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joodyjr
09-12-2002, 10:00 PM
Anyone hear of Fuzzi Bunz cloth diapers? I just met with me Doula today and she gave me a truckload of goodies including tons of pamphlets and there was one for a cloth diaper company called Fuzzi Bunz. Since I will be a SAHM with this baby I thought I'd look into cloth diapers. I've never used them and only have the awful stories my mom tells of when I was in cloth some 28 years ago. I'm sure things have changed since then! What is your favorite brand/company? Is it a pain to launder cloth? Do they leak alot more than disposables? Any help/advice is appreciated!

Zansu
09-13-2002, 01:22 PM
DS wears cloth diapers, but we use a diaper service. I have several SAHM friends who lauder their own with no complaints. They just throw them in the washer, wash with hot water and double rinse. As one friend said, washers are designed to remove all sorts of organic matter from fabric, so it really doesn't matter if it's dirt or poop, it all washes down the drain.

We use a variety of covers: diaperaps, bummis and the ones at BRU (can't think of the brand name). I haven't bought any of the Fuzzi Bunz yet, but I seen/heard several recommendations for them. They are more expensive than many of the other brands.

The Chinese prefolds are the best diapers. IIRC, you have to wash them several times before use so they "fluff up." You can buy them online, or through a diaper service.

I don't find that cloth leaks more than disposable. The covers are well-designed and minimize leaks. The problem I have is with the inside of the cover getting poopy. Everything I read said covers can be used for several diaper changes. I've found that to be true only if the diapers are wet, not poopy. So when DS was pooping multiple times a day, we often went through 3 or 4 covers in a day. Now that he only poops once, we can go an entire day in the same cover.

So my advice would be to buy one or two of the several different types of "better" covers, and stock up on the ones at BRU, in the small size. Then you'll know which type you like when it's time to get the next size.

HTH!
Suzanne

KathyO
09-13-2002, 01:25 PM
I don't know much about Fuzzi Bunz, but I can speak a bit about cloth diapering.

Diapers have changed a lot since we were in them. My mother can't believe the wonders that velcro, snaps, modern waterproofing and elastic have wrought. You can, of course, go with the old-fashioned kind your mother had, but you sure don't have to.

Laundering cloth has been a breeze. I use rectangular soft paper liners (they come on a roll, toilet-roll style) to make cleanups easier - just peel out the liner and drop most or all of the poopies into the garbage. You can get them by the case (Flush-a-bye brand) cheap from kidalog.com. I scrape off remaining residue with an old table knife, spray with ordinary liquid detergent in a spray bottle, and drop in the diaper pail. (Diapers that are just pissy don't need any treatment.) Every three or four days, I empty the pail into the washing machine, then pop them into the dryer or pin them out on the line, depending on the weather, and presto - fresh diapers. All in all, it requires less time than it would take to strap dd into the car and drive to the grocery store to get them.

They leak a lot LESS than disposables (at least, mine do). My last blowout was over a year ago, give or take the occasional dampness the morning after a night when dd insisted on THREE bottles.

My brand of diaper is Mother-Ease (www.motherease.com) and I just love them. They're designed by a mom who cloth-diapered five kids, and knows of what she speaks. I chose the Sandy's style, which is extra-absorbent, because dd turned out to be a champion wetter. I also have some of their one-size diapers that go right from birth to 30 pounds. They (both styles) are SOOOO easy to put on - this is probably a dreadfully sexist thing to say, but even my husband with NO baby experience at all took to them right away, no problem.

Cloth will look like a big out-lay of cash, especially if you go for one of the pricier brands, but in the long run they work out to something like 1/3 the price of disposables, then they're close to free for a second baby. Then, they frequently fetch a not-too-bad resale price on eBay or wherever, so you can even recoup some cost when you're done with them.

I recommend that you find some diapering boards and do some serious reading before you choose a brand. Search on "cloth" in the Baby Bargains conference to find other posts on this subject. Some contain addresses for diapering boards and other helpful online resources.

Two more recommendations:

One - don't plan on going with cloth from the very instant the baby comes home. It's nice if you can, but if you use disposables for a few weeks while you recover from having your life turned upside-down and work out some new routines, that's perfectly fine too.

Two - try out a brand before you invest in large numbers of them. Many cloth diaper sellers will sell you just one or two, and you can also pick up a few of this and that through sites like www.orangestarfish.com and others. Try them out on your baby (once the umbilical stump has has healed, so you can relax about that). Why? Often, the one you think you want isn't the one you really want. I thought I wanted the Air-flow covers and the One-size diapers, but Rikkis and Sandy's worked out much better for my baby. Luckily, I only had one of each and wasn't left with a big bunch of diapers to try and return, or resell. I ordered what worked best for us, and think they're great.

I hope we'll hear from some of the other cloth-diapering posters on this board - many of them have a lot more experience than me! Whatever you choose, good luck!

Cheers,

KathyO

tilly2321
09-15-2002, 02:29 PM
Hello!
I invested tons of time and money on cloth diapers and then our washing machine sort of broke down and we decided to stay in the condo that we are living in and are renters and.... anyhow it didn't work out for us. I have a TON of supplies and would love to sell them to you if you are interested at a good price. I have a dozen kissaluvs that are size newborn and are supposedly the "cadillac" of diapers for cloth diapers. I also have a Motherease XS Sandy and some bumkins covers, snuggleups, etc.. I did hours of research and talked to some other cloth diapering mothers. I never was able to use any of these, but if you are interested they are brand new. Check out parentsplace.com and go to the messageboards section and click on diapers. The women there are so knowledgeable about cloth diapering and can answer your Fuzzi Bunz questions. From what I have read about FB, they are a good nightime diaper, but work for some while others don't like them. It seems people have a love/hate with them, so I woudl buy one and try it before investing in the whole system. Also, diaperpin. com has reviews of different types of diapers. Good luck and email me if you want any of my stash.
[email protected]

KathyO
09-15-2002, 08:29 PM
Something that ocurred to me after I did the earlier post - if you set your heart on one of the pricier brands (and, since you have to work with them several times every day for a LONG time, this may be the right thing to do) and you don't get them used (for example that attractive offer just above, here!), then you could suggest diapers as a baby shower gift, if anyone asks. I have heard of showers where each guest chips in for one or two diapers, and presto, a diapering system is made!

Good luck,

KathyO

joodyjr
09-15-2002, 08:42 PM
Thanks very much for the info! Once I've researched it a bit more I may just try one or two from a couple of different companies. I'm going to take the "try and see approach" and see what happens. I may find it suits us very well, on the other hand... I may come to love Pampers all over again!! LOL
Thanks again for the info!

New_Mom
09-17-2002, 08:31 AM
I use cloth diapers and am also a SAHM. I use a system recommended by a friend purchased through www.jardinediapers.com. I waited about a month to start using cloth and started with smalls (not newborn) since my DS was 9lb 6oz at birth! I have already moved into Medium covers and he is 4.5 months!

I use the chinese prefolds and Bumkin covers which work great! I actually have more leaks with disposables than cloth, but don't yet use cloth at night.

Good luck!!

lissy
09-18-2002, 01:32 AM
ALL ABOUT FUZZI BUNZ.
Excellent for nighttime (once your baby sleeps through the night) and going out. It's what we use when the convenience of a disposable diaper is needed.

The downside to Fuzzi Bunz is that you have to change the cover and the diaper everytime you change your baby. The upside is the fleece stays dry, keeping your baby's bottom dry- which is why it's great for nighttime.

We have 3 fuzzi bunz diapers, in addition to the combination of Prowrap classic covers, bummis whisper wraps and imse vimse covers we use with our chinese prefolds. (I did the same thing you did and bought a combo of things to find what worked best).

Laundering is not difficult. Email me at [email protected] if you'd like more info on our laundering system. I've tried several methods and found one that works great.