, so it was time!

We use mainly prefolds and covers during the day. For the sake of ease of MOTN changes, I use a combination of AIOs, fitteds with a cover (fitteds are already diaper shaped with elastic, with or without a closure, so no folding necessary, just need to add the waterproof outer cover), or, now that she's getting bigger, pockets. I adore the ease of the AIO and pocket options, and I have more of them in OS to use now that she's starting to fit in them straight through until she's potty trained. I'll likely continue using prefolds during the day; they really only take a minute more to change than a sposie.

I have a couple of pail liners that I throw on a hamper. I've been doing diaper wash every 2 days. Everything goes straight from baby's butt, into the pail, then into the wash. I do a rinse cycle, a hot wash cycle with Ecos F&C detergent, and then another rinse to make sure all the detergent is out (build-up is the biggest reason for leaking/decreased absorbency). Then they all go on a drying rack outside for now while the weather is cooperating (yes, sunshine will totally fade out stains, and EBF poop staaaaaains). Once it gets really cold here, the covers, AIOs, and pockets will go on the drying rack indoors, and all the prefolds, fitteds, and liners will go in the dryer (basically anything without a waterproof outer can go in the dryer).

DH got right on board. He learned how to put on a prefold right away and got the hang easily. He doesn't do the wash, but that's nothing new. Now that F is a little bigger and we have more diapers fitting her in the rotation, we might be able to push wash to every 3 days instead of every 2.

Talk to me about cloth diapering

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