Cloth Diapers--Any Suggestions?

Hi L.,
I used Fuzzi Bunz and Bum Genious pocket diapers and they were so easy - almost as easy as disposeables. The only trick is that fleece occasionally needs some special care. You have so "strip" them every so often, which means do some special hot water/no soap washing to strip off residue on the fleece from detergents or rash creams that can build up over time and lead to leaks and bad odors. Hemp inserts were especially absorbent and trim. There's tons of info online about caring for fleece pocket diapers. Good luck!

I am a first time mom and my duaghter is only two months old so I don't have a ton of experience, but i have tried several different kinds of cloth diapers. Mostly he all in one kind. I have tried bum genuis and bumkins and very baby. I like the bum genius as far as the fit goes for my girl. All the kinds that I have tried are very easy to wash. The only thing I have noticed is that though they hold the poop in great my daughter does not like the feeling of wet and has had some wet leaks with all kinds. I have also tried several kinds of disposable diapers and she has had blowouts with all of them. The diapers that I love the best are gdiapers. they are a fabulous combination of disposbale and cloth except that you don't have to wash the inserts, you flush them down the toilet. Its great. And the outer covering is not supposed to get dirty but my daughter has managed to get them a little bit dirty but she has not yet had a blow out where it got through at all with gdiapers. I would highly reccommend them. go to gdiapers.com. Try a starter kit (it only comes in small I think though) if you can, and babiesrus does carry those as does diapers.com or just get it straight form gdiapers.com. But they are so easy! and they are also very cute.

I used the bum genius diapers. I liked them, but assembling them after washing was a little time consuming, but worked well on the go as well as at home. My son is big for his age and outgrew them after the 1st year (he was too long). I also used Kushies flushable diaper liners great for make quick work of poopies and made everything read to launder right after being soild (no rinsing and soaking). They are an expensive investment I would buy 2 or three of each type and use them for a while to see what works best for you. Many web sights offer variety packs just for this purpose.

I can't speak from experience, but I plan to use cloth diapers with my second baby on the way. I did a ton of research and decided for me personally, the best option is all-in-ones. No pants to put over top, they velcro or snap. I chose Bum Genius Organic All-in-Ones because you don't even have to stuff them with a separate liner. I like that they are organic cotton inside, too. They are the most expensive cloth option, but I realized I will still be saving so much money by not using disposable diapers!

Check out www.cottonbabies.com. I found that it was an extremely helpful site. The shipping is free over $75, too!

We use a diaper service, and use the traditional prefolds with snappi fasteners and nice, velcro covers, like the bummis whisper wraps. They work really well, and seem much easier than plastic pants with pins! I know there are a lot of options out there, my sister uses fuzzi bunz and loves them--they are pocket diapers that you stuff a liner into.

Good luck!

Hi L.,

Cloth diapering has evolved over the past few years and there are so many options available to you. We cloth diaper our 22 month old son exclusively, and I operate a store that sells diapering products as well.

The most basic changes you can make include replacing pins with snappis. They are only a couple dollars, and you only need 3-4. Plus, ditch the non-breathable vinyl pants and get 3-5 great diaper wraps like Thirsties.

http://www.modernmommygear.com/Snappi_Single_p/sbpin.htm

http://www.modernmommygear.com/Thirsties_Cloth_Diaper_Cov...

Beyond that, you can switch from prefolds to fitted diapers (which still need a cover but are shaped to fit baby and have snaps or velcro at the waist and elastic at the legs to contain leaks.

Or you can invest in pocket diapers or AIO diapers that have a waterproof outer (so you don't need a separate cover), elastic legs and snap or velcro waist. Aside from the stuffing of the pockets when you do laundry, these diapers are just as easy as using disposable diapers. No covers. No pins.

You didn't mention how old your kids were or their weights, but you can also look at One Size diapers. They are as easy as pocket and AIO diapers but adjust from small to medium to large. Great cost savings, for such an easy diaper.

Please let me know if you have any specific questions. Happy to help. We've sampled dozens of cloth diaper brands for our little guy!

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I just visited with a friend of mine and she is using cloth diapers and let me tell you how awesome they seem and how much they have changed from what you are using. She said she can only find them on line. So I would google it and see what you find. That is what she did and found some great ones she couldnt be happier with.

Hi Leigh,
We use Bum Genius 2.0 or 3.0's. They are an easy close/velcro outside part with liner you "stuff" into it. It takes about 4 seconds to stuff them when they come out of the dryer, really simple. The beauty is, though the up front cost is high, they last well, and grow with your baby newborn through potty training (I think 35 pounds), so you only buy one size. You do need a top loading washer to make it simple. We also use a wipes warmer and bamboo wipes (I had never heard of them) and we just tuck them into the wet or poopy diaper, wrap it up like a package, and toss it down the laundry chute. I feel good having cloth next to my baby's skin (no diaper rash yet, and he's 1 1/2), we have saved a lot of money (broke even month 6),and our house does't smell like poopy diapers! There are a lot of on line sites that have them, if you are on Abby's Lanes mailing list, you get discount codes. The official Bumgenius site (cottonbabies.com) has the wipes/warmer packages, too.

Also, this is just the brand we use, we have friends that use other brands and love them, too, so if you have friends who use cloth diapers, ask to borrow a pair or two for a week when your baby comes so you can see what you like. There is another kind besides the stuffers called AIO's or All in Ones. These are one piece and just like a disposable, but they take forever to dry in the dryer and they use less padding in them so they are less absorbant if your baby is a big pee-er. I just thought I would add that because all of the lingo can be intimidating at first!

Good luck and congrats on your growing family!

Hi L.,

There are many different cloth diaper options out there. I would be happy to go over them with you. It also helps to get your hands on them to really see the difference. I'm in Westminster. My website is http://denverdiaperco.com and my phone # is ###-###-####.

A.

Just had to add a couple websites for great cloth diapering tools. Best cloth diapers we've used are the Pocket Change diapers at www.mtdiaperstore.com. We've tried all kinds of brands!! I've also found the Happy Heiny's to be a great diaper. Not so impressed with the Bum Genius all-in-one as the water proofing on them breaks down quickly and the velcro stops sticking. We use bleach free, biodegradable disposables for my son when traveling and part-time day care otherwise we use cloth and I love them! Aside from the enviro. factor, they're far more absorbent and you can stuff or unstuff to your hearts content. I found hemp to be more absorbent than cotton. I also found that velcro fasteners (except on the Happy Heiny's because the velcro is so much larger) will start to wear out so snap is best though anything 'snap' drives my husband crazy. lol Also using cloth wipes when cloth diapering helps a lot as you just tuck everything together just as when using disposables. The website to find this is www.cottonbabies.com along with a the wipe warmer which can be used for cloth and disposable wipes. Also Allens Naturally Detergent gets diapers clean no problem! For laundering, I do a cold rinse then put in the detergent and do a hot wash followed by another cold rinse. I usually hang dry but now and then I'm in a hurry and need to just throw them in the dryer. Also a little more mess and smell is to be expected with cloth diapering so if that's something you simply can't handle then you won't want to go the cloth diapering route. I myself love it! Oh and check out the Magic Stick for diaper rash at the Diaper Company (mtdiaperstore.com). I just put it on everytime I change a diaper. Hope this helps some.

My vote is BumGenius (cottonbabies.com) during my learning curve with these, I was using some disposable, and my 2 week old had a blow out almost every day. Since switching to these, we have had maybe 2 total in the last 11 months. They do sometimes wick moisture when you put them in bouncers, or have their pants jammed up into the diaper for long periods of time, like in front carriers, but the disposable did that too.

The pluses of these are that you only have to buy one size. One is small medium and large by just adjusting snaps, and you don't have to keep buying the different sizes. Love it! The washing is really easy and yes, you have to put the inserts in after washing, but it isn't bad, and just like folding any laundry. They are so easy that I haven't had a problem having daycare use them, or any babysitters because they work just like disposable with now pins or snaps, just velcro.

I have been using BumGenius One- size diapers for my son for a year and a half now. We love them! You do have to stuff the liner in after you wash them, but the nice thing about that is that you can choose your absorbency. If we are going out for a couple of hours I just put an extra soaker in so it will last a little longer. Do the same thing for naptime. The really great thing about the one size diapers is that you only have to buy one size and they last from when your baby is born to when you potty train. With all in ones you have to purchase each separate size and that can add up pretty quickly. Congratulations and good luck with whatever you choose!

L.
I started off using a diaper service then switched to doing it ourselves. We love them. I bought all my cloth diapers from Amy at Denver Diaper Company. She is located right here in Westminster and is very knowledgeable about all things cloth diapers. You can see the diapers, how each one works and she will help you pick the best one for your boys!
www.denverdiaperco.com

Good luck
B.

We use Fuzzi Bunz and we've been really happy with them (22 months in). They have a liner that you stick into the outer part and they snap closed (three settings so they adjust to your child's growth). We buy them from the online fuzzi bunz store, but there is also an outlet site www.fuzzibunzseconds.net that sells diapers with slight defects for less. Good luck!

Hi L. S,
I have met a gal that has a ton of knowledge, more so than anyone else I have met about cloth diapers. And your options. She actually just started up a store here in Colorado. But I know that she can help you. Her store name is Baby Booty's (cute huh?!) Here name is Sarah. I will try to remember to pm you her #, but you should be able to find her through 411 or internet. Hope this helps. G

I used cloth diapers on my boys with great success. Our favourite brand was MotherEase. They have snaps on the front and adjust from 8-35lbs. They are AWESOME, you should check out the site. http://www.mother-ease.com/
You won't be disapointed!! The covers are waterproof/breathable like gore-tex really great diapers.
My kids butts were always healthy and smooth, no rash, which is why I switched to cloth.

Hope that helps.

S., Mom of 4 boys

It really depends on what you're looking for. I use cloth, and my favorite diapers are prefolds (the old-fashioned diaper) with snappis and covers. However, if what you're looking for is something that mirrors a disposable dipe, then you might want to consider an All-In-One or an All-In-Two. The benefit these diapers is that they close with vlecro or snaps so you don't have to bother with pins or snappis, and they don't require a cover. The AI2 dry a lot faster than the AIO, so I tend to prefer these. My second favorite type of dipes are the fitteds. These also close with either velcro or snaps, but require a cover. I like these because you don't have to worry about special washing and drying instructions like you may have with the diapers that have the waterproof element built in. Another type of dipe you might want to consider is a pocket diaper. I have a few of these also, both AIO and Fitted style. What's so great about pockets is that you can adjust the absorbency of the diaper depending on the type of insert you use in the pocket. If it hasn't been suggested already, you might want to become a member of www.diaperswappers.com. They offer a ton of advice on dipes, and there is a forum where you can purchase different kinds of cheap used diapers to try them out. There is also a company called GreenEarthMama.com [###-###-####] in Parker where you can go in see some choices and ask questions.

HTH,
C.

I used clothed diapers for both my children and I love them. I would suggest the All In One (AIO) type too. They go on and off just like disposible diapers. There are tons of them on ebay as well as patterns if you want to make your own. You can also just search AIO cloth diapers on google.

Good Luck

The easiest change for you would be to add snappi's they are a fastener that work great with prefolds and much quicker & safer than pins. Also wraps with velcro are much easier than pull up versions...there are a ton of options but you can buy the bummis variety at Childish things in Boulder. We also like pocket diapers that can be stuffed with the prefolds, they velcro on and are wonderful for diaper bag and sitters - my little buddy was always pretty lean and Happy Heiny's worked great on him, but I am not sure how they would do on a chubby baby. I have found that all in ones and fitted diapers are pretty tough to clean and not worth the extra cost.

All the options for cloth diapering nowadays are so overwhelming. We ended up getting prefolds, snappis, and wonder wraps one-size covers (with velcro). Cost was our main priority.

Hello L.,

I was going to attempt to do cloth diapers, but with returning to work I didn't think I could swing it all. But seeing as it worked for you in the past it should work fine again! Below are two different sites someone shared with me about diapers.

Stay well - C.

diaperpin.com
http://www.modernmommygear.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/r...

We've used traditional cloth diapers for two years and had good luck with them. The pocket diapers and all in ones are great, but here's a few things that have really helped us with the traditional old school cloth, if you want to try them befoer investing in somethign else--
1. We use Snappi fasteners instead of pins. They are great, and no worries about poking the baby, and are super fast to fasten, which makes a difference once the kid gets wiggly.
2. Microfleece liners really help with easy clean-up. Just go to Joann or another fabric store and buy a few yards of microfleece, cut into rectangles, and lay inside the diaper. You don't need to sew. It keeps baby's skin dry and solid waste comes off much more easily than it comes off the diaper.
3. The covers you use DO make a difference. We like the Bummi super whisper wrap. They cost a little more but are worth it, and they last forever.
4.We also have a shower attachment that clips onto the toilet. Very easy to install, and it cost about $40. I think we bought it at Montana's diaper store online. It really helps you clean up fast. Now that we are potty training, it's great for rinsing the potty out too.

Just a few thoughts. Pocket diapers are great, too, it all depends on your preferences.

I am using cloth with this baby and love the choices available! I found a great resource in the Colorado mom that runs babycottonbottoms.com She offers great advice and you can go to her warehouse in Co Springs and she will explain and give recommendations about all the different types out there.

We use the Bum Genius and I love them! Once you get used to the washing routine, they are really a breeze to use. We have a lot less leaks than when we were using disposables so that's an added bonus.