New to Cloth Diapers & Need Suggestions

Jillians Drawers has a really good starter pack where it only costs around 10.00 to try a bunch of different diapers for a month. We use both prefolds and bum genius one size. I use the prefolds when I am at home and also when my daughter has diaper rash, and the bum genius when we go out, or when I am lazy! There are SO many options that it is really hard to choose what you like, especially if you have never used them before. I don't know if you have any friends that would let you try some out before you decide. Cloth diapers are more work than disposables, but well worth it.

Check out http://www.greenworldforbabies.com. They have a pretty good diaper starter kit for $75. It comes with everything you need: 3 one size diapers ( they are adjustable up to 35 pounds) 1 box of baby wipes, baby bottom wash, wet bag to store dirty diapers, and small and large inserts for your diapers. They also have 10% for all new orders and flat free shipping. You can also buy a great laundry soap there called Charlie's Soap to wash your dirty diapers. You can also look at other places on line but they are a one stop shop. I would not bother with prefolds becasue they are not as convenient as pocket or one size diapers which are easy to use for first time moms.

Good luck,

Good for you for looking into cloth diapering. We switched when my daughter was 8 months old and I wish we would have done it sooner! Cloth diapering is EASY and much CHEAPER than disposables. I've also read that when it comes to potty training, babies that are cloth diapered will train faster.

After doing my research, I found a local mom in Minneapolis who makes the 3 types of cloth diapers that another poster described. Her name is Amy and her company is TwigandVine.com. Her diapers are of excellent quality and are much less than other brands.

With cloth diapers, your cost is up front, but totally worth it. I figured that we would save close to $1000, if not more.

I bought 12 All-In-Ones (AIO) ($16 each) and they last me for 2 - 2.5 days. I also bought 1 set of flannel wipes (you can make your own wipe solution very easily and cost effective...Amy gives you lots of recipes that are easy to make) (12 count...$11), 2 diaper pail liners ($20 each), 2 wetbags for when we are out or when we go to the babysitters ($12 each). I know a lot of people use Charlie's soap...but ALL Free and Clear works, too. I'm only about 1/2 way through my bottle and I've had it since August. I also buy a large box of baking soda and a gallon vinegar about every 1.5 -2 months. The only other thing you need is a medium sized trash can with a lid. (My prices are from memory...so they may be off just a little bit.)

Amy lets you custom order your diapers. She has lots of fabrics to choose from. Her diapers come in Small, Medium, Large and are all adjustable. We bought the Large when my daughter was 8 months old (and was a chunker)and I don't ever see having to change to another size. She will potty train in them.

I change my daughter's diaper, throw the dirty diaper and the wipe into the DRY lined pail, close the lid. If it is a poopy diaper, I simply take it into the bathroom and dump the poop into the toilet. If it all doesn't come off, I don't worry about it. If you are breastfeeding, don't worry about dumping the poop into the toilet. Just throw it into your pail. If I have a wetbag that has a dirty diaper in it, I throw it into the lined pail. Every other morning, I take the liner (which has a rope drawstring) down to the washer. I take each diaper out one at a time to make sure I don't throw a totally poopy diaper in (I have a wash sink next to the washer that I rinse a really bad diaper in cold water...if necessary.), and then wash on cold...with no soap. Then I wash on hot with the tiniest bit of soap, 1/2 cup of baking soda, 1/4 cup of vinegar. Then I throw them into the dryer.

They come out so fresh and clean! Line drying in the summer has an added advantage. The sun will 'bleach' any stains out.

I recommend looking at TwigandVine.com and waiting until your little one is here to determine what size you will need. You may want to use disposables until he/she is about 2 months old and then buy the medium sized diaper, unless the baby is on the really small or large end of the spectrum.

You may also want to buy neutral colors if you plan on having another baby or if you want to resell the diapers when you are done.

Good luck!

We use your basic diaper service quality prefolds with a wrap to cover them. They aren't as fancy as some, but they've worked well for us and are relatively inexpensive compared to some of the fancier ones. We bought ours at Peapods (www.peapods.com) in St. Paul. They carry different styles and brands of diapers there as well and are a great resource for answering questions for a first-time buyer of cloth diapers.

we also use the prefolds, we just got them at peapods. they are really helpful there and carry most types of diapers and accessories, though not too many different brands. i got overwhelmed with all the "research" and advice online and such and decided to just go the cheapest route. i don't regret it at all (we also just started on our 3rd child). the amount you need is really dependent on how often you want to wash them=) they have been working great for us-almost a year already! it was a learning curve in the beginning, but it didn't take too long to get the hang of it all, and now i can't imagine putting "paper or plastic" on our child

We used Kushies All in Ones for our daughter. I really liked them the only down side was that they took a long time to dry. We used them from when she was about 3 months old till about 10 months (but I think we could have used them longer really) They cost about 10 dollars a diaper (bought on Amazon.com) so as for cloth diapers go they are not too expensive. I really liked them..

Good for you for checking into cloth diapers. You will save so much money!

We use Chinese prefolds and Bummis Super Whisper Wrap covers. We fold the prefolds in half lengthwise, and then slide it right under the flap on the cover. No pins, no snaps, no fancy folding. Easy, easy, easy!

Know that the Chinese prefolds typically come in 2 sizes: Infant and Toddler. Once you hit size Large covers, you will need the Toddler prefolds.

We also use cloth wipes for wet diapers, and only break out the commercial wipes when there is a poopy diaper.

I bought all the covers and the Toddler prefolds off of Craigslist. I bought everything else at Peapods in St. Paul (Snelling & Randolph).

One thing we just discovered are flushable liners for cloth diapers. Let me just say--USE THESE!! Clean up is a breeze, and you will not have any smells in your house. The liners are like a cross between an dryer sheet and a paper towels. If the baby poops, the poopy liner gets flushed down the toilet. (It it was only a wet diaper, the liner still gets flushed.)

Also, keep in mind that cloth diapers don't have to be "all or nothing". When my son goes to grandma's or we are out-and-about, we use disposables. Also, we have been using disposables at bedtime because my son sleeps for 12 hours now, and pees a lot. ;-)

Good luck to you!

There are quite a few options out htere, and Iwould suggest you look online and purchase a starter package that has a few of each and see what you like best before you purchase a whole stash of them.

First are prefolds and covers. Prefolds are like old fashioned diapers in the sense that you fold them and either pin or Snappi them on. These require a cover ,and the easiest to use are Bummis Super Whisper wrap. These are made of PUL (polyurethene laminate) and you can reuse them until they get smelly or poop on them, then wash. You can also purchase wool or fleece covers.

Next are fitteds adn contours. Kissaluvs are a popular brand of fitteds and contours. Fitteds snap on like a diaper, but require a cover. COntours lay in a cover adn you snap/velcro the whole thing on. THese are still pretty cost effective, and fitteds work great for newborn breastmilk poops!

Next are pocket diapers. Happy Heiny's and Fuzzi Bunz are two popular brands of pockets. These are currently the most popular diaper being used. THey are easy to wash, quick to dry, and really easy to use. These are a shell, PUL outer and fleece inner, and you 'stuff' the absorbancy in the middle of them. Again super simple to use. These run $12-$20 each, depending on brand and what you purchase with them.

Last are all in one's (AIO's). THese are the most expensive, and can be hard to wash as they take a long time to dry. THey are PUL outer and they are literally all in one, the absorbancy and shell are all one piec.e THese are most like a dispoable in ease of use. They are expensive, starting at $25+ each, but can be nice for day trips, babysitters, dad, etc. Bumkins are a popular brand of AIO's.

As for washing, that comes easily too. When your baby poops, just dump the poop off in the toilet and flush. THen you can rinse the idaper off and hang to dry, or leave it and put it in a dry pail or dry bag. No need to soak the diapers, it will acutally damage diapers made of PUL to be soaked. Then on wash day, do a warm rinse, warm or hot wash, and a 2nd rinse if desired. Hang up anything PUL to dry, and dryer dry anything else. You cannot use dryer sheets or fabric softener with cloth diapers, it will make them repel water.

ALso many laundry soaps will not work with cloth diapers. They will leave an after smell,,,, and flowery pee isn't very pleasant. :) Plus many will build up on the diapers over time, causing you t have to strip the diapers, which is a long hard process. We used Charlies Soap (www.charliesoap.com) its $13 for a bag, and one bag will last you a good 6mos because a full load requires only one tablespoon. However a load of diapers is not a full load, so you only need about 1/4 tablespoon to wash a load of diapers. No scent, no build up, it rinses clean and its all natural.

Good for your for choosing cloth diapers. You won't regret it!

The one's we liked best were the AIO's, (all in ones). There are lots of brands that are good-happy heinys, fuzz buster, etc. I did a lot of research on line on how to wash them,etc, so that the absorbancy doesn't change and all that. One challenge we found was what size to buy...I know there is a store in men falls that sells a lot of cloth diapers, but i don't know of a lot of others locally. We bought online. Our son grew very fast so the small diapers we purchased were basically never used-and you know they are $$! That was a challenge.

Once you get into a rythm with using them and washing them they are great-so soft and babies bum seems so comfy.