cloth diapers?

Question

is anyone out there planning on or have used cloth diapers? what was you experience? did you purchase them or did you make them?

Answer 1

I bought them, I sew but I'm not that talented! Plus there are so many cute ones available to buy! Some family members are shocked about the "new" cloth diapers, so they have bought me some. My mother in law thinks they are the coolest things ever, she had to use the cheapie flats and rubber pants back in the day.
I've answered this question a few times, so I hope you don't mind if I copy and paste from that, I've got some good links:

Cloth is definatley move environmentally friendly. People always say "well you run so much water and detergent". If that statement was true-we should all wear paper clothes. I only use a few tablespoons of detergent in each load and the water used equals the amount that I'd have to flush the toilet if my son was using it. I don't use bleach either! Here's some facts on the environment and health http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/dia...
I switched over a year ago. My mother was going to pay for diaper service (we're hippies lol) but it wasn't available where I lived. So I held my breath and used disposables. My son had bleeding nasty rashes-I changed him every hour and he'd still break out. that gel stuff can be toxic! Once I switched to cloth-no more rashes! He even had diarrhea this week-no rash!
There are many options available, check out the directories at http://www.diaperpin.com/home.asp... and http://www.diaperjungle.com/
I mostly have fuzzi bunz (pocket diapers), but I also have fitteds, prefolds, and covers. I like fuzzi bunz because I can stuff a few inserts or prefolds in there for overnight, travel, or naps.
On wash day (I have enough to wash every other day), I run a cold cycle to lift stains, then a hot cycle with the few tablespoons of detergent (list of safe detergent here http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/de... If it's nice outside, I line dry to conserve energy. Otherwise I just throw them in the dryer or if it's evening, I put the covers and fuzzi bunz on a line inside the house to dry-they don't take that long!
I even have travelled down the country with my son in cloth 3x this last year. I use "wet bags" to store the dirty ones in. At home I just use a regular dry pail which is a trash can with a good sealed lid.
I also love the fact that I will be able to use these diapers on future children, I never have to run out in the middle of the night to buy a pack of disposables, and I really feel like I am making a healthy choice for my son and the earth. If you have any questions, send me a message.

Answer 2

I used cloth diapers with my son and plan to use them again on my new baby. I bought mine at Sears (in small and large sizes). They are called Cuddlers (although I have heard that the Kushies are great as well). These ones require a plastic liner to be used along with them (I bought plastic Kushies liners). My mom made liners made out of flannel to place inside the diaper (you can buy these as well). This helped with the clean-up, especially when he had more solid poop. He only started to wear them at around 1 1/2 months since they are too big for a newborn.

I liked them a lot, although they did leak more often than a disposable diaper would. For this reason, I would suggest that you use disposable diapers at night. I also found that he had to be changed more often since the diaper remains wet against the skin, unlike a disposable diaper. They are great if you have problems with severe diaper rash, as my son did.

They are a little expensive to purchase, but well worth the investment.

All in all, they save money and are more environmentally friendly.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I use cloth diapers and I use a wide variety of styles (pocket, traditional prefolds w/ covers, 'All-in-ones', fitted w/ covers, etc.). Having said that, there are advantages and disadvantages for each including how they fit, if they leak more than others, breathability, etc. I bought all of mine (most from Ebay and most are used but still work great). I wash mine at home with a front load washer and have no experience with stinkiness - I use a 'Diaper Champ' pail. I would suggest buying a few different kinds and making some yourself (If you have a sewing machine I've heard they're not too hard to make) and trying them out. Good Luck and I hope you use them - I love them!

Answer 4

I've used them on both of my children.

I prefer the simplest (and most economical) set up. I used chinese diaper service quality prefolds (flat diapers that can be folded to suit any size baby), a snappi for fastening (stretchy hook type thing that needs no pins to fasten the diapr), both pull on covers and velcro wraps. I purchased about 3 doz diapers and around 2-3 covers in each size.

I love cloth diapering. I have found them to leak LESS than disposable diapers (provided you change them when wet, of course). They are enviromentally superior to disposables regardless of the amount of wash water used. There's good evidence to support the idea that they are healthier for a baby's skin (as well as helping in potty training later).

I have used disposables too. I tend to use them on long trips and have used them at night w/ my second child. He sleeps heavier and so doesn't wake for diaper changes at night...plus he's a very heavy wetter at night. For my first child, I cloth diapered at night too.

I have found a great deal of good help on the MOthering.com discussion boards. THey have a whole forum dedicated to cloth diapering. There is also a tremendous amount of information on the net about CD'ing.

Answer 5

I bought them. I found them kind of a hassle to wash at home myself. I am also a member of some other boards and you can see how some of them have issues with them stinking and wicking when they home launder. You may want to look into a diaper service if you are interested in cloth. With that all you need to purchase is covers. I personally liked the bummis SWW

Answer 6

I was planning on it, and then did some more research and decided that it just wouldn't fit with my family. So we have decided now to use disposable. There are tons of great resources out there for buying and making your own, good luck with your decision.

Answer 7

I plan on using them. I've been making them myself..They are rather easy to make out of old sweats and the sort!

Answer 8

I used them with two of my babies (I have four kids) and they weren't nearly the hassle that people made them out to be. And I did save quite a bit of money.

Answer 9

a friend made mine for me. i love the pocket dipes. a good place to look is ebay, you can get one or two of many different styles to see which you like best.

Answer 10

complicated situation. research on to yahoo. that will could help!