Cloth Diaper Recommendations

C.,

This isn't exactly the answer you are looking for, but if you decide not to switch to cloth diapers, I have been extremely happy with the Costo diapers (Kirkland Brand). I used to only use Pampers until one of my neighbors recommended these diapers. I was afraid they would be too cheap, but they have been wonderful and I have both of my boys in them and haven't had any problems with them. It's about $40 for 168 diapers, so I think you get about 30 more diapers for that price. Pretty good deal - so if you don't switch, that is what I recommend for disposable for a good price.

Good luck!

We use gDiapers and love them.

My 9 mo has been in them since birth. You can go to their website to see the cover options and prices. They have both flushable disposable and cloth refills. Each pant has a cloth outershell and a waterproof liner snapped in. The basic colors are orange and cream (go Longhorns!), but they have lots of pant options on their website. We personally love the orange, it looks very cute on a little hiney!

HEB actually carries "starter packs" with two pants and a few flushies if you want to try that first. I actually have coupons for $2 off each pack (they run about $24 at HEB), if you would like some email me directly with your address. I personally didn't like cleaning the cloth inserts so we are sticking with the flushies. You can also find starter packs and flushies at BabiesRUs, Whole Foods and BabyEarth (local and web www.babyearth.com) locally. I get my disposable insert refills from Amazon as they are the cheapest ($44/case).

There is a Yahoo Group (find the link on www.gidapers.com) that has quite a few ladies who use cloth and are great resources.

Good luck!

I am a grandmother so when I was raising my daughters we did not have disposable diapers and all we had were cloth diapers. I have to say I would find another way to save money or try buying disposable diapers in bulk like at Sam's Club or something. Cloth diapers are a pain. You have to keep them in a bucket or tub of water with a disinfectant in the water, as they sit believe me the smell is overwhelming. If they are soiled you have to clean them first in the toilet before putting them in the bucket of water. You will also find that you will spend so much of your time cleaning diapers, drying them, folding them and putting them away and it is an everyday occurrence. My opinion would be to save in other areas as the disposable or just so much more convienent and sanitary. Also if they wear cloth diapers and you don't want them to leak all over the house, on you etc. then you need to put those plastic pants covering over the diapers and if they do have an accident in the diaper you really need to change them immediately or otherwise you will then be spending money on all the diaper rash creams etc. If you insist on the cloth diapers you could check to see if your area has a diaper service. Good Luck to you but be ready for a lot of extra work.

We have used pre-folds and covers for over a year now and love it. Our main motivation was money and the environment. We started out using Gerber prefolds and then moved to some diaper quality pre-folds. We only have 12 and wash every 2-3 days. We use Thirsties covers. All that we have were less than $60 and they work great for us.

A great site to get some inexpensive or pay just for shipping to try is diaperswappers.com . Check it out.

There are lots of types and lots of price points for the diapers. It really depends on how much effort you want to put in and how much money you want to invest. (You will probably get most of you money back by selling them if you decide they are not for you or you little one if finished with each size.)

Hi C.,
I too just started converting to cloth....like another poster I use thirsties "DUO" covers with prefolds and also use fuzzibunz at nighttime. With the fuzzibunz I think you are supposed to use a cover as well but I haven't used one and things have been just fine. I use the prefolds and covers during the day and the fuzzibunz at night because it's easier for my husband to navigate with the fuzzibunz in the dark and they are pretty much like using a regular diaper. My only concern thus far is that the prefolds seem a little bulky compared to disposable diapers and I worry that it's too much between my little girls legs...perhaps I'm putting too much thought into this or maybe I should use different inserts ~ haven't figured that out yet.......in any event, I'm really glad I've started with the cloth and feel I'm doing a good thing for my daughter and the environment (and the cost savings will be a huge benefit as well). Good luck to you! Oh yeah, I've bought a few things online from Green Mountain Diapers ~ they are very efficient with customer service and delivery.

Hey! We use a diaper service called Debbie Does Diapers and love it. It costs about $17 a week and you don't have to rinse the diapers- just in the pail they go and the service comes around and picks them up once a week and leaves fresh ones on your doorstep. So easy and convenient. We use the Prowrap diaper covers and they work really well also. I highly recommend it.

I did the old fashioned kind with my daughter (and through no effort on my part she was totally potty trained at 14 months. She refused to ever use a diaper again and never had an accident. I do believe it had to do with the diapers.)

With my son I used FuzziBunz. I love the fuzzibunz, but he's 2.5 and no desire to potty train. We stopped using the cloth at 2 years old, though, because we didn't want to buy the next size up.

We launder diapers two times in hot water. It works fine. Never had any problems with diaper rash or even staining. We use Henry's Farmer's Market detergent because it is very mild. We never really even had any problems with smell -- plastic are worse for the smells, if you ask me. We flushed the solids so there was nothing smelly ever in a garbage can.

The FuzziBunz are fantastic. They are expensive to start out with, about 17 bucks a pop, but our medium size bunz lasted from age 4 mos to 2 years. He's a skinny kid, but most people use them for a long time, so the cost is definately cheap compared to plastic.

Good luck!

A friend of mine has kids with sensitivity problems to disposables. She is absolutely in love with BumGenius. She says they are VERY easy to take care of and with the cover that comes with it, they are adorable on little ones. You can look on the main website at: www.bumgenius.com and you may even want to check out this site to see how pricing is compared to the rest: http://www.wildflowerdiapers.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idc...

I have a couple of Fuzzibunz diapers that I use for my 2nd and will buy more for my 3rd (due in March). These diapers simply have the main diaper and an insert... SO easy! You can use 2 inserts for more absorbency (good for use at night or going out). I have used Parent's Choice disposable diapers for both of my children and will continue using those disposables for #3, but only when we're out and about. BTW, the Parent's Choice diapers have been the best quality (I've tried Pampers/Huggies) and the cheapest!
Back to cloth, Fuzzibunz has s/m/l sizes but they also make one-size diapers that are designed similarly but w/ a few extra buttons. I'm going to purchase those but they have been more difficult to come by. In fact, the only reason I know they exist is b/c my friend recently purchased those for her newborn. They are very bulky though.
I simply was in hot water, cold rinse with free & clear Purex (probably the cheapest detergent out there). I've had no stains, no problems. I did read that if you pre-soak, use cold b/c a hot water soak could set in stains. Don't use anything but a free & clear detergent b/c you clog the absorbency of the inner fabric. I didn't know that about the 1st wash and the diaper leaked! Haven't had a leak since though.

Hi C.,
disposable diapers are so expensive- but so convenient- but if you want to change good for you.
I always preferred the curity prefolded ones- easier to clean and easier to put on the child.
as for cleaning them- you have to keep a bucket of water with a solvent in the water- It is ok to use your normal washing machine as the solvent while they soak. After soaking just simply put them in the washer on the hottest water possible. I would not recommend using liquid bleaches as this can leave a residue that can cause diaper rash and other irritations if left in a wet diaper too long. some products (most all ) have irritants such as formaldydhe and other harmful chemicals so try to buy products that are phrospus free and chemical free.
good luck and blessings

For the cheapest route, get prefolds and covers. You can get the cheapest gerber prefolds at Babies R Us. I also suggest you visit Eden's Baby, which is located at Artisan's Alley. They sell a variety of cloth diapers which can get pretty expensive, but they also have the cheaper prefolds and covers. They also have classes occasionally about cloth diapering, and can also give you tips on cleaning. Also check out http://fullcirclebaby.com/, which is located in New Braunfels, but their website has lots of good info about caring for cloth diapers. It is nowhere near as complicated as people think it is! (With prefolds, when you buy them new, you have to wash them in hot water about 6-8 times in order to strip off the coating and make them fluffy and absorbant.)

There are a huge variety of cloth diapers, just be aware that most of the variety is just a matter of personal preference. All of them work as well as disposable diapers.

Good luck with it!