It's been asked before, I know...

[deborah_r]

Can someone tell me or direct me to a thread that will tell me the bare minimum of what I would have to buy to give CDing a try? Links to actual products would be helpful too.

Then besides the bare minimum can you tell me about one or two things that are cute and fun and where to buy?

[parkersmama]

Lots of people buy a sampler package from www.naturalbabies.com It has a nice variety of things to try, if you're not wanting to really commit. I think you should definitely try at least one of each type of diaper...prefold, fitted, pocket, and contour to see which, if any, works for you. Also, it helps to try several different covers since they all have their pros and cons.

When I started out, I stuck to the basic stuff...CPFs, Kissaluvs fitteds and contours, and Motherease Sandys. I tried Prorap, Bummis, Bumkins, and ME covers. Of course, as I got more familiar with what I like, I've tried lots of WAHM diapers and covers from other companies.

Places with the basics (all of these have excellent service!):
www.kissaluvs.com
www.motherease.com
www.naturalebaby.com
www.kellyscloset.com
www.naturalbabies.com
www.smartiepantsdiapers.com

As for something fun, I guess it depends on what you think is cute! A bag or pail liner from www.happytushies.com is fun. Venture into a higher end cover with Bumpy Day, Night, or wool (available at some of the stores noted above). Another fun thing is cute cloth wipes! My favorite source for these is www.darlingdiapers.com . Her wipes are cute and work great (and they're not too expensive). If you are interested in a wool cover, www.woolybumbums.com has terrific wool covers that she'll design to your specifications and her customer service is absolutely top notch!

HTH!!

[lizajane]

bare minumum- cloth prefolds and prorap covers at www.naturalbabies.com

prefolds come in infant, standard, premium and toddler. ds is 6 months old and uses standards, with some premiums for naps. premiums are very bulky, but a lot more absorbant.

something a little more fun- fuzzibunz colors for nighttime.

[deborah_r]

So how does it work exactly (I know, I'm an idiot)- at each diaper change what do I do? Take off the dirty diaper and do...what? with it?? Then would I always be putting a diaper, liner, and cover, or sometimes just a diaper, no liner, no cover? Do I have to use safety pins to hold the diaper on? Are prefolds those things I'm using as burp rags?

[KathyO]

"... what do I do? Take off the dirty diaper and do... what? with it???"

Aaah, the six-million-dollar question. No, you are NOT an idiot. The answer is that no two CDing moms have quite the same laundering routine. Wet pail or dry pail? Dunk or not? Pre-treat or not? Prewash? Second rinse?

I think there are a couple of threads where folks compare laundering routines, but if they've gone swimming away into the ether, I think that we'd have no trouble accumulating some quick and dirty descriptions of our personal routines. You can mix and match to see what works for you, your diapers and your laundry machine.

When DD was breastfed only, and poops were glooshy and all-over-the-place, I scraped the dirty ones into the toilet with an old butter knife, and occasionally donned the rubber gloves and sloshed/wrung them out when the situation demanded (my husband and I have a diaper Richter Scale - dunking was for 9's or 10's...)

Then I'd spritz them with a spray bottle mix of water and liquid detergent, and drop them into the pail. Pee-only ones just went straight into the pail. And now that DD's poops are much more solid, I just peel out the liner, drop liner and poop into the toilet and the diaper into the pail - tra-la.

I wash in hot water, with plain household detergent, and a second rinse. Half the year I dry them in the drier, but when weather permits I line-dry them to preserve the fabrics, bleach stains, and save power. I generally wash every three or four days, but have been known to go to five days in a pinch.

I'll leave your prefold questions to our prefold gurus, but no, keep asking! Like so many aspects of babycare, it looks baffling in the abstract, but once you get rolling, it won't require any thought at all!

Cheers,

KathyO

[toomanystrollers]

Ah, Deborah,
I was in the same boat just two months earlier. This is one of my fav. sites that helps explain it all:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/kfegelman/index.htm

The mummas on this board are a wealth of information. Don't be afraid to ask anything! I've asked plenty of newbie questions.

HTH

[cvharris]

Deborah,

My ds is breastfed and this is what we do after each diaper change:

For wet diapers only, I just throw them in the pail. For poopy diapers, I don rubber gloves, use a minishower (a small sprayer one can buy to attach to the toilet) to spray all the poopies off the diaper and into the tiolet, wring out excess water, then throw into the pail.

I wash every 2-3 days. I have a couple of bummis liners to line my pail and when I'm ready to wash, I close the pail liner up with its drawstring, lift out of the pail, and throw everything into the washer, pail liner included.

Prefolds are probably similar to the things you are using as burp rags. I would recommend using Chinese prefolds rather than the cheaper burp rags you are thinking of, as cpfs are much more absorbant. You don't have to use pins to hold cpfs on your baby, you can use something else called a snappi or just fold them and use a velcro cover to keep them in place. As for diapers, liners and covers, it all depends on the type of diaper you are using . I use a microfleece liner with everything that doesn't already have fleece touching my baby to keep him dry. You need a cover for diapers that are do not have a waterproof cover already - some pocket diapers like fuzzi bunz don't require a cover, and neither does anything labeled "all-in-one".

Hope this helps!

[lizajane]

you don't have to rinse a breastfed baby's poop. i did used disposable liners for a little while, but some always got on the edges anyway. i just threw them in the pail early on. breastmilk poop dissolves easily in the wash. and if you do get a stain, just lay the diaper in the sun one day and the stain gets bleached out.

so here is how we do a change- un-velcro the cover, use the cover as a "mitt" to drop the dirty diaper in the dry pail. put on a new diaper with a fleece liner on top. sometimes we use a snappi (check them out on any diaper website, there are easy instructions) and sometimes we don't, we just lay the trifolded diaper into the cover. then we fasten the velcro again, which usually takes an adjustment. then we tuck in any extra prefold that is sticking out of the cover to prevent wicking wetness. ta da! it sounds like a complicated process, but it really isn't.

and you can always keep a small trashcan (bathroom sized) on top of the washer for any poop disasters. i soak the disasters in the small can, then just dump the yucky water into the potty, and then dump the diaper into the wash.

if you want to use disposable liners, gerber makes some and they sell them at BRU. you can cut them in half for newborn diapers, because they are really big. you can also wash the ones that just get pee on them, don't dry them, and use them again.

edited to add that yes, prefolds are the burp cloths- but you do need to order then from the internet when using them as diapers. they need to be chinese cotton or they just won't preform well enough. and if you are using a prefold, you will need a cover. the only time you won't need a cover is when you are using an all in one, and they are really expensive so don't bother. and the liners are totally optional. we all use the fleece because it dries instantly and the baby doesn't feel wet pee on his bum.

[mommyj]

Here's what I do at each diaper change:
I take off ds' dirty diaper and put it on part of the windowsil I have covered with aluminum foil (I know it's not classy, but it keeps the windowsil dry). I put a cloth wipe over ds right away to prevent any accidents :) Then, I get another cloth wipe wet by spraying it with water from a spray bottle I keep by the changing area & clean up my little guy. After all that, I usually wait 5-10 minutes because ds loves to go to the bathroom again during diaper changes.
Once all that is done, I put a prefold on him, snappi it, and put a cover over that. I use whisper pants during the day and wool covers at night. I used to use whisper pants all the time and that worked fine. I just like the wool now that he's sleeping longer and wets more because the wool absorbs the moisture.
After ds is dressed again, I put him on the bed and deal with the dirty diaper. If it's wet, I throw it right in the diaper pail. If it has poo on it, I spray off the poo using a mini-shower (a sprayer you can hook to your toilet). DS poos so much, I prefer to spray before putting the dipes in the pail.
You can see pictures of snappi clips, prefolds, the mini-shower, and whisper pants at diaper sites like www.naturalbabies.com (this is my favorite site to order from) or www.naturalebaby.com. I also second the recommendation another mom made to look at the following webpage: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/kfegelman/index.htm
I read that when I was getting started with cloth and it was really helpful.
For fun things, you can buy a wet bag or accessory kit from www.happytushies.com. They're great for cd'ing while you're out. You could also buy one or two cute covers. I know naturalbabies just got in some whisper pants with designs, or you could splurge and get a wool cover with a design on it. I got a really cute lion cover from www.phunkymama.com. For cute cloth wipes, www.darlingdiapers.com is a good place to buy. If any of these sites say they're closed for orders, you can always email them and find out when they're going to open again.
HTH!

[deborah_r]

Thanks everyone...this is great advice and very helpful. I'm going to print it off so I don't forget to get working on it!!