Comments on: Cloth diaper questions from the mailbag

By: cloth diapers

cloth diapers — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 08:51:42 +0000

Cloth diapers are great for your wallet, great for the environment, and great for baby’s skin. Many parents tell me they are overwhelmed with choices at first, but it gets a lot easier if you look at what is most important to you. Cost? Environment? Convenience? For cost, GOOD prefolds and Thirsties covers are unbeatable (don’t use the cheap kind from big box stores, they WILL leak). Most natural fibers are great for the environment but keep in mind that synthetics dry faster so they can save on energy costs. For convenience, pocket diapers or all in ones work great. After that, it is easier to narrow down to a few brands to try. Check out http://www.clothdiaperreviews.com for more info on different options and brands.

By: hdvideo

hdvideo — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 00:26:44 +0000

There are lots of work at home mums that make diapers at an affordable cost, and the diapers that you buy for #1 can be used again for other children, or frequently sold to get some of their price back.

By: Rae

Rae — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:24:46 +0000

I tend to use prefolds and covers as my main line, with some plain fitteds and covers (like kissaluvs) as well as some fuzzibunz for night time.

Good luck!

By: Shannon

Shannon — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 12:58:22 +0000

Thanks for answering my question! I really can’t believe all of the options out there. We’ve started our stash for right over $100. After a lot of online research, we’ve purchased two Econobum systems that include one size prefolds and one size covers as well as a few Chinese and Indian prefolds to try those as well. My splurge was buying a Flip one size cover. I haven’t got to try them yet because I’ve got a couple weeks left!

We still need to get (or make) cloth wipes and detergent for the diapers as I make our own. I’m thinking of trying Charlie’s soap? Anyone used that? Thanks Kim and everyone for the other suggestions. I will check them out because I would like to have a little variety.
Shannon

By: Sophie

Sophie — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:48:13 +0000

Well, if you’re buying a diaper from China, you’re helping someone else’s child not starve to death. So there are upsides to things made in China.

By: Susan

Susan — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:49:22 +0000

Please don’t buy diapers from China . I’m sure the price is right, but my gosh, there are so many other options out there. Buy second-hand from a consignment store (they will only sell pristine condition) or from Craig’s List. You might even find a local work-at-home mama advertising on Craig’s List who will make you brand new diapers in your choice of fabrics.

My diapers were all sewn from old t-shirts and towels (free Ottobre pattern), and were fantastic lol. But if you don’t sew, you can still get good diapers for good prices. Personally, I don’t see how buying a $15 diaper is frugal, but some people do it. Best of luck to you.

By: Becky

Becky — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:43:28 +0000

I used kissaluv size 0 (about 18) and thirsties covers (3) size XS (both bought used at diaper swappers) with my newborn and they worked beautifully. I think going with simple is better for the newborn phase. And when you’re in that newborn haze, you’re just not in the best spot to be figuring out what sort of diaper system will work for you and newborns are so little that sizing can be tricky. Once the baby is getting ready to grow out of the kissaluvs (around 12-13 pounds), I suggest that my new mom friends do the Try Cloth program from Jillian’s Drawers. You get a nice selection of different diaper types to try out for 21 days. It’s $150 but you can return any or all of the diapers that you don’t like and get refunds. If you keep all the diapers, you get a discount on your next order. I found that to be the simplest way to really figure out what type of diaper fits best with your family without being stuck with a lot of duds.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:32:35 +0000

I use prefolds and covers. We bought 2 dozen infant size and 2 dozen “premium” size (the larger ones) and several different types of covers. The covers I like the best are the Thirsties which have great leg gussets and nice, strong velcro that doesn’t pick up stuff in the dryer.

We use a dry pail method, putting the dirty diapers directly into a pail with a lid (actually it’s a square storage container-type thing) and every two or three days I wash them with just a little detergent and tumble dry them. When the covers start getting funky I wash them, too – but they can get a couple of uses. When our son was younger and his poop was more liquidy, we didn’t bother rinsing the poop out, and had no problems. Now that he’s eating solids, we just pick up the poop with a wipe and toss it into the toilet (hey, we have dogs, we’re used to picking up poop).

By: Lindsey in AL

Lindsey in AL — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 13:58:15 +0000

I have one of those diapers, the Coolababy (didn’t know that was its name) and I HATE it. The snaps on the front that are supposed to make it adjustable in size just don’t work for me. The price is certainly right but I think using just those would drive me crazy.

Shannon’s right, that’s the hardest thing about cloth diapers- there are just too many options. I am pregnant with #5 due in June and trying to figure out what we’ll do this time around. We mostly used Mother-Ease one size diapers with their Airflow covers for the first 3 and for the first year or so of the 4th. They work great, they’re easy and they’re expensive. The covers are still my favorite. The diapers really do fit just about any size baby. They fit my 8 and 9 pound newborns (though they wouldn’t probably work for one much smaller than that) and I have yet to have a kid get too big for them before potty training, but my kids are skinny. 4 covers in each size has worked pretty well for us and we haven’t had to use the biggest size at all (didn’t even buy any.)
I think I will probably buy some good quality prefolds this time around, maybe some flats (for ease of line drying) and continue to use our M-E covers with them. I really like the Snappi diaper-holder-together-er thing but I don’t know if it will work on prefolds. I am more experimental now than I was with my first few.