Cloth Diapers??

Updated on September 02, 2008
A.M. asks from Mount Sinai, NY
28 answers

I am thinking about trying cloth diapers. Is it worth it? Any suggestions on what brand to start out with or try? Any I should stay away from?

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So What Happened?

After reading everyone's suggestions, I decided to order a few Bumgenius diapers. I actually really like them and am considering buying more. I don't think I would ever cloth diaper exclusively, but it is great while we're home. I'm so happy I tried it and thanks to everyone for the great advice!

Featured Answers

C.R.

answers from Rochester on

I use Mother Ease, and LOVE them! I used traditional cloth diapers and rubber pants w/pins with my first child and wished I had the Mother Ease when she was born. They are worth the investment. Sometimes you can find deals on ebay.

www.motherease.com

Good luck!
C.

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K.V.

answers from Glens Falls on

Cloth diapers are great!!! They are expensive, but I think you start saving (depending on what brand you get) at about six months of age. The savings are even bigger if you plan on having more than one child !!!
I truely love them and love that I'm helping the environment!
I use Bum Genius diapers and they're great, but I've been hearing a lot about the G diaper. They are quite pricey, though!

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E.E.

answers from New York on

Try this site- It has all different types of diapers and you can buy a "try-out" kit with different brands. There is a ton of good information on the site. www.greenmountaindiapers.com

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C.B.

answers from New York on

Hi A.,
I agree with Tara. I have been using Mother-ease for almost 2 years now on both my boys (23 mths & 8 mths) and they are awesome! I also have the OneSize with the covers and as Tara mentioned - they are both adjustable so as your baby grows- you adjust nappy accordingly. We live in New Zealand and did lots of research as to which was the better way to go - cloth or disposable and $ wise - you save in the long run with cloth - (& you can always resell them once you are done).Give them a go - they are worth it! http://www.mother-ease.com/ Good Luck:)

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S.W.

answers from New York on

I just started CDing about a month ago with my 16mo daughter, and I love it! I did try the www.jilliansdrawers.com 21 day trial for $10. It was GREAT! Their customer service is awesome, and the diapers they send you are quality and a wide variety, so you can really figure out what you want to use.

If you are doing it to save money, prefolds and covers are the way to go. They are a little more difficult to put on, but really simple once you get the hang of it (all diapers have a learning curve! Remember putting your first diapers on your first baby?)

If you are doing it for environmental reasons, health of your baby, fashion, etc. there are plenty of other easier and supercute ways to diaper. Look for All in ones (AIO) which are very similar to diaposables because they are all one piece. Pocket diapers are almost as easy, you just stuff em with an absorbent piece or two, and put them on like a disposable. Most of these have velcro or snaps for fast, easy use.

I personally chose mostly prefolds with a handful of AIOs so I have something easier for grandma, babysitter, and when we go on trips.

www.diaperswappers.com is an AWESOME site with information, forums, and lots of people swapping inexpensive, used diapers. WARNING-- cloth diapering is addictive.

Enjoy!

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J.Y.

answers from Albany on

We have used Fuzzy bunz with both of our children (3 1/2 years and 14 months). I really like the snaps (no velcro to stick to everything) and they clean really well (soak cycle with oxiclean and then wash cycle with detergent). our 14 month old is still in the medium size and our son has potty trained after the large size. We purchased 12 of each size and wash them every other day or so. we do not use them full-time (the kids are in child care 2 days a week and we use disposable there). Good Luck!!

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M.Q.

answers from New York on

I don't know much about this but was speaking to someone this weekend who said that if you are doing it for environmental reasons then you should consider that in some areas disposable is more eco friendly because you need to factor in the cost of cleaning. Also using a service can be less eco friendly when you consider shipping fuel, mass washing detergent, etc. Again I don't know much.

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N.B.

answers from New York on

Our first baby isn't here yet, but when I was at the Buy Buy Baby store the sales person I worked with mentioned that many parents report folding a cloth diaper and placing it inside a waterproof coverall. I plan to try that in a couple of months when I'm due, so I can't tell you if it actually works. Did anyone try this?
Good luck!

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L.D.

answers from Rochester on

When you think about the chemical that allows disposable diapers to absorb so much liquid, you know that gel in the disposables, right next to your precious little babys skin, cloth diapers sound like a no brainer. I used them for my first way back in the 70s, then for my next 3 I used disposables, but they weren't like they are now, able to stay on for 4 hours! Not to mention the half life those bad boys have in a land fill. My 24 yr old daughter is using cloth now, mostly because of the cost. She has an 18 mo old and a 3 month old. Using cotton next to their skin is far safer. Keep a bucket with a little bleach water and a lid, put the soiled cloth in the bucket, wash them every day if you can. I wouldn't use a fabric softener in the dryer again because of the chemicals on the softener. They have lots of clever and functionable covers to keep the cloth diaper from leaking. Go on line and google cloth diapers, you'll learn a lot. Good luck L. D

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N.R.

answers from New York on

I have heard good things about bum genius diapers and G diapers. I have not used them myself, but I am always on the verge of trying. Good luck!

http://www.bumgenius.com/

http://www.gdiapers.com/

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J.A.

answers from Buffalo on

Hi I have a 7 mo and I have been using Gdiapers from the beginning. This system is avail in whole foods, wegmans (natures market place section) on line (www.gdiapers.com)
and other stores in their natural section.

the are AMAZING... the insert is plastic free biodegrades in 50 -150 Days or can be flushed down - you see it biodegrade right there. ..
she has not had a diaper rash yet. knock on wood LOL

It is a cloth outside, plastic liner (washes) that holds the insert. I am saving all of my G's for my next one.. There are many colors on line. The starter kits come with 2 G's and other things... I actually just bought a few starter kits (yes they are orange and white.. but its a cheeper way to go if you are on a tight budget like I am .. but if you want all the colors you need to go online. Sorry for the rambling.. That is how impressed I am by the system.

feel free to contact me with any questions..
Julie

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M.B.

answers from New York on

I have 7 years experience with cloth diapers. I think they are wonderful. I have tried everything from prefolds to the new all-in-ones. After cloth diapering 3 babies, I've found different things work for different babies, depending on their build and if they're a heavy wetter or not. I highly recommend www.myuseddiapers.com to try second hand so you don't put full price out for something and then find out you don't like that kind. That forum is also very good for selling the ones you don't want to keep or that your baby grows out of.

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B.C.

answers from New York on

I have a son who is about to be 3 and have been using fuzzi bunz since he was 10 days old. I love these diapers. He was in a size medium from 6 months until 2 years and I always think about the money we saved using cloth.

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S.A.

answers from New York on

Good for your baby! I used them since my son was born and switched to disposable during the week after he was a year old because he started daycare (by 2 he was potty-trained). He never had diaper rash. I washed them myself so had lots of laundry, but bought the diaper liners which did a pretty good job of containing moisture.

Imagine wearing those plastic diapers yourself? doesn't matter how pretty they make them look to the eye, it's the skin that knows the difference. Good for you, mama!

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S.D.

answers from Glens Falls on

Hi A., My name is S. ,I'm the mother of 5. Two are our foster children, we hope to adopt. Anyway for a while I did cloth diapers and was pleased, but this time I tried something new. They're called gDiapers, They have a cloth outside, a plastic liner that snaps in and a diaper in them that you can flush. Check them out at gdiapers.com we love them. We don't flush the incerts,but we do compost the wet ones. Good luck S.

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E.B.

answers from New York on

I switched to cloth when my daughter was 18 months old (25 mos now) after I witnessed a distant cousin using them on her daughter at a family function. I was amazed at the ease of changing the diaper.... she was using a BumGenius. I never even knew that there were alternatives to the old fashioned pre-folds and pins. We looked into everything from hemp pre-folds with a Snappi (like an ace-bandage - alternative to pins) to the all-in-one BumGenius 3.0 over the next 2 weeks. Being that our daughter was already 22 lbs when we started, we opted for the bumgenius 3.0. They can be used from 5-35 lbs. The advantage being that you dont have to invest in a whole new collection of diapers for each size. We have 21 of them and do the load of diapers after she goes to bed every 3rd-4th night or so. I immediately felt so good that I wasn't contributing to the landfills for the next 500 yrs.

I am due in Feb with our 2nd and am looking foward to being able to use the same diapers for that baby(saving $ again!).

It is a bit more work, but once you get a system down that works for you, it is completely worth it!
Good luck on your decision...

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A.S.

answers from New York on

My son wore cloth diapers from birth until potty training--which was really easy, BTW. I inherited some fabulous organic hourglass shaped ones with velcro closures and elastic legs, don't know the brand. My biggest bit of advice, which might be obvious, is to use fleece or wool diaper covers exclusively. Nylon or plastic covers will not allow the diapers to breathe and that is what leads to skin irritation and diaper rash.

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N.S.

answers from New York on

They really work for us. We use both bumgenius and fuzzy bunz regularly and we had a bunch of the old fashioned prefolds which we found much harder to use. The bumgenuis has velcro and grows in size with your kid which I like a lot. but for really little ones I liked the fuzzy bunz better. We do NOT put it in a wet bucket or ever use bleach. We keep it in a little $10 no-hands diaper pail we found on Amazon (poop cleaned off already, inserts pulled out, laundry tabs velcroed). Then we run it in a laundry cycle that has a prewash and a couple extra rinses programmed in. Most of the time, even this is is a bit overkill, but it doesn't hurt to have the prewash and extra rinses. We also wash regular clothes in the same load most of the time. Since he seems to always have so much clothes to wash anyways, this is helpful. Every 2-3 days. We have soemthing like 12 diapers.

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K.S.

answers from Rochester on

Hi There! Sorry this response is a little late but I've been using Bum Genius on my daughter for a little over two months now and I LOVE them! They aren't your traditional cloth diaper. They're very easy to use and don't require a whole lot of maintainence. I've also tried the happy heinys and they would work great if her legs were a little on the chubby side. They also have a greate selection of colors. The only thing I didn't like about the Happy Heiny's is that there is no fleece edging around the back of the diaper and it looks like it might be uncomfortable. Good luck! If you have any questions you can email me @ ____@____.com

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L.L.

answers from Syracuse on

I loved the ones barefootbaby sold on line. I did some prefold but folded most of my own and used the plastic velcro coverups for both of my children newborn through tolit trained. They sued to have a trial pack so you could see the different styles and brands before you invested in a lot. They were great over the phone too.

L.

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S.S.

answers from Glens Falls on

nuttybums.com has free shipping on orders over $50, which is really nice.

I like bumgenius and fuzzi bunz.
Get the bumgenius diaper sprayer - $40 and worth it. It will be worth it for cleaning little pottys too.

Also see this info about the environmental effect:
Early studies of cloth diapers and disposables
indicated that cloth diapers pollute just as much as disposables. These early studies were funded by disposable diaper companies. In 1991, a London independent environmental agency concluded that, compared to cloth diapers, throwaway diapers use 20 times more raw materials, three times more energy, twice as much water, and generate 60 times more
waste.

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A.P.

answers from New York on

I haven't tried cloth, but have been thinking about the switch. If you're interested in trying out a few brands, I found this website that lets you try some of the major brands to see what you like, for a deposit (you get all but $10 back). Their website says, "Try cloth diapers for 21 days for $10."

I would maybe check that out...

http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/cdcm.html

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R.R.

answers from Rochester on

I think so, although I always have a stash of disposables for outings.

I liked Growing Greens. They are organic cotton so pricy; but they really have such a great range of sizes that I used them for... ever! Still hasn't outgrown them. Beats buying cheaper diapers that you have to keep reordering as they grow.

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A.L.

answers from Buffalo on

i just started using cloth diapers a couple weeks ago and love them! my daughter is 6 1/2 months old now, and i wish we had started sooner.

we use two different kinds, and are very happy with both. we like the combination of the organic hemp/cotton blend. hemp is very absorbant. the two we have are bumgenius 3.0 and growing greens (hemp/cotton blend) both of these are one size diapers and grow with your baby.

check out this site for growing greens
http://www.tinytush.com/Growing-Greens-One-size-Diapers_p...

also, to help you with cloth diapering questions and getting started, you should definitely look at these two sites:
http://www.cafemom.com/group/3775 http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/basics.htm

good luck!

M.I.

answers from New York on

Dear A., I LOVE the g-diapers. They look cute, they work great, and they keep my home free of disgusting odor. (who ever invented the diaper geenie?! What a joke!) With the gdiapers, you just flush the insert down the toilet. They are also biodegradable, so good for the environment too, but I simply love them. What convinced me to try them was the video on their website. It is www.gdiapers.com
Hope this is helpful.

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W.T.

answers from New York on

Hi A.,

With our first son, we used Fuzzi Bunz -- back then they had a hemp insert (now it's microfiber terry, that we don't like as much). However, now with our 2nd and me working full time, I don't have time to do cloth diapers -- so if you'd be interested, I have a set of 12 medium size Fuzzi Bunz that you could try out, and if you liked them I would sell them to you cheaply. I live in Madison... let me know if you'd be interested.

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T.W.

answers from Buffalo on

The best diaper I have ever used is called mother-ease one size. They grow with your baby, last forever, so its the most bang for your buck. If you were to buy all the supplies you needed from this company to last you until your baby was potty trained, you'd pay $550. Beats the $2000 you spend on disposables...and you cant reuse them!

https://usshop.motherease.com/shopdisplaycategories.asp

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A.M.

answers from New York on

do it, once you start, you will be hooked. like everyone said, prefolds and covers are the cheapest. you could also buy fabric scraps andsew them to the middle fabric yourself to spruce them up or dye them, even with koolaid. if mney isnt an issue, then you have to try them to see what works best. i personally swore i would never use fitteds but i now use them exclusively. i totally agree with trying the pack at jillians drawers. i spent so much money trying the different types, then not liking them.

imio, the best aios are bottombumpers. they have a huge lrange so once she fit them around q12 lbs, i see them fittng up to potty learning, or at least close. totally fit like disposables. aios are expensive, an i would never use them exlusively but its good to jhave some for babysitters.

have you looked on diaperswappers.com its great and you will feel much more knowledgable in a few weeks. the only hard part is figuring out a good wash routine for your water, washer, and detergent, but otherwise i find it much easier than disposables. diaperswappers also has a for sale section so you can try things out and save money buying used. if money isnt a problem, check out hyenacart.com for mama made diapers.
remember, know matter what someone tries to tell you, the amount of water used is in no way comparable to the ill effects disposables have on the environment(ESP true bof front loaders). people just say that to make themselves feel better. and if anyone makes a negative comment, remind them SOMEONE has to do something for THIER childrens future.
good luck and i swear, after a month, you will never think of going back.

ETA- i also agree with fleece and wool for the covers. they are so easy to use andcan double as clothing(you might even be able to make your own if you are crafty). and remember, they can last thru children or be resold, so dont think of the startup cost. it will be less than disposables and its great never to worry about running out od diapers.

at 2 months, if he is a good size, i would see if you could go right to mediums. they may be a little big but at 3 months my daufghter was in mediums which should last awhile- some never even use larges.

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