What are your experience with cloth diapers?

It is possible to get awesome deals on diaperswappers.com! I have purchased BumGenius 3.0's (usualy sold for about 18+ shipping) for 10 a piece including shipping. I also recently got a 'Rumparooz" diaper for $9 ppd and it is a great diaper as well (also a one sized pocket). I think I make like them even better than Bumgenius. They have extra leg gussets to keep everything in and use snaps instead of aplix to fasten the diapers. They came to me in fantastic quality as the women there tend to keep their diapers in tip top shape. If you are interested you can message me either here, at ____@____.com or on diperswappers under the user name "Dornmama" and I would be more than willing to find some GREAT deals for you.

As for the sitter, if you are using something as simple as a one-size pocket she shouldn't have any problem at all. She will simply need to change them just like a disposable and put them in a "wet-bag" to be sent home with you to wash up as necessary. I am really anal about making sure I was the poop out of my diapers and have found that I can wait up to 24 hours and still get it out with minimal staining (which is easily gotten out with some sun and lemon juice). I do not have a toilet sprayer but instead just use the movable shower head in my shower set on the highest setting. It works great!

Also, I have seen some versions of diapers in "Premie" sizes though I believe they were either fitteds or sized pockets. So, if your new little one ends up being on the small size again their ARE options out there. Good Luck and happy hunting!

I have a bunch of cloth diapers you could have cheap. I never used most of them. Most of them are really cute all in ones made by WAHMs. If you want to email me, my email is ____@____.com. I can take a picture of them and email you back. I'm not sure where you are located, but I live near Kings Island in Maineville, OH.

We do elimination communication. I have done it with 4 children. I just explain it to others who are babysitting, and it's not all that difficult. We keep a little potty on our sink. My 4 mo old loves to sit there and look at himself in the mirror. If you want more info, you could do an internet search, but the method is becomming more common and saves soooo much on diapers (and laundry).

I found diaper swappers easier if I just put what I wanted in my ISO and let people find me. Then, type the diaper you want in to google with "clearance" or "Store Closing" and see what comes up. The good thing about the economy right now is that a lot of small internet businesses are closing and trying to sell off inventory.
Try Ebay, Craig's list, and cafemom.com.
I agree, I love bumGenius and Happy Heinies OS pockets. Mother's Touch also started making a new one that has hooks instead of velcro or snaps - very toddler resistant! lol

Sunshinediapers.com has a program where you get a sampling of many different types. After a certain time, yiu send them back and they credit you towards the purchase of the kind you like. Also diapers.com has $10 off first order.

I dont know if you do any shopping online however there is website called www.nuttybums.com and they are based out of Dalton Ohio which is just east of Wooster. I had purchased to different brands off their web site to try them. Fast delivery and easy payment. Also my mother inlaw used a diaper pail for them and had no problems with molding they just stayed in some solution. They also make a sprayer that can be attached to your toliet what so you can just spray it off right into the toliet. I thought about using cloth diapers but decided not to for my first son. Hope I could help out!!

Hi S.,

Do you have a "Burlington Coat Factory" or "K-Mart" in your area? If so, that's where you can find cloth diapers.

Good Luck

Pam Fisk

I have a baby girl and have used cloth diapers for her since her birth. I have extensively researched the various brands and options and what I realized is that each family has unique needs and so what works for one may not be the best for another. I have a wonderful suggestion! There is a company in Fishers called ... she has a great website and works from her home. This iToasty Babys the only local retailer in the city for cloth diapers. Since she doesn't actually have a "store", she offers FREE delivery in the Indy area and even goes to Fort Wayne and some other cities in IN on certain days of the month to deliver for free. Since you don't know what you want, she will come to your home with all her options and explain everything for you. She has used everything she sells and has lots of options. I have met her and she is wonderful. I hope you find a system that works for you and your family! Cloth diapering is a wonderful gift for your baby and the world! Congratulations on your baby!

I run a cloth diaper service and would be more than happy to help you navigate the waters. The main thing is that every diaper fits every baby differently. So the person who said bumgenius does not work for a newborn, well they might for you.

I do have some one-size pocket diapers for sale. We will be opening a web store soon, but until then you can google Pocket Change diapers. They are great because you don't have to unstuff them before you wash them!

Feel free to e-mail me at A. (at) goodnaturedbaby (dot) com and I will help however I can!

A.

I would say try several types before you commit to pockets. you may end up liking something else. All-in-one's and two's are just as easy as pockets, just no stuffing. AI1's take longer to dry, AI2's dry faster b/c the extra soaker either snaps in or is sewn only partially in.

you may want a diaper sprayer or scraper, but i found i didnt need/use one till baby started more solid foods.

not sure where you are located, but columbus has two local stores that sell cloth diapers and supplies and they both offer monthly "cloth diaper 101" classes. touch and feel to your hearts content!

http://www.theparentshoppe.com/store/Default.asp
http://www.sproutsoup.com/

you can also find some of the diapers from the parent shoppe (a local mom makes these-great quality!!) being sold at Whole Foods near Worthington (161 dublin-granville rd)

also craigslist is a good source for cheaper cloth.

good luck!

You really can't go wrong using cloth...there is another store in Bloomington http://www.barefoot-eco.com/store-location.html No matter what store you go to anyone who works there will be so patient with you and answer all your questions. Trust me I have BEEN There! www.diaperpin.com is another site you can go to for help and advice :)

I am a little out of the picture now as my youngest is 10 but I used cloth with all three of them. The brand you are talking about is a new name to me. I bought my cloth diapers at JC Penny and Sears. With the youngest (he is like 16 years behind the other 2) I got some of them at Kohl's. I bought Curity. Some are pre-folded with a tripled section up the middle. Those are really the easiest to use. Just fold the outside in on them to get the size adjusted.
Diaper pails, keep some bleach water in them. If you wash them every 2 to 3 days there shouldn't be a mildew or mold problem ever. I never had one with any of the children. Do rinse out the poopy diapers in cold water as soon as you change them before putting them in the diaper pail to prevent staining.
The added bonus of cloth diapers is when you no longer need the diapers they are the most wonderful cleaning clothes in the world, by then they are totally lint free!

http://www.cottonbabies.com/index.php?cPath=98

or

http://www.cottontailbaby.com/category_127/BumGenius.htm

I'd just use regular diapers for the first month or two until the baby gets bigger. My friends uses the "one size" and buys a box of the liners. i don't know much more, but she loves them. if we were just starting out with babies i would try them but we're almost done now.

We used Fuzzy Bunz and loved them. We couldn't use the small size right away, due to my baby's size. We used disposable diapers till she was big enough for the cloth. You will need at least a dozen covers and 24 inserts, but I would recommend getting more in case you aren't able to wash them frequently enough. They probably come in a newborn size, but that is an extra investment, and your baby may not be in them for long. But you could always sell them or save them if you will be having more babies. With Fuzzy Bunz you put inserts inside the covers, which snap closed. Your babysitter should have no trouble using them. You don't soak them. To wash them you first do a cold water rinse, then a wash with detergent in hot. To find used cloth diapers, try Craig's List and EBAY.

I spoke to my sitter about using the cloth diapers, they said they were fine, then I found out they were using disposable on my child when he was there. I wondered why he came home with so many cloth diapers. So I would say you can explain to her how to use them, but she will probably use what is easiest for her, just like we would. I found, as did the sittr, that my son had to be changed a lot more frequently with the cloth diapers, but this was 15 years ago. AT night I would use disposable because he was such a big wetter!
Good luck.
R.

S.,
I have been using BumGenius pocket diapers for about a year. I think I bought 24. They do not fit a newborn. My son was 7lbs, and the leg holes didn't fit snugly, despite the brands website saying they fit 8lbs. So we actually used disposables until he gained enough weight. I don't think we started using them until he was about 3 months. I never had a diaper sprayer. If your baby is breastfed, their poop is very liquid, and you don't have to clean this off whatsoever. The poop is soluable in water, so it washes right out. Now that he is eating solids, his poop is more solid, and you can basically just plop any solids into the toilet, no sprayer needed. I ordered mine from Tree City Diapers.com because they were having a clearance on the BumGenius 2.0, since 3.0 was getting ready to come out. Another place to look at is abbyslane.com or cottonbabies.com. The big key with cloth is how to care for them, so make sure you do your reading about that. I kept using too much detergent, and the soap builds up in the microfiber insert, and the diapers started to smell. I had to strip them, which required several loads of hot washing.

i don't know the name brand, but walmart carries cloth diapers & the plastic panties that go over them. that's pretty much the only store around where i live to buy things like that. you could try typing in "cloth diapers" in your search engine & see what comes up.