I need advice on cloth diapers.?

Question

I am planning on using cloth diapers with my second child. I am due in November and there is an abundance of knowledge on the internet. Anyone out there cloth diaper and do you have any recommendations? Thanks

Answer 1

I have used cloth diapers exclusively on all three of my children. I adore them !

I always have a stash of 24 prefolds to use, sometime just them, sometimes as a back-up, whatever. They don't take up much space to store even if they aren't your primary diaper.

Beyond that, I love our pocket diapers - right now, we mainly use Bum Genius 2,0; but have also used Fuzzi Bunz with great success.

Don't get hooked on all the fancy washing routines you hear about either - a cold rinse, a long hot wash with some detergent (I use Tide), and dry (I don't own a dryer, so we hang them up). Every now and then, run an extra rinse at the end just to be sure they're well rinsed and free of detergent.

We have only dealt with 1 rashy bottom between all three kids - and that was a yeast rash our youngest got while in hospital for surgery.

We have had some leaks, but VERY few, and only when we've left a diaper on for several hours without changing it - therefore our own fault, not the fault of the diaper.

Answer 2

One piece of advice I can give is to use a disposable diaper at night as it will allow u to have a gud nights rest...otherwise baby will wake u up eveyr time the cloth diaper gets wet and u will be forever tired.

It would also be wise to use disposable diapers in the first few weeks as early weeks can be very tiring while u recover from the deliver,y ur bub continuously feeds, poos and wees, and u get like 2 hrs of sleep in 24 hrs. Once u have ur strength back and bub has formed a nice routine it would be easier to use cloth diapers with all the washing and drying involved.

Answer 3

My daughter had diaper rash and i thought i would use cloth diapers at night to give her some relief. It was a total mess, when the diapers leak, they definately will, the babys clothing gets completely soaked, it is horrible, they don't hold anything. Infact i think they are worse then using a regular diaper because the cloth does not hold the moisture away from the baby's bottom.

Answer 4

I used some diapers called bimbys I think back then. They had just came out with cloth with Velcro. My sister did use a diaper service and really like it but my niece was allergic to something they used to clean them. So she went to disposable.
I just didn't want to rinse all that out. You know when they start eating real food you can't imagine what a baby can do. I threw away many pair of training pants. Thank God for the training diapers they have now and swimmys they don't get out weighing 20lbs.

Answer 5

There is a cloth diapering your baby board on babycenter.com, I would go there and ask questions! They are great about answering anything! I am cloth diapering my son, and so far my favorites are:
pockets: Green Acre Designs
Fitteds: mother-ease (cover is either bummis super whisper wrap, or rikki wrap)
I don't like all in one's, because they don't get as clean, and they take longer to dry. I haven't really tried prefolds yet.
I have heard a lot of people love kissaluvs size 0 for newborns!

Answer 6

The very best one we have used is Fuzzi Buns. They have adjustable snaps so when your child is older (s)he can't take the diaper off like they can with Velcro. They have elastic around the legs and back so you won't have the big poop blow outs. They come in a variety of fun colors. The cloth sucks up the moisture fast and keeps it off their skin. My daughter hardly gets rashes now and we have tried three other kinds of cloth plus several kinds of disposables.

Answer 7

I used clothe diapers with all six of mine, it is not all that difficult.
Start with 10 dozen diapers so as to be able to wash them in a non-exhausting cycle of one load every third day.
The nice velcro rubber pants are great since you will not have to use pins.
Give yourself a break, when you are out and about visiting or at the park etc..use disposables. It is easier than carrying around soiled nappies.

Answer 8

Can I adopt you?? I admire your down-to-earth decision as to the diapering of your child. My children were born in ’68 and ’70 and by the time my sister had her babies in ’74 and ’76, paper diapers, instant formula, and disposable bottles had become the norm. So I commend you for your choice in this day of technology and waste that you have chose to use cloth diapers. Dreft was my detergent of choice. I soaked diapers in a diaper pail in a solution of a ½ pail of water and 1 cup of Dreft until washing day and then washed according to label measurements once a week. (I recommend an ample supply of diapers to last at least a week—back then we were young and poor and had to go to the laundro-mat every week, but even with a washing machine, I would recommend at least 6-7 dozen diapers on hand.)

I hated the pre-folded diapers, and considering I had a girl and then a boy, it was advantageous to fold for the sex—more cloth up front for boys but more cloth in the center for girls (below is a link to a diaper-folding site I found on the spur of the moment—but it brought back such wonderful memories!). I applaud your decision to use cloth diapers. In addition to being eco-friendly, you just can’t beat the smell of freshly laundered baby diapers. & for those of you that are going "o-o-o-o smelling diapers"--I don't even want to hear it--you've missed so many of nature's small pleasures by using disposable diapers.

Thank you SSV for jogging my memory--my daughter had such a sensitive tush--I used Desitin ointment but my mother poo-poo'ed the idea and her remedy of corn starch worked just as well. For night time, since she was an all-night sleeper, I did have to double her diaper to keep her leak-free. AND I used diaper liners to keep the wet away from her skin (can't remember the brand name--the memory goes when you get old). But, bottom line, I don't remember it being a chore--baby's wet: diaper, liner, dash of corn starch--good to go and baby was happy and smelling sweet.

Answer 9

Cloth is fine. If you can afford it, get a dydee service to clean them and drop off fresh ones. It's so much easier that way.

Answer 10

I do not recommend using cloth diapers. u r looking at rashes, raw butts , and lots of diaper changes, lots of wet close, (the babies and yours)