Cloth Diapers - Muscatine,IA

Hi Amy,

I used cloth diapers with all three of my children. I preferred the prefolded, thicker more absorbant kind. I used the cloth with plastic pants over them. Why? Clean up mostly. When a diaper was soiled i would "rinse" out the "potty" in the toliet and then put the diaper into a diaper pail that had a bleach and water solution in it. The plastic pants would get rinsed and pout into a different pail that just had water and a little detergent. Why? because the bleach would make the plastic had and crack! I did diapers every night. sometimes there wheren't enough then I would do them evey other day. with cloth diapers you will find that you change them more often, but the kids are really easy to potty train when the time comes. they are already used to the feel of cloth on them, and with cloth diapers they know instantly when they are wet, and they want it off!!!
good luck!!

Hi Amy,

I suggest going to Happy Bambino on Atwood. They are super informative and have everything you would need, regardless of what type of dipes you go with. They also offer a cloth diapering class. Good luck!

Hi Amy,
We used cloth diapers. We've been pretty happy with the prefold diapers and didn't have too many problems with leaks (have had the same number of leak problems with disposables as with cloth). There used to be a store in Milwaukee called Mia Putia. I haven't been there in a long time so I don't know if they are still around but they were always helpful with cloth diapering questions. There is also a womens wellness clinic in M-Falls that sells cloth diaper supplies. It might be helpful to talk to someone in person about it. One thing you might look for: we found these paper diaper liners (made out of rice paper so totally biodegradable), that were really helpful for getting rid of the solid waste. I wash cloth diapers approximately every 2-3 days. We store the dirty diapers in a small lidded trash can. If you want you can put some soapy water in it or some baking soda to help with odor. You can also buy special inserts for diaper pails that help with odor. Anyway, cloth is a lot easier than it seems and we never had a problem with diaper rash. In fact we've had more rash with disposables becaus they don't allow much air circulation. I think kids also potty train early when they use cloth. We did find that as our son got older the prefolds didn't work as well so we actually made diapers out of old towels and t-shirts that worked like disposables. We found a pattern online and my husband modified it to fit. The all in ones might work best as the baby gets older. Good luck!

Hi Amy! We used cloth with our kids, and trust me, the cloth of today is NOTHING like the cloth our parents used!

there are quite a few options and Isuggest 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, and also what we used most of the time. 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. No need to dunk it in the toilet, ew. THen you can rinse the diaper off in the sink (they make diaper sprayers) 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 to 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!

Hi Amy!
Congrats to you on your new baby! And best of luck in your cloth diapering experience. I've been cloth diapering my 2 year old since he was born, and it was the best decision I ever made. Initially, I was very apprehensive about it, for all the same reasons you mentioned, but now I realize just how simple it all is and how much money I've been saving (and will continue to save with future children and already purchased diapers!) We use Fuzzi Bunz exclusively, they are the pocket diapers. While they are quite expensive initially, I figured out it takes only 3 months to spend just as much money on disposables (that helped convince my husband). They are super easy to use and stay clean use after use after use. Here's how it works for me:

When they are infants and their poop is really runny (before they're introduced to solids) you can simply take the diaper off, clean them up and put on a new diaper, remove the absorbent liner from the pocket, then throw liner and diaper in a covered diaper pail that is lined with either a plastic grocery bag or a washable bag. When you've gone through over half your diapers, throw the bag into the washer and run a cold soak (my washer doesn't have a cold soak, so I run a cold wash with no soap with the washer lid open). When that's done, run a hot wash with clear and free laundry soap. They will almost always come out totally clean (I have had only a couple of really soiled loads that I've run through a second time). You can dry them in the dryer. When they're dry, I "fold" them by inserting the liner in the pocket and putting them away! Super easy!

The only difference for when they're eating solids is that it becomes time to dump the poop in the toilet. In order to make this process much less messy for you, purchase flushable liners that you place between the diaper and his bum. This liner catches almost all the poop, then you just have to hold it over the toilet and it all falls out! They are a lifesaver and I'm so glad I discovered them.

You'll want to purchase about 12 diapers for the newborn and you'll need to wash them every day at first. When things slow down in the poop/pee department, you need to wash them less and less. With my 2 year old, I have 14 large diapers (some were gifts) and I only have to wash them twice a week. Even after sitting for 2-3 days, they come out perfectly clean with no odor.

If your diapers get stained (which happens very rarely with my Fuzzi Bunz), you can hang them out in the sun to dry and the sun bleaches out the stain. So natural!! :)

We have three sets of Fuzzi Bunz (small, medium, and large) and it's been so worth all the money we paid. We will be able to use these diapers with all of our future children, and then possibly sell them used at the end of it all.

Best of luck to you!
Amy K

The first thing to do is relax. Cloth diapering is easy. I have found that it is easiest to have separate diaper pieces that put together- they clean much better that way- and expect to wash a load every other day or more often (depending on your nose).

Green Mountain Diapers.com is a good site that gives information.

I personally love the wool diaper covers, but the other diaper covers that you can just put the prefold in and close works really well too.

Leaks happen less with cloth then they do with paper diapers. Mostly you will learn by experience what will work for you by trial and error. Don't worry- babies will survive this :)

Have a wonderful day!- R. mother to 5

i thought about using cloth diapers, but didn't end up using. They are better for the environment i would say, but you also have to think about all the water you will be using to wash them. but if you do decide to use cloth, i heard you rinse the #2 in the toilet then you soak the diapers in a bucket of bleach water. so, no, you do not have to wash them right away, you just put them in the bleach/water bucket right away. good luck! btw, it must be so nice to not have to stay home with your kids, if we could afford it, i'd stay home!

I LOVE using cloth! I used cloth with my first two, who are now 17 and 19, and it wasn't so hot, folding dipes and using rubber pants, leaks........
But now, with my 2 year old, they are not only easy, but FUN!
I had to have easy so that noone else had any hassle in using them, they had to work like a disposable to everyone else. However, I didn't want all-in-one's because I didn't like the thought of not knowing it was clean inside the diaper. Plus they take a lot longer to dry.

So I use pocket diapers. All my kids and my husband were concerned about it, thinking they'd hate it. But now, after two years, even the die-hard cloth hater has decided disposables are a waste of money and just stupid, lol. (I had her go buy a package during an illness, now she's sold)

I use BumGenius for about 90% of my cloth stash. You can even buy them at Target. If you started now and just grabbed a dipe each time you go shopping, or once a paycheck, you'll have a good amount in no time.

As for washing. If you have enough diapers you can wash every 3 days. That is my goal, because I have enough other laundry with 7 kids.

I have had so few rashes with my last baby, I am just amazed! When I have had to deal with a rash, I just stripped the daipers by washing them in hot water with Dawn dish soap (the blue original), and we were good to go. If you hand the diapers in the sun, stains will disappear, and so will odors. This is another reason I am loving pockets, I know that the sun is getting to the liner.

I store the diapers in a "wet bag" that is not wet. No soaking diapers at all. I dump the poo, which most of the time just falls off, and pull the liner out a tad, then leave it in the bag until wash day.

I then stuff all the diapers after they are dry. That way they are not a hassle for anyone when it comes to time to change diapers.

Hi Amy,
I used cloth diapers on my 3 babies back in the 70's and 80's. I loved it because they were very cost efficient then.
I used disposables for vsits out only. I would rinse them out in the toilet and keep a diaper pail in the bathroom and let diaper soak in water until it was time to do laundary. Plastic panties were used to keep the wet from their clothes. I would keep their bottoms 'greased' with vaseline to help keep the wet away from their skin.
I also washed them at each change. It sounds like a lot of work but it's really not once you get into a routine. I never had a problem with diaper rash. And those cloth diapers make wonderful rags when you're done with them!
Nan

Cloth diapering is simple and easy, unless you make it hard on yourself. I agree with whoever said to purchase a sample package so you can try out several different kinds without committing to anything right off. There are lots of different types of cloth diapers, because everyone has differently shaped kids, and different needs. Once you discover what features you need in a diaper, it's much easier to zero in on what kind to use.

I wash every 2-3 days. My baby is breastfed, so I just throw the (dry) pail of diapers in the washer, and do a quick prewash (or rinse) in cold water. I do not mess with a diaper sprayer, I don't soak them in a pail of bleach water, and I don't dunk anything in the toilet either. If that were a requirement, I would not be cloth diapering. Breastfed poop washes right out, and once the baby starts eating solids, most of the poop will fall right off the diaper and into the toilet. If the diapers get stained, drying them in the sunshine will get the stains out.

I use prefold diapers, fitted diapers, and All-in-one diapers. The prefolds are cheap and absorbent, super easy to wash, and they make a good stuffer for pocket diapers. If you choose to use prefolds, practice pinning them with a teddy bear before the baby arrives. It'll save you a lot of stress afterward. The fitteds are more expensive, absorbent, and I like to use them with wool covers that I make myself. They are a little more difficult to get clean. I use all-in-ones when we're away from home, because they're the easiest thing in the world to use. Their drawback is that they take a long time to dry (not a problem if you line dry), and they are a little trickier to get thoroughly clean. About the only kind I don't use is pocket diapers, but that's just a personal preference (price, mostly) and there's nothing inherently wrong with them.

If you have any questions at all, I'd love to help. Feel free to ask.

I would suggest taking a class at a local birthing center or where ever you can find one offered. As much information as there is on the internet and in books, it really helps to have someone SHOW you what the options are, how all the different varieties of cloth diapers are used and benefits/drawbacks to them all, how to fold, how to use snappis, how to wash and dry them to keep them from stinking, etc. It helps to have your questions answered by someone who has done the whole cloth diaper thing and can cut through all the hype. Cloth diapering fans can get a little over zealous, so sometimes a class can help you determine what is fact from fanatic. Good luck!

I used cloth diapers with both my children and swear by them. Not only are they cost effective, but they help in the potty training process too. Why? Because the child can "feel" the wetness!

When I diaper is wet or soiled you will put them in a diaper pail. One for the soiled (which you rinse off in the toilet) and one for the wet ones. You can put alittle dreft and/or bleach in each pail to help in the cleaning. When the pails are full, drain off the water and wash them all together. I also used plastic pants over the diapers. I don't know anything about the all in one kind. I used the ones that were already folded with my 2nd child and preferred them over the folding kind, but both worked just as well. When the weather is nice on laundry day - hang them out to dry. That was my favorite part. I commend you for doing this and hope more parents follow suit. There is so much disposable diaper waste in our landfills and it has to stop! Thank you for doing your part. :D

Cloth diapering is very scary at first! The hardest part is just choosing which kind of diaper, I swear! It's easy after that! I've used Chinese prefolds with diaper covers (cheap, but not my favorite option), fitted diapers with diaper covers, and Bum Genius (not the all in ones, but the one size that you have to stuff). I have no experience with the all in ones, so I can't really help you there. Personally, my favorite options are Crickett's cloth diapers with Thirsties diaper covers and Bum Genius 3.0 One Size diapers. Crickett's come in two sizes, baby and toddler. Generally baby will fit up to one year and then toddler thereafter. I believe Thirsties come in S/M/L. Bum Genius 3.0 One Size are adjustable and will supposedly fit from newborn through pottytraining. They don't require a cover and are similar to an all in one. Both of these options are very easy. My husband changes our daughter's diapers with ease. :) I store my dirty diapers in a garbage can with a lid and a large Bummis diaper tote and wash every other day. You just pull the washable diaper tote out of the garbage can and put the diapers into the washing machine while turning the bag inside out and then throw the bag in the wash as well. You can get stains out by bleaching them in the sun or using Bac-Out. There is actually a lower occurence of rashes with cloth because they don't have the harsh chemicals that disposables do. Just be sure to change your baby more frequently as they don't pull the wetness away as well as a disposable. I would highly recommend ordering from www.cottonbabies.com (though they don't carry Crickett's). The staff there is very helpful if you have any questions and I believe they have diaper sampler packs so you can test a few out before you decide what kind to invest your money into. As far as leaking goes, I have had very few problems (no more than disposables). Hope I answered your questions and you find this helpful! Good luck!

Hi, Amy! I'm a big fan of cloth diapers. Started using them ~4 years ago with my first, and have tried a few kinds. (Little Lambs, kushies, and now GAD's). I have a different kind for different sizes and have found I like the GAD (Green Acre Diapers) the best. I wish all were that kind. I'll describe the features for you, so you know what to look for. They come with shells and liners, which make them easier to wash and dry and they don't trap in the bacteria. They are fleece lined, which is awesome because it pulls the moisture away from baby's skin. At the top-back, there is an opening that you slide the liner into (which has little wings you can fold in to add absorption where you need it). There really don't seem to be many stains, and the poo cleans off in the toilet pretty easily, with little scribbing (exclusively breastfed baby poo doesn't even need rinsed in the toilet). Since you flush the poo, it doesn't seem to be as stinky as a pail full of poopy disposables. I actually went and bought a "cooler" or large drink thermos like what they use for water at baseball games. It has a really good seal to keep the diaper pail smell down. You use a dry pail, just separate the liners and the shells and throw them in. You'll wash more often at first, and then later every 3 days(helps to run a rinse cycle first). The diapers actually have good support around the legs, and come up a little higher (with cinched waist) in the back, so I've had less poopy blowouts. They don't really leave marks on baby's legs, either. Fewer clothing to change is always a plus. As baby gets bigger, the diapers have snaps so they are hard for them to strip :) and then when potty training comes you can button them where they can function as a pullup. I've heard fuzzy bunz are good diapers, too, and work pretty much the same way. Feel free to email me if you have any other questions, and happy diaper hunting!

Hi Amy,

Like you, I was totally overwhelmed by all the info on cloth diapering. I didn't grow up seeing babies in cloth diapers, and I didn't know any other mothers who used cloth. But, I was determined not to spend thousands of dollars on disposables and fill up the landfills. Here is some advice, from my own experience.

(1) Selecting a Diaper.

I would recommend buying a few different types and brands of diapers and actually trying them out on your baby. This is a personal choice, and there's really no way to determine ahead of time what will work for YOU. (Craigslist is a goldmine for used diapers.) You don't want to spend $200 on a brand new set of cloth diapers, only to hate them.

I have tried many different brands and types, and what I love is a pre-fold with a Bummi's Super Whisper Wrap cover. Bummi's are not the cheapest out there, but you get what you pay for, they have a high resell value, and they will last through many babies. I bought all my Bummi's used, and I will be able to resell them for what I bought them for. They are indestructible!

You do NOT need to fold the pre-fold all fancy; you just fold it in half lengthwise, and slide it into the pocket at the top of the Bummi's cover. It's super easy. My husband was nervous for about 2 diaper changes, and then he was an old pro. We've had the babysitter and my mom use these diapers with no problems.

One word of caution with the "one size" diapers that claim you can use them from newborn to toddlerhood: many brands only last the first year. This was my experience, and I've heard other mothers say the same. The largest setting on these is simply not big enough for many 1 1/2 to 2 year olds.

(2) Handling dirty diapers.

I would recommend using cloth diaper "liners". They look like a cross between a paper towel and a dryer sheet, and they lay on top of the cloth diaper. If the baby poops, the liner keeps the mess off the diaper. The liner is flushable, making clean-up a breeze.

When my son was newborn and breastfed, we would rinse out the diapers in the toilet. I used my bare hands (I'm not squeamish!) but there are devices out there for "dunking" diapers. Then we would put the rinsed out diaper in a "wet bag", which is simply a vinyl laundry bag that itself is washable. Every other day, we'd wash the dirty diapers and the "wet bag".

Now, my son uses the potty part-time, and he does not go through very many diapers. We don't have to deal with poopy diapers because he goes poop in the potty chair. We put his wet diapers in a bucket with cold water and vinegar. We wash diapers now every 3-4 days.

Keep in mind there's really no "right" or "wrong" way to deal with dirty diapers. You will find your own system. Yes, some diapers stain, but who cares?

(3) Washing diapers.

I wash them in cold water, w/1 cup of white vinegar. I use homemade detergent (email me for the recipe). The vinegar is a natural fabric softener, and neutralizes the odors.

Be careful what detergent you use. "All Free & Clear" leaves a residue that makes the diapers less absorbent.

I think that unless you have some especially nasty diapers, one wash cycle is all you need. Some people do 2 wash cycles and then an extra rinse, and I found this is really overkill. For me, using vinegar in the wash makes a huge difference.

(4) Diaper Rash.

Yes, diaper rash can be a hazard with cloth diapers. Airing out your baby's bottom for 10-15 minutes each day is your best defense, and is very effective.

The best diaper rash creme/prevention creme I've found is simply Coconut Oil. I bought a 7 oz. tub of it at Whole Foods for $5.00. Regular old Vaseline works fine, too, but a lot of people don't want to use petroleum jelly these days.

If you air out your baby a few minutes each day, use a little baking soda in his bath water, and put some type of creme on at most diaper changes, you will not have any problems.

(5) Cloth Diapers are not "all or nothing".

We use a disposable at night. My son soaked through every cloth diaper we tried. We also use disposables when we go somewhere; I don't want to be carrying dirty diapers around with me. Also, if my son has especially bad diaper rash, we will switch to disposables for a day or two.

You will be an old pro before you know it! Every time I go to buy disposables (which is every 6-8 weeks) I just cringe at the price! I can't imagine shelling out that kind of money every week! Good luck.

Hi Amy

There are different kinds of cloth diapers out there . If you go through a diaper service they wash them for you . You bag them up and they pick them up and they deliver more clean ones for you .
When I was pregnant with my daughter I looked in to the use of cloth diapers and with using a service and how often you change a baby wearing cloth it evened out with using normal diapers in cost . You are changing a baby in cloth more then a normal diaper . The feeling is different on their little bottoms .
They make them easy to put on you really do not have to fold them like the old fashion cloth diapers .
There is always pros and cons to every thing just think about it before you jump in and do it .
You can always change your mind but make sure you are not sigining a long term contract with a diaper service . My friend did that and changed her mind and she was stuck for 2 years .

Congratualtions, Amy, on choosing cloth! We decided to do cloth diapers with our first (he's 4 now) and continued to our second (9 months).

We found that our babies get a rash with the disposables, not with the cloth. I imagine that had to do with letting them sit in a wet diaper too long (because we and he didn't know it was wet!). Not so with cloth.

Here is the website that we used that introduced us to all the basics: http://babiesinthesun.com/pages/clothdiapering.php.

The other essential for us is the Potty Pail. It makes clean up SO MUCH easier! Check it out at http://www.pottypail.com/

The only other thing the other moms haven't mentioned is the simplest wrap around: the prorap (don't put a 'w' in it). That's the only one we've used faithfully and they last: we're using the same ones for the second as we did the first.

Blessings on your second and at cloth diapering!

I have used a LOT of different cloth diapers (18 years ago I used the flat ones that I folded myself and then pinned on and covered with "plastic pants") and I really like nearly any of the new ones that I have tried. Nearly anything with elastic at the legs (on either the diaper or the wrap) and velcro as a fastener (or snaps) makes me happy. I have read a lot of reviews on-line and it seems that many moms have passionate preferences for certain diapers. I wonder if it just depends on how picky you are. I am not. I also noticed that what one mom hates another mom loves. I think that may be due to the different shapes that babies come in. Maybe a diaper leaks on some shapes but not on others. My advice would be to try to find at least a few cloth diapers as cheaply as possible so you can try them out and see what you like. It's just so stressful knowing you have to love what you buy because it's gonna cost SO much. I never paid much for mine. Maybe a local kid's outlet shop or someone from LaLeche or another mom's organization or some other friend of a friend. People do sell these when they're finished with them, so there should be some out there. Oddly enough, my brother goes sometimes to Muscatine. If we could work out some sort of plan I would be glad to loan you a few of my different "models" so you can check them out or try them. I don't have much variety in a newborn size, though. I usually find that getting on my feet takes too much effort to also do the cloth diaper thing and I don't start them up for a while. As to your question about the basics: I put "used" diapers in a diaper pail that I empty and wash about every 2 days. If they were pooped I dump them in the toilet first and rinse them out there if necessary. I always don latex-type gloves for this because of my eczema, but I wonder if it might be a nice barrier for any type of skin. If I have time I like to quickly rinse even peed diapers in the toilet before tossing them in the pail. It really cuts down on the smell. Then I wash them on hot with regular detergent (we use a "natural" one) and Oxy-Clean (no, they don't stain) and hang them out to dry whenever possible. I do use the dryer in the winter a lot. The all-in-ones are great in some ways, but the others dry much faster. We haven't had trouble at all with rashes. I can't advise much about overnight use, because we usually still use disposables for that. I don't think I would have to, but I just don't have time to figure it out.

Hi Amy,

My husband and I both agree that cloth diapering is ALMOST as easy as using disposable/paper diapers. I do things similar to the way Lisa P. does them. I never soak my diapers. I just use a diaper pail bag and throw the whole thing in the wash. I use chinese prefolds with a snappi fastener and I was lucky enough to have a friend make woolies for me. (wool diaper covers) I only had to buy one (Imse Vimse brand from www.nickisdiapers.com.) I also use cloth wipes. And yeah, you'll get yellow poop stains on the diapers, BUT if you are able to hang them on a line to dry (or even if you don't have a line, but you have some direct sunlight coming through a window) the SUN will take out the stains, almost 100%! It's so cool!

There are only a few times I use disposables: 1) if I'm taking my son in for pictures and I don't want him to have a gigantic looking butt. 2) if we're having a squeamish babysitter over (although I'm planning on getting all my babysitters trained in using cloth so I can help better the next generation) and 3) if I'm running errands or traveling and I don't forsee being able to stop easily within a 2-4 hour time period.

I get all my supplies from NickisDiapers.com (which is pretty local for me as it's in south western WI) and I got my folding and washing ideas from PunkinButt.com.

Have fun! I really don't think you'll regret it once you realize how much trash you're not putting out there! :)

Hi Amy,

I wrote an article about how to make CLOTH DIAPERING EASY. I am including it here for you. If it doesn't come through, you can email me ____@____.com and I can resend it to you. Good Luck! (I am currently expecting my 4th in July!)

L.

organiclonicalee.blogspot.com
www.organicselections.com
www.theorganiccompany.com

CLOTH DIAPERS ARE PURE AND EASY

By L. Eisenbraun, mother of 3

Are you skeptical? Cloth diapers are absolutely the healthiest choice for baby and our environment, and the most affordable choice for your wallet! Soft, fresh, and now ORGANIC, cloth diapers are now high tech and EASY! Why? Let us count the ways!

1) Best for Babies - Doctors recommend cloth diapers to eliminate diaper rash and keep babies healthy. (Avoid the artificial chemical absorbing gel in disposables! This gel has been linked to infertility.)
2) Best for Our Environment - Disposable diapers generate 3 tons of toxic waste (per baby) that pollutes our groundwater! With cloth diapers you won't have to take out the trash every day! The amount of water, energy, and chemicals that go into making disposable diapers is astounding, and the cost of disposal in a landfill is $300 million in the USA annually!
3) Best for Your Wallet - Save over $2000 if you use a cloth diaper service, and over $3500 if you do it at home!
4) Easy for You - You will be amazed, and you will feel good wrapping your baby in soft, plush organic cotton fabric, not paper and plastic! How: It's So Simple! Set up your system right away, before the baby is born. Here is the system that I use and it is so easy that I recommend it to everyone!

BUY:

One Diaper Pail $22-$38: Choose from two styles that are white with a flip top lid, it is attractive and odor-free. Available from Baby Bunz & Co. 1-800-676-4559.

One Diaper Pail Liner/Duffie Sack $15: White nylon sack with a drawstring top that you can toss in the washing machine with the diapers. Available from Baby Bunz & Co. 1-800-676-4559.

24 S and 24 M Organic Cotton Diapers $13-$16 each (discount available for this quantity): With aplix (velcro) closure. 24 of size small (fits 7 to 20 pounds- which means about the first year for an average size baby). 24 of size medium (fits 15 to 35 pounds)! Available from Natural Selections. www.organicselections.com 1-888-216-9917

12 Wool Diaper Covers $360: Pull-on style is easy and never leaks! Wool is naturally antibacterial, waterproof, thin, yet breathable and soft, so it makes the best choice for a cover. It is reusable for an amazing amount of diaper changes with no odor, and washes and dries easily in your machine. Buy 4 of each size- small, medium, large. Available from Natural Selections. www.organicselections.com 1-888-216-9917
OR CHOOSE
12 Pure LambsWool Felt NIKKY Diaper Covers @ $18.95 each =$360: Closes with Velcro for a wonderful adjustable fit. Wool is naturally antibacterial, waterproof, thin, yet breathable and soft, so it makes the best choice for a cover. It is reusable for an amazing amount of diaper changes with no odor, and washes and dries easily in your machine. Buy 4 of each size- small, medium, large. Available from Baby Bunz & Co. 1-800-676-4559. http://www.babybunz.com/

Diaper liners $7 ( for 100) these are optional but make things
even easier! Tissue-thin pieces of cloth-like paper, they are flushable
and biodegradable that sit on the diaper right next to the baby's skin,
catching any solids, and keeping your baby dry!
Available from Natural Selections. www.organicselections.com 1-888-216-9917
∑ 100% Biodegradable
∑ Flushable
∑ Keeps baby drier
∑ Makes diaper cleaning easy
∑ Septic tank safe

This will cover you all the way from baby through potty training!

Total Cost for Organic Cloth Diaper System: $1000.
Cost for Disposables Diapers: $4500 (or more).
(Not including your share of the huge disposal costs.)
Savings: $3500 (or more).

Even including your laundry detergent and energy cost of $175-$475, cloth diapers are still saving you thousands of dollars!

"By using cotton diapers, I made my baby comfortable and I saved enough money to pay for a down payment on a new car." J.S.

1) Put the pail with liner in a convenient place like the bathroom, laundry room, or near your changing table. No water is necessary.

2) When you diaper the baby, put a diaper liner in and then when you change the diaper you can flush the liner so you never have to get dirty! Put the used diapers in the pail. Wool diaper covers can be used on next diaper change as they air dry very fast with no odor.

3) Plan on doing the laundry every few days or whenever the diaper pail is full. Just pull out the whole liner sack and put in the washing machine on the hot water setting. You can add a scoop of your favorite non-chlorine bleach (such as Oxyclean or Bioclean) and they will always emerge fresh, clean and white! No work required!
Note: Don't try to use a few cloth diapers, part of the time and disposables part of the time, as it will complicate things. You won't want to handle all of that used diaper trash. (Plus, where would the cloth diapers go after you use them, while they are waiting to be washed if you don't buy a diaper pail?) If you want to do cloth diapers, just do it. You and your baby will be so happy that you did!

Where: Anywhere!
At Home: Super easy!
Around Town: Still easy! Just tuck a small plastic bag into your diaper bag to deposit used diapers into until you get home again. (If you like, there are also small reusable nylon bags available from Ecobaby that you can just throw in the wash with the diaper.)

Traveling Far Away: Disposables are easier when you are going to be somewhere you can't do laundry. Choose disposables that are non-toxic like Seventh Generation, or Tushies. (This way you avoid the chemical absorbing gel that has been linked to infertility.) These companies also make great non-toxic disposable wipes. Available from natural grocery stores.

A note about diaper service:
If you do not have a washing machine and dryer, and you live in an area where a cloth diaper service is available, it is a good option. Look for an eco diaper service that uses non-toxic detergents and non-chlorine bleach. Request organic cotton cloth diapers. (Currently they are not widely available at diaper services, but hopefully will be soon.) You will feel great knowing you are doing something good for your baby and the planet, and saving thousands of dollars too! Most diaper services are only about $40-$100 a month, as compared to about $150 a month for disposable diapers. Cloth diapering at home is about $20-$30 a month.

For more information than you could ever dream of on the benefits of cloth diapering, see the article "Cloth Diapers: Good for Your Baby and Earth" in the January/February 2003 issue of Mothering magazine.

I would be happy to answer any questions, as would any of the other mothers who are currently using ( and loving) cloth diapers!

Email us at: ____@____.com
www.theorganiccompany.com
www.organicselections.com

Natural Selections
104 South Main St,
Fairfield, IA 52556,
order line: 1-(888)-216-9917
Alternate line: ###-###-####

I loved the Bum Genius One size pocket diaper. I bought some of mine from Sunshinediapers.com and some from the manufacturer, cottonbabies.com. Both great sites, with sunshine you get individual attention. When you have dirties and you are out, just get one of the bummis wet bags and throw it all in the diaper bag. When you get home, put all of the wet diapers in the pail (a dry pail with no soaking). Dump anything solid in the toilet. There are also flushable liners you can get that catch everything solid and just lift out to flush away...we used those while Noah was still breastfeeding because the solid stuff is still pretty runny and it caught everything. They were great and we actually were able to cut them in half and get 2x as many as it said out of one pack. If you want some details about washing, I am pretty sure I have an email from a friend who was starting and I can forward that to you. As far as leaks and rashes...you have far fewer blowouts and rashed with cloth. My son was always in a disposable overnight because we did not have the money to try every overnight solution and he was such a heavy wetter that he would soak through a disposable and a diaper doubler and I still had to do laundry!!! I washed my diapers everyother day and if they ever got stained, you just hang them in the sun and the sun totally and naturally bleaches them back to white!!! I was amazed the first time I tried it. Let me know if you want more on washing!

A. -
Congratulations! and good job trying cloth! We have used cloth from the beginning and found it be very easy. I know you've gotten a lot of good responses, but here are the basics (trying to make sense of all the info on various websites):
You have several options for diapers and you may want to go with a few different types or use just one. The main choices are: pockets, AIOs, prefolds, fitteds. Pocket diapers have a waterproof outer and you adjust the absorbancy by changing the insert. All-in-ones have sewn-in inserts. Prefolds are the old-fashioned rectangles that you have to fold up, pin (or use a snappi), then cover with a waterproof cover. Fitteds are absorbant diapers that velcro or snap on and then get covered with a waterproof cover. They all work and everyone has a different favorite.

Something to consider is that one-size diapers (some pocket diapers are one-size and some AIOs are too) should fit from birth to potty training. so instead of having to buy a set of size small, then medium, etc, you can just buy one set. A lot of places recommend 1-2 dozen diapers to start. Another thing to consider is that different brands have different fits. so if you go all out on one and find it doesn't fit YOUR baby well, that would be a bummer. (Luckily cloth diapers have great resale value on Ebay or diapering sites). But most diapers fit most babies (unless yours is particularly skinny or big-thighed or something, you know?) We went and bought a bunch of bum genius one size pockets and luckily, they fit great and have worked great for us. but we've tried all of the other types too and have a little of each. i've foudn that AIOs tend to be a little less bulky but also a little less absorbant. i love fitteds (BG and Kissaluvs) and covers (BG, Thirsties, Bummis), but think it's cheaper to go with the pockets.

We use a zippered wet bag for holding diapers when we're out and about. When we get home we pull out the inserts and place the insert and the diaper in a diaper pail lined with a PUL liner. We use the squirter to rinse any poo into the toilet. The wet bag and cloth wipes also go into the diaper pail. We don't really have odor problems, but you can get disks or sprays. We wash every other day or every 2nd day with Charlie's Soap, which I love and can't say enough about. Generally we haven't had problems with staining, but we also hang the diapers to dry in the sun (in the summer) and that keeps them white too.

There tends to be a lower occurence of diaper rash with cloth diapered babies. Keep in mind most cloth diapers (that aren't cotton or bamboo) will not remain absorbant if you use rash cream. You could use flushable liners in the diaper if you need to use some rash cream.

I find that the diapers really don't leak very often. For us, they have only leaked if we should have changed it sooner or we used a size too big (we used a Medium sized fuzzibunz a little too soon i think and it leaked straight out the leg!)

I think that was all of your questions. Good luck! There was a great article in Mothering Magazine (March of 2008 I think) that covered all kinds of cloth diapering too. Feel free to message me if you'd like more info. I'm a big proponent of cloth!

Hi Amy, I own a local online cloth diaper business and I meet people for consultations. I am running a workshop on April 15th at Southdale library(and again in May). Visit www.mysweetpickles.com to register. I also recommend the cloth diaper lending organization www.teenygreenies.org for people who want to try but aren't sure. You can borrow several kinds for a couple of months! Hope this helps.

I cloth diaper our youngest. With her I have use prefolds, purchased at http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/diapers.htm, love these!! Then I use Bummis Whisper wraps, to cover. You have a couple of choices when you go this way. You can fold the diaper and snappie/pin and cover, or trifold and just place into the cover and place on the baby. (you can find online all differnt ways you can fold a prefold.) I do both, but now that she likes to take off the diaper I have been snappieing more often. I admit it does take some time to get a hang of the folding, and which folding works for you, but in the mean time you can use the trifold, that is fool proof! I also just ordered through Walmart.com Kushies brand all-in-ones, very cheap there, so far I like them, I use those when we are out of the house. They work just like a sposie. I wash every 3 days or so.

I also have and am a big fan of Gdiapers, www.gdiapers.com. I used these on a trip to FL, for 7 days, worked great.

I am very lucky, I have a store only 15 minutes away where I get some of my supplies for a really great price, I buy all of my covers and snappies here. I have saved money by buying it local, I could not get it any cheaper online!

I can't think of anything else at the moment, but I hope this helps. Oh, just a thought, my husband and I have only spent $250 on clothie supplies since she was about 4 months old. At this point we do not see any need to buy anything else, she will be 2 this summer, so we should be getting close to try potty training! We think we have done pretty well, you can spend alot getting clothie stuff, but if you do it right, shop around you can do very well and not spend a fortune.

I really don't get leaks, only if she has been in it tooo long.

I hope this helps, any questions I would be happy to help.
J.

I used cloth diapers with my son and I have mixed feelings about them. I used the "low tech" version from walmart/kmart with a diaper cover from Bummis I ordered online. (I liked the diaper covers with velcro better than the one pc slip on kind.) The diaper cover can be wiped out and used again if it didn't get soiled but that's your choice. If it was just a pee diaper, I would put it in an old pickle bucket with a lid in the back yard until the bucket got full or I had a lot of poo diapers. If it was a poo diaper, I rinsed it in the toilet and then added it to the bucket. I also added a little vinager to help keep the smell down. I never put the diaper covers in the bucket - I kept them velcroed to the handle of the bucket. Then I just washed in the machine with cheer free and hung to dry. If you can hang in the sunshine, it helps keep the stains under control. Just make sure that the diaper washer load is smaller than usual so the balled up piles of ick have room to unball and get clean or you may end up with stinky "clean" diapers. I did not use bleach except to clean the pickle bucket. (And yes - my husband changed diapers and did the laundry as well. It's a commitment that both parents need to make or it won't work - especially if you are working outside of your home.)

The good news was that I was being eco-friendly and I didn't feel like I was throwing money away every few hours. My son did not have any rashes because I changed him every 2 or 3 hours or when I noticed he was wet. The bad news was it took a long time for me to catch on how to fold the diaper properly so I was changing outfits atleast 4 times a day as well as diapers. Also, I think my son may have slept overnight better if he wore a disposable but I didn't try that idea until around 6 months - when he was sleeping better already.

Also, I've had 2 friends that spent the money on the all in ones after I told them about my ordeal and they liked them alot. They even make disposable liners for some cloth diaper so you toss something that looks like a panty liner and wash the rest of it. Just be careful whick ones you buy because they are not created equal. Perhaps, if you do not have an issue with this, you can find some used ones on ebay (or somewhere) to try out before you spend a ton of money one 1 type or another.

My final advise is to stick to it for at least 2 weeks then decide how it's working for you. 1/2 disposable and 1/2 cloth is still better than all disposable for Earth. Good Luck!