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View Full Version : Thinking about making the leap to cloth diapers



Momof3Labs
02-24-2003, 11:48 PM
I am fed up with my disposable diaper fiasco. They are expensive - about $2 per day - and while the pee is being held in, the poop is hit or miss (usually miss - all over his clothes).

So I'm toying with the idea of cloth diapers.

I've read a whole bunch of the old threads and some of the information on some websites (diaperpin.com, naturalbabies.com, motherease.com, punkinbutt.com) but there is so much to process... So I was hoping for some input from our experienced CD'ers here.

Colin is almost 5 months old, and was 13lbs, 14oz and 27" at his four month appointment. He is a real string bean - and that has been one of our disposable diaper challenges. He is exclusively bf'ed, though we will start adding solids in another month. Plan to bf'ed though to age 1, perhaps longer. He's not a big wetter, even at night (goes 9-10hrs most nights). I need something relatively easy because my mom takes care of him one day, DH takes care of him two days and DH and I share the remaining four days each week. So each of us needs to be able to handle the CD system.

While I don't want to spend tons of bucks on this, I don't feel like we need to go with the most economical route. Some combination of fitteds and contour diapers appeals to me right now. But the contour diapers won't work well for his poop (which happens once every 2-3 days). Low rise dipes likely won't work for him.

Here's what I am considering ordering (making my own sample package):

Kissaluvs fitted cotton fleece, size 1
Luke's Drawers original cotton kisses, size large
Prorap AIO medium (to try an AIO)
Kissaluvs contour diaper size M/L
Motherease sampler pack (onesize + air flow + liner)

What else?? I know that I need some covers, but can't tell what might work best. Are the fleece ones any good? And probably some liners - what are your favorites, and how many to order for starters? CPFs don't appeal to me because it is more for DH, my mom and I to all master.

Thanks in advance!!

egoldber
02-25-2003, 12:03 AM
Well, here are some thoughts. If you don't think a low rise diaper will work for Colin, then you will probably NOT like the Kissaluvs fitted. That is one of the most frequent complaints that I read about this diaper. You may want to add a Motherease Sandy to your list, since it has a higher rise than some diapers.

Of AIOs that are not "specialty" WAHM ones, Bumkins get consistently good marks and I really like mine. The Prorap AIOs tend to get mixed reviews. You may also want to try a FuzziBunz and see if it works for you.

As for covers, I would start by trying some of the basics that seem to work well for a lot of people: Motherease Airflow, Bumpy, Bummis Super Industrial Whisper Wrap and Prorap Classics. The fleece covers are supposed to work well, but be bulky. My personal favorite liners are the ones I made myself by cutting cheap JoAnn's Fabric store fleece into rectangles. They work great.

To start with, I bought about 7 diapers, which is about a day's worth for us. To do laundry every 2-3 days, you will want to have about 24 diapers.

As an additional source of info try the ParentsPlace Diapering board. Especially, read boards 100, 200, 300 and 400. There is a TON of terrific info just on those 4 boards. You will see a wide range of opinions on what people like and don't like, but some pretty consistent themes emerge pretty quickly.

Happy shopping! It's a little overwhelming at first, but great fun!

MelissaTC
02-25-2003, 12:49 AM
I think you will be happy with cloth. My DS is a string bean as well. I bought medium size dipes and he has been wearing them since October! And I swear he has plenty room left to grow, his waist is so tiny! For AIOs, I like Kooshies. They work great for us, although they are a little bulky. I love our Bummis Super Whisper Wrap covers. They are my favorites. For nighttime, nothing beats Fuzzi Bunz. I can't believe they hold all his pee! I use those with Babykicks Hemparoo inserts. Our favorite fitted is Crickett's Hemp Diapers followed closely by Motherease Sandies. I love the way the Motherease fits him but I swear he soaks those through sometimes. Crickett's are awesome.

Good luck with your cloth diapering adventure. I know that the only thing that seems to contain Matthew's poop best are cds.

HTH!

sparkeze
02-25-2003, 02:10 AM
CDs definitely save clothes from poop! I had so many poopy clothes from disposables, but not with CDs.

Kissaluvs definitely have a low-rise! I didn't like them for my DS. One other thing I didn't like for was Luke's Drawers One size wonders. The top of the soaker was level with his penis! Just doesn't seem to be good placement for a boy... that being said, I really like the Luke's Drawers Cotton Kisses (QD) and airflow cover from your list, but I didn't especially like the ME onesize. I thought the Sandys was better - I think I read somewhere that if you call their 800 number you can get a Sandys sampler with Airflow cover for a couple dollars more? I would suggest that.

If you want to keep the BF poop off clothes, gussets will surely do that. Gussets on AIOs or covers will keep it off the clothes for sure, and gussets on a fitted diaper will keep it off the cover. One place to look for gussets www.zootkitty.com. She has pocket diapers (like fuzzi bunz) PUL covers, wool covers...all with gussets. Prorap covers and AIOs also have gussets. So does www.elbeebaby.com but she has a month turnaround time right now! Bumpy covers (in PUL and wool) also have gussets. I'm sure there are tons of others that have gussets but I can't think of them right now.

But in general, any CDs, maybe except PFs, are great at containing poop. Don't buy too many of one type at first because I found that my DS could fit into a lot of larges at 15 lbs when the weight range placed him at the beginning of a medium. Wool and fleece covers have the added benefit of letting air circulate. Can I just add that I love wool? You should also consider what kind of closures you want - side snaps, front snaps, front aplix, side aplix. But a lot of preferences will come from using them!

AngelaS
02-25-2003, 08:37 AM
Holding in bf poop is a great reason for switching! I think while dd was exclusively bf, we had like ONE poop leak while wearing a cloth diaper! And I was using prefolds w/Proraps! :)

For ease for everyone--AIOs are definitely the easiest. I know several people who swear by FuzziBuns and their entire stash is just FB. Personally I don't have any, but I know they're easy. LOL

I have AIOs from Darling Diapers and from Heavenly Hineys and I'm very happy with both. :D

I agree that Kissaluvs may have too short of rise for your little guy. He's longer than my 9 mo old dd! I've never used Lukes Drawers, but I've heard good things about them.

For covers, my personal favorites are either Dappis pullons or Alexis FeatherLites pullons. The Dappis have smaller leg holes is the main difference. The Alexis legholes are really too big for my little one.

Oh, and size wise---my 9mo is still wearing small pullon covers and size 1 Kissaluvs, and medium size AIOs. :) She's 17.5lbs.

HTH!

egoldber
02-25-2003, 10:21 AM
Just another thought. You may want to also order a Sandy sampler from Motherease. Even though it is not on the website, you can call them and get a similar deal (a $1 or $2 more expensive) as their Onesize sampler.

HTH,

Kate888
02-25-2003, 11:14 AM
You've got great suggestions so far. I started using cloth diapers a month ago. I started by ordering a variety of CPFs, fitteds and AIOs. My favorites are Luke's Drawers Quick-Dry Cotton Kisses , Cotton Kisses AIO and Candy Wrapper AIO (basically they fit the same). Kissaluvs fitted is a little low-rise for my taste, but so soft. My favorite cover is Bumpy. It's soft, cute, trim and fits DD very well (she is 28", 19 lbs, has a tiny waist). Motherease Sandies is a little too big for her at the waist, but with the Bumpy cover, it works very well. Motherease Airflow cover is too "puffy" at this time, maybe she will grow into it.

I'm waiting for my Joey Bunz doublers to use with the Bumkins AIO. I like Bumkins, just want to keep DD dry.

HTH!

Kate :)
Mom to Maya, 2-17-02

Calmegja
02-25-2003, 11:29 AM
Great suggestions. I just switched, too, and I'll be another voice in the chorus about low rise in Kissaluvs fitteds. They look risque on my 9 month old! ;-) I have a Crickett's fitted, and Liz's cloth hemp fitted, and those do much better...

The Kissaluvs contours, though, snappied into place are a much better fit, risewise, though...

I use mostly Bumkins AIO with a JoeyBuns fleece topped hemp doubler, and Fuzzibunz, stuffed with microfiber or JeoyBunz inserts for my little guy. I have 12 Bumkins, 15 Fuzzis, and some assorted others with wraps/covers for variety. I can go about three days without washing, and that works well for us...

Good luck...it can be overwhelming at first, but you'll quickly find what works....

chucksmom
02-25-2003, 02:33 PM
I made this switch recently too-thanks to all the moms on this board- and so far really like fuzzibunz and my mothersease one size the best. I have some kooshies all in ones, and they are easy but I find they tend to leak. I also have a tall skinny baby (although younger) I'm in need of more, and will probably just get more fuzzibunz. I use a plain old cpf inside them.

ast96
02-25-2003, 03:02 PM
Lori,

Just another data point... after I started adding solids to my baby's diet at 6.5 months, his poop changed and he has not had a disposable diaper poop leak since. It's just not runny and pervasive like it was before -- now it's more solid. It's a lot more gross, too!

Anyway, if you are going to add solids in a month, you might want to just hang in there, because the diaper blowouts stop.

Allison
mom to Mason, 6/20/02

Momof3Labs
02-25-2003, 03:10 PM
Wow, thanks for all of the advice and help. Now I just need to narrow things down a bit! Sounds like I definitely need to try a Fuzzibunz - that is a recurring theme here. I also saw a lot of Bumkins recommendations on Parents Place, and Luke's Cotton Kisses. Hmmm... I will tackle this after work tonight and tomorrow and let you know what I order!

Allison - thanks for the poop tip :-). But poop isn't our only problem - Colin is so long and lean that he outgrows diapers in length (rise - thus my concern over a short rise) long before he outgrows them in any other way, and disposable diaper leg openings in particular are made for chubbier babies! Cloth has so much more variety that I figure that we can more easily find something that fits him. Plus, the cost savings over time is appealing - we do plan to have a second baby down the road.

KathyO
02-25-2003, 03:33 PM
Another vote for trying the Motherease Sandies in your case. The rise is high, and the gathered legs and waist really hold in even the super-runny poops. We only had one significant blowout that I can remember, and that was while I was getting the hang of the things. Plus my DD is also something of a stringbean.

HTH!

KathyO

kcenya
02-25-2003, 05:26 PM
I use FBs full time, I'm glad you're considering them... definitely skip size small if you're in the range... ds outgrew the rise quickly but is doing great in the mediums.

Momof3Labs
02-25-2003, 10:15 PM
And I bought way too much! But I'm determined to make this work, so we'll try this stuff and order more of what we like, and sell what we don't like. Here's what I ordered:

4 CPF
1 Luke's Cotton Kisses fitted
1 Luke's Cotton Kisses AIO
1 Bumpy day cover
1 Prorap classic
1 Bumkins AIO
2 Babykicks Hemparoo inserts
1 Crickett's hemp diaper
1 Crickett's organic cotton diaper

and some disposable liners.

Hopefully I'll get the stuff next week and can give you an update on how it goes!

Oh - I need to wash it all before using it, right? Gotta go back to one of the sites and read up again...

Kate888
02-26-2003, 11:54 AM
Sounds like a good set-up (although I'm not the most experienced CDer here) :) I've never tried Crickett's, you'll have to let us know how you like it.

If you order from Natural Babies, it will come with washing instructions. I just wash mine twice in the warmest setting of my machine and machine dry the diapers (not the covers) in hot.

Have fun!!

Kate
Mom to Maya, 2-17-02

Melanie
02-26-2003, 09:38 PM
For higher-rise diapers I love my toadies fitteds from www.superdupas.com . Also, if he's really skinny you might want to try the ultra-adjustable one-size type diapers..although they aren't the highest risers.

Good job switching! Poop blow outs or not, it's still a great thing for your baby's behind.

As for washing, the more natural the fiber the more you will have to wash it first. Like unbleached cotton and hemp require more. After you wash them, you could try putting some warm water on them and see if it beads up or soaks in. If you have hemp or unbleached cotton, I would say at least 3 (but probably more) washes on HOT.


Mommy to Jonah