Cloth Diapers - Clovis, CA

in response to senya, cloth diapers do NOT always leak, I've had great success these past few months and would recommend to anyone. I just wish I would have done it with my first! The new diapers are amazing and nothing like the old school ones people think of, as for the soaking pail of diapers, that is a thing of the past too. It's recommended to just use a dry pail for safety/health reasons.

I am fairly new to cloth diapering and have done tons of research and tried several kinds (both prefolds and all-in-ones). I don't have a diaper service and I don't find it nearly as 'stinky' as the diaperchamp was with disposables.

I would be more than happy to talk with you about my experiences, send me a message and we can chat about specifics.

Good for you in wanting something better than disposables!

Hi D.! Great move thinking about using cloth diapers. I have a 7 week old baby and have been using the Bum Genius One Size cloth diapers. They are fabulous! I did tons of research before my daughter was born, talked to other moms who used every brand imaginable, read reviews, and finally settled on Bum Genius. Bum Genius makes several types of cloth diapers. I personally liked the One Size becuase I would not have to keep buying additional diapers as my baby grew. I purchased 24 in all different colors and this amount has worked well. I wash 12 at a time and they come out very clean. I use Charlie's Soap and it gets all the stains and smell right out. I would suggest you look at www.cottonbabies.com. They have the BEST prices on ALL brands of cloth diapers and a lot of great information on them. You can also go to www.charliesoap.com for information on the detergent. Please feel free to email me if you have any additional questions. Like I said, I did a ton of research and am very pleased with the Bum Genius brand. I'd be happy to help you further if needed!

I used cloth diapers for my son up to 10 months, when things really started getting too stinky. I will also use cloth diapers for my new baby, due in three weeks, until we put him in daycare. I really didn't think they were more of a hassle than disposables and had few problems with leaks. For newborns it is cheaper to use cloth diapers because you go through so many.

I used ABC diaper service before and was very happy with them. They have been bought by Tidee Didee (http://www.tideedidee.net/) and that is who I am using this time around. You can sign up on their web site. I'd say try it and if you don't like it cancel.

Also, be sure and buy some Snappi Fastner Clips. Pins are really hard to deal with. The diaper service has them in their on-line store.

Congratulations!

Hi D.: If I were you I wouldn't add another complication. You have enough on your plate, and cloth diapers are such a hassle. They may be good for the environment, but they ALWAYS leak, and they always take more time and work than disposables. I was given 3 months of a diaper service as a shower gift with my first son, I didn't even last two of the three months. Plus there was always a bucket of dirty diapers soaking (and stinking) in the bathroom.

Hi D.,
It's wonderful that you'd like to cloth diaper your next baby. I think you'll like them, I certainly prefer them to disposables! I've cloth diapered both of my daughters and will my next baby due in June.

The least expensive way to go is to use DSQ CPF's (Diaper Service Quality Cotton Prefolds) with covers. The DSQ CPF's cost about $24 a dozen. Diaper covers with snap or velcro closures cost anywhere from $8 - $20 depending on style, brand, material/fabric. Pins are unnecessary, velcro/snap covers hold the diaper in place or you can use snappi clips (plastic clips with teeth that grab the fabric). 2 - 3 dozen diapers and 5 - 6 covers should be adequate.
A full load of diapers is 24 - 30 so having 3 dozen gives you a few diapers to use while the others are in the wash. Newborns use about 12 diapers a day so if you have only 1 - 1 1/2 doz then you'll need to wash every day. If you have several dozen you'll want to be sure to wash at least every 3rd day to reduce stains and odor. Bleach isn't necessary, it reduces the life of the diapers, and can be harsh on sensitive baby skin. As long as baby is exclusively breastfed there's no need to dump diapers in the toilet, it will all come out in the wash. If you begin to get stains sun drying will remove them. Diaper covers can be rotated for several uses when wet and be washed with babies regular laundry.

A more expensive and popular cloth diapering option is to use "Pocket Diapers" or "AIO's" (All-in-ones). Pocket diapers like Fuzzi Bunz, Bum Genius, and Happy Heineys are made of two layers of fabric. The outer fabric is waterproof PUL (polyurethane laminate) and the very soft fabric next to baby's skin is micro fleece that wicks wetness away from baby's skin. Between the two layers (in the "pocket") you place an insert usually made of micro terry but regular cloth diapers can also be used. Pocket diapers and AIO's are very easy to use. Some daycares will use them because they are as easy to use as disposables. Dad's tend to like them too. These diapers are around $20 each and most come with an insert.

Some diapers come in sizes: small, medium, large, etc. Other diapers are OS (one size) meaning that they have size adjustable snaps and are meant to fit babies from 8 - 35 pounds. The OS option should save $ since you don't buy new diapers each time baby changes sizes.

I do not have problems with leaks, even overnight, for heavy wetters you can add a doubler or second diaper. I do not find washing diapers a hassle, in fact it's quite easy since there's no laundry sorting required and no folding required either just use them straight from the clean laundry basket. Cloth diapres are cheaper than disposables in the long run but a big expense all up front. My advice is to use the next 4 months to set aside the $ you'd normally budget monthly for disposables. You can either buy all your diapers at once or spend the diaper budget monthly to buy some of what you need until you have a full stash. Good condition second hand diapers can usually be sold for about 50% their original cost through Craigslist or second hand baby stores.

There are many options for diapering. Check out www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com for some great articles on the "myths" of clothdiapering as well as tips and suggestions for getting started and the differences between diapers and a laundry detergent comparison chart. www.sahmdiapers.com is a good site for inexpensive diaper covers and fitted diapers. I like www.kellyscloset.com for good deals, she often sends free shipping coupons by email.

I wish you the best as you figure out the clothdiapering system which will work for your family. There is a lot of information available and I hope you get what you need without being overwhelmed. Please let me know if I can help any further. Best wishes, K.

Glad you are trying it. I was daunted by all of the details, which diapers to get, laundry, etc... I ended up getting a little of everything and finding what I liked which is fitteds and covers. We use Charlies Soap but there are others you can use. Check Diaperswappers for more cd info. If you take good care of them you can resell them for a good price, too. I am a cd addict now, and I'm starting to also make my own and will be selling them soon.

For my now 5 year old son, we used Tidee Didee for the first 8 months or so (Then we moved, or I would have continued), and it was great! no rinsing or anything. About as expensive as using disposables would have been. After we moved, we used a local service out of Chico and it was not as convenient. I kept getting flies and therefore maggots in the diapers and so they wanted me to rinse the diapers and use liners. When I had my second child, I gave up the diaper service and tried my own cloth for a couple months, but found it was too much hassle for me to keep up with. If you are really organized an/or have a lot of help, it might not e so bad. I'm sure many ladies here will respond with web sites you can check out. If you do a search for "Cloth Diapers", I am sure you will get a lot of hits on useful sites that'll help you calculate how many and have reviews for wraps, etc. Congratulations on your pregnancy.