Diapers - Shippensburg,PA

Check out The Cloth Diaper Whisperer http://www.theclothdiaperwhisperer.com/ Kelly is amazing and the blog is fabulous for anyone looking into using cloth. There are about a zillion options out there (pre-folds, flats, fitteds, sized pocket, one size pockets, all in ones, all in twos, hybrid, sleeve). It's all about trial and error. Personally, we love the pre-folds and covers because my baby is itty bitty and they fit her best. Now that she's bigger, I can move onto some of the one size diapers. I love SmartiPants, FuzziBunz, and Baby Kicks USA Bumboo Pocket with hemp insert. For prefolds, greenmountaindiapers.com is a must. I love the Thirsties Duo Wrap for covers.
I love cloth diapering. We've saved over $1000.00 just with the youngest.

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Everyone here has given some great advice! Just a few things I learned while cloth-diapering my daughter...

1) I wouldn't start a newborn right away on cloth, the meconium doesn't come out of the diapers and managing care of a new baby while also doing laundry is just too much! I think it's a better idea to go a few weeks on disposables, and once you get your footing, move on to cloth.

2) If you use a diaper made of synthetic materials, you have to be EXTRA careful about what kind of soap you use to wash them in. It took some time, but my BumGenius pockets eventually got really stinky and started to cause a horrible diaper rash because I was using a detergent that (little did I realize) contained optical brighteners and (on occasion) scented oils, which built up on the fibers and were trapping urine residue. A lot depends on what kind of water you have, etc., but what solved that was using a really clean-rinsing detergent like Charlie's Soap (which you can order online, some shops carry it). Even the most earth-friendly detergents may cause problems.

3) The liners are probably best for after the baby starts eating solid food and the poop gets a bit more solid and sticky. Breastmilk poops are super easy to wash out and not a problem. I also have the ImseVimse "flushable" liners, but I NEVER flush them in my house because our plumbing is so old. I considered them more disposable if poopy, washable/reusable if just wet.

4) For little babies, I think the prefolds or contour diapers with separate covers are great -- you have to change them so frequently, that it's more economical and the diapers are easy to clean. But my husband is prefold-challenged, so he's more likely to use the pocket diapers (FuzziBunz, BumGenius). I'm looking into getting the new one-size FuzziBunz because they have easily replaceable leg elastic, which is a godsend -- half of my BumGenius dipes need all that elastic replaced after my daughter's use, and this is a sewing chore I'm not looking forward to.

5) My favorite diaper source is www.diaperware.com -- the owner (Inge) is outside of Philly and an AMAZING resource herself, happy to answer your emails and phone calls with advice to your questions. Fantastic customer service, and a super informative website as well. She also gave me a diaper care booklet produced by Bummis which goes into great, wonderful detail about how to care for your cloth diapers (of all kinds) and even lists about every single laundry detergent you can think of and whether it's good for cloth diapers or not. Ask her for it, she'll happily send it to you.

I hope all these answers aren't too overwhelming for you! But as a pp said, it's good to educate yourself beforehand, and also to try several different kinds of things so you know what works best. Congratulations on your new grandchild, and best of luck to your daughter!

1 mom found this helpful

If you are looking for All-in-ones, the most well-known brands are Bum Genius and FuzziBunz. Both are great systems, although both fit different body types. You can find them on amazon.com, although I'm not sure that is the cheapest place to buy if you have a local store. I have also heard good things about Jillian's Drawers, which allows you to try out several different types of diapers. I haven't used them personally, but several people on this site have recommended them before. CDing is sooo much easier these days! I personally prefer to use fitted diapers with covers (more like the prefolds of our mothers, but still so much simpler), and so she might also look into brands like Mother-ease. Have fun with this!

http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/products/clothdiapers/tryc...

P.S. I also recommend that she look into getting detergent specially designed for cloth diapers as it encourages absorbency and discourages allergic reactions. People recommend Rockin Green, but I don't purchase that because of the price. I love Charlie's Laundry Soap, which is unscented and you get a LOT for your money. Either product is also available on amazon.com.

1 mom found this helpful

Whatever route you go, I would suggest using the flushable/disposable liners. They are like really thick toilet paper (they are supposed to be safe for septic systems; we have city sewers here so I've not tested it on a septic system). These were what made the difference in convincing my DH to give cloth a try, and they make it less "gross" if grossness is a factor in the decision. :)

You can also get her a sampler package. A lot of cloth diaper companies offer this, which has a variety of styles in a starter package. They aren't too expensive.

You can also check out the book:
Diaper Changes by Theresa Rodriguez Farrisi
The book spells out the types and costs and has some sources listed in the appendix. It's a very quick read.

1 mom found this helpful

Front loading washers are actually horrible for cloth diapers. They don't use enough water to actually get them clean. I just recently got a new washing machine and purposely did NOT get a front loader because I knew they would be the end of my cloth diapering days. With that being said, I am sure there are people out there who succeed at having a front loader and still cloth diaper. I would suggest checking out www.diaperswapers.com or www.diaperpin.com. The first is an on-line community of cloth diapering mamas. If you join the forums there, they will be able to answer all your questions. The other is a great resource of information including descriptions of all the diaper systems out there as well as reviews of the diapers themselves.

Here are two really great sites for some resources:
http://www.diaperdecisions.com/pages/whatcloth.php
http://www.cloth-diapers-made-easy.com/

I use many different systems (gDiapers, Fuzzi Bunz, Bum Genius, Flip, WAHMs and more) and I recommend trying different systems to start out. Buy one or two of a few different styles because what works for one person may not work for another. At first I hated the old fashioned prefolds and covers but now I reach for them first. I have been cloth diapering since my 2.5yo was three months old and I now have a 6mo who has been in cloth since birth.

Everyone who said to use liners, I agree. It makes things much easier.

For a basic response to your question. I recommend the Flip system. You can use a prefold inside the covers or the stay dry insert that they come with. You can also use disposable or flushable inserts when out and about so your not carrying around a bunch or soiled diapers all day.

A great site to purchase diapering supplies
http://www.cottonbabies.com/index.php

Good luck helping her make this important decision and if you would like any other help feel free to send me a message. I love cloth diapering!

I use Bum Genius all in one's and have been happy with them for the last 2 years. They are pocket diapers (meaning that there is a little pocket where you put one of the two inserts that come with each diaper). once the insert is in, you put them on just like a disposalble diaper. I take the inserts out before putting into the diaper pail, which is lined with a cloth laundry bag. When it is time to wash, i take the bag out and just dump it into the laundry and the bag too and wash according to the diaper directions. When i fold the diapers, i put tin tinserts in so they are ready to go when i need them.
There are all kinds of diapers out there- fuzzie bunnies, happy heiny's etc. some are all in one diapers (like the bum genius) that have the waterproffing outer part as part of the diaper. others are prefolds with a seperate outer diaper covering. Babies R Us will frequently offer Cloth Diapering 101 classes that you might be interested in attending. i dont know where you are from, but if there are any stores near you that sell cloth diapers, you might be interested in going there to see the different types of diapers. try these websites: http://www.luvaboos.com, http://www.bumgenius.com, http://www.cottonbabies.com, http://www.clothdiaper.com

I won't say too much about which diapers to get because you've already gotten a lot of great advice about that. We use prefolds and thirsties covers at home and bumgenious for outtings and daycare.

I did want to comment about the detergent. You can't just use whatever you have around the house. Check out this website http://www.diaperjungle.com/detergent-chart.html for ratings on most detergents. I use Country Save powder, which I bought on Amazon. I got 4 boxes of it so that I could get free shipping and we are almost finished the second box (my son is 15 months now). I also use it for his clothes since it has nothing extra that might cause a rash on his sensitive skin.

And I'm not sure why people think front loaders are bad for diapers. I have a top loader, but my mom has a front loader and the diapers get very clean when I wash at her house too. They are also noticably drier when I take them out because of the awesome spin cycle on her washer.

You may also want to refer to this mom's question from a couple of weeks ago. http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/5677769203109724161 There is more info about what I use in my response to her.

Good luck cloth diapering, I'm so happy I did it and I hope your daughter will be too.

Typically front loading washers aren't great for cloth diapers. Water is the key to clean diapers and front loaders use far less water but as someone else said there may be ways to figure it out. Sometimes people have a small top loading washer out in the garage jsut to use for diapers.

If I had it to do over, I'd go with all one-size pocket diapers. My suggestions is to pick a few that you think you might like and try them. That way you don't spend your entire diaper budget on diapers that you may not care for. I can use the diapers I'm not crazy about when i'm only dealing with one of that diaper rather than staring at 18 of them lol.

I like Bum Genius and Thristies just came out with a Duo diaper that will take you from 6-18 lbs and then size 2 will go from 18-40 lbs. Some people also love Fuzibunz.

She will also need hemp liners to boost absorbency when baby gets bigger, a wet bag for going out and about-I just started using a Bummis wet bag and it is fantastic, a large wet bag to line a small garbage can with a lid to store the diapers till wash time (never soak diapers or leave a pail with water out as it is bad for diapers to soak for long periods and a safety hazard for baby), some biodegradable liners once baby starts solids, cloth wipes are fantastic, and I also use Kissaluvs Potion to make my own spray for the wipes.

Hi. I am doing CD's for my brand new baby and I am loving it. It is very easily doable. The Internet is a great resource but there is nothing like seeing with your own eyes. Are you anywhere near Pittsburgh? There a physical store here by the name Happy Baby company. It is owned by an extremely knowledgable couple and they were a wonderful resource for me. They even do free orientations at their store. They also have a website and facebook page which full of information.
The one thing that I did was while the baby was still passIng meconium I used the chlorine free dipes by seventh generation mainly so the cute cloth ones won't be stained.
Goodluck with everything. Please let us know how things go.

I love my sposoeasy! I also use prefolds and a cover at home and the sposoeasy out and about. If you go the prefolds route I love the cloth ezz from greenmoutaindiapers.com and the thirsties cover. As far as laundry soap I do suggest the special laundry soap for them but I can't afford it so I just use sun free and clear. It doesn't have any phosphates and enzymes that breaks down diapers. Later I can message you a list of good soaps to use when I'm on a computer and not my iPod.

I have a front loader too & used CD's for our son. Idk what that mom was talking about that said front loaders aren't good for washing dipes in.--The weight of the diapers "tells" the washer to add more water & they get just as clean (if not cleaner!) than a top-loader would get them. It just uses less water.

Anyway. We started out using prefolds w/ PUL covers (ie: Bumkins, Bummis, Diaperaps) but then started to transition into AIOs (all-in-ones) & pockets at about 3 mos or so.
I liked AIOs for the diaper bag, babysitters, etc... but pockets became my favorite (we mostly used our prefolds to stuff them with), especially for night time.
www.EverythingBirth.com has some really good info & good prices.

I bought some nice new front loaders before I started cloth diapering my daughter 3 years ago, now diapering baby 2. My machines was great, though it did take me some time to figure out a good cleaning system. "pre-rinse, not wash, extra rinse" usually does the trick. Another thing, if the diapers smell when pee hits them, it means you are using too much detergent.

In any case, I use Bum Genius, one size all in ones. For newborns, I use Kissaluv and Fuzzi Smalls. Many of the one size, all in ones don't work great with newborns.

If I was you, I'd get your daughter a trial pack through one of the online retailers and let her decide for herself what she wants to do.

BTW, my SIL and mother bought me all of my diapers --best shower gift in the world, much better than sposies that run out!