What Cloth Diaper Is Best?

When my younger children were born I liked the flat diapers that I could fold in different configurations depending one the baby's size. Have you really figured the eco-cost of washing and drying these diapers. The water and fuel usage need to be taken into account. You may find they really aren't that eco-friendly.

I've thought about cloth diapers, but have never even been exposed to them. I still use pampers. Would you use a diaper service, or would you just wash them yourselves? Have you heard anything about whether or not babies get rashes more frequently with cloth? Aren't they a little less absorbant? I just haven't done my research. =)

I just switched my daughter to cloth diapers my self. The most cost effective for me were the pre folds. They are so easy to clean and they are so versital. I did end up investing in a few of the bum genius. They are more expensive but they are super absorbent and are great for if you have to run errands. I switched about 3 weeks ago so I haven't been doing this long but I have really been enjoying not having to go buy diapers.

i love fuzzi bunz. they are expensive but i have done the math, inlcuding extra money for wash and dry and i am still saving quite a bit of money. and that is using fuzzi bunz which are a little pricey. they are so wonderful. and we are just talking about price. disposables have a lot of nasty chemicals in them. cloth diapers are easy. email me if you have specific questions.

Just remember that eco-friendly can be viewed from different directions. Cloth diapers require more water and laundry detergent for all the washings (not to mention more time), so it all depends if you want to save on landfill space or conserve water.

I tried both when my son was little and he didn't like the plastic pants that went on over the cloth diapers to prevent leaks on everything.

I agree with M.-Troy H. This subject has brought back some wonderful memories. My girls were born in the 80's but I still opted for the cloth diapers over disposable. My friends thought I was crazy but I just didn't feel comfortable throwing away those plastic diapers.
With my first, I folded those Curity diapers and used diaper pins. With my second, I found pre-folded cloth diapers with velcro fasteners.
I have no idea what is out there now but I can tell you my girls did potty train quickly. Someone earlier said the cloth diaper babies potty train quicker and I believe that is true.
Kudos to all you young ladies who are opting to use the cloth diapers!

Austin Baby (on South 1st) has a free cloth diaper class every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month. My husband and I felt they were really helpful in explaining all of the different types of cloth diapers' pluses and minuses. A lot of preferences will hinge on the type of baby you have, i.e. heavy wetter, explosive pooper, etc. They also have the most eco-friendly diaper service in town, if that's something that interests you.

Hello M., we have used G Diapers on our baby. They are the less messy option for us but less earth friendly than some of the new cloth diapers. We have been very happy with our G Diapers. :) L.

Hi M.! Yea for you on trying out cloth diapers! When I told people I was going to use cloth for my baby, everyone thought I was crazy. It is actually so easy and I feel great about not throwing out hundreds if plastic diapers into the landfills! About which diapers to choose, my suggestion to you is to buy a few different kinds and then after a few weeks, decide what you want to spend your money on. I originally wanted to use prefolds and Kissaluvs with diaper covers to save money. But after using a variety of diapers (Motherease, Fuzzi bunz, Happy Heiney, ProWrap, Standard Textile, Poppy Pants) I found that my favorites were the Fuzzi Bunz pocket diaper and the Poppy Pants all in one. I then bought 14 Fuzzi Bunz in the Medium size which will last until my daughter is potty trained. If you want what is easiest, use the all in ones. They are expensive, but they are totally worth it. If you search hard you can find sales and discounts online. We use mostly all in ones but have prefolds on hand as back ups. I haven't had to buy a single disposable diaper yet and my daughter is 10 weeks old.
Are you in Austin? If so, go to the Austin Baby Store. They are awesome and can help you out...they even have a cloth diapering 101 class for free. Check them out on www.austinbabystore.com . Good luck with everything, and if you have an questions you are more than welcome to send me a message!
-M.

Hi M.,
I think it's fabulous you're looking at this.

Of the various options (flat/prefold, hourglass, gathered, pocket) we chose to do a combination. My husband didn't want to use the prefolds, and we found the pocket ones to be quite expensive.

When our daughter was exclusively breastfed, we used the Kissiluvs during the day, and Fuzzibunz (with doubler) at night. We found the Kissiluvs and their cover were much better than disposables at preventing leakage, and the Fuzzibunz and doubler was great for the night.

But as she got older, we found the Kissiluvs weren't absorbent enough. We switched and now use the Sandy's one-size diaper made by Motherease, with a doubler. We've found the absorbency fabulous, and it's easier to clean messy ones by just taking out the doubler. My husband liked that these looked a lot like the disposables (with gathers on the legs), so they were easy to work with and didn't require any hardware.

If money savings is your main goal, prefolds might be best. But we really have liked the ones we found, and have still saved money. I figure we've spent around $1k in two years, excluding laundry supplies. The ones we've bought would last for at least one more child, though.

My favorite thing about cloth diapers is actually the wipes. I feel she gets way cleaner with cloth wipes than with regular diaper wipes. I use the big terry Kissiluvs for messes, and some hemp ones I found for regular cleaning and drying off. The Little Sprouts hemp ones wore like iron--finally, after 2 years of washing every day they finally started to get a bit ragged.

Another mom who has used cloth told me to avoid Velcro fasteners because they don't last as long as snaps, and the kids learn to undo them. I would agree with that. (Our plastic covers have Velcro but our diapers snap. As long as she's dressed, we're okay.) She also told me she could deal with anything as long as she had rubber gloves on. I've also found that to be true in having to clean out messy diapers . . . I invested in the extra-heavy duty ones.

I use pail liners and small bags (for the diaper bag) from Mother of Eden (had to reinforce the pail liner stitching after 2 years, but the fabric is still good--not bad for being washed nearly every day). Our Brabantia pail is still going strong as well. When the occasional diaper rash occurs, we use flushable rice paper liners (to keep the cream from the diaper).

There's a lot out there on how to wash them. Most of the stuff on the web is for traditional non-eco-friendly detergents. For what it's worth, I spritz the diaper with Bio-Kleen Bak-Out, then drop it into the pail; once the pail is full I drop the pail liner bag and contents into the washer for a cold rinse on high. Then I wash it on hot/cold with Bio-Kleen Premium Plus laundry detergent, with 1/4 c. vinegar in the rinse (controls odor and affects the acidity to reduce diaper rash).

Good luck!

I love pockets! Fuzzi Bunz, Swaddlebees, and Drybees are my favorite pockets. If you are looking to do the most economical route then prefolds and covers are the way to go. Good luck and let us know what all you decide to buy!!

I have just recently started using cloth part time and loving it. I have a friend that makes all in one cloth diapers and I have also used pocket diapers. I personally prefer the all in one, it is just easier for me and takes less time. Here is her website www.happyendingsdiapers.com
Good luck, I hope you enjoy it.

We used Motherease. The diapers are adjustable because they have snaps in several places to make them tighter or looser. The covers come in specific sizes, but you don't need near as many covers. I think I only had 4 covers in each size. I used about 24 diapers. I also cut up those really thin dish clothes that come in pink, yellow, green, and blue with stripes on them. I cut them in half and just used those with water as baby wipes. I was washing anyway. The diapers would certainly be worth it if you were planning on having even 2 kids. I bought a big diaper pale online and used the little wafers to keep the smell down. You have to wash about every other day, though. The longer the urine sits in the diaper, the harder it is to get the smell out. Also, I attached a kitchen sprayer to the water line that goes to my toilet. A wonderful thing! I don't think I could have made it without it!
Motherease also makes training pants for when your kid gets there.
There shipping was very cheap when I ordered them. I imagine it still is. The link is below. Good luck.
http://www.mother-ease.com/

I have been cloth diapering for 4 yrs now. I have mainly liked fuzzibunz with prefolds inserted. I have recently started using BumGenius 3.0 (one size) that are so far working well. But that is what worked for us. Also the fuzzibunz don't seem to contain blowouts as well as prefolds and covers. You can get a minishower on your toilet (they sell them my husband made one from stuff from Home Depot).

I would recommend buying used off of craigslist or a sampler pack. There are lots of great websites. Diaperpin.com babycenter.com and babybargains.com (have message boards).

As for water waste vs landfill waste, you can probably find conflicting information. I basically decided that water is treated and can therefore be reused. I use natural detergent (non petrolium environmentally safe) which actually work best for cloth diapers and my washer and dryer are more energy efficient and water efficient than my previous ones. All in all knowing that my diapers are still in a landfill somehwere and that my babies waste goes where ours goes just sort of makes me feel better.

Good Luck
J.

I use bumgenius and fuzzi bunz. Both are pocket diapers and my son is 20 months and has been in the same size since birth. I have found the fuzzi bunz to hold up better in the wash. I have about 17 diapers and wash about every other day. I use hemp inserts at night. Have never had leak issue or blowouts. There are lots of great resources on the web. Good Luck!

I started using Fuzzi Bunz cloth diapers a couple months ago for both my children (they fit the same size) and they are wonderful. it is a great way to save money and they are sooo easy to use. http://www.fuzzibunz.com/ check out their website, that is the cheapest way to order. otherwise i believe Austin Baby Store (local) sells them also.

Good for you for using cloth. I echo the suggestion to go to the Austin Baby Store and take the Diapering 101 (free) class where you can see all the options and choose what you like best. We went with a combination of Thirsties prefolds (they actually snap) and bumgenius 3.0 One size, all in ones. Unfortunately, I had a 6 week early baby, so we're in premie disposables for now, but I'm eager to try the cloth diapers.

Good luck!

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

This company gives you an assortment of diapers to try. I love www.diaperswappers.com You can buy preowned (some unused) diapers in all different kinds to try.

If you want to try something like the flats (the cheapest way to go) there are Indian cloths and Chinese prefolds that are really great, and easier then the regular flats. Deffinitely buy Snappis rather then using diaper pins. There's a picture on this link that shows an Indian prefold with a Snappi http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/

I have used pretty much everything. My favorites absorption wise are pocket diapers because you can add microfber towels or whatever you want inside the diapers. I used Happy Heiniys but I know that Fuzzi Bunz is a fav for most moms.

Mother Ease are my favorite easy diapers. They can go NB to toddler and then the next size fits 30+pounds. Their diaper covers are snaps but you can use the velcro covers instead if you prefer.

Expensive doesn't mean better. I've had some great mom made diapers. Try your local freecycle and craigslist www.freecycle.org and www.craigslist.org

S. (feel free to PM me.)

Mom to four girls and due in March!

http://www.mother-ease.com/
Excellent cloth diapers...look for reviews...these are great and are recommended by many!

hello,
i used cloths diapers for my lil girl 5 years ago and then the same for my baby boy.i didnt regret it at all, and i kept them,in case we'll have another baby one day. i used the Popolino diapers.good thing about them is, they fit from the beginning till the toddlers are pottytrained (which happens a lot faster with cloths diapers). i got them in germany, but on certain websites u should also find them in the states.i belive i washed them 1000 times (at least it feels like it)and they still look, fit, hold and work fine. if u have any more questions, feel free to ask...

Don't know where you live but there is a lady in New Braunfels that will do a mini seminar with you on cloth diapers. www.fullcirclebaby.com

I love the Baby Love all-in-one from Kidalog. I like the basic white nylon cover better than the colored "breathable" cover. The web site is www.kidalog.com.

Since my youngest was born in 1963, I had no other choice but cloth diapers. Back then there were Curity which were long and you folded them to fit and Bird's Eye which were square and you fold them to fit. Do you know I still have a few of them that have been left from that time? When your children are all grown up, they make the best dishtowels. They wash up so soft and gentle for the baby's skin. Good Luck.

Sure brings back some fond memories...........

We used a combination for prefolds and various all-in-ones when our son was a newborn. But now we have converted all our diapers to BumGenius 3.0 and aren't looking back. They are expensive, but he was a heavy wetter and now we can go quite a while without changing a diaper. With the prefolds it was every 1/2 to 45 minutes when he was a newborn. I also echo the Austin Baby 101 class. Even just stopping by when you can...they will totally take the time with you whenever.