Please Suggest a Cloth Diaper

There are so many brands out there and every baby fits different in every diaper. There's a store in Kent called Mothering Grace http://www.motheringgrace.com/ . I haven't been there personally, but I've heard great things and their prices look great.

I suggest trying out several styles/brands of diapers before investing in a whole stash of one brand.

Good luck!

If you are looking for a pocket diaper, I would suggest Bum Genius. I have tried several types of diapers and they are by far my favorite. You can get some VERY good information on cloth diapering on the site www.diaperswappers.com

Hi momma!
I cloth diaper and it is really confusing when you're first starting out. I would recommend getting a few different types. Some companies offer trail packages so you can get a few types, see what you like and return the rest. This is the best trail package I've found: http://www.momsmilkboutique.com/ClothDiaperTrial.html

I use a few different types for different reasons:

Prefolds are great for newborns. They wash the easiest in my opinion. I don't bother with pins or a snappi. I just lay the diaper in a cover. Once the cover is fastened the diaper will stay in place.

I like fitted diapers because it gives you the option of going coverless should your baby get a rash and need to air out her skin. You can do this with a prefold too but it'll require pins or snappi.

AIO diapers are great for dads, grandparents, day cares, babysitters because they go on just like a disposable and do not require a cover. They are great for wiggly babies too. The down side is that they take longer to dry.

Pocket diapers can be stuffed depending on your baby's needs. One insert for days, two inserts for naps or over night.

Our over night diaper is a fitted with 2 doublers, a stay dry liner covered by wool. I'm new to wool and I love it! Our daughter gets a rash if we put her in PUL overnight and wool has worked great for us!

Washing/storing:
I have two wet bags I use to store diapers in. One has a zip top and one is a hanging pail that has a small opening at the top. Both have a piece of fabric sewn into the interior that I add a couple of drops of tea tree oil to. That takes care of the smell. I got the zip top bag here: http://www.clothdiapersuperstore.com/category_s/170.htm
And the hanging pail here:
http://www.squishytushy.com/pail-liners-hanging-pails-c-1...

I use All Free & Clear 3x. Some people experience detergent build up with AF&C but I've never had an issue. Here's my wash routine:

Cold wash with 1/2 recommended amount of detergent.
Hot/cold wash/rinse
Warm/cold wash/rinse

Tumble dry low or line dry.

If you get stains the best thing I've found to do is to sun the diapers. Just lay the diapers in a nice sunny spot for a few hours and the stains will fade away! No bleach necessary!

If you do get residue build up in diapers it will cause them to stop absorbing wetness. If you start getting leaks check for residue build up by placing the diapers under a slow trickle of water. If the water runs off the diaper instead of absorbing it means you have residue build up. To fix this you'll need to strip the diapers.
If the diapers are already dirty run them through 1 wash cycle with detergent. Then do a hot wash with 1-2 TBL of regular blue Dawn (not the concentrate. Well, I guess you could use the concentrate but only use a small amount.) Run the diapers through extra hot wash cycles until no suds appear.
Strip your diapers as often as needed, but not at every wash as it is a bit harsh for your diapers and your baby’s skin.

Tips:
I put everything in the wash together. Wet bags, covers, diapers, wipes, etc. After the first wash cycle I take out the wet bags though. I don't know why but if I leave them in for the hot and warm washes it causes the diapers and covers to stink.
When we have a poopy diaper to deal with I just knock the poo off in the toilet. If the poo won't knock off I give it a little swish in the toilet instead of using a diaper sprayer.

Good luck to you! Feel free to contact me if you need clarification on anything or have anymore questions! :))

Links to check out:
Basic info on cloth: http://www.diapersafari.com/diaperinfo/newtoclothdiapers/
This is a great "how to" for prefolds. Pic heavy: http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/prefolds.htm
Detergents: http://www.diaperjungle.com/detergent-chart.html
Cloth Diaper Reviews: http://www.diaperpin.com/diapers/diaperpages.asp

My favs now are:
Sandy's fitteds, Air Flow cover and their stay dry liner: http://www.mother-ease.com/cloth-diapers/Home
Green Acre Designs AIO: http://www.greenacredesigns.com/
Babyology longies and covers: http://stores.ebay.com/Babyology

Wow. There are a huge array of diapers!

If you can afford it, and if you're looking for the combination with the least amount of effort (perhaps because it seems daunting, or your hubby is resisting), then I would highly recommend "All In Ones", which are basically a cloth version of a disposable, where everything is sewn together. The only downfall is that they take much longer to dry in the dryer/on a clothesline. You can get lots of brands of AIOs, but the most popular seem to be Fuzzibunz and Bum Genius. They range about $17.95 per diaper. It seems like a lot, but trust me, it's waaaaaaaaaaaay cheaper than spending the dough on disposables over the years.

Another is the "pocket diaper", which is a cover and a fleece inner with a pocket that you have to put an insert into. It's very nice because the fleece keeps the baby feeling dry, and it's easy because stuffing the pocket with the insert before putting it on the kid really isn't that bad. Pockets/inserts are much quicker to dry in the dryer/on the clothesline.

My hubby and I have been using Prorap covers and prefolds. We used to use Fuzzibunz overnight, but she grew out of that size and weren't able to afford to get her new ones, so we've just been double stuffing and putting an insert in her Prorap. Works really well.

For washing prefolds/covers:
When you originally get the diapers, wash them on hot water with 1t of ORIGINAL Dawn dishwashing soap to remove production chemicals. Rinse using cold water, TWICE. Then dry in the dryer. Dry them two or three times to get them super-fluffy and absorbent. The more they are dried the more the weave fluffs and thus the more absorbent it will be. Don't worry about drying the plastic/PUL covers, as the PUL reacts well to the heat.

For the Fuzzibunz and such, just follow the directions on the tag.

AFTER DIAPERS ARE SOILED: Do a cold rinse. You can do two cold rinses if they are especially gross. Drain all water/spin. Refill and soak for at least half an hour with OXICLEAN or a wannabe oxiclean. Drain again. Wash with hot water with half the recommended NON-DYE, NON-PERFUME detergent (if you use too much soap, the suds remain in the cloth and make it less absorbent, and if you use a detergent with chemicals/dyes/perfumes in it, it makes the diaper less absorbent). If you need to, just do a second rinse and that should be fine. DO NOT USE BLEACH. DO NOT USE FABRIC SOFTENER, either in the washer or the dryer - all chemicals make the cloth less absorbent, cause leaks/wicking, and make the diapers break down much faster.

[edit] If you have spots you want to get out, the best thing to do is to put them out in the sun, usually on a clothesline. The sun is a natural, non-chemical, and FREE ball of bleachy goodness! :D Also, if your diapers ever start repelling, or not absorbing well, just strip them again (use Dawn dishwashing soap instead of a non-dye, non-perfume detergent).[/edit]

HOPE THIS HELPS! :) Yay for cloth diapers!

All the advice I've seen here is good it all boils down to how much you want to spend and who is going to be doing the diapering ( how easy you want it to be for someone who doesn't cd all the time) pockets are the easiest for cleaning and starting out we use them the most Bum genuis are by far the best for someone starting out we are almost out of ours size wise now but we are 30lbs. There are the velcro so it's easy but if you get a stripper I recomend a snap dipe for that. Thirties also has a pocket dipe now the "duo" you can buy just 2 sizes to get you though till potty train love ours. The only thing you need to do with a pocket is stuff them after they are dry. I mostly do that after bedtime watching tv :) I toss them in the wash cold rinse hot wash low dry very easy, take them out after cool stuff them.
I use both one size and sized mostly os but sometimes you want a trimer fit then I have a couple sized dipes for that I have a little bit of everything I found that certain dipe for certain thing work the best I would highly sugest going on diaperswappers.com and getting a couple different brands and seeing what works best for you remember if you get pockets you need a insert for them. If you want to go extra cheap and one person is doing most of the changing prefold and thirsties duo covers, with maybe a bum genius flip or some cute covers to supplement. Good luck lots of cute stuff out there! Mine loves her moo dipe!

Hi!

Good for you! We use both Bumkins and Kushies and I like them equally (Kushies are much less expensive and I'll probably just use them next time around). I highly suggest getting the Kushies disposable liner to use in whatever brand diaper you decide to use. The sheets are about the size of 4 squares of toilet paper and you just pull them out (poop and all) and flush down the toilet. This has made the transition to cloth diapering a total breeze for me.

Ours are washed in the washer with All Free & Clear. I start an extra small soak load in the morning and add to it as the day goes on and finish up with a wash cycle in the evening (don't add soap until you start wash cycle).

Best,
T.

Contact Audrey Zuber with Punkinbutt.com she has about 5 different types of cloth diapers. from wool covers to fuzzi buns pocket diapers.

I like Fuzzi Bunz and Bumgenuis best. Both are pocket diaper, you use them just like disposables, but you insert an absorbant insert between the inner and outer layer of the diaper. Unfortunately both are quite pricey, so I only had a couple of them - but if I had another child I would absolutely make the investment.

Fuzzi Bunz will be most expensive, because you have to buy new sizes as your baby grows, they do have a great fit on smaller babies though.

Bumgenius are one size diapers. They are a little bulky on small babies, but work great for the more mobile crowd (6+ months). They are also the best cloth diapers I have tried for overnight. I can count the number of leaks I had on one hand.

My third favorite are knicker nappies, my daughter is slim, and they have a great trim fit - might not work for a chubby baby though.

Washing is easy: pick a detergent that does not leave residue (Charlie's Soap, Country Save, or make your own from equal parts washing soda and borax). Collect diapers in dry pail, run a cold pre-wash with 1/2 the rec. amount of detergent, run a hot regular wash with 1/2 the rec. amount of detergent, run an extra rinse. Dry in dryer or outside (sunshine will get rid of any remaining stains).
Every now and then the diaper will start repelling to to buildup and you will see leaks out of the legs. To remedy this I run a hot wash with dish soap and rinse until you do not see any more suds. I did this every couple of months or so.
Go to a retailer that carries a bunch of different types and look at them. I think in Seattle Birth and Beyond on Madison Ave has a few different brands.
Good luck!

Easiest are prefolds with a nice cover like Thirsties. You can use one cover for a while (until it gets poop on it), so you don't have to have one per diaper. That's what I do, mostly. I made a few of my own, too. With the Thirsties (Bummis, too, and maybe one or two other kinds of covers) you can stuff the prefold into a pocket at one end and just put the cover on like you would a regular disposable diaper. It works great, and it is so easy! I used to use Gerber's plastic pants, but then they changed their formula and now they wear out almost overnight--soooo not worth it! I researched a bit, and Thirsties seem to be the best covers for the price. I think they make diapers, too, but I had a bunch of prefolds and homemade diapers, so I just bought the covers.

I wash them on hot or warm with my homemade detergent, and throw in some oxyclean too. I don't worry about stains, but when summer comes, I'll hang them out on the clothesline, and that will get the stains out nicely. I wash about every other day. In between loads, I keep them in an open bucket with baking soda in the bottom. I don't soak them first. Some people do. I found that if I kept a lid on the bucket, it got really smelly; but if I just leave it open, it's not so bad. I do rinse really poopy diapers in out in the toilet (with special dedicated rubber gloves so I don't get anything nasty under my nails!) before I put it in the bucket. I also double rinse the diapers, just to get out any extra detergent (which can affect absorbency.

That's what I do.

A word about prefolds: The ones that are a looser weave, look kind of like layers of gauze, those tend to hold less. An easy way to increase absorbency was to add extra padding. I discovered that those microfiber washcloths they sell at the grocery store or dollar store work really well. Don't buy the red ones--they will stain your diapers for a while--but the other colors (tan, blue, green) are fine. Just fold them in thirds and tuck into the diaper. They will increase absorbency significantly--especially great if you use cloth at night, which I don't, but those with babies allergic to disposables will need to do this.

Congratulations on your decision to cloth diaper!

I really like the folks at
http://www.babycottonbottoms.com/
and they have many different choices as well as a fair amount of information on their site.

I, personally, like the all-in-one or pocket diapers the best, but they are certainly a more expensive way to go. Just really easy to use, and nice products.

Hi, I used Polar Babies cloth diapers. Rinse the poopy ones in the toilet, have a rinse bucket for the pee ones and wash in the washer. I loved them! Good luck!
R.

I used all kinds, but the best were the hemp ones. I even ended up going to buy hemp cloth and made my own after I couldn't afford to purchase anymore. I also used Bumpkins coveres - they were the best for non leakage.

For washing, place solids in the toilet and wash all cloth diapers in a load together...wash on cold to get stuff out and get the stains out, then make a second wash with hot water. I used Borax and arm-n-hammer in mine (use what you like for detergent - powder works the best, but the borax was key for stains) The hot water will get the germs out. I know it sounds like a lot of water to use, but it is still better than using disposable diapers and filling a landfill with diapers that won't degrade for 500 years. Though, I must warn you, it takes dedication for cloth diapers....the other easy way out is to use a diaper service, where they do it all for you, but you cannot control what chemicals go into cleaning them. Good luck!

Oh, yeah, you can look at childrens used clothing/consignment shops for diaper covers and used diapers first so that it won't cost you too much trying to find which ones work for you.

Hey there! Good for you wanting to step into the cloth diapering world. I too was very overwhelmed with all the options and how-to's and wondered what I was getting myself into. I started when my daughter was 7 months old, and I wish I would have cloth diapered all my babies from the beginning!

I have heard that prefolds are the favorite for newborns. I'm going to try that with my next baby right away, as they were my favorite for my daughter until she got too wiggly at diaper changes. Then I switched to pocket diapers.

My advice is to try a lot of different diapers and see what you like. Now, this doesn't have to be expensive. I got a lot of diapers from Craigslist, and there's a whole world at DiaperSwappers.com, but that, too, was a little too much for me to navigate! I went down to Capitol Hill and looked around and asked questions at Birth & Beyond. That's where I bought my prefolds. Then I found a mom/dad team in Seattle (I think the Fremont area?) that run PunkernoodleBaby from their home. I made an appointment to come in when she was having a clearance and she spent time showing me different diapers and her opinions of each. I left with four different pocket diapers, all of which I liked, but would say the Green Acres Designs was my favorite.

Then I am always watching for sales online. Cotton Babies is the distributor for BumGenius. I found a sale there once and got four of their 3.0 pocket diapers, which I like. Then just at Christmas they clearanced out their bamboo fitted diapers, so I got six of those and can't wait to use them on baby #4.

So, as you see, it is a learning curve, but it won't be long before you find what you like, and my opinion is that there is no need to spend $17/diaper when you can find sales and second hand. And if cost is your ONLY concern, then you can't beat $1.50 for a prefold that will last virtually forever! (I also think Thirsties covers are great.)

DiaperPin.com has all kinds of reviews on diapers, detergents, websites to buy from, etc. Many sites have detailed instructions on washing. (I spent what I thought was a ton of money on 1 box each of Country Save and powdered BioKleen detergents, and they are both only half used after almost a year of use!)

I thought this site http://www.diaperjungle.com/washing-cloth-diapers.html was most helpful for washing instructions, and they have a great detergent chart link there, too.

This is much longer than I intended, so I'll just close by saying don't be afraid - just do it! You can tweak your system as you go!

Looks like you've gotten some good suggestions for cloth diapers, but if you want to spend less than $17 a diaper here is my advice. We went with Coolababy one size diapers, with double inserts. These are a pocket diaper with PUL waterproof outer and fleece liner. They have snap closures and microfiber inserts. The fronts snap down to make them smaller, which is why they are called one size diapers. We love them! You can only buy them on e-bay and they are from Hong Kong. Just search Coolababy on e-bay. They come in different packages, it just depends on the amount you want and if you want double or single inserts. They have several colors and they allow you to specify which colors you want, even mix and match. Just tell them about your color choice in a note to the seller. I have one BumGenius one size diaper which I really like, the main differences being it has velcro closure and a single insert that snaps down so that it is not longer than the diaper when it is smaller. Also how many diapers you need depends on how old your daughter is, since the younger she is the more she will need.

So...my bottomline is that I LOVE the Coolababy diapers and hold them pretty comparable to the BumGenius, but they only cost $6.00 a diaper!!!

Now as for washing...that all depends on which kind of diapers you get and if you have a top load or front load washer. I have a front load and have found a great system and don't have stains on my diapers. :)

I've used them on 2 kids, newborn and toddler. Same exact diapers, one needs them snapped down and the other didn't. My almost 3 year old just grew out of them, so its just my 5 mo old.

When I first looked into cloth diapers I was kinda overwhelmed. So if you have any questions feel free to email me or shoot me a message through mammasource.

Good luck!!

I love Motherease, they have snaps, wraps (with snaps or velcro). The inserts are fleece and you can buy pad/extra inserts. I have been using them for 2 years now and they are awesome, never leak. I just wash them out (poopy ones) with rubber gloves in the toliet several times, then I put them in a bucket with a lid. I wash them on a baby diaper setting my washmachine has (love it!), which has them soak first and altogether takes 1.5 hours to do. If they are really stinky I put in some "BacOut" or Borax and that gets the extra urine smell out. They don't dry completely the first time around in my dryer so I hang them on a dry rack over a heat vent to get them extra dry. Good luck! Great thing to do for their bums and for the environment, and your pocketbook (especially if you have another or you can always resell them when you don't have anymore kiddos).

We use Fuzzi Bunz and we LOVE them!! They save us a TON of money and hastle. We are currently on the second child with them, I would highly recommend them. It does take a little practice with washing them, but you get the hang of it. They come with specific laundring instructions and the website gives wonderful helpful tips if there is ever a problem. We have awful hard water here so I have run into a few problems and have been able to get past them. I run a cold soak first, then I put in a "tiny" amount of laundry soap (very basic soap with not much else in it) and I pour in some white vinegar (that helps keep the soap and hard water from building up) and run a HOT wash, then I dry on low in the dryer. It works great for us. I also...about once a month or every 6 weeks do what they call stripping. There are several methods to this, but I use the dishwasher. I put LAUNDERED diapers in the dishwasher with NO soap and run a couple of extremely hot loads, the hot water loosens up any kind of build up that may be clining to the fleece, then I spin them in the washer to get the excess water out and dry them on low. It sounds like alot of work, but it is routine to me now and once you get into a groove it's not really much work at all. I think it is all worth it for the cost and for the kindness to my baby's bottom. I hope this was helpful. You are welcome to send me a message if you have any other questions about them. I just love them. :)

Hi,
There are a dizzying array of cloth diaper "systems" out there. You can get something simple and cheap or something more expensive and a bit more convenient.

Washing is pretty easy, but you usually need to run them through the wash cycle at least twice (like a cold rinse with no soap to start with and washed once or twice with soap and hot water). You do not want to use bleach because it damages the diapers and makes them fall apart sooner.

I suggest you go to Zoom Baby Gear (www.zoombabygear.com) on N Lombard and Greeley and talk to Cynthia, the owner. She's very knowledgeable and has a lot of cloth diapering options and information.

We used cloth diapers on our son until he was potty trained. It can be super confusing I think, but he's what we did. We bought the prefold diapers (about 3 dozen works well). We made fleece liners to go in them which helps "fling" the poop in the toilet and keeps him drier. We use a "snappi" in place of diaper pins--cheap and definitely the way to go. Finally we use thirsties diaper covers (we get 4 in a size in different colors so we can keep track of which ones are out of rotation in this wash cycle...if they are just damp they just need to air dry between diapers). They come in fun colors and they are about the cheapest covers and work great--our son is a heavy wetter so these have been a great find. When your baby gets to be about 8 months old you'll probably want to buy new prefold diapers that are larger and more absorbent. We also made wipes out of fleece (we just cut things out...no sowing)...and wet them in the sink when he's dirty and throw the dirty ones in with the diapers. We're poor grad students and have probably only spent $300 on diapers in two years--our power bills haven't really gone up much--although we do line dry when we can. I love never running out of diapers--and washing them is so easy--no sorting, just dump them in the wash--half the time they just live in the drier till we need to dry other clothes. It really hasn't been a big deal for our family. Good luck, it's really not that bad--although...we did keep a spatula next to the toilet for some jobs...so there are moments when it's a little gross. Honestly, once you get started it's pretty easy, but all the option STILL confuse me!

So in a nut shell
1. prefold
2. hold in place with a "snappi"
3. cover with a "thirsties" cover--covers can be reused unless/until they have poop on them (just throw them all in when it's wash time)
4. you can use a doubler at night or just two prefolds--we eventually moved to a disposable for night time (about 8 months)
5. Throw everything is a bucket with a tight fitting lid (we like a dog food storage container with a seal around the top)--we soaked in a solution of "bio-kleen"
6. But contents in the washing machine and don't use too much detergent.

wash about 2x per week--

We've used Fuzzi Bunz (fuzzibunz.com and fuzzibunzstore.com) all the way through with our son and are preparing to use them again with our new baby. I've generally been quite pleased with them, but haven't used anything else, so don't have any grounds for comparison. They are a little bit expensive, but still definitely pay off over time! The best prices I've found have been at Fuzzi Bunz Store and they offer free shipping. I recommend getting 18 diapers in each size and I really like the contoured fleece inserts--more absorbent. Also, you might consider ordering about three extra inserts to double up at night--especially if you have a heavy wetter. When our son was about a year old we ordered a diaper sprayer from the same website and it does help to dislodge the grosser sticky poops. We also use flushable paper liners (Kooshies--we order them from Walmart.com) to help make clean-up easier. (Our son has always been a very frequent pooper with loose, sticky stools, so I don't know if these would be so necessary for everyone.) Anyway, after dumping the paper liners and poop into the toilet, we just separate out the inserts and drop the diapers into a bucket with a lid. Then, when I notice that there are only two diapers left on the shelf, I wash all the dirty ones (usually every two-three days--depending on the age of your child and how often they soil their diapers). To wash, I run a cold rinse, wash in hot water with a small amount of a good, gentle detergent (I use Charlie's Soap--charliesoap.com) and then rinse with cold once more. Then I dry them on low heat. I know it all sounds pretty comlex, but it's really not that bad. It just becomes part of the daily routine and we hardly think about it anymore. Anyway, all the best and I hope you find the right diapering solution to work for your family!

We use Bumgenius 3.0 diapers one size pocket diapers and we love them. They have inserts that come with them. We have been using these since my son was 2 months old and he is 17 months now. We do a wash every other day or so. We have a front loading system and wash the diapers in cold on the pre-wash and then we wash on sanitize. With breastfed baby poop you don't need to rinse before you wash, you can just throw them in the wash. We also have a sprayer that we use if we need it. We dry the diapers although I wish that we would have started off drying. :) I got a bunch of the diapers off of http://www.cottonbabies.com. I bought a bunch of the seconds that they have periodically. I also use instead of a plastic can for the dirty diapers a stainless steel can that I bought at Lowes. My husband is a huge fan of these diapers which makes me very happy. You can check out sites that diaper packages and then you can try out different types. I did that and really found that I liked the bumgenius diapers.

Hi Krist! It looks like you have had tons of great responses already. I have tried a bunch of different types of diapers, and still use a most of them, but found some are better for some situations and others for other situations.

The first thing I suggest is that you find a cloth diapering store near you and go and visit with them. I've always found them to be very helpful. It is hard to start without actually looking at the basic types in person. I felt so relieved when I took the first step of finding a good, local store and actually getting my hands on some of the diapers. It made it seem so do-able.

So here's what has worked for me: The diapers that work best for babysitters and my hubby are pocket diapers. I like bumGenius ones the best of those I've tried. You stuff 'em with a prefold, which is the classic cloth diaper. They have snaps to adjust the rise so that they fit them for a long time. That's good since they are one use only per wash and expensive. Interestingly, my mom (who cloth diapered) likes them best too and always reaches for them first rather than diapers and covers.

I personally like the pocket diapers best for ease, but they are expensive, as I mentioned. I try to save them for when we are out and about or when we have babysitters.

When I'm making the diaper choice, I use bamboo fitted (expensive, but trim and absorbent) or cloth prefolds (cheap, not quite as absorbent and definitely bulky). With those I use a nice, cheap, dependable Thirsties cover. The covers can be reused for the next diaper if they aren't soiled. At night I use a wool cover (expensive) with the fitted or prefold diapers since I can stuff them really full. The wool cover is very waterproof and breathable, and only takes a bit more care than a regular cover. In the summer I like the wool covers too since they are breathable but waterproof.

Washing diapers is the subject of a billion blog posts, advice sheets and conversations at the diaper store. I wash mine in the washing machine (pre-wash in cold if they are poopy, then a regular hot wash, followed by an extra rinse). I use my regular laundry soap, which is without fillers. If the diapers seem to not be absorbing as well, I use a little Dawn dishsoap in the wash. I dry in the dryer during the winter and on a line in the summer when it's not raining. I'm also one of the folks (no one in cloth diapering circles seems to admit to this) who uses a little bleach on the pre-folds and bamboo diapers if they start holding onto the odor despite the washing. I give them an extra rinse after that. You should never, ever bleach the covers, pocket diapers or all-in-ones, since you ruin the coating that keeps them waterproof.

Good luck. I made the switch to cloth diapering several months after having my baby and I've always been really happy that I did.

We have a handful of differnt kinds. My favorites for my toddler are Fuzzibuns and Cute in the Cloth. They are both pocket diapers which I feel like works best for us. We have some prowrap covers that work well for my 5 month old. We have a couple of those for my toddler too, but I like the pockets better for her.

Check out diaperswapper.com for a whole lot of info about cloth diapering!

I have tried so many, but ultimately all-in-ones are the best. They usually have a pocket inside the diaper for an insert. The drawback is that you only use each diaper once, then wash it as opposed to the covers & prefolds which you can use a cover multiple times and change the prefold insert. But I found that it caused diaper rash much more easily & my baby was often sopping wet inside the plastic cover. I would not recommend them. My faves are Knicker Nappies that you can get online or at Zoom Baby Gear because they are the most contoured (don't make baby's legs flail out unnaturally, can create hip problems). But Swaddlebees are my seconds choice, much like Knicker Nappies and sold in more places....Mother Natures, etc. If you have alittle paience, you can try diaperswappers.com to save money by buying used ones. Nicker nappies are the cheaper one of the 2, but the nice thing is that you can resell any of any cloth diaper online for almost the same price. If you're gonna do cloth diapering, I would also suggest getting a sprayer that hooks onto your toilet (indespensible for dealing with poo) & baby booty spray to avoid diaper rash http://thecozybunny.weebly.com/natural-woman-herbals.html -the only thing that worked on my baby. Good luck!