Cloth Diapers - Summit,NJ

I have started using the Bumgenius all in one diapers. They are real easy to use and the washing gets easier once you get into a routine. We store them in a diaper genie to keep the smell contained, but I do find that my son likes the cloth better than the disposables. Good luck.

Hello H.,

I am new to cloth also. My girl is almost 8 months. It's an amazing change, but I am so excited about it! There is a wealth of information about cloth out there, and SO many choices it can be overwhelming. I researched for quite a while, as my washing machine was broken (for too long), so I found lots of resources.

I'll share some links with you.

www.jilliansdrawers.com - they have a 2 week trial where you get a sampling of different types of diapers to see which ones you like best. You pay $10. You keep what you like and pay for it, and return the rest.

www.diaperdaisy.com - they also have a diaper trial.

www.moderndiapers.com - a great selection of dipes and they have sales. Join their mailing list.

www.diaperpin.com - has reviews for almost every type of CD there is.

www.diaperswappers.com - has listings for used dipes. You can also trade on this site.

www.etsyclothdiapers.com - the Etsy CD community - lots of different shops for CDs - almost all made by WAHMs.

My friend also has good reviews for the Green Mountain dipes. She said they are fab, even though their shipping charges are ridiculous. She says they're well worth it, and I will be getting some.

The cloth diapering of today is not that of our mothers and grandmothers. It is so much more chic! I am loving all the choices. I have many more websites bookmarked, so if you want to chat about it, email me! Have fun and good luck!

~~ diaper safari is the place the started with, shipping can add up, but she has some good faqs: http://www.diapersafari.com/diaperinfo/faqs/

~~bebe wamu is a local company and she just started doing diaper service, too, shipping is just $3: http://www.bebewamu.com/store/Default.asp

~~everyday diaper is *wicked* quick (she's in maine, i am so funny) i got swim diapers from her: http://www.everydaydiapers.com/

we use mostly prefolds and bummi brites and whisper wraps, we did have some bumkins. they dry super fast. we do a load maybe every other day now, in the beginning it was crazy, at least 5, 10, 90 times a day!!!

you wash once on cold to get out the icky stuff, then run on hot with an extra rinse. i do the covers with the diapers or with regular clothes on warm. the covers hang to dry. i think one cover type we have you can't put in hot water.

we have a few pocket diapers that are handy for travel and the ones we have, bum genius, can be dried in the dryer. we have 6, use them in the car or when we are out and about.

the dirty diapers go in a wet bag (drawstring) and that is washed with the covers and such. we have seventh-generation disposables as back-ups or for when we know its going to be crazy, like her baptism weekend. if the baby will be in daycare, they may require all-in-ones or some people use cloth at home and send disposables to daycare. all-in-ones can be a little pricey because you need so many in the beginning.

hope this helps!

What extra work? We used cloth in conjunction with EC (elimination communication) from the start and I couldn't imagine using disposables--having to run to the store to pick up extra packs of diapers, running out extra loads of trash, finding places to store the diapers and trash in my tiny apartment etc. :D With cloth I just tossed the diapers in the wash when I got a bucket full, and hung them to dry--10-20 minutes spent on laundry compared to a 1-2 hour shopping trip with a baby in tow ;-), but really it depends on what you're used to, I guess.

Things you will want to look into are:

Finding a diapering system that works for you. (I'm guessing that you are getting flat or prefolds, but there are tons of diapering systems out there.) Look into AIOs, AI2s, Fitted diapers with covers, pocket diapers, contour diapers, covers with lay in soakers etc.
I personally like this style fitted:

http://www.chloetoesboutique.com/store/WsDefault.asp?Cat=...
with a wool cover over it. But there are lots of different styles and brands.

Many people find that they have to change more often when switching to cloth--depending on your son's metabolism and how often you changed him in disposables you may find this true as well.

Getting a laundry detergent that works with your water, so you don't have residue buildup and the diapers actually are getting clean. I run the diapers the same way I do all my other laundry, but some people find they have to do a pre-wash or extra rinse cycle.
here's a helpful chart on laundry detergent:
http://www.diaperjungle.com/detergent-chart.html

Also, depending on your location, a cloth diapering service might be an option for you. You will only have prefold diapers with this, but on the up side, you don't have the extra laundry to do ;-)

Other than that, I can't think of anything challenging about cloth diapering. But on an EC front--offer your son the chance to sit on the potty whenever you change him--if you're lucky he'll start to pee for you and save a diaper or two :D Also if your son is regular and has his BM at a certain time every day, sit him on the potty and read a (short) book--it'll expose him to the potty, maybe keep his bottom clean and dry longer and hopefully save you some diaper laundry and diaper changing struggles ;-)

HTH,
R.

Hi Hanna,
I have cloth diapered my daughter since she was about 1 month old. She also has sensitive skin and I feel better not putting all those chemicals next to her skin. Everytime I do put her in a disposable she gets all rashy. Anyway, cloth diapers are so much better for your baby, not to mention the enviroment and your pocket book! I recomend the Happy Heinies one size diaper. It took me a while to find these but now I am switching all my diapers over to these. They are easy enough for dads/babysitters/grandparents ect. They are a bit expensive (18.95 per diaper) but they are the only diaper you will ever need to buy so you will recoup the cost. They work well over night because yolu can add extra doublers if your baby is a big wetter.
I don't find cloth diapering to be much more work then dispoables... its one extra load of laundry every two days. You do so much laundry when you have kids, whats two extra loads a week? I use Septic safe liners so any solid waste gets flushed ( no dunking in the toliet) and then just toss them into a diaper pail. When I need to wash them I do a cold rinse with backing soda and a warm wash with a detergent (you don't want to use a lot of detergent, just a small amount will do) and an extra rinse.
Good luck! I am sure you will see how easy it is. Please let me know if you have any questions!

hi H.,
i have used cloth since our baby was born in june. we use a service called tidy diapers. they are fabulous! they come once a month and pick up the soiled diapers and drop off nice clean diapers. no extra work. i highly recommend them!

M. b

I highly recommend Greenmountaindiapers.com as well. Karen is WONDERFUL.

Since others have covered a lot of other info, I'll spare you, but I will invite you to join http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GreenMtnDiapers/

We're a big "family" of cloth diapering mama's so please join us and let us help you on this adventure!

Good luck!

Kate

make sure you get a good detergent for these diapers. I used dreft or ivory snow. if he is allergic to the disposable diapers, then chances are he will be allergic to perfumes or dyes. That is why i use dreft and no fabric softener. not needed with the dreft. you said you ordered a pack of diapers. how many are in a pack. i had about 5 to 6 dozen diapers. when the diaper pailgot full i would run a load of diapers and hang them in the sun to dry if possible. the sun will bleach them out. i ran diapers every day, first thing in the morning i found was the best for me, then hung them out to dry. so rinse as they are used and then put in a diaper pail, wash everymorning and dry whatever way you choose and you won't be so over whelmed.

Get an AIO (all in one) diaper. There are sooo easy. I like thirsties AIO v2.

Good luck!

I have 2 children and both have worn cloth and I am expecting again in December and she will wear cloth also. The biggest thing is to just make friends with your new normal. http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/ This is the website I use for my diapers. When you wash them NEVER use softner or dryer sheets because that will decrease the absorbancy of the diaper. As the other person said hanging in the sun is great for the stains but there will be stains and that is fine. I like the bummis whisper wrap with the velcro closing... the buttons are a pain and they did not seem to adjust to the waist of my children with out them being too loose or too tight. Once you get in the groove..... just a few days or so you will be fine and I bet you will love using cloth..... and you never have to run out to the store to get diapers :) I think I have 24 diapers and 8 liners. You can get a package from this company....... you will need medium and large covers but you can use the same size diaper in both covers. Hope this helps........ I know it is all over the place... it is early and I have not had a cup of tea yet

I have a son who is almost 3 (an now potty trained-yeah!). We used cloth diapers on him since he was 10 days old and I couldn't imagine using disposable. We used fuzzi bunz pocket diapers. I found the pocket style to be great b/c you can double stuff them at night to make them more absorbent and they are much easier to dry (the AIO never seem to dry all the way which leads to bacteria). I never felt like they were much work, just an extra load of laundry every couple of days.
We bought about 12 of them for full time use and had to wash them every 2-3 days. FYI- put the poop in the potty and flush, no need to rinse them, but it helps to do a rinse cycle in the washer before the regular cycle. There is also a diaper pail liner made of the same material as the diapers which we used to line our diaper champ. It can be washed with the diapers. Oh, and he was also in the same size from 6 months until 2 years!! SO much money was saved on diapers :)

Hey H.,
My daughter has very sensitive skin too. So I went to Cloth diapers and loved them. It was just really hard because we don't have a washer and dryer in our apartment. So after using the cloth diapering service for a few weeks we decided that it was just too expensive and that we needed to do something else. That is when someone introduced me to Gdiapers. I am so into them. www.gdiapers.com is so great. The nice thing about these diapers is when i am at home I can put the prefolds in them and so the cost doesn't get to high, (which they are actually cheaper than pampers) but when I am out I can put the disposable insert in them, which has no scent, no chemicals or any other toxin in it. It is flushable and completely biodegradable. I just love them. It is like having a hybrid diaper, a cloth disposable mix. It is so great. Everyone that sees them just loves them. They have a starter kit and inserts at Wegmans and it is cheaper than their website. I highly reccomend these. IF you decide not to go with Gdiapers, than I would suggust on top of what these ladies suggested, a sprayer that hooks onto the back of your toilet. It makes spraying the poop off so much easier. Good luck to you!
Angie

hey momma cloth daipers are not always the easiest or most time efficiant but they do work and will save alot of money in the end. my son was in cloth for a long time because of reacurring diaper rashes. just make sure you have a good cleaner on hand when washing them be careful using to much bleach i know they look better when the diapers are white but that can be dangerous for the little guys bottom! best tip is not in the diaper but the plastic pants that you need to put over the diaper to keep clothes and bedding dry. make sure you have a good brand i tried many different kinds but almost all seemed to rip after a few uses around the elastic.some times i even had to put two on him to keep things dry, he lokked like he had a bubble butt, but it worked!! make sure if your little guy is not allergic to the latex in the diapers tho, alot of diapers have that in them and noone seems to check. the plastic pants have latex in alot of them, not only the pants but the elastic that touches their legs. just do some searching around there are alot of different brands and alot more now then when my son was in diapers!! good luck and happy washings ;)

welcome to cloth diapering! i promise it'll stop being overwhelming pretty soon.
I'll echo was some previous posters said: 1. yes you will have stains (just like i'm sure on your favorite clothes you've accumulated a stain or two). but that doesn't mean it's not clean. use your nose. if it doesn't smell fresh, just wash it again.
2. i air/sun dry the diapers as often as i can
3. greenmountaindiapers.com is a GREAT resource. they also sell the BEST prefolds. i once ordered prefolds from somewhere else, and they didn't even come close to the same absorbency for that size.
4. i didn't like the covers that button/snap (instead of velcro)
5. invest in one or two AIO's - ANYONE can use them, even those who claim they "don't know how to" or "can't" put on a cloth diaper.
here are a few other thoughts.
1. when my boy was an infant i would wash diapers every other day; now that he's 19 months old and using the potty quite a bunch i only do a load once a week. i only have a compact (very small) washing machine.
2. you can get a diaper pail; since my washing machine is in a closet, i put a wicker basket in there and that's where the dirty diapers live. the less frequently you wash, the (obviously) stinkier it will get.
3. if you can help it, try to get the poop out as quickly as you can. the longer poop sits in a diaper, the more likely it will be to stain.
4. you will probably want to start potty training earlier, so i'd recommend investing in the baby bjorn potty seat as soon as YOU are ready (not your son - he's ready now). it can accommodate the small hips/tush of a child less than 3 years old. i recommend getting the bigger one that has the removable bucket.
5. i'd recommend getting at least one diaper of different absorbency; my son wears a much thicker diaper (prefold) at night than he does during the day. diaper doublers are a simpler/cheaper way around this if you'd rather not buy another diaper.
6. as with clothes, the more diapers you have, the less often you will need to wash.
7. wool covers are THE BEST! if you can afford it, i'd highly highly recommend investing in one or two. if you ever see a diaper rash (which my son almost never had, other than the few times we used disposables), wool will let the area breathe but i promise you it won't leak.
8. i use all free and clear detergent. my son doesn't seem to have sensitive skin anymore, so i just try to avoid detergents with softeners/whiteners.
9. i never had a good experience with covers that you pull on like a pair of pants; i think as long as it velcroes in the front, you should be fine.
10. when you are away from home, you need to think of a way to transport a dirty diaper back home. personally, i use a freezer-size ziploc bag. for me, that's probably the *worst* part about cloth diapering ('cause eventually you have to reopen that bag).
11. use very very little detergent! i can't say why, but for some reason if i use too much soap my high-efficiency machine just gtes overwhelmed with bubbles. i use about a quarter of what's recommended. sometimes i need to run the machine again (smell test), but adding more soap to one cycle never helps.
12. i didn't find fitted diapers to be any better than prefolds to warrant the additional cost.

i'm happy to answer any questions you have - send me an email.
good luck!

Hi H.,

I never used the cloth diaper for the children except to lay on or burp them with for spills. I believe they have diaper services. Where they come and pick up the diapers and take care of them for you. Maybe you can look on the web, or one of the other mothers have a suggestion.

All the best to you and your baby.

I have a 7 1/2 month old little girl who has very sensitive skin. I could only use 7th Generation chlorine free diapers, but even those would leave redness. I have been using Fuzzi Bunz cloth pocket diapers for the last two months and have had very little redness. They are almost always leak proof except when used over night. You can buy extra inserts to help this problem. Just be sure to follow the washing instructions and use very little fragrance free detergent. I'm sure there are many types of pocket diapers, but I've had a good experience with this brand. I started with four to test for awhile and make sure I liked them before investing the $20/diaper, and then purchased 12 more. Assuming I use these for the rest of her time in diapers, I will end up saving money in the long run. I do a load of diaper laundry every 2 or 3 days, but I've gotten used to it. Also, they're adjustable, so medium size will fit up to 30 lbs. and they come in cute colors. And of course, they're better for the environment which is nice too, and hopefully will be gentle on your little one's bottom. Also, I purchased my diapers from the website bananapeelsdiapers.com and received them very quickly in the mail. They have many other related products such as cloth diaper pail liners for easy washing and smaller bags for your diaper bag. They also offer free shipping over $50. I just found it by accident through a search for Fuzzi Bunz, but I've placed several orders and always received good service. I hope this helps.