Ignorant about Cloth Diapers

July 25, 2008 By 36 Comments



E-MEALZ EASY AND DELICIOUS DINNER RECIPES

I’m stuck. I’m confused. I’m unsure. Help. I use disposable diapers.

Don’t you dare point your finger and judge me.

I’m a mom and that was my choice but maybe or maybe not a good one. I’m over it, kinda. I want to use cloth diapers but here’s my dirty little secret…I thought you still had to use pins and poke yourself. Really, truly I did. I’m not playing dumb. I even asked my mom who nags me to use cloth. Like my mom would know? I researched it with my son, four years ago and assumed things were the same. I did a bad job researching it and with everything else on my plate, just took the easy, this is what I know route.

Don’t you dare point your finger and judge me.

I used Seventh Generation, so that was at least better than bleached white diapers, right? I only used them until my daughter went to size 4. The Seventh Generation ones didn’t fit her right when she got to this size and there was constant leakage.

Don’t you dare point your finger and judge me.

So here’s where I need your help. I want to use cloth, now that I’ve read some stuff over at Nature Moms and Green Baby Guide. Now that I’ve become a little more educated on the cloth diaper thing. I just wonder if my daughter is too old to make the switch and if it will cost too much to buy a cloth diaper system. I’m thinking about my green wallet now, yes, I know.

Don’t you dare point your finger and judge me.

Want to know my other secret? I don’t even know where to begin. Josie is 19 months so what size? What brand, style and how many? Do I really need a system? Oh, my…please help me go green here. I’d love to try some but where do I start and how do I know she will like them? I can’t just waste money to go green for a few months before toilet training.

Don’t you dare point your finger and judge me.

Bring on the suggestions. Send me to some websites. Tell me what you use and why you use them. Help me because I do want to make the switch I’m just not sure if I can.

Don’t you dare point your finger and judge me. I’m trying.


Filed Under: Green Budget, Green Parenting, Green Shopping, Green Sprouts Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
  • http://www.naturemoms.com/blog Tiffany

    Fuzzi Bunz, bumGenius, Swaddlebees…all good pocket diapers. http://www.cottonbabies.com has a large selection.

    Tiffanys last blog post..Vaccines, Toys, and Homeschool Stuff

  • http://allisonsays.com Allison

    I’m in the process of switching to cloth. I have a few Bum Genius (LOVE them! But I’m not sure how much I will love them when/if I have to use them on a newborn) diapers, and a few KCK One diapers. If you can sew, I strongly suggest making your own KCK One diapers–so cheap to do it this way!

    Fuzzi Bunz are great, though I haven’t used them, just heard that from people I know who swear by them. All-in-ones or pocket diapers are the way to go. You may or may not need a diaper cover. Just buy a few and see what you like!

    Allisons last blog post..Where The Heart Is

  • Susan W.

    so i know EXACTLY how you feel. my younger son is 14 months and my older son is 3. with my first son i just assumed it was the same old pins and giant plastic pants as when i was a kid and that just seemed so uncomfortable and wet….and i had no friends with kids to get advice from so i just used pampers and did other green things to mentally balance it out. but by the time by 2nd son was almost 1, i had met a bunch of people with kids and learned that there ARE better options to cloth and that lots of people actually use them! maybe it sounds naive but i just didnt’ know that “normal” people used them. anyway, i started on a mission a few months ago to find the cloth diaper we liked best. it was a little costly b/c i had to try several but i only bought 1 or 2 of the ones that looked promising and tried them for a week each (or less if they didn’t work!). i did get some resistance from my stubborn little one at first b/c he wasn’t used to anything except disposable. but after a week of me trying all kinds of diapers on him, he was totally fine with anything!! ok, after my long story, here is what i found:
    1. kushies: nice all-in-one idea but with only 2 sizes (and i guess my son was in between) they leaked ALL the time….and they seemed kind of heavy and bulky even when they were dry.
    2. prefolds (using snappi to close): cheap and easy to wash and dry but didn’t hold very much pee–had to change after every pee it seemed! but the bummis whisper pant cover i used did seem to keep it all in pretty well.
    3. gdiapers: not cloth but the best i could convince my husband to do. but i liked them as an alternative as long as you remember to change them as often as cloth (they don’t hold as much as regular disposables)
    4. fuzzi bunz: when i came to these i knew i had found the perfect diaper for us (minus the expense)! they are a pocket diaper which makes it dry faster (especially if line dry) and you can make them more absorbent by adding more to the pocket. they are SO soft and easy to put on ( several snaps for an adjustable fit). i bought mine at diapers.com b/c they deliver the next day and often have free shipping. only problem is that they are almost $19 per diaper so it is an investment. i only have enough for 1 day for now (about 6) and wash a small load each night.
    sorry for the very long comment but just wanted to share what i have learned. do you know anyone that can loan you some of theirs to test out for a few days? is that gross? i personally would do it!! good luck and i hope you can find one that works for you and your daughter :)

  • http://www.greenme.vg Green Me

    We’ve used a variety of cloth diapers (and I used some more as a nanny with a different kid) and fuzzi bunz, kushies, swaddlebees are all good. However, in January my mother-in-law bought me some Bum Genius all-in-ones (from Tree City Diapers in Ann Arbor) and I am never going back! They are as easy to put on as a disposable and fit my son just as well, if not better. During the day we use the all-in-ones and at night we use a Bum Genius pocket with three hemp liners (hemp liners tend to be thinner and thus less bulky then cotton).

    Since you are in Michigan, I would find your way over to Tree City or give them a ring. The store is staffed by cloth diaper mommas and they are amazingly friendly and helpful! I am too lazy today to make tidy links, so here I am just cut and pasting…sorry:

    http://www.treecitydiapers.com/store/category/1049/344/BumGenius!/

    You can also re-sell cloth diapers or find out any and everything (and probably more) than you ever wanted to know through diaperswappers.com

    Good luck! And feel free to write me on the side…I am more than happy to share my experience. I’ve gotten one friend to switch from sposies to cloth (bum genius) already this year, so I’d be happy to help you too!

    Alison

    Green Mes last blog post..Do you ever lose steam?

  • http://www.bobbicamacho.blogspot.com Bobbi

    I’m sure you’re going to get a ton of responses to this question =)

    My daughter is 16 months and I just started using them 2 months ago. I was unsure of sizes also. But they have large and x-large. The all -in- ones are really close to a disaposable. Super easy to use!

    Here is a website with Thirsties and BumGenius.
    http://www.softclothbunz.com/Thirsties_bymfg_44-1-1.html

    You can get a pack of them and if you wash them quite frequently, it should last you. I thought it would be ALOT of work, but it really easn’t. I put the poop in the toliet and put them in a pail and wash every other day. Of course, line dry =)

    My daughter prefers them. When I put a disposable on her at night, she tends to take it off because she wants her cloth one. I think it feels way better on her.

    Good luck! I was so confused and felt a need to do it. I just researched and asked for advice. Everyone has their preference. I just wanted cloth but super easy and that’s what I got.

    Bobbis last blog post..I Have Pockets Mama!

  • http://greenbabyguide.com Rebecca

    Thanks for linking to the Green Baby Guide! We wrote an article once called “Cloth Diaper Recommendations for the Complete Novice.” Here’s a link:

    http://greenbabyguide.com/2008/06/06/cloth-diaper-recommendations-for-a-complete-novice/

    Does your daughter grow very quickly? At 19 months, I think you could find one size that fits her now that would work until she’s potty trained. I think it would be worth it to switch, considering the average girl potty trains at 33 months (I think). Most cloth diaper novices like pocket diapers like Fuzzibunz (recommended by all three previous commenters!). BumGenius is another good brand that makes pocket diapers, that adjust to fit babies from 8-30 pounds. If you’re considering having a third child (???), you should get those, because then you can use them on the next baby.

    Check out http://www.cottonbabies.com–they have a great cloth diaper selection.

    And here’s a little secret: you can get a LOT of free diapers by writing diaper companies and saying you want to review their diapers for your blog! Good luck!

    Rebeccas last blog post..Should Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women Avoid Eating Nuts?

  • http://greenbabyguide.com Rebecca

    p.s. I just noticed that Tiffany also recommended cottonbabies. Sorry about my poor reading comprehension skills.

    Rebeccas last blog post..Should Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women Avoid Eating Nuts?

  • http://superfastreader.com annie

    BumGenius 3.0s–they are a one-size pocket diaper. Great for making the swiitch b/c they are just like disposables in usage.

    i really like fitted diapers, like Kissaluvs. Those need a cover. I mostly use cute wool or fleece like these:

    http://hyenacart.com/RecyclingBabies/

    They replace shorts or pants.

    For covers that go under clothing, I like Bummis Super Whisper Wraps and Super Brites.

    This site has an intro package:

    http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/cdcm.html

    This site is good for diaper info & secondhand deals:

    http://www.diaperswappers.com

    Here’s a good tutorial:

    http://babyslime.livejournal.com/151952.html

  • misty

    oh how i wish i could just call you. i can’t type all i would want to say. there are alot of great websites that people have mentioned that should have “cloth diaper 101 basics” for you. the site has a wealth of info and i still refer to it: http://pinstripesandpolkadots.com/basics.htm. it is so overwhelming at first but i loved learning it all and love everything about it now. as far as money goes, if you take the easy steps to keep the cloth diapers clean and nice, you can resell them. i was disgusted by this thought at first…used diapers – ick! but it is a huge thing. http://www.diaperswappers.com/ has been the greatest help to me, a little overwhelming at first but has helped me with everything. i have bought and sold diapers on there. you can turn around when you are done and resell and make back some of your $. i’d say the hardest part is just finding what style you like the best and what works best for your lo. that’s what i liked about the used dipes. i could try dif ones, see what i liked and sell what i didn’t. everything is so cute now, even the style you were thinking only existed which is prefolds and covers. good luck, i wish i could help more as this is one of my passions. misty

  • katie

    check out http://www.mommieswithstyle.com Ciaran has been doing daily segments on intro to cloth diapering.

    Here is her first post on the subject:

    http://www.mommieswithstyle.com/mtblog/2008/07/cloth_diapering_101_the_introd_1.html#more

  • katie

    also check out http://www.gdiapers.com, especially since you don’t want to spend a lot of $ and will be toilet training soon. they are biodegradable flushable disposable inserts inside a cloth diaper. we are using them and loving them since we aren’t quite ready for full on cloth. you can buy them on http://www.diapers.com and http://www.gdiapers.com

  • Jen Dodd

    http://www.hyenacart.com

    all work at home mom made

    awesome forums and they can answer all of your questions!

  • http://whenicomeupforair.blogspot.com Beth

    You need to stop by my sister’s cloth diapering collaborative blog http://www.diaperchronicles.blogspot.com/

    She’s a cloth diaper genius and pro!!!

    Beths last blog post..Busy

  • http://mutheirngheights.blogspot.com Muthering Heights

    Personally, I’ve just discovered how much I LOVE bum genius! I will be blogging about them on Tuesday. I can use the SAME diaper on my month od and my 19 month old! They’re great! :)

  • http://www.earthmuffinmommy.blogspot.com julie b

    hey there girl,
    no judgement here. i used them consistently 7 years ago w/ my 2nd, then sporadically w/ my 3rd and very sporadically w/ my 4th who turns 2 tomorrow. i was just thinking about pulling the box out of the basement and giving it another whirl.
    i found the website weebees.com to be a huge help.
    yes, i wanted to suport wahm’s but was hard pressed to find one that i really liked- one of my requirements was that it dry in one cycle in the dryer- summer not a problem as i used a line but winter when i was doing diaper laundry every other day i couldn’t have them spinning 1/2 the day away to get dry.
    i also have a differing opinion on pocket diapers- yes they snap on or velcro easily but each time you change them they need to be replaced – how economical is that from an upfront cash perspective or laundry perspective.

    speaking of washing, my experience was that my front loader sucked at getting them clean there simply wasn’t enough water. so while i went green and got the machine that used less energy and water it wasn’t doing what i needed it to do in this instance. i have 4 kids- so the wet bucket in the bathroom for soaking the dirty diapers just wasn’t something i wanted to take the risk of getting spilled.

    so, while my information is 4-5 years old i prefered the motherease sandy’s or regular prefolds w/ the bummi’s super whisper wraps.

    julie bs last blog post..pretty cool.

  • Karen

    I used disposables for my first son. By the time I was pregnant with my second son, I met several moms that used cloth diapers and I was sold once I found out you didn’t have to use safety pins, lol. When I had my baby shower, I received a bunch of size small fuzzi bunz. They were ok. They didn’t leak or anything but I found the snaps to be a pain and since I have skinny kids, it was hard to adjust the snaps to fit right. I bought one Bum Genius and if I could do it all over again, I would definitely switch to having all Bum Genius. They are one size and adjusts as your baby gets older. Unfortunately, I did give up cloth (don’t judge me either :P ). I just couldn’t keep up with the laundry. I was having to wash diapers every day and my other laundry was backing up. I think it would be much easier to do now that my son is a little older and not going through about 10 diapers a day but I think I’m going to go the cloth training pants route because I think he’ll be ready to potty train in a few months (I hope). Good luck using cloth.

  • http://www.simplewondersdiapers.com Sultana

    If you need help at all with the conversion over to cloth diapers, I’d be happy to help you! You can check out my site at: http://www.simplewondersdiapers.com and a large part of what I do is to help people figure out what cloth diapering system will work best for their specific situation. Please do let me know if I can help :)

    Sultana

  • http://superbeck.com beck

    I have a 16 month old and she’s been cloth diapered most of her life, except 3 days a week while at daycare. I’ve recently stopped CDing her even at home because with a bladder that big…. I was changing her diapers literally every hour. I’m pregnant with number two and tired enough as it is. So my plan of attack is to use pocket diapers. I think they’re more suitable for the mobile baby because of the water proof exterior and you can stuff them as much or little as you like to accomodate absorbancy. That’s my plan. Until now I’ve used prefolds or fitteds with a cover. True, you do need a new one every time but I think it’s worth the gain in absorbency, and hopefully you’ll be changing LESS often as a result of being able to absorb more.
    Just read the comment above mine and my front loading washer works just fine with my diapers. I use Charlies Soap and have been very very pleased with it. Bac-Out is my favorite stain remover, too. REALLY REALLY good on poop stains.

    becks last blog post..Pray

  • http://www.home-ec101.com Heather

    I used them religiously with my first, mostly with my second, and now part time with my third.

    Are they any harder with other kids? No, but the other kids each take up a little more time than I had previously. Both of my boys potty trained right around the 2 year mark and I’m hoping the adage that girls train more easily than boys holds true.

    If I were in your shoes, I’d consider a part time switch. Don’t worry about being a cloth diaper fanatic but even a partial switch is environmentally beneficial and potentially less of a headache.

    Heathers last blog post..Meal Planning: A Primer (Part 2)

  • http://greenbabyguide.com Rebecca

    Julie B, I also use prefolds with covers. I think pocket diapers are less intimidating for a lot of cloth diaper novices, which is why so many people have been recommending them. My experience with washing diapers in a front-loader has been much different than yours. I have found that a front-loader washes much better than any top-loader I’ve ever used.

  • http://www.greenandcleanmom.org Sommer-Green&Clean Mom

    Okay everyone, you rock! What great support out there! I’m out of disposable (1 left) and I’m not sure what to do. I can get G-diapers locally so should I?

    I have so much information to sift through and figure out and companies to write (thanks greenbabyguide for that tip)! If any company wants to sponsor this switch I’d love that! LOL!

    I wish I would have done this earlier. Better late than never, eh? Thanks for the comments. I’ll write more on this very soon and will go through all the links today and tonight.

    =)Sommer G&CM

    Sommer-Green&Clean Moms last blog post..Ignorant about Cloth Diapers

  • MariaF

    I am there with you sista! SO so so confused about cloth diapers, I keep thinking about them…. and as of know my baby she is 19 m and I wonder is it worth it…. the change… and I live in a condo.. so no line drying for me…. I will need to use the dryer…. so is it worth it, wont it be the same? thinking that conventional plastic diapers are NOT sustainable…. but cloth diapers I will have to wash and dry every other day….. consuming tons of water, and energy? what path should I take….. any ideas? please please I would love to know what to do!

  • http://www.newmommyrant.blogspot.com Danielle

    two words! BUM GENIUS! think all the peeps above gave some great advice. I am new to cloth diapering but so far I adoe my bum genius and I tried out abut seven brands!

    Danielles last blog post..I’m a Big Chicken and Where are all my "People"?

  • http://www.mywahmbiz.com Angie

    We love Fuzzi Bunz! We started using them when my son was 12 months old and he is now 28 months. We are still using the same size, since they are adjustable. We purchased 18 diapers and wash them every other day and they still look like new. I will never use a disposable diaper again!!!

  • http://greenplant.wordpress.com Amy – Green Plan(t)

    I didn’t see anyone offer this but if you can use a sewing machine, you can make your own! You may even be able to do it without buying anything if you recycle fabrics from around your home.

    There are sources online with free patterns, or you could buy the pattern from some vendors.

    Hope that helps!

    Amy – Green Plan(t)s last blog post..It’s the Silence That Gets Me

  • http://www.morethanmudpies.wordpress.com Emily

    I haven’t actually USED cloth diapers… my baby is due yesterday (which is the reason I am trying to entertain myself browsing online while I wait!). But you might want to think about some of the one-size diapers like BumGenius, Mommy’s Touch or Haute Pockets. That way if you have any other kids you can justify spending the money because you can use them for a wide variety of sizes. Since we’re starting early I’m trying a couple in a wide variety and supplementing with disposables until we figure out what works for us.

    Emilys last blog post..what to do while waiting

  • http://clothdiapermamas.com Marilyn

    I haven’t read through all the comments, but I imagine they all say the same sort of thing: a) don’t feel bad for the decisions you’ve made and b) cloth diapering is truly easy at any stage and any budget. TRULY! I just did a post on my cloth diaper blog today to that effect. Anyhow, know that you don’t have to dive in head first. You can buy a little here and there and build up a small stash. bumGenius and FuzziBunz pockets are INSANELY easy to use. A lot of these diapers have awesome resale value and you can sell them when your child starts using the potty and recoup some of the cost. If you have any questions at any time, don’t hesitate to email me. I would love to be able to help.

    Marilyns last blog post..“It’s really not that hard.”

  • http://brightermorrow.blogspot.com Alley

    I have not read all the responses, but we cloth diaper. I got a lot of my information on CD’ing from http://www.diaperswappers.com . Basically there are lots of different types of cloth diapering. There are still mama’s who love to do the flats and pins of yester-year. =o) I don’t think I could do it though. There are AIO’s (All in ones) where everything you need is already in the diaper. The drawback to these are they take longer to dry. There are fitted & contour diapers .. these need a seperate cover (PUL, wool, or fleece usually).. although some mama’s go coverless at home, and just change the diapers more frequently. My favorite is Pocket diapers. These you “stuff” with inserts.. so you change the absorbancy.

    Reading what you have wrote. my suggestion for you would be to look into getting G-diapers, but instead of using the disposable liners, get infant size prefolds and trifold them inside instead. It would be a pretty inexpensive (but cute) way to CD. Usually you can find the G-diaper starter packs on sale, and there are even coupons floating around. This is what I planned to do, but decided on pockets since it was easier for daycare.

    As far as pocket diapers go we L-O-V-E Green Acre designs. http://www.greenacredesigns.com/

    Good luck hon! CD’ing can be wonderful! I don’t know if you plan to have any more children, but keep in mind that you can use them with any other children as well. (Especially things like prefolds that will store really easily. =o)

    Alleys last blog post..Half-y Birthday to You…

  • Lisa

    My vote for a cheap way to get into cloth is to buy a couple of g-diaper starter packs and use infant prefolds instead of the flushable inserts that come with them. You can find a $10 off coupon code for diapers.com from the g-diapers yahoo group and you can get free shipping so 4 little g pants will only cost you about $43. You can buy 2 dozen inexpensive infant prefolds from http://www.little-lions.com for about $30. That should be enough to last you for at least 2 days.

    For night time though I would suggest a pocket diaper. I would recommend Wahmies one size pockets over Bum Genius. They keep my baby much drier and more comfortable than the BGs and they are more adjustable size wise.

  • http://howtomakeadifferencenow.blogspot.com Meg

    I can’t see that it would be at all tricky to make the switch from disposable to cloth! Good on you for deciding to give it a go.

    I’ve used cloth with both my kids – oldest nearly 3 and well toilet trained YAY and youngest now 10 months.

    We use a waterproof outer and fitted inserts . . . although now that Grace is older I prefer to just fold up the old style cloth nappies to fit inside the covers – they tend to soak up more.

    I find them super easy to use – really no more trouble than disposables. The best thing is that there is so much less rubbish with cloth!! And as I do a million loads of washing a day anyway what’s one more every other day :)

    We dry pail mostly – occasionally I feel a need to soak in either baking soda or tea tree oil. But mostly a good pre-wash rinse does the trick.

    Getting them out in the sun does a great job of getting them nice and white – as does leaving them overnight in a heavy frost!

    And really, nothing makes you feel like more of a domestic earth goddess than a washing line full of cloth nappies!!

    Megs last blog post..We Add Up

  • http://whatsheupto.blogspot.com onemotherslove

    I didn’t take the time to read everyone else’s comments, so I may be repeating something. I started cloth diapers a little over a year ago. I started with Kushies from walmart.com because they were all-in-one (easy) and as cheap as I could find anywhere. I hate to support the big box, but my pocket book was scared to take the plunge. The initial investment set me back the same amount that a month’s supply of store brand diapers, so I made myself commit to trying it for the whole month. After that I was sold!

    The next month, I tried using that diaper money and sewing some myself. I loved doing this & loved seeing my handiwork on my baby’s rump! But time is short. The next month, I tried out gDiapers. See gdiapers.com for info. They have covers, liners, and a flushable, compostable insert but can also be “stuffed” with cloth.

    A year later, I would never go back to disposable. I love washing them, hanging them out to dry, sewing them if I had time, and they’re just extremely cute! I do keep some ‘sposies in the diaper bag for the nursery, and I hate buying them! My favorite to date (since she’s outgrown the ones I made) is the gDiapers stuffed with cloth. I stuff them with the Gerber diapers we used as burp rags with my first. She’s 18-mo and wears medium, just starting to get into large.

    onemothersloves last blog post..Amazing Transformation

  • http://www.diapers.com/Coupon.aspx Sarahys

    Diapers.com has a wide selection of cloth, reusable, and biodegradeable diapers….as well as many other greener options for your baby care essentials. Prices are good and delivery is FAST! And now, you can save $10 on your first purchase of $49 or more.

    You can always grab the latest coupon code directly from Diapers.com at this link…

    http://www.diapers.com/Coupon.aspx

  • ClothMama

    Seventh Gen diapers are dyed tan, just fyi.

  • http://www.pampersprintablecoupons.net/ Axel

    Ask any parent as to what is the most important thing they would want to buy and the answer would be diaper bags. Diaper bags are very important for child healthcare, and something you would not want to compromise for your new born baby. Yet a lot of new parents make some mistakes in buying diapers.

  • monkeybunz

    There are a lot of choices in cloth diapers now a days. I would suggest that you try several different styles and brands to see which ones fit your child and your life style the best. One diaper that we have received good reviews about is the thirsties duo diaper. I would suggest you make it one of you selections.

  • clothbottom

    this blog is great. how did you come up with he idea ?