Cloth Diapers - Pensacola, FL

A website that I really recommend for info is www.diaperpin.com also this
http://www.thenaturalmotheringshop.com/Cloth%20Diapering....
and this
http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/basics.htm

and this
http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/newmom.htm

Anyway, I have been using cloth diapers for 2 years now. Will you be working? that may have an effect on how much extra work washing diapers is for you. For cost, washing them yourself is the way to go vs a service. Also, you don't have to use phosphate detergents to wash them, as someone else mentioned. Allen's naturally and Charlie's Soap and Country Save are all recommended for cloth diapers.

I admit that for the first month I used disposables because my baby was really small (5.5 lbs) and being a new mom takes some getting used to.
I find cloth to be more reliable than disp. as far as leaks go. I really like what I am doing for the environment. And cloth diapers are so cute!
I keep my diapers in 2 bags - one from www.happytushies.com and one from www.snap-ez.com. No water. I wash every other day because 1) they get stinky and 2) you have less issues with bacteria, etc.

I have used prefolds, pocket diapers and fitted diapers.
Where do you live? I live in Ft. Myers. If you are interested in seeing some cloth in person you can email me at ____@____.com

I used clothes diapers with my daughter until she was a year old. I stopped because I started working and I moved into an apartment, so I no longer had a washer and dryer. I loved them. I bought the fitted kind through "Mother Ease". You can probably look them up online. They are supposed to fit throughout their whole time in diapers. You just have to buy different size covers. The covers are made out of polyester, instead of plastic and they have little openings so air can get in them. I washed them myself. I had a diaper pail out on the porch next to the washing machine. I filled it up with enough water so that they could soak until I washed them. If they were soiled, I just dumped what I could in the toilet. I just bought enough for a couple of days.

Good for you for using cloth diapers. I used them with my son. For the first few months we used a diaper service, then I washed my own. I loved using cloth. It really wasn't too difficult. I would keep them in a diaper pail after flushing the solid waste down the toilet. I would then wash them in the machine with free and clear clothes detergent. It really only meant a few extra loads per week. Sometimes we would use disposables when out for long periods of time. Good luck!

Hi Adrina - Congrats on your first baby boy! I did not use cloth diapers, but I have a friend who did, for 2 kiddos. She made her own (diaper & plastic cover), but she said they're similar to the AIOs another reply mentioned...My friend dumped the poopy ones out ASAP in the toilet, then kept a garbage pail filled with soapy (detergent) water in her laundry room/garage. She'd toss the dirty diaper (after getting the poop off in the toilet)in this pail and when she had enough to do a load of laundry she'd pour the entire pail (water & diapers) in her washing machine; run the spin cycle first; then wash them as normal. She also used disposable diapers when they went out or traveled, but mainly stuck with the cloth diapers, no diaper service. You're doing the right thing by asking for information! Best of luck with your new son!
K.

I used Kushies All-in-one (AIO)... they were okay, but not super abosorbant. They didn't last the night wets so I would use a paper diaper at night. I heard there are better ones and cheaper ones. They did save lots of money! For a new born going through about 10 diapers per day (at the most) up to 6 months old is about 1800 diapers in the garbage (can anyone say "cash in the trash"?). Plus once you are done with the cloth diapers (especially with AIOs) you can resell them on Ebay or keep them for the next child. I really don't care to much if I'm saving the environment, I just cared what I was saving in our pockets... it's hard to live off of one income.

I didn't find it that hard to keep up with. We kept my daughter in the AIOs until she was about 8 months. You just have to make sure of a couple things...

*Keep a container for only dirty cloth diapers. It should be out of the reach of baby. I lined mine with a garbage liner or grocery bags and changed that out with every other washing.

*Poop should be dumped in the toilet. They make special sprays that attach to the toilet so you can spray it off.

*Line dry in the sun actually kills some of the bacteria and is best for AIOs

*You have to wash them within 3 days.

I was like you and didn't know what to do. I found that this wasn't that difficult and it saved us $$ in the long run. I did research and talked to others too.

Good Luck.

I cloth diaper. If you can find a cloth diapering service then use it but you really only need it for the first month or two, because that is really the sleepless time for mommy.

here are some websites for good info:

http://www.diaperjungle.com/cloth-diaper-guide.html

Personally as far as care of the diapers goes I never ever use bleach on the diapers. I use white vinegar in hot water. Pee and poo has ammonia in it and the bleach reacts with it making a poisonous gas and actually breaks down the cloth diapers faster making you have to buy more often. Vinegar naturally whitens and kills 99% of all germs when washed on cold or hot (you now know how to wash those things that need to be disinfected but are “no bleach!” that baby will make a mess on!).

Diaper pails are designed now to cater to disposable diapers so I by passed on all of those and just got an air tight dog food container (Target is my friend!). I don’t smell a thing… ever. I do wash it once a month with vinegar but really no issues with it.

Diaper cover wise I like to use Bumkins the best. They have to be washed on cold but vinegar is fine with them. I bought 6 types and that is the ones I settled on.

I buy from http://www.jardinediapers.com/ and like them because they are really quick to update if things are back ordered. It is also run by a mom that has actually used all of the products she sells so you can read up on her experiences with each cover and diaper.

I use cloth diapers on my children- cloth was not that hard to keep up with after getting the hang of it. This site was great info about it

http://clothdiapers.thefunnyemu.com/why.html

We cloth both our kids (did) and loved it. It was stress free for us. We used Fuzzi Bunz mostly and then some Mommy's Touch AIO as well. I have a diaper sprayer attached to my toilet and I sprayed off the poop - I found it stunk way less then having disposables in the house. They are really easy. While we were out and about we used flushable liners so if they pooped - we could just toss the whole liner and then put the diaper in a small wetbag. Our daycare at the time even did cloth for us and never had any trouble. There are so many awesome websites and resources. It can be overwhelming. Maybe a sampler pack would be good and then you can try it out! Good luck.

C.
www.homegrownbabystore.com

I understand the feeling associated with wanting to use cloth, but why would you want to do that to yourself? Especially with today's wonderful disposables. They are definitely better at keeping bacteria away from the baby. I tried both with my firstborn, and my personal experience taught me that disposables are better.

I have seven children who all wore cloth diapers. There are paper liners that hold solid matter for easy disposal. Other wise I dumpped the diaper a couple of time up and down in the toilet to clean off the matter.
I put the diapers in a container of soapy water that when full I dumper into my washing machine. I ran it through the rinse cycle and then washed them. Vinegar in the rinse helps keep odors down or else baken soda is just about as good.

I had no idea what to do in the beginning too! But cloth diapering is easy once you get the hang of it. There are several different ways to cloth diaper, and we chose the most cost-effective way, which is using prefolds and covers. Various online stores sell prefold diapers and diaper covers, but I haven't found much difference in the prices among different sellers. To really keep things cheap, you can buy prefold diapers and vinyl pants (both made by Gerber) to go over them at WalMart or Babies R Us. But I absolutely recommend buying prefold diapers that are AT LEAST 6 ply. And instead of diaper pins, I use Snappis, which are great little T-shaped connectors that do a great job of holding a prefold together. Wash and dry the prefolds a few times before use, this will quilt them up and make them more absorbant. In terms of laundering once you start using them, I keep soiled diapers in a dry pail until it fills up. When it is time to do a load of diapers, I dump them in and first do a cold soak/rinse cycle without detergent. Then I do a super wash on either warm or hot with a cold rinse using about 1/3 the amount of detergent you would use for a regular load. Don't get too hung up about which detergent to use. I usually use a generic free and clear and my 4 month old has yet to see a rash. After the wash, dry diapers in the dryer normally. After several washes, the diapers will be very soft and quilted. I will admit, at about 2 months, we started using disposables at night, so just in case she happens to sleep for more than an hour straight (haha) she won't feel the wetness as much. Please feel free to contact me for more info, I'm a huge advocate of cloth diapers! Good luck!

my two cents: find an online vendor of cloth diapers, order a sample pack (one with all the different types of diapers - AIOs/AllInOnes, pockets, Snappies, covers, etc...), and try it out!

www.diaperpin.com is a great site for product reviews, online store directory, and forum for all things cloth!

I have been using cloth for almost two years. It was very overwhelming at first, but know I absolutely would not go back to disposables full-time!! I started with a sampler pack, picked Kissaluvs, liked them, found Fuzzibunz, liked them as well. These are 2 very different types of diapers, but served their purpose thru the different stages of my DD life.

I started with disposables b/c I did not have enough cloth yet. My DD had a diaper rash from day one, so with the cost of disposables, and the added cost of rash creams, my arm and leg started to fall off ;o) but as soon as we started using cloth exclusively, her rash went away. With cloth, you have to change the baby more often than with disposies, but how long would YOU want to sit in your own.... well, anyway...

It does not matter WHAT types of cloth you get, just jump in and try it out!! GOOD LUCK ;o)

p.s. I use Seventh Generation Disposable diapers for travel, order them from www.drugstore.com - DD has NO RASH with them...

Adrina,
I have a website that I sell Fuzzi Bunz on. I have been using them for almost 6 years now with my 3 girls and I LOVE them!!
You do not have to rinse the diapers. You can just knock off any solid poop into the toilet and throw the diaper in the (dry)pail. I use a flip top stainless steel trash can with a waterproof coleman camping bag. I then just throw it all in the washer every couple of days. Then the diapers go in the dryer and I air dry the bag. Are there services now? There wasn't any when I started with my oldest. Please contact me with any questions about cloth diapers. I would be happy to help!!
Contact me for discounted prices, too.
Congrats on your first little one!! How exciting!!
T.
houseofhugs.com

I used cloth diapers with my oldest, but it only lasted about three months. I couldn't handle the smell of the diaper pails nor how inconvenient they proved to be when I went out. However, my son is going on 13 and things have changed quite a bit since then. I just wanted to give you the perspective from a mom that tried them and didn't like them.

I am about to give birth any day to my first child and I was struggling with the cloth diaper decision. I want the best for our son and the environment, but I also wanted a bit of convenience. Hats off to you if you can really do the cloth diapers, but I have chosen to use a disposable brand called Seventh Generation. They don't have chlorine in them and they actually are similar in price to regular disposable diapers. You can find more information at seventhgeneration.com. They have a complete line of products that are better for the environment. And you can purchase them from Babies R Us. Good luck with everything, hope this info helps.

My eldest of 3 boys will be 30 this year. Pampers weren't very good back then. I think when you go to potty train you will find it so easy. These new diapers keep them so dry, they don't connect peeing with wet as soon. I had a top loading washer and when I finished laundry, I would fill the washer with water and put vinegar or ammonia in the water. I had plenty of diapers (and I always doubled them). I would soak all the dirty diapers in the water. When ready to wash, I would drain the water and wash them. They were always so nice and white and clean and no mess in the nursery. Hope with helps.

I have never used cloth diapers before, but my sister-in-law has and I believe she rinsed them in the tub and then washed them in the washer. Although, there are a lot of services out there that will do it. It all depends on how much time, money and patients you have. You're gonna need a lot of cloth diapers.

Congrats on expecting! We did not go cloth, but I know some friends that have (and now that I know what I do, I would consider it with the next one if I could find a service). Though I would still use disposables at night...
Anyways, with a service it's much like disposable diapers, you can use a lined diaper champ and then you just trade the soiled diapers in for the newly cleaned and folded ones.
They are nothing like I thought they would be (I was thinking traingles and pins...). There are different types covers which hold the cloth. The cloth diapers are folded and used as inserts--you then remove the insert when it is soiled and put another one in. The cover holds the insert and acts as a moisture barrier. There are so many cute ones out there!
Here's a site with products and great info
http://www.softclothbunz.com/Cloth-Diapering-How-Tos_ep_2...

What I don't know of are any services around here (I couldn't imagine doing the laundry!) SO I am curious if anyone else does.

I wanted to use cloth for enviromental and economical reasons. The amount I spent on a diaper service was more than on disposal diapers. Washing them myself was too much trouble, not to mention the fact that I was probably hurting the environment more from all the phosphates used in detergents. A newborn often goes through 8 to 12 diapers a day. AND it was just gross. My baby had more diaper rashes because cloth diapers are less absorbent. This may not be what you wanted to hear but I had to tell you the truth. I switched by the time she was 8 weeks old. Having a newborn is hard enough ( the sleepless nights, establishing breastfeeding, etc.). Disposable diapers are a wonderful invention of the 20th century.

A.,
9 years ago when I had my son I wanted to use cloth diapers too, until I found out how little time I actually had to deal with the upkeep of them. I ended up using disposable diapers and the cloth ones for "burp rags". If you work or plan on working after the baby comes I'd personally recommend disposables, also they come in handy while on trips to the store, and visiting friends and family. And congrats on your first just remember Baking soda and water is your friend when you have heartburn :D