Cloth Diapers - Minneapolis,MN

I use Fuzzi Bunz cloth diapers and have ben doing it for about a month (for the same reasons as you). I don't usually use them until after my daughter, who is 8 months old, has her BM of the day because I am not really into the whole cleaning up poop thing. I really like them for multiple reasons - they are really easy to use because they are an all in one cloth diaper (cheaper this way too since you don't need to buy covers), they are really soft, and my dughter gets bad diaper rash and she never does with these diapers. My daughter is "fluffy"; she weighs apprx. 21 pounds and we use the size mediums with room to spare. We use them with the Joey Bunz hemp inserts (which were a little spendier, but totally worth it). The detergent that Fuzzi Bunz recommends is a little spendy to me, so I use All Free and Clear when I wash them. If you have anyother questsion, please feel free to ask me.

-Becca-

I used a diaper service when was son was newborn. DSQ prefolds with Prorap Classic newborn covers at first - Prorap makes them with a umbilicus cut-out. At 7 months and 20 lbs, I now use the Prorap mediums at night with a prefold and a doubler. We do only get the one nighttime use before the cover needs to be washed, so maybe you need 7 of those. When I am home with him (or out of the house too), we use Bummis Super Whisper wraps. They come in really cute prints (the first attraction) that I thought would be great for summer when he's be spending a bunch of time in just a diaper. They do have a really great style though - there is a inner "lip" of fabric in the front that you can insert the prefold into to hold it in place/make putting on easier. Also, I really like the tabs on the Bummis - one tab is double-sided so you can overlap the tabs, making the cover usable for a wider range of sizes. At 20 lbs, he's got a long way to go to outgrow the mediums - they suggest it fits 15 to 30lbs. I bought them from jardinediapers.com. One, the price was right - I did a lot of comparison shopping on the internet, and two, they explained everything about all the different covers they carry - great place to shop even if you don't buy, and they have an "endless cover program" which means you get free shipping on all orders after the first one. I stopped using the diaper service at 5 months because my daycare didn't want to do cloth. The diaper service is very easy, but there is a break-point for value - if you don't use enough, its more expensive than disposables. We use Seventh Generation there - they absorb just as well as other "sposies" but are unbleached and unscented - as good as you can get for the environment with a disposable, and no fru-fru pampers smell (I have a really sensitive nose). After I quit the diaper service, I bought by own natural (read: unbleached)prefolds. 3 dozen is plenty for our nights and weekends use. For the cost of one month's diaper service I have years worth of diapers. *Way* less expensive than disposables. I currently wash once a week, though if we did full-time it would be twice a week. Really easy - recommend a natural detergent, but at the very least a fragrance/dye-free and use less than a regular load - currently using OxyPrime, seems to work well - throw 'em in hot water wash, let sit to soak for a hour, turn machine on, run 'em through the dryer on hot.
There is a learning curve with the prefolds, but its really easy. By the time baby is two weeks old, you're an expert. There are a couple of really good istruction vids on the internet. Honestly, I think I saw the vids on diaper service websites.
A friend of mine uses Kissaluvs fitteds. She seems to like them, but it seems like more to wash, more to buy to me. I don't have a ton of money to spend on diapers.
Also, try E-Bay, Freecycle (yahoo group), or even a post on this site to buy/sell used diapers. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, right?

I have a 5 1/2 month old daughter and we have tried a few different types of cloth diapers...Kushies All-in-one, Re-uzem All-in-one, FuzziBunz pocket diapers, BumGenius pocket diapers, and Kissaluvs cloth diaper with a Prorap diaper cover. There are SO many brands out there, I found it a bit overwhelming when I first started looking into it, but here is what I have found helpful for us...

In hindsight I wish I would have purchased just 1 of a bunch of different types/brands of diaper (one all-in-one, one pocket, one cloth with cover); I had been overly eager and was more focused on having the right number of diapers to get us through 1-2 days of diaper changes before having to wash them.

We primarily use the cloth diapers when we're at home and disposables at other times.

The All-in-one diaper concept is so appealing because it is just like putting on a disposable -- Kushies are supposed to be one of the trimmest fitting All-in-ones. What I did not like about them is that the waterproof material on the outside of the diaper is stiff and also the waistline does not stretch, so it was difficult to get a good fit - and with those early loose poops we were getting a lot of leaks out the back of the diaper. Re-uzems (bought @ Peapods in St. Paul) I like because the outside material is not stiff and it has elastic in the waistline for a better fit - they have 2 snaps so you can adjust (somewhat) the fit, but I still never felt that the leg opening fit was just right.

The Kissaluvs fleece diaper with the Pro-rap diaper cover (bought @ Peapods in St. Paul) was nice because the fleece is so soft against baby's skin - however I only used this a couple of times mostly because I didn't like handling a completely saturated diaper once I took off the diaper cover.

Our favorites have been the pocket diapers - which at first I thought would be a nuissance and difficult to use compared to the AllinOnes, but not so. Basically after washing/drying, I put the insert in the pocket and load up my diaper basket at the changing table with the assembled diapers and they're ready to go @ changing time. In my opinion these are the most absorbant and the best fit. Between FuzziBunz and BumGenius, BumGenius is the the one I have a slight preference for - they have stretchy elastic tabs (kind of like Huggies), come in one size that adjusts to fit from newborn to toddler/potty training age (obviously my daughter is not at that stage yet, so I'm only speaking from what they claim, but I'm pretty sure it's true after using them -- I didn't have these when she was a newborn, and I think they probably would have fit, but would have seemed huge because of there bulk), and they came with the inserts (Cotton Babies fleece inserts). The bulkiness is one thing I had read about as a complaint before I bought pocket diapers, but I really haven't found it to be a problem. Fuzzibunz are great and fit very well - if I were to have just used these I would eventually need to buy more in a different size - my daughter is now 17 lbs and can still wear the size small.

We also use the Kushies flushable liners (looks like a roll of toilet paper - but it's thicker paper and has perforations, tearing off in diaper size lengths) with all of the diapers - they help catch to solid stuff. At diaper change time you just take it out and throw it in the toilet. With the looser solids it's not going to catch ALL of it but it does help. I've ordered these from Kelly's closet and also ____@____.com 2 websites that I have ordered from are Thanksmama and Kelly's closet - they are comparably priced and both have been very easy and reliable as far as shipping and with certain orders have free shipping. Kelly's closet has some helpful information on their site about the different types of cloth diapers and also about washing the diapers.

Peapods Natural Baby Care store (if you don't already know about it) is a great local family owned store and on their website - www.peapods.com - they also have information about washing. They carry a few different types of diapers and diapering products.

For washing I have a Safety 1st diaper pail with the deodorizing disk in the top and I use a reusable nylon bag inside. We do the dry pail method - I had heard a horror story about someone tripping down the stairs as they were going to the basement to do laundry and the wet pail went flying - I thought this sounded pretty gross so I've never tried it. The only staining problem I've had is with those first few meconiums. I use Method clear and free detergent, wash on a stain setting with a pre-wash, dry the fleece liners on medium low and linedry the pocket diapers (just in my basement, I don't have an outside clothesline).

To save money on wipes, since I am now spending money on formula, I have been only using disposable wipes for wiping solids, and for just wet diapers I have been using flannel wipes that I sewed (just 2 squares sewn together) and a spray bottle with a mixture of water, tea tree oil, baby wash, and lavender oil - it smells nice and the tea tree oil prevents diaper rash. I found the recipe on the DiaperPin website.

I have a friend that used a diaper service for the first 6 months and she seemed to like it - I think they had received it as a gift. I think there's only 1 service in the twin cities now, and I can't remember the name right now.

I apologize if this is too lengthy, but I am so glad to be using cloth diapers and like to spread the word whenever I can that cloth diapering is not what it used to be! Nevertheless, I hope this is helpful to somebody!

I love cloth diapers and actually have found the opposite regarding leaking. I purchased diaper service quality diapers from Diaperaps. I found them on the internet. I also went the old fashioned route of pins and plastic pants. Plastic pants in small sizes were hard to come by because most people use wraps now. Depending on where you are located, you may be able to consider a diaper service. That is really a luxury. We had a service for my second child.
It is really no big deal to wash diapers, etc... and there is something comforting to me about nice clean cotton vs. paper and chemicals on their bottoms. ~~W.

I had my daughter in cloth diapers for a year and then when my son was born I just started using disposables (to much laundry). I have found that the chinese cloth diapers work really well sepcialy at night then with a prorap diaper cover... I have tried the all in ones but if your child has larger legs then they don't fit really well.. I agree with Peapods in St. Paul they are wonderful and the delivery is fairly fast if you order on line they also have a lot of helpful info on the web site.

We use Cheek to Cheek diaper service and love it.
Karey

I see lots of responses for you so to keep it short and sweet...my sister-in-law and her best friend are using Fuzzi Bunz. The website www.fuzzibunz.com brings you to a natural babies website where you can search for the Fuzzi Bunz diapers. Good luck.

We LOVE cloth diapering!!!! I started when DD was 9 months old, so I don't have a lot of advice about newborns...sorry! We use pocket diapers (Happy Heinys, Fuzzi Bunz, bumGenius, some WAHM brands...) and they are fantastic! I never got the hang of prefolds/wraps. Pockets and All-in-Ones are very, very easy since they mimic a disposable in look and fit. All the washing that goes with it is so minimal (about 3 extra loads a week) that along with all my other laundry, it hardly matters. :)

PeaPods in St. Paul is a good place to start, since you can see the diapers in person. They have a limited selection, though. I found all of my information off of a website called www.DiaperSwappers.com. You don't have to join to look at the posts, only to respond. The women there are sooo knowledgeable, it's crazy.

Good Luck! It seems overwhelming at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's really not a big deal at all. We are a 100% cloth family (even naps, bedtime and out of the house...which are the most scary when you first start)...I do have disposables around for the grandparents and babysitters though. Don't want to scare them away!

Enjoy your newborn!

Happy Bambino 'happybambino.com' on Atwood Avenue is a great resource for cloth diapers. They offer a FREE course Cloth Diaper 101 which helped me sort through the myriad of information.

We started off with Mother Natures Diaper service ###-###-#### or 'www.mothernaturesdiapers.com' for the cloth diapers but purchased the wraps so that we can reuse them with future kids. I had thought that I would purchase and launder our own diapers after a three month trial, but the service is so WONDERFUL that we've stuck with it.

You'll find that there are so many options to choose from. We're happy with the following: Mother Nature's Diaper Service, Classic ProRap Velcro Diaper Covers, and Snappies. The Snappie keeps the cloth diaper in place so that you can easily put the ProRap on without the cloth diaper coming undone - vital now that our daughter is very sqirmy on the changing table.

My husband was very pesimistic in the beginning but now he's vocal about how easy cloth diapers are to use!!!

Good Luck!

Hi,

I had a diaper service for the first three or four months and I really like it. Once we started to take her out more the disposable worked much better. The service picked up the diapers once a week, no need to rinse them just toss in a bag and then they drop off more. I just needed to call if we needed a bigger size or an increase or decrease on amount. The plastic pants that went over it were nice because they were velcrow. I can't remember the name of the service though, sorry.

Hi S..
I would suggest that you check out the article "The Benefits of Cloth Diapering" in the August 2006 issue of HEALTHY BEGINNINGS, a holistic resource magazine, published in Long Lake, MN. Their website is www.myhealthybeginning.com. For a copy of the August publication, you may want to contact the editor, Nichi Hirsch-Keuchle at ____@____.com, in that publication are some ads from cloth diaper providers such as The Natural Life Store. Good Luck!

Hi S.. I've used Fuzzi Bunz since my 1.5 year old was 2 months old, and I really like them. They're insert-type diapers, so they have a waterproof exterior, then you've got your cloth insert, and the layer touching your child's skin is some other material that doesn't ever feel very wet. They're just as good as disposables in holding most pee and poop in, but we buy disposables when there's diarrhea.

Each Fuzzi Bunz is ~$15 (not including the insert) but you can buy them for cheaper on Ebay. I have 24, and I wash them about every three days.I think having your own washer and dryer is a must with fuzzi bunz. I put them through three wash cycles, and air dry the diapers (the cloth inserts can go into the dryer). It sounds like a lot of work, but it's not really.

If you do get Fuzzi Bunz, make sure you get the right size. I decided to buy a couple of larges, and they're still too big for my 50th percentile boy.

We did cloth diapers with Oliver - you'll find a ton of places sellling supplies online. We mainly used nice thick "prefolds" - those are the rectangular ones that you think of when you think of cloth diapers, though not the cheapie ones from Target. Find some nice ones online, you can buy them in packs of 10 or 20, I think.

Then you need some diaper covers - I'd recommend the Bummi's Whisper Wrap, they're not too expensive and wash really clean. You'll need about 8-12 covers, and I'd suggest you get them in a slightly larger size with elastic legs, so the baby can grow into them.

A lot of people also get a wool soaker diaper cover, esp. for at night. The wool is nice because it's soft and doesn't get too stinky, and the lanolin in it keeps it from leaking. I always doubled up the diaper at night. I know some people used disposables just at night, so the baby doesn't wake up from feeling wet.

Washing them was tricky - I'd usually run them through at least one extra rinse cycle, and put vinegar in the last rinse. That helps get them really clean.

OR, you could just go with a diaper service - though I'm not sure there's one around here. That makes it really easy!

I have a bunch of fitted diapers that were donated to my swap that nobody took, you could have them for free. I tried them with my first child and was mortified, but I am sure things would go different now! A note on the environment that I once read up on, the disposables take up landfill, the clothe ones use water in washing and water in disposing of the solid wastes at home, and sewage. Good luck! It's a great choice!

We used cloth diapers until we had to start wrestling our son to get a diaper on. We were using a brand I think they got from Walmart (they were a gift) - just simple diapers - but there are more elaborate ones you can get off ebay. Instead of using diaper pins, you can use something called a snappi. That, too, you can get off ebay. We found that the cloth diapers leak easier, so we put disposables on overnight and on trips, and also when sick with diarrhea. You'll get used to them - go for it!

I used a diaper service with my son, and it was great. It's not very expensive, especially compared to buying disposable. And depending on whether you plan to have more kids, you may not want to buy 50 cloth diapers that you'll have to store later. They're not exactly inexpensive to purchase, either. Plus, then you have to do all the washing yourself, and you pay for the water and detergent and bleach.

I did still use disposable diapers at night so that I wouldn't have to worry about leaking. And I do recommend the diaper covers that have velcro tabs, instead of having to use safety pins and rubber pants. I'm not sure where to buy them in stores, but you can order them online.

I used Cheek to Cheek diaper service. They had a deal where if you set up 4 weeks of service, then you got 2 weeks free. You could at least try it out, see if you even like using the cloth diapers, and either continue the service and/or buy your own. The service says you don't need to rinse the diapers out or anything, but I did just to keep the smell down a little. It wasn't bad, then.

Looks like you got a lot of great advice, I just have one thing to add...
Highly recommend purchasing the spray hose you attach to your toilet. We got ours at cottonbabies.com. It's about $30 and works great for cleaning the messy diapers, especially from a breastfed newborn.

One other note-WE LOVE USING CLOTH DIAPERS! We have actually had more leaks with disposables and it seems whenever she's in disposables she is more likely to get diaper rash. Good luck!
R.

My advice to you is to use disposable diaper liners. If cost is an issue, they are cheap and you can cut them into two. Trust me when I tell you that diaper rinsing will be a much more tolerable experience. It's been 19 years since my cloth diapering days, and obviously, times have changed alot...but the removal process has not so the liners are worth checking out. Good luck.

Goodness, where to start! There is so much to say about cloth diapers, and everyone you talk to will tell you something slightly different. Everyone has their own ideas. Best for you to look around for yourself, see what will work for your family.

I personally looked around for a cheap way to buy diapers, and for people who could explain how to use them. I liked ButterCupBaby.com website, as Hope will come to your house and have a "cloth diaper party" or just show you her stuff. I also liked Peapods in St. Paul, as they are local and you don't have to wait for stuff to be shipped. So ended up doing Chinese prefolds and Bummis mostly; they seem to be cheapest; we just folded the diapers in 3, tucked them in; we didn't use pins nor Snappis. We also have some fitted; we didn't like them, too bulky. We have some 3-in-1; used them overnite on trips, but again pricey. I have some wool covers, too much upkeep for some folks, I didn't mind but thought Bummis were just as good. We used Wonderfuls for awhile, they have multiple snaps and are supposed to be one-size-fits-all-ish, but she has outgrown the ones she has...and still fits her Bummis! The only thing was that as a newborn, the Bummis/prefolds were too big for her, did leak/were bulky. I had some old bird's eye diapers from when I was a baby (Mom had saved), so used them in Bummis until she was larger. Otherwise baby has had NO diaper rash, very, very occasional leaking.

We use dry diaper pail in nursery, wet pail in basement for poop diapers. Look at some websites, talk to people to see what you want to do. I also have a nice, machine washable dry bag and changing pad from happytushies.com (companion website to buttercupbaby.com); I would highly recommend them if you plan to take cloth diapers on outings. To me, I paid all this money for cloth, darned if I'm going to buy disposable for outings, as it's not any harder to carry cloth around. You'll find your own way, I'm sure. It's really easy.

The most frustrating thing for me is that outfits today are made for slim butts. Nothing more nasty looking than baby in her cloth diaper with a slim slice of fabric to cover from her summer shorts :-( Give me a good ol' romper anyday, or Carter's makes some great outfits that seem to do well w/diapers.

Feel free to email w/addl questions. It's really not hard. Good luck!
T.

P.S. People gave us second-hand diapers from like Walmart, etc. They are really thin compared to prefolds, don't absorb as much. Also some are lined/filled with polyster instead of cotton, which isn't absorbant (go figure). So stay away from them if you want success in diapering :-)