I'm thinking I could do this. Ask me a few years ago and you would have gotten a different answer, but with all the amazingly easy products out there, I really think I could do it. I've seen cloth diapers that look and function like a disposal diaper. Maybe it's being back in Corvallis and the "green" town that it is, but I think if I can use cloth just as easy as disposable, why not?!?!
I do have a few questions though.
1. How nasty is it...HONESTLY? Remember, I will have a newborn and their "awesome" poops, so I won't be able to just dump and flush...right?!?!?!
2. What about laundering them? What secrets have you cloth diapering mom's found?
3. What brand(s) do you recommend and why? Taylor seems to have pretty sensitive skin, but Rilee is okay, so who knows how this baby will be. I've read online about certain brands losing absorbency, liners that crack and Velcro that rubs on the tummy.
4. I know that overall cloth diapers would save us money no matter which brand we go with, but what's considered a "good deal". I'm not thinking that ebay is really an option given the nature of the product...or should I??
I think that's enough questions for this post. But if you have any other advice that you can think of, please SHARE!!!
Homecoming weekend and family bonding
7 years ago
10 comments:
Oh. My. Gosh! Mandy, please, please, please call me or come over so you can see my diaper stash. I love it sooooo much!!! You have no idea how much I love it. If you are serious, I will let you know when cottonbabies (bum genius) has it's second's sale. You can get diapers for $12 each.
Anyway, I was just about to write a whole post about my love of cloth (which I am) but was so excited to see your post.
Amy
Okay, now that I have read your whole post, I'll answer.
1. How nasty is it...HONESTLY? Remember, I will have a newborn and their "awesome" poops, so I won't be able to just dump and flush...right?!?!?!
No need to dump anything with newborn poop. I just throw it in the wash. For Charlie's, because of the fleece lining of the diaper, the poop usually just falls right off into the toilet and then I throw it in the wash.
2. What about laundering them? What secrets have you cloth diapering mom's found?
I don't have a fancy washer. I wash prefolds, covers, pockets and inners all together. I do one warm/warm wash with a little soap (like a tsp.), a half scoop of oxy-clean and pour Bac-Out (enzyme cleaner) over Charlie's poop stains. I then run a hot wash with no soap. I hang all of the empty pockets and covers out to dry in the sun, and dry the prefolds and inners on high heat in the dryer.
3. What brand(s) do you recommend and why? Taylor seems to have pretty sensitive skin, but Rilee is okay, so who knows how this baby will be. I've read online about certain brands losing absorbency, liners that crack and Velcro that rubs on the tummy.
For the baby I use prefolds and covers for the day and pockets at night. I do this because I am diapering two and this is the cheapest option. I have used Nikkys (polyester and wool) and Thirsties covers. I really like Thirsties and when I had to go up to smalls, that is all I bought. Charlie uses all pockets -- I have mostly bumgenius, a couple of Haute Pockets and a couple of Happy Heinies. I love all of them and have not any leaking problems or itchy problems.
4. I know that overall cloth diapers would save us money no matter which brand we go with, but what's considered a "good deal". I'm not thinking that ebay is really an option given the nature of the product...or should I??
Like I said, buy in bulk and you will save, and check out the bumgenius seconds sale. Have you found diaperswappers yet? You can buy a few things on the FSOT board to try them out before you decide.
It is very confusing, so it helps to be able to actually look and talk to other moms who cloth diaper. When I went to LA for a week I seriously missed my cloth diapers for the baby. It sounds weird, but it is so true.
Sorry for writing a novel.
Amy
Wow... so I can't answer more completely than your friend above me...but you know how much I loveo them. I use the BumGenius 3.0 pocket diapers all the time and they are like a dream come true.
Being a premie we were worried about how they would work with Boy, and they have never bothered his skin.. he has actually had less diaper rash than his brothers ever had.
And I have made it through the baby poo phase into solid food poo and it's really not gross at all. for babys you don't have to do anything but throw them in the wash... as they get older it literally falls into the toilet.
As for washing them... I just use Purex Free and Clear, (meets all the recommends from the makers of the diaper). It is one of the cheapest soups out there and I have found it to work the best.
Seriously, give it a try. If you want to borrow some of mine and give them like a weeks test run let me know...
You will be so happy with the money you are saving, the way you are treating the planet, and the fact that they really are better for your sweet babies little behind.
I was going to suggest emailing Seth's wife, Caroline, or Sara Rampton/Egbert but it looks like Amy has you covered! Caroline just showed me everything she does. She even made some of the liners for the cloth diapers to save money and she's not a seamstress. I"m sure she'd be glad ideas if you want more. I know she got some of the plastic outers at thrift stores.
Emily is right... totally talk to Caroline... I am not sure if she is doing Cloth while in Ghana, but she is a queen when it comes to this kind of stuff.
Hey Mandy! To Be, To Be! That is so awesome you are considering cloth! Go for it. I have used cloth from the beginning with my kids and I think it saves huge amounts of money AND I feel great knowing I am not contributing more masses and masses of disposable diapers to the landfill. I won't go into too much detail since you have so many people out there who have great advice. I guess depending on how many More kids you want to have, I would say if it is not a lot more, then just start out wiht hte basics because you can initially invest $200-300 in getting your cloth stash. I would go with hte basics, prefolds (the diaper) and a good cover that you like. I prefer Bummis Super Snap but there are so many out there that it really depends on what you find you will like. Just set your mind to really give it an honest try. It is SO NOT A BIG DEAL, once you do it for awhile and get used to it. But at first, you will FEEL like it is more work than disposables because we have to sort of overcome our "disposable" "throw-away" mentality that we are so used to. Another tid bit, if it's hard, you can always compromise with yourself. Some ideas (I hope the die hards aren't gasping too hard) is to use cloth during the day and one disposable at night. Cloth really does get a lot wetter and sometimes this can be a problem for babies if they sleep a long time. Disposables just do a better job of keeping the wetness away from baby. Also, the first few weeks with a newborn I have never used cloth (I know gasp...). I just go with disposables because you have enough to do and they are going poop SO MUCH that cloth can be hard in the first few weeks. The meconium-like poop doesn't always wash out easily either from the newborns. Once you get settled in, then it's a good time to start. That's my advice. Oh, and the books tell you that you have to wash diapers every day or every other day, okay maybe I'm the crazy one, but i have never had to do this. And as far as NASTINESS, unless you are just super averse to getting your hands dirty or germs or soemthing, it's really not a big deal. For the most part, you don't get your hands dirty but occassionally of course you might. You just put your soiled diapers in a diaper pail and go on about your business. We wash diapers and clothes in the same washer (NOT TOGETHER OF Course! ha) and it has never been a problem. I do a cold rinse of my diapers initially and then start the wash all over again in super HOT water. My favorite resource with lots of good explanation/descriptions is www.greenmountaindiapers.com I got that from Tamara! Take care and congrats on baby 3!
I also didn't use cloth until about two weeks in (you don't want to have any extra work while you are recovering).
And as far as night -- we've done both. For a long time we were doing sposies at night, until I got sick of spending money on them (we do keep them around for babysitters and VERY occassional use), but pockets and all-in-ones have an inner that wicks away moisture -- either fleece or velour or some such -- so there is not wetness against baby's skin. They are so absorbant that we now use our bum genius at night.
Sorry that I keep piping in. Interesting that no one has commented with a differing opinion.
PS: Don't forget you will be able to sell your diapers when you are done with them.
You guys are all so awesome!! I really think that I could do this. Knowing that so many of my friends are doing it (peer pressure at it's finest :) ), makes it seem a little more the normal thing than a crazy one.
I think there is a store here in Corvallis that sells a few different kinds of cloth, so I should probably go check those out.
Thanks so much for your help and sharing. If any thing else pops into your head, please let me know!!
THANK YOU GUYS!
AWESOME!!! you're going to love it.
There is a store downtown; All about Kidz, that sells several different kinds.
Also, Corvallis has the largest cloth diaper store in Oregon (and one of the most popular web sites for buying them). They are called Wee Bunz and they are right by your office..You know that two story building that is across the street from the Kinkos shopping center. It's the one that used to have the christian supply store in it? That is where they are located.
Just go to Weebunzdiapers.com and I am sure they have directions. THEY ARE THE BEST!
Wow Mandy, now I'm gonna have to go and check all this cloth diaper stuff out!! Anything to save a buck right? And of course the environment!
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