Needing Advice on Cloth Diapers

Look no further! I have been cloth diapering since 1996! I have four children, youngest in diapers, and I have used 9 different kinds of diapers and 12 different kinds of covers. I know what works best! I am usually not so direct, but I do know my diapers...

The only diapers and covers I can wholeheartedly recommend are the Motherease brand diapers and covers.
www.motherease.com
I have used so many different kinds; pre-folds, all-in-ones, pocket diapers, velcro covers, snaps, etc. These diapers and covers can be trusted for any outing and during the night. Disposables do not match up! The Sandy's are my personal favorites because the have elastic in the legs and around the waist, so they contain the messiest of diaper mess. The covers are breathable, waterproof and cute and top of the coverage. They're awesome, and they last forever, so you can use them for future babies.

They put up with wet pail or dry pail method. I have used both. Any other questions, just let me know.

I have used kiss-a-luvs by the way. They are so yummy, cute and fluffy when you first get them, but alas they don't stay that way, and the snaps don't keep the diaper as secure as the Motherease ones.

I can give you honest reviews of some others if you'd like. I'm sure there are other systems that people like, but for exclusive cloth diapering Motherease is the best by far.

Happy diapering!

1 mom found this helpful

Hi. My daughter is turning one next week. She's been in cloth since the beginning. I use mostly the regular old prefolds. I have a few of those snappi closures. It's very easy. I have about 20 of those. I have 5 kissaluvs because my mother-in-law loves them. She watches my daughter two days a week and really can't do the snappi well. I have 4 covers and that is usually enough to wash every other day. (Sometimes I have to wash the covers out at night.) I have a bum genius which I really like - I have also tried fuzi bunz but they leaked a bit.

As long as you don't get addicted to buying cute new diapers, cloth diapering is not only better for the environment but much cheaper.

I also highly recommend the mini shower. It took a couple of times to figure out how to get the poop off without getting the surrounding areas in the bathroom wet - it doesn't take long to figure that out. I've gone to disposables at night which I feel pretty guilty about but she just stays drier for the 12 hours or so she sleeps.

I found the class at Be By Baby to be a helpful introduction to cloth diapering.

I have been toying with the idea of cloth diapering for a long time. I still am and I know I just need to try them for a while and see if it works for me. I found this
http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/cdcm.html
and I think I am going to do it. It seems like a great way to "get your feet wet". For only $10 you can decide if you like cloth diapering AND decide which kinds work best for you.
Good luck!!

I used fuzzy buns for a very short time. I just couldn't keep up with everything, so I let cloth diapering go. My friend uses plain old fashion cloth diapers though. She tried the fuzzy bunz, but said they didn't last as long between changes as the old fashion kind. I'd recommend just buying a few of the kind you decide on to start with. That way you can try them for awhile, before spending a lot of money on a bunch.

I used cloth diapers with my daughter, but just the regular prefolds. I did not like the liners I bought. They seemed like one more step to put in and take out.
Mothering Magazine (which you can buy at Whole Foods or read at most libraries) had a very comprehensive article in the last issue about cloth diaper choices. I wish I knew about all the options before I bought my prefolds.
Good Luck!

I find that Fuzzi Bunz are the best cloth diapers and have been using them since Jack was born (now he is about three months). They are pocket diapers so you put an insert or two in (if you need more absorbancy) and then wash it all when the diaper gets soiled. Depending on the size of the baby you will either use smalls or mediums- smalls are up to 15 pounds. They are an investment but in the end are much better for the baby and much cheaper than disposables. Research shows that if you use disposable diapers, the diapering cost per child is around 2800-3500 (depending on what type of diapers you use- generic v. brand name, and where you buy them- Jewel v. Costco). For example, the cost that I paid for cloth diapers (fuzzi bunz, abour $18 each + tax and I have 24 of each size- small and med.) was around $900 plus you can use them if you have more children or resell them if you don't plan too. If you are interested, I actually have a website where I can get a discount, so they are more like $15 each. I do laundry of the diapers every other day and they are very easy. The other nice thing about fuzzi bunz is no rolling, leading or need for additional plastic diapers, it is as easy as a disposable. Let me know if I can help you out with any of this. I did a lot of research and took several classes so I have a ton of info! Sam

I just started using cloth on my 13 month daughter. We use bottoms up diaper service with velcro covers for about 15 dollars a week. No need to rinse or wash, just pop them in the diaper genie and the service picks up and drops off once a week. So far so good! Good luck!

J.

I used cloth diapers for my first-born son for about 10 months (altho we used disposables when we were out. That was 12 years ago and now there are even more choices for the pants that one wears over the diapers. I was glad to help out the environment. I applaud you for even looking into it.

This is one thing I know about. When my son was born we were given a year of diaper service. It was great. You did not have to rinse out the diaper, just dispose of any waste and up the damp diaper in there container and once a week they brought me new diapers. It is the water and urine mixing that makes the smell. I never had a problem with any odor. They had the pinless diaper wraps, and liners if you wanted them. With the pinless diaper wraps just fold the diaper lay it in the diaper wrap and velcro shut. Loved it ... two thumbs up....

Go to Mothering.com, the March issue was all about cloth diapers.

Jilliansdrawers.com is the best. Also you can learn a lot from diaperbeagle.com. I use Bumgenius one size diapers and happy heiny's. The Bumgenius diapers are my favorite for 2 reasons: 1) It will grow with my daughter and I don't have to worry about sizing 2) They don't leave red marks from the elastic and really are very good at holding the messes!

I like the Happy Heiny's for night time because the opening for the insert is larger and it is easy to stuff a couple of inserts in for extra absorbency. HH's come in several sizes XS,S,M,L...it is more challenging to find the XS size; not everyone carries this size.

Hope this helps!

H.

I just started with cloth a few weeks ago and have started to figure out what works well. I like prefolds for my newborn and covers by Bummis. For my 2 year old, I'm using prefolds at home and I think I'm going to use Fuzzi Bunz when we're out b/c I didn't want to buy a lot of them. My 2 year old needs 2 liners in the FB and for overnight I've found that an infant prefold inside her toddler size prefold works good for absorbency. Nickisdiapers.com had decent prices and free shipping and no tax and was here in 2 days. I couldn't find toddler sized prefolds in the stores, only the premium and infant size. My daughter is a chunky 30 lb kid so we needed the largest size out there. I have 2 Thirsties covers for her and so far I like them. They aren't as cute as the Bummis ones but they were a few dollars cheaper and had good reviews. I like the Bum Genius ones too because they are one size. They just snap down for little ones and unsnap for a bigger kid. Very convenient for sharing or passing down. They are also about $18 a diaper but you never have to buy more. I haven't bought any hemp doublers yet but I've heard that they are way more absorbent than cotton. I also am using flushable liners for my daughter b/c she has very messy poop. They are very thin sheets of paper that came 100/$6 I think. Well worth it to me since I don't have the mini shower yet. Be By Baby had a great class for $15 and they sell most everything at their store. diaperswappers and diaperpin are great sites for reviews and buying used. also myuseddiapers.com although I haven't been on that one much. Gepettos Toybox in Oak Park sells some diapers too and they are pretty knowledgeable there. I don't know anything about cushies. I do know that AIO are great and convenient but take for ever to dry because you can't take all the liners out of them like the pocket diapers that dry super quick. If you want to talk more about them, email me.

The best place to start is diaperpin.com. I found this site to be very helpful, as it has reviews on diapers and covers, as well as links on where to buy. It also has useful advice on how to wash your diapers, and gives an idea of the different types of diapers available.

Personally, I really like Kissaluvs diapers. They come in two types, the contour and fitted. Go for the fitted!! The contours were just messy, no elastic around the legs to hold anything in. The diapers are made of a thick terry, which is so soft, VERY absorbant, washes well and held up through BOTH my children!! The fitted are great because they snap on, so you don't have to mess with pins or the snappi invention that I could never figure out.

A lot of moms mentioned Motherease. I highly recommend their covers!! Their diapers are also made of thick terry and have all the benefits of the kissaluvs. What I didn't like about them is the one size thing. Now, perhaps my babies are just very slender, but the Motherease diapers that I was given were always very bulky on my babies, until they were big enough that I didn't have to fold the front over. But then they required a snap-in liner.

I have no experience with the cushies diapers. When I looked at one at Babies R Us, I was unimpressed. I do think that having the cover attached to the diaper would have been nice. I just didn't think they would be very absorbant or stand up to all the washing. I always purchased 2 dozen diapers and did a load of diapers every other day.

There is a new type of diaper on the market, which may be worth checking out. They are called gdiapers. Go to gdiapers.com. They are a cloth diaper with a cover, and you buy the disposable refill pads to put in the diaper. The pads are free of plastic and you can flush them down your toilet. Sounds very clean and easy.

I hope I have helped you out!! Good Luck!!

We use prefolds and wraps/covers. I have some Kushies and have to agree that they are not the best. The doublers are fine, but I have their All in One's (AIO's), and they tend to leak.

I wanted to add that I never bought a toilet sprayer. I tried it once, found it way too messy, and so never spray off my dipes. Here's what I do- I have waterproof diaper bags in my pail, throw the dirty dipes in there. On wash day, I soak everything in cold water for several hours or overnight with some baking soda. I drain the water, fill with hot water, Shaklee soap and Nature Bright, wash, rinse with vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser, and follow with a 2nd rinse. That works for me, and I don't have to mess around with a sprayer. To me, that is just too messy/ nasty. If your baby is breastfed, it should work just fine. If your baby is a bit older, you can buy liners to make getting rid of the solids a bit easier.

I hope this was somewhat helpful...
T.
www.shaklee.net/tammybristol

I used only cloth diapers on my daughter.. the prefolds, but I used a cover for them instead of plastic pants... yea, if that does not show when we used then, my daughter is 18. I loved the cloth diapers with the velcro covers.. just pop them in.. and ready to go. The only thing I did different was at night I would double up on the diaper in the cover. I probably still have some of those covers!! :-)

I have never used cloth diapers and have to admit the thought of doing so would terrify me! I have 3 under 3 and although my oldest is potty trained, she's still in pull-ups at night. But I do know that both of my girls will leak at night if we aren't careful. We found a wonderful product called "Diaper Doublers" at our local Babies R Us store. They are for extra protection with disposable diapers (that's how we use them) or lining disposable diapers. Don't know if it will help or not, but I think they are amazing and hold an unbelievable amount of moisture. Good Luck!

I wholeheartedly agree with Gretchen. Though I was fortunate enought to not go through alot of covers, we have had motherease airflow covers since our daughter was 2 mths old and they are the best!!! They are much, MUCH better at holding in blowouts (they don't happen anymore;)). The Motherease onesize dipes are also great. We do the one size and cover at night and prefolds with the ME cover during the day. Great stuff.

I am a fuzzi bunz fan. If you already have prefolds you can put those inside and if you want to buy their inserts they work almost as well and look a little more streamlined. I think I saved a lot of money over the course of 2 daughters with these. I did not use them for the tiniest infant size, but from about 3 months to 2 years. Washing and drying was easy. Snaps are easy. Nothing was inconvenient. I had about 8 to 10 in rotation.
I tried cushies and mother love or some other names and I liked fuzzi bunz the best. I think it's the fit. I got most of them on ebay.

I've been using Fuzzi Bunz on my little guy (8 mos. old). I LOVE them! It's such a tremendous money saver and I don't have to run out and buy disposables all the time.

One word of warning: they make the baby's butt look bigger (I think it's adorable), but I have to put him in bigger pants than normal to accomodate the diaper.

I noticed the diapers started to smell a little funky after a few months of washing. Once in a while I add a few drops of tea tree oil to the load and they're good as new.

We use cloth diapers with our daughter (now 9 months) and love them. I wouldn't recommend kushies, though. A friend loaned me a few to try, and I didn't like them at all. There are so many great kinds out there. My favorites are pocket diapers, which are as you describe - you place an absorbent liner inside a diaper with a waterproof outer shell. They're super easy to use, and you can tailer them to be more absorbent for, say, nighttime. We use mostly FuzziBunz pockets and BumGenius one-size pockets, and both are great. You can learn a lot more at www.diaperswappers.com or the diaper pin (I forget the URL for the website, but stick it into google) and a lot of online shops have tons of great cloth diaper selections. Be By Baby in Chicago also has a good selection and free cloth diapering classes.

I've found it all much easier than I expected, though - easy to use, easy to clean, and they contain poop much better than disposables (we never had blowouts). One "accessory" I found really useful was the Mini Shower - you attach it to your toilet and just use it to spray the poop in the diaper into the toilet. Good luck!

My experience with cloth diapers comes from 27 to 32 years ago or so. Disposable diapers weren't the option that they are in this day and age. With our first, we used cloth diapers but she was such a heavy wetter at night, that I made my own diaper liners with an extra folded diaper, which was admittedly bulky and sometimes, still leaked. With our son, he was allergic to disposable diapers, so we used cloth diapers all the time, even on camping trips, transporting even the diaper pail. With our youngest, we used mostly cloth diapers, as we were pretty good at it by then and it was more economical and seemed better for the environment. I discovered a really wonderful way to fold the plain square diapers that makes what I felt was the perfect diaper. I can attempt to let you know about it if you would like.

I was pointed toward BumGenius. I am very happy w/ these. They're a pocket diaper. The 3.0 is the latest version and comes w/ 2 inserts (a full size and a newborn). I CD my DD (9 mos) w/ both inserts in her BG and she can go 4 hrs before needing t/b chgd (unless she poops). I also got some hemp inserts from Green Acre Designs (GAD) and add that to the other 2 inserts and use them for her and DS (3yo) for nighttime. I've been doing this for about a month and it's going great! I got mine from a WAHM in Oswego: www.teenibanini.com. Tell her Jen Stahl referred you! Best of luck and good on ya for changing to CD! (Oh, and the BG is a one-size diaper that c/b used on a kid up to about 31 lbs! so you don't hv to buy diff szs!)