What items do you need of using cloth diapers?

[mom2mikel]

I'm hoping this is budget related since using cloth diapers is much more cost effective than disposables!!

My niece is going to be using cloth diapers. What will she need aside from the diapers? Any recommendations on diaper pail that is good for cloth diapers? Diaper wet bags? What about detergent -- how do you clean cloth diapers? Does she need anything special?

TIA!

 

[MissBritt]

Diaperswappers.com is an excellent resource for cloth diaper information. There are particular detergents made for them, though recommendations will vary by user. If she is using prefolds and covers, she will need Snappis, which are a replacement for pins. And you can't use diaper creams with cloth diapers, unless you add extra layers to keep the cream off the cloth. Good luck!

 

[bettymae1121]

I'm expecting my 1st next month and plan to cloth diaper. I found these sites helpful:


This one has great info for begginers, it really broke it down for me:

http://www.cloth-diapers-made-easy.com/

And this forum is great for any questions you have:

http://community.babycenter.com/groups/a16235/cloth_diapering

 

[deedeezee]

I love PlanetWise wet bags and reuseable wipes and wipe solution/cubes are great. You can buy commercially available ones, or WAHM-made ones from Hyena Cart or Etsy. Some swear by RLR (a laundry additive) and I love using wool dryer balls. HTH!

 

[chimilady]

I just finished Cloth diapering my twin girls!

I definitely recommend diaperswappers.com over Baby Center's cloth diapering board. The ladies at Babycenter feed an addiction and constantly promote buying new diapers, even if it causes a fight in their marriage. Yeah, not very healthy...

Any "Free and Clear" detergent would work. We used whatever was on sale. We used Trader Joes' brand, or biokleen, or even Charlies. But for a year, we used All Free and Clear, I just wanted something with less chemicals, which is why I switched.

I forget the diaper pail I had, but it was something you can use for sposies, too. if I find out the name, I'll let you know. They have them in Ikea, in the family bathrooms.

If she is breastfeeding, she can just throw the diapers in the wash with detergent. Yes, poop and all. however if she's formula feeding, she'll need to get the poop off first, either by dunking in the toilet, or getting a toilet sprayer. Once the kid goes to solids, it will be the same thing.

I recommend line drying whenever possible, as the sun gets most stains out naturally, without having to use more chemicals. however, every once in a while, you may want to soak in RLR, which is kind of an oxyclean. I soak on hot every 6 months or so. Soak for a few hours, and then run through the regular cycle once the water cools. I did this more in the winter sometimes due to not being able to line dry outside.

What kind of diapers is she using? Boy or girl?

 

[mom2mikel]

thanks much for the replies! I will do some researching on those sites.

She doesn't know what she's having yet -- next ultrasound in a couple of weeks though. She does plan to breastfeed and plans to use the newborn disposable diapers for the first week or so and then get her cloth diaper routine going

She's young and doesn't have a lot of money so I'm trying to think ahead of things to get to help her in the long run!

 

[englishteacha]

Diaper covers! Kellyscloset.com is an online shop with some good prices on diaper covers. Oh, and Snappis are handy instead of pins. Of course, I'm not yet cloth diapering, but 2 good friends are.

 

[adventure_woman]

I clothdiapering!

I just use the regular powdered Tide. I also found out I have hard water, so I have to use Calgon now too.

I also line dry mine - so maybe a BIG drying rack would be nice. I wash about every 3 days.

She needs a wet bag - preferably 2 BIG ones for the garbage can. 2 so that while she is washing one, she has another one to throw the diapers in.

At least 1 small wet bag that holds a few diapers while she is out and about.

Is she going to cloth wipe? (I don't, but that is an idea too).

After baby is on solids, she may want a diaper sprayer. I don't have one (I just swish in the toilet, but I know some people swear by them).

My diapers I have are pockets - mostly Sunbabies. They are a LOT cheaper than BumGenius, FuzziBunz, etc. (I think they are about 6.95/each with 2 inserts). I know Kawaii diapers are a lot cheaper too. PM me if you want more info. (There is NO way I could have afforded $20+ a diaper). Also, stay at home moms make CUTE CUTE CUTE diapers too.

Have fun! I almost want to have another so I can continue using my diapers!

 

[chimilady]

I know some people swear by the wetbags, I never had one but in retrospect, I wish I would have had them.

I had a Happy Heiny's small wet bag that fit in my diaperbag. May I suggest you get a zippered one and NOT a velcro one? Learn from my mistakes on that! lol

As far as a diaper sprayer, we did a DIY one with plans we found online. It saved us about $10, and you hook it up to your toilet.

We used Fuzzi Bunz, but I strongly suggest Sunbabies. I would look on ebay and see what options you have for sunbabies. It's really cheap.

Also, it may seem like a lot of money to start with, but it really is thrifty. I spent $200 for diapers when they were newborns, and I sold for $200. Then I spent about $250 in diapers, and then sold for about $200. And then spent about $150 for diapers, and well, they're sitting in my bedroom waiting to be sold. So yeah, cloth diapers, especially pockets, retain their value if she plans to sell afterwards. Or if she holds onto them for another child, that works too. Back even a few years ago, one size diapers were hard to come by. Now they're everywhere, and cheaper.

 

[adventure_woman]

I had a Happy Heiny's small wet bag that fit in my diaperbag. May I suggest you get a zippered one and NOT a velcro one? Learn from my mistakes on that! lol

ITA! This also goes for the diapers. I HATE the velcro ones I have!! Besides DD taking them off , they make a diaper train in the washer! (Get the snaps!)

 

[TanyaS]

In addition to the cloth diapers, I used:

A lidded garbage can (plastic, small kitchen type) to use as a diaper pail
2 large wet bags (one to line diaper pail, one in the wash)
2 small wet bags (to keep in diaper bag for outings)
Bunch of small cloth wash rags (the soft baby kind) to use as wipes - kept in a lidded plastic box with a little water, then tossed in the diaper pail to wash along with the diapers

I think that was all I used. Pretty simple.

Much, much cheaper than disposables, especially if you use the diapers for more than one child, so it certainly seems appropriate for the budget board.

Have fun meeting your newest relative!

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

I used some Planetwise wetbags instead of a pail. Does she want all in ones, pockets, prefolds, fitteds? There choice is overwhelming at first. Diaperswappers is prone to viruses & DRAMA.

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

ITA! This also goes for the diapers. I HATE the velcro ones I have!! Besides DD taking them off , they make a diaper train in the washer! (Get the snaps!)

I hate snaps & love velcro. I never had them snag each other in the wash.

 

[bumbershoot]

...and plans to use the newborn disposable diapers for the first week or so and then get her cloth diaper routine going

Just a thought...I know that is popular, but it made no sense to me. If I am getting a routine down, I don't want to start off differently than I'm going to go. We did cloth from the point that DS was 43 hours old, and it wasn't our choice to not have the cloth available for those first 42. I never had any problems with anything from the very beginning, and it really made SURE that I did cloth.



free and clear stuff can still have "optical brighteners", and All has them, which are chemicals that make your clothes LOOK brighter. This can cause buildup and wicking. I don't recommend it.

We messed around with different things, but then found the suggestion to use a handful of *washing soda* (like baking soda, but different...also made by arm and hammer, and it's in a yellow box, usually a big one, near the orange baking soda arm and hammer boxes), and about 10 sprays of Simple Green for an entire wash of dipes. My diapers were PERFECT after that. NO muss, no fuss, and very inexpensive.

I got a big diaper pail, I had two wetbags that fit them (would swap them out while washing), I bought a lot of dipes new, I bought some used, I bought different kinds... DS started figuring out the potty at 18 months, was pretty much finished with dipes at 2 years, and *I* was finally comfortable in stopping their use by the time he was 2.5 years old, so we didn't have very *long* with dipes, but it was so great.

The one issue is that clothing is made for a bottom covered in underpants or the thinnest diapers. So if you're CD'ing, you might have to buy bigger onesies and bottoms. Not a big deal at all, but it's worth being aware of!

 

[North of Mouse]

I used cloth diapers with a VERY limited budget, so had a diaper pail with lid, rinsed, then washed them and did line drying. If it were now (for me) I would use disposables for nighttime, because more than once I found a wet baby and bed when it was feeding time during the night. They would be so much more comfortable when you can't change them as often, because the moisture is wicked away from their bottoms and less apt to cause diaper rash.

 

[AZMermaid]

We cloth diaper our son (and will soon to be baby #2). We also went the disposable for a week route with our first. I was worried I would be too overwhelmed with baby stuff to wash diapers that week. We used prefolds (what most people thing of when they think of cloth diapers) and Thirsties covers in XS and then S for the first 3-4 months. This is by far the cheapest way to go. After that, we switched to the Flip system, which is a little "easier" than prefolds and also fairly economical. Now (at 16 months) we use mostly Bum Genius pocket diapers and occasionally use Flips. I do have a few prefolds and one cover as a back up, but I don't think I have ever used them. We plan to follow a similar route with baby #2. We can totally reuse the prefolds, covers and Flips. The Bum Genius pockets.... well, we'll see how they look when DS is done. The snap ones are in great shape, but the velcro ones are starting to wear.

In addition to the diapers, we have and use:

2 Planet Wise diaper pail liners (could survive with one probably, but it is nice to have on in the wash and one clean)
Simple Human trash can from Bed Bath and Beyond for a diaper pail
a few wet bags, mostly Planet Wise, for the diaper bags. My total favorite one is their wet/dry bag. It is big enough to use for a whole day and has a dry compartment to store stuff, and a wet compartment for the dirties. We have used this on many Disney trips and it is awesome!
diaper liners- good for if we need to use rash cream (never had a rash until a year.... now we get an occasional one that seems to be linked to teething)
Snappi diaper fasteners- for the prefolds. No more pins!

Good luck to your niece. We love cloth diapering, even my husband who thought I was a crazy hippie when I suggested it! In 16 months, we have never, ever had a blowout!

 

[jackmartin]

I think cloth diapers are more comfortable for a baby because they are not heavy. Cotton clothes can be used for diaper for a baby. You should wash all clothes of baby in only hot water not anything else.

 

[christygobar]

Everyone's given great advice I have been CDing DD since she was a newborn - and she's 18 months now (*sniff sniff*)

Snaps vs. Aplix - they have their pros and cons. I use both. the hook/loop was the only way I could get DH to properly put a diaper on - if he snapped a diaper on, he put it on the loosest setting regardless! Talk about leaking....

Love my Planetwise bags. I have a stash of Bottombumpers, but they are more pricey. I also use fitted diapers and covers for nighttime because BB's are super trim and I cannot use them at night.

My wash cycle is this: pre-rinse/long hot wash/2-3 rinses. I use All free & Clear small and mighty and don't have problems at all.

Good luck - I absolutely love it