Cloth Diapers - Madison Heights, MI

I love my bum genius 2.0 all in ones....I ordered mine online...have you ever gone to babycenter they have a cloth diaper board there, very helpful and they have swaps so you can try for less...
good luck
E.

I read a story in February Guideposts Magazine called "The Change Artist". Paula Devore of Portland, Oregon, started a company called "Babyworks". They sell diaper covers with Velcro. You just slip the diaper inside and wrap it on in seconds. No pins, and no waste - they're washable. Paula has a website. Hope this info helps.

M. T.

Fuzzibuns!! They are not cheap --I bought them for my daughter (the mom of my granddaughter)and she loves them. We found them online, $15-$18 a piece, but when you buy the best, you only cry once!

Hi A., My name is M., a mother of three. I used cloth diapers with all three of my children until they were about 15 months of age. I loved putting those soft white diapers on my babies. In fact none of them ever had a diaper rash. I think any of the brand name diapers available would be good ones to buy. I used to buy Gerber but that was several years ago. If you can get a large plastic waste basket with a lid and keep it filled about 1/2 full with water and a cup of bleach your diapers will be very white. I used to dump the entire load of dirty diapers into the washer and spin them out then add hot water with Dreft detergent and let them soak about an hour before putting them thru the entire wash cycle. In the summer I would hang their diapers out on the line and they smelled so fresh, I always thought I was doing the best thing for my babies besides breastfeeding them too. Breastmilk poop washes out really good, too. When they got to about 15 months old and were eating alot of table food I switched them to Pampers due to pooping larger amounts and it was so messy to rinse out of the cloth diapers in the toilet. You probably should buy at least 4 dozen diapers, that way you won't have to wash them everyday and you will have some for burb cloths. Good luck. M.

There is a clothe diaper service in Rochester. Their website is www.deedsdiapers.com. You could look into them and see what you think.

Hope this helps.

Parents magazine ran a fun article on cloth diapers. Written from the perspective of the interested male, you might get some new (if not entertaining) information from it. I think it was from the March or April edition.

I used cloth diapers for about two months after my son was born and it seemed like way too much work to me being a new mom and all. Not to mention my washer and dryer were in the basement and hard to get to with the baby. Like one of the other ladies said, you have to change them alot more than disposables and if you don't change them as soon as they go, and your baby has sensitive skin, it will cause diaper rash like crazy. And definitely don't feel bad if you decide you don't like it after all. I felt awful, but I got over it when I realized how much less stress it is to use disposables. If you like it, awesome!, go for it. And enjoy your new addition to your family. By the way, I used Gerber prefolds(you can even get them from Walmart!)

I used both cloth and disposable. The cloth ones are good because they are reusable. And multipurpose. Use as a burp cloth and later as a dust cloth.
There are some brand name ones. Gerber's one. Check ToysRUs; they should have them. Otherwise a baby store. Or Sears/Pennys in the baby dept.

I would recommend washing them first, as brand new cloth products are treated with chemicals. Washing them will help rinse that stuff away.

i use the happy heinies b/c they are like a regular diaper, all in one. you wash and dry them and then put the inserts in and you are all ready for diaper changes. plus you can use them from newborn until they are potty trained (they have snaps on the front for adjustment). you should check out treecitydiapers.com, they also do cloth diaper deminstrations once a month and they were really helpful. i did try the tri fold and i actually used them for a really long time, but then i purchased the happy heinies and they were alot easier to use. i wash my own so there is a lot of laundry and i almost gave up on the 2nd day, but i stuck to it and it did just get easier, well i got used to it. hope this helps and good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have you tried BumbleBeeBottomsBoutique?

ALL styles of cloth diapers available and there are easy wash/quick dry styles that wash clean even in HE washers! They're great!

It's run by a single WAHM, raising 4 special needs kids alone, with out assistance- so not only do you get awesome diapers with a full guarantee BUT your purchase helps a single mom support her family vs some giant, out-sourcing company. Check them out!

Hi A.,

I used cloth diapers for both of my children. It's a little more work, but it's well worth it. I feel much better about washing and reusing the diapers than tossing disposables. My husband doesn't even have a problem with it. We have a couple of different brands. We really like our Motherease the best. They work a lot better and we're able to re-use the covers (3) until we've gone through all of them (15) - rarely do they get dirty. On the other hand, our tri-fold ones hardly ever last - they usually get dirty as the urine/feces (breastfed liquidy poo especially) runs over the edges of the pre-fold onto the cover. I think the all-in-ones are nice, but they're a little more pricey and just add up to more laundry. The motherease are adjustable so they fit from newborn up (my daughter wore them until she was potty-trained at age 2-1/2, my son is only 7mo). They also have an insert that I use to last overnight.

I use cloth diapers.. you can get them from www.treecitydiapers.com or http://www.luvingmammadiapers.com/
Luvingmamma diapers.. the owner is local and is happy to help out.

I do the cheapest option possible which is chinese prefolds and cheap wraps.. it works for me, but isn't the best option.

I used cloth with both my boys I only used disposable when we would go on a long trip or at the in-laws (who could understand why I would use cloth diapers) With my oldest I used the plastic to cover the diaper when I had my youngest I found a cloth diaper cover at Kmart that all you did was fold the diaper and place it in the liner then it velecro (sp) together that was a god send made life that much easier. They come in different colors and patterns and are machine washable.

Hi!
Good for you! I used cloth diapers and all I know is you need encouragement and Desitin! The amonia from the urine can eat away the delicate little skin pretty quick if you leave the diapers on too long..so be a little more quick to change. Desitin helped. Finally, after pin sticking and diaper-pail stinking, I went to paper. Keep the pail up high so the other kids don't get into it.We had a service that picked them up and gave us new diapers. Good Luck to you. I really appreciate your effort and research into the subject. You're helping save the trees, too!If you wind up going to disposable, don't feel guilty! You still love your baby!MS

I use cloth.... I use chinese prefold. they are excellent and cost effective. I have never had a leak. I have no rash issues at all. Occasionally if I eat something a little to spicy we do have a bit of rash and burts bees diaper creme or a&d depending on the type of rash work great! the rash is not from the urine in general of that I am sure. I also DO NOT use baby wipes. they are so harsh. I do not wipe between just changes as that also removes good bacteria. I use moistened wash cloth to wipe bm if needed. the cloth diaper itself is a great wipe too! like loziermusic I use inexpensive wraps. I get 6 wraps for $20 - and they last great if you follow the instructions to wash. I get my diapers from green mountain diapers... there site is very helpful but takes a lot of mousing around! the covers I get are dappi and I get them from ebay! I strongly suggest the dappi in the beginning at the very least. from there you can decide when baby is more mobile if you want to invest in a more expensive cover and by then you will have a better idea of what you like. I started pinning the cloth under the cover but as you get more comfortable its not necessary (or if you are afraid of pinning you dont have too!)

My babies are 26 and 23 years old so some of this may be out dated.

Good for you. Cloth diapers are better for baby's bottom, the environment and will save you money in the long run if you own a washer and dryer.

#1. Where is your laundry room? If in a basement, you may want to opt for diaper service (if in existence) for a few weeks. That c-section needs time to heal. I was 36 when I had my last section.

#2. Cotton or another natural fiber. No polyesters!!!!!!!!!
That bottom has to breathe.

#3. I like the prefolded but had dozen non on hand for feeding, etc.

#4. Stock up on Borateem and Deft. After I rinsed diaper out in toilet then sink, I started soaking in Borateem. Loved the scent.

#5. I always did a double clear rinse.

#6. If a diaper was very stained, I used bleach (love that smell too) but usually didn't need this.

#7. Cloth diapers make great cleaning rags when you are done with them.

#8. I used disposables if we were gone for more than a day and I didn't have access to washer/dryer.

#9. Sitting and folding them afterwards is probably the only time in the day you will have to rest for a while.

Hope this helps. Many blessings.

I am old fashioned and cheap, i fold my own from cloth squares, either use purchased soakers or fold my own of these also. I then use flushable liners for all the nasties. I use a snappy to fit it to fit it to my girls and cover it up to keep it water proof with bummis super whispers covers. Very easy to manage and love the cheap enviromental angle as well. Good luck as it does take some organising, but once you have routine nothing to it. There are some great sites to give tips if you type in to google "cloth nappies".

We use cloth diapers and love it! We use fitted diapers and wool primarily, but there are many options.

Locally, Hopscotch Children's Store is a wonderful resource: http://www.hopscotchstore.com/

Online resources are:

http://www.diaperpin.com - reviews, how-to's helpful web forum
http://hyenacart.com/ - forum, online store for WAHM made diapers, toys, clothes, etc.

I am also going to recommend Jillians Drawers at jilliansdrawers.com as a resource to investigate. They have a wonderful try cloth for $10 program. For the initial investment of $100 you get to try several types of cloth diapers from prefolds with covers to AIO and pocket diapers. At the end of the 3 weeks, you send back the diapers you don't want and they will refund everything but $10.

That is how I got started with cloth diapering. I am now a huge fan of the Bumgenius pocket diapers. My husband is a stay at home dad and he hates prefolds. Pockets are more expensive, but I had to keep the diapers as user-friendly as possible.

pinstripesandpolkadots.com is another great cding website.

Good luck!

I used cloth diapers and have five children. I used the ones right from the store. I didn't spend a lot of money! They worked great, their little bottoms were alway's big though. I used the plasic covers right from the store and wash the diapers myself. Hanging them in the sun helps them. I used hand made soap to was the the covers. No, I am not some nature lady, I just care about the environment and didn't feel it neccessary to spend a lot of money. My husband didn't like it much!!

We use Fuzzi Bunz and LOVE them! They are so cute and wear very well. We have been using ours for 13 months now and they show no signs of wear. It is really important to use a good laundry detergent to keep you diapers clean and absorbant.

We use Shaklee detergent and I also make my own wipes. For the wipes solution I use 1 cup distilled water, 1 tablespoon small wonders baby bath, 1 teaspoon small wonders creamy oil, 6 drops of lavender essential oil and 6 drops of oil of cajeput or tea tree essential oil.

My total investment was approximately $300. We bought 18 diapers and few extra absorbant liners for overnight protection, 30 flannel wipes, 2 large wet bags, 1 small wipe wet bag, 1 large diaper pail bag, 1 diaper pail.

Let me know if you have any questions!

I've cloth diapered my first part time and my second full time starting at around 6 months. By far my favorite has been fuzzybunz pocket diapers- they fit great, no leaks, still look new after a very long time (and mine have been used hard) while my BumGeniuos one size pockets fell apart and my happy heiney's velcro have come unsewn. A few prefolds are always great to have around too and I did do snappies for a while... but for ease and dependability, also for absorbancy for older babies, I found fuzzobunz to be the best performers. They were also cute in lots of outfit matching colors and trim fitting. For a newborn, you may want to consider Kissaluv's. I've heard a lot of people prefer those for newborns and they are also surprisingly easy to use. I particularly like the low waist feature which is great for umbilical cord care. I researched a lot of websites but I ended up buying everything I needed from www.jilliansdrawers.com. They have super fast shipping and very friendly and knowledgeable service (and I'm not getting paid to say this!) HTH. I LOVE CLOTH DIAPERS! It is definately worth the investment and trying out. I keep laundering cheap by washing with baking soda and vinegar. Works GREAT and I've only had to strip my diapers once out of 2 years of use.

I'm not sure where you live, but I used Diapers Unlimited and I never had any problems with them. It was so easy to use and you never had to clean the diapers. I also used these velcro "covers" that the cloth diaper goes into. They were made by gerber. They were great. You do have to clean those out when there's a poopy diaper though, but they worked better for me than plastic diaper covers and they have velcro, so you don't need to use pins.

hello i use cloth diapers and LOVE THEM!! i use bum genius 3.0's. a lady lives in holt and sells them. she has more than one kind. check out her website at zbeardiapers.com and iam sure she will be more than happy to met you, and help you get started. email me if you want to see the ones i have. ____@____.com bum genius ones are almost like disposibles so thats the great part of them. washing them is also easy. not sure how the diapers work on a new born sice my son was about 6 months before i switched. not sure if your part of the yahoo groups but if you are look for blt diapering thats a good source for infomation also. good luck.

Hello A., I used cloth diapers when mine where young, more than 20 years ago. The pre-folded are best. Don't get the cheap ones, they aren't very absorbant, and fall apart fast. There is some kind of absorbant material in the center of them, they wash up good, and are easy to fold and put on the baby. You can also buy diaper liners that are great for messy ones. If you choose not to use them, washing them out in the toilet is best. Get a diaper pail with a lid, keeps the smell down. I always kept laundry detergent in the pail with the water. At night I dumped the contents into the washer, spun all of the water out, then washed them with very hot water, bleach and half of the amount of detergent(some will still be there from the pail). Use an extra rinse cycle. Don't dry them outdoors. As my youngest was severly allergic with asthma, pollens, molds, and other allergins will stick to the wet cloth, then you are putting that on your baby. Congrats on your new addition to your family. Hope that I have helped.

Hi A.~

I don't use cloth diapers and my youngest will be out of them in the next year, so I prob won't switch to them. However, I wanted to offer you my support in choosing to cloth diaper your baby! Kudos to you!
~L.

i used wonderoos, which i liked because they are 'one size fits all' pocket diapers. you use snaps to adjust the size, and fill with whatever is appropriate for baby's size and situation [overnight/day, etc]. :) we had an assortment of fillers, prefolds and shaped...hand me downs and good deals on ebay.

I cloth diapered our son for his first year and we used diaperaps brand (www.diaperaps.com). We ordered the kit online and they were very durable, washed well and lasted great. After the first year we put him in day care and had to switch to disposable, otherwise I would have continued with it until he was potty trained. My only hint would be to allow plenty of opportunities to sun-bleach your wraps and diapers-- that really keeps them white, and use lots and lots of baking soda with a little detergent, instead of the other way around-- its cheaper and a great disinfectant. Good Luck!

Something different... www.gDiapers.com

The simplest easy to use ones are going to be All in Ones (AIO's) where it's diaper and cover together. Also Pockets (like Fuzzi Bunz, Bum Genius, Happy Heiny, Swaddlebees) It's a cover with a pocket sewn into it where you can stuff the interior of the diaper with "inserts" or absorbant materiel. Next down the line would be fitteds and Diaper Wraps (Bummies Super whisper Wraps for example) then you have the cheaper option which a lot of people use (and actually prefer over the other diapering options) Chinese or Indian prefolds with a variety of diaper covers, Bummies, Imse Vimse, Bumkins, Knit Wool Shorts/pants/Skorts, Fleece covers. ETC.

What I suggest you do is buy one of the Sample Packs offered by several of the Online diaper companies and figure out what you like. :-)

You don't have to have another c-section April is Cesearean Awareness Month www.ican-online.org

Cloth is so the way to go! Kudos to you for making that decision! The best way to do it is: to buy one "system" of a variety of kinds to see what works for your family. There's the AIO (all in one) style, the wrap with an insert, and the pocket style. All work very well, however are all different in the manner of which they are cleaned/used. All in ones tend to be the prettiest and most expensive, next being the pocket, then the wrap with the insert, but you only get one use out of them before needing a wash. The cost varies with the all of them, but your initial investment can be upwards of $100. You will need at least 12 diapers to begin with, so either 12 AIOs/pocket diapers or 5 or so wraps with 15 inserts. By inserts I'm talking the cotton trifolds, these are the most inexpensive/multi-use variety. The brands that work best in our family are as follows: Imse Vimse for the AIO & wraps, with Pocket Change, Happy Heinys and Fuzzibunz for the pocket diapers. I have friends that also like the Motherease brand as well. Now for the fun part! Cleaning the cloth diaper isn't as bad as one thinks... you use only about 7-10 extra toilet flushes a week of water, which is nice. We have a diaper hamper for the #1's and a bucket for the #2's, and at the end of the day we take the bucket and remove the goodies with a little spatula that we have on a hook near our toilet then rinse them a bit in our utility sink. Then they go in the diaper hamper until wash day, which is every two to three days or so. We use Seventh Generation laundry soap with a cup of vinegar in the rinse cycle, and usually line dry everything. Make sure to close the velcro on the covers/AIOs before washing. Don't believe the hype on cloth: Babies do not have more diaper rash, that's completely false, my daughter has NEVER had it, it's all in how often you change a nappy, not the nappy itself that causes that. Travel is a breeze, just bring a gallon baggie for transport, or you can also buy special bags for this purpose. I think cloth is making a come back! Good luck!!

To make things easier, if this your first baby, go visit www.gdiapers.com. They have diapers that are cloth and have flushable inserts. Visit the website for more information about the diapers. I use them for my 2 year old and love them. Hope that this helps out some.

-C.

I used cloth exclusively -- starting with a diaper service for the first couple of months (literally, it's expensive), and then for the next nearly 3 years with each girl.

Two things about cloth that are *usually* considered a problem: carrying them, and washing them.

There is a perception that somehow having to have the space to bring diapers along means there is no space to take them back. I found used diapers took up exactly the same space the clean ones had, so I was carrying the same amount as if I'd never changed anyone while we were out. Once or twice, because I used the cheap, flat flannel ones, I even 'disposed' of a diaper or two -- usually because of what was in it or where I was at the time. I carried a handful of medium-sized zipper plastic bags (freezer weight) to take home diapers, so the odour wasn't apparent.

Cleaning diapers has turned into some kind of mystical, complex thing. Not only did it turn out to be 'just one more load of laundry', I didn't find it onerous to do even while camping across the country for a month once, with a 2yo.

You need somewhere water-tight to store diapers between use and wash. Many people use diaper buckets but for a variety of reasons, that didn't work for us. We used a large rubbermaid tote, with a snap-on lid. Filling it about 1/4 full of cold water, into which we tossed about 1/2 a cup of an enzyme pre-treat (called Diaper Pure, but there are a bunch) which stops so much ammonia forming, and helps to pre-treat the stains (which I didn't care about, as I knew what was going to happen to the diapers the next time they were used -- stain removal, what a massive waste of energy!)

When it became full (running out of diapers just didn't happen, we had 8 dozen -- one real benefit of using the super cheap ones), it made about 1/2 a load in our extra-capacity washer. We'd pour the whole thing into the washer, rinse it once in cold water, wash it in hot water with detergent (it leaves less residue overall and I could use a lot less for the same clean -- usually 1/8-1/4c of ultra concentrated), and then rinse it in plain hot water (no fabric softener).

We either dried them in the dryer (no dryer sheet) or hung them on the line. Line-dried diapers are a great deal more absorbant than dryer-dried. The other major benefit of the super-cheap, flat flannel diapers is that they dry in a fraction of the time the pre-folded, lined and super-absorbant kind do.

I used the simplest fold I've ever seen: in half one way, in half the other way, then in thirds. When I used them, I'd unfold 1/3, lay the baby onto it so the thin side was under the bum, give the material a 1/2 twist and bring it up to clip at the sides. I used Di-Di clips instead of pins. We used vinyl rather than nylon or plastic covers, just because they lasted longer, and only had about 10 of those.

If the diaper was 'only wet' I would rinse the cover in very hot water in the sink and hang it over the shower bar to dry. If it was dirty, it went into the diaper bucket and was laundered with the diapers.

Oh, the one other thing that paper diaper manufacturers have created is the idea that the purpose of diapers is to keep baby's bottom dry. Nonsense. That's just the distinction between paper diapers and cloth... it's not an important one. Diapers are to keep from having to wash upholstery, bedding, mattresses, shoes and carpeting multiple times a day. There is no reason to let a child hang around in a soiled or wet diaper, but the diaper is to protect the rest of the world, not the child.

A.,

YEAH congrats!! I have used cloth diapers with both my boys - 3yrs and 8 months. I love them and my daycare uses them too (I claimed the need for cloth due to a diaper rash problem with disposables).

We use Imse cloth covers with pre-fold inserts. The covers these days are great with velcro and are so easy.
If you have never read Mothering Magazine- check it out. They always cover great stuff like the cloth diapers, breastfeeding stuff, and other good info that I cannot find anywhere else. If you look at a local bookstore for Mothering Magazine- their last issue was all about cloth diapers- different styles, companies and the good and the bad of each- they even have tips on keeping them clean and your house smelling good.

Check out http://www.mothering.com/sections/current_issue/current_i...

Best of luck.

A.,

My husband and I use cloth diapers with our now 13 month old son. We started when he was about six weeks old. Friends advised us not to start right away as there are enough things you are adjusting to in the beginning. I think it was good advise. We have used a variety of styles including-pre-folds, pockets, all-in-ones. We finally settled with the motherease brand. I think you will find them to be the most economical and easy to use. Our child care provider even uses them. You can get more information on motherease diapers at motherease.com.

Good luck-

M.

I really liked the Curity streach diapers for newborns they can be folded smaller and have a little streach in them. Good for you there sure aren't many people that use cloth anymore!

there is a lot of good information on the web about cloth diapering. personally, i belong to a group in livejournal called...clothdiapering. :)

you have to be a little more careful about what detergents and butt creams you use. some detergents can cause build up and make the diapers leak. also, come but creams can completely ruin your dipes.

it seems overwhelming at first but once you know what you're doing it's really easy. i'd love to meet with you and tell you all about different kinds of diapers and all the stuff you'll need to know.

B.
p.s.
i'm montessori certified too!!

Hi A.,

When I started researching cloth diaper options about 5 1/2 years ago, I was overwhelmed by all the choices. We stumbled along until we found a system that worked well for our family: Kissaluvs fitted diapers and MotherEase PUL covers. This is our "workhorse" system and it has served us well for the past 5 years. Since then, we have expanded our cloth diaper "stash" to include other CD options: pockets, one-size, prefolds, wool covers, etc.

Other moms have shared how crucial it was to have someone walk them through the CDing process and if you don't know any moms who are currently cloth diapering I would be more than happy to do that with you. You can see the different kinds of diapers available, how you use them, the system for caring for them, etc. PM me if you would like to pursue that route.

A few other suggestions would be to check out Hopscotch Children's Store (on Cherry St.). They stock many types of diapers and are very friendly in explaining the different systems. Also, there is a Google group I participate in that is designed for cloth diapering moms in the GR area. It is called GR Cloth Diaper Moms and group members are helpful in answering any CD questions.

I hope this helps!

~J.