Help me...I still feel lost with CDing and need mentorship!

[JLiebCamm]

I'm so pathetic...maybe I've created a mental block because I'm afraid to do this...but I still feel like all the terms/brands are swimming around in my head and I can't figure out what to buy. I've read the CDing 101 post multiple times. Here is my situation:

Claire is almost 5 months old, weighs at least 15 pounds with really chunky thighs, and has liquidy breastmilk poops (usually 2-3 times a day). I would like to start by CDing in the evenings (6 or so hours), possibly overnight, and on the weekends.

After previous conversations with some of you, I've determined that I should start with some prefolds and covers, with maybe a fitted and AIO to try. But I can't quite figure out how many I would need to have before I get started and what brands are good for beginners. What are the best starter brands of covers? And what would be a good starter brand fitted and/or AIO? I want to be economical but not SO economical that I end up dislking CDing because I haven't bought quality products. I'm also not opposed to buying used stuff and will watch the Swap for things that might be too pricey new. I just don't have a feel for what's out there; all the names (Elbee, Motherease, Fuzzibuns, etc) are like a foreign language to me.

Thanks in advance for your help. I know these newbie questions probably get asked over and over but I'm desperate for some diaper counseling.

[mudder17]

Okay, I've totally been in your situation, so don't feel pathetic! CDing really is another world and language!

I would say that infant prefolds would be a good bet. I would e-mail Teresa . smith @ rocketmail . com (holy cow, I can't believe I remembered that!) and tell her your needs for Prefolds and she can help you figure out what you'll need in terms of quantity, sizing, and type (Euro, Chinese, Indian, bleached, unbleached). She's super nice and I've gotten almost all my prefolds from her and been pleased with the result.

Next, with liquidy BF'd poop, if they're not too predictable, I would honestly not start with AIOs just because I suspect they would tend to leak (at least those types of CDs would leak with Kaya very often). I would stick with snappi'd prefolds + cover and fitteds + cover.

For the same reason, I would stick with covers that have gussets, such as proraps (if you don't mind cheap), bumpy's, litewraps, green earths. I think you can get all of these at Lilbunz.com.

For fitteds...hmm...I'm not an expert on fitteds at that age/size, but I would stay away from Kissaluvs because I don't think they're absorbent enough for a bigger baby and they tend to be bulky (neither of which is a problem with a newborn). I really love my Bijou Baby diapers, but Holli is finding that the front-snapping diapers don't work well for really chunky thighs. Some good side-snapping diapers are Tykie (I would size up if she's in between sizes because her SS diapers run small), mudpie babies, um...mind is drawing a blank right now. But others will have good suggestions for you, I know!

If you don't think that Claire will poop at night, pockets might work for you at night (Fuzzibunz or Snap-EZ--I liked the SEZ for the fit around chunky thighs). Hmm...she's in between a large and a medium. If you want, I can lend you a large to figure out the size. The large is on the swap, but I haven't had any takers yet, so you're welcome to try that for size. I think Lizajane has my medium, so I can't send that to you to try. But try measuring Claire's thighs and waist (about an inch below the belly button) and see where she falls. At that age and weight, I think Kaya was wearing large SEZ, but she's now able to fit the fleece mediums because her thighs have thinned somewhat.

Please ask more questions, so we can help get you started! :)

Eileen

Mother of Beautiful Kaya, www.chemicalgraphics.com/kaya
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/candle.gif

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif , 14 months & counting
Kaya's cousin, due October 9th!!!

[bcky2]

not much advice but wanted to let you know that if you wanted to try a pocket i have a light yellow fuzzi bunz that you can have to try it out. i have had it up on swap forever and no takers so you are more then welcome to it. it is only 4 months old and barely used. at least it will give you an idea if you like them or not. my ds has some runny poop and they are good at not leaking. oh by the way it is a med. just let me know :)

[niccig]

Barrett is the same age and about the same size. His thighs are 10", waist 15.5". I use regular size prefolds with hemp doublers as he is a heavy wetter. I have 12 of these and I probably need a few more. I have about 8 fitteds: 5 hemp side snap sugarpeas, 2 hemp front snapping sugarpeas and 1 sherpa loveybums. With all of these I add in an extra doubler as Barrett can pee through anything. This just gets me 2 days - ideally I would like 8-10 more diapers (mix of prefolds and fitteds). I need more fitteds, but I'm waiting to try out a little bettle, and I'm hoping kindhearted women and bijou baby gear stock soon as they should work for us. I use hemp fitteds as they absorb more.

I have a mixture of covers - I really like Bumpy days as they have gussets to hold in the poop and don't leave red marks on Barrett's thighs - we have a small but are ready to size up. I also have many nikky poly breathable covers - these were given to me by a friend who no longer CDs. They're nice and soft but run small, we're nearly out of the 6 month size. I've got maybe 10 covers - I think 6-8 would be enough.

I've tried pockets - Baby Blanket (med - left red marks), Fuzzi Bunz (med - left red marks) and Snap Ez (med - better fit but on the largest thigh snaps) but it's now too hot in LA for the PUL on these - Barrett got diaper rash. So I'm sticking with prefolds/fitteds and I've just ordered some wool covers as they are breathable.

We haven't tried cloth at night - as it is I put a hemp doubler in a disposable and top with a cover. But I'm going to start to find a cloth solution that works.

I would get some regular prefolds, if you don't like prefolds they make great burb cloths. For fitteds, try sugarpeas both side snap and front snap to see what you like. Sugarpeas are easy to get, whereas some other diapers aren't as readily available. Try a few different covers to see what works best for Claire. If Claire is a heavy wetter you may need to get some extra doublers. These give extra absorbency to a prefold or to a fitted and just lie in the dipe. Mine are hemp with microfleece top layer as the microfleece keeps the moisture from the skin. Also try a pocket or two (I can loan you my medium FB or Baby Blanket as we're not using them and I think I'm going to sell them as they don't work well for us - a shame as I like the idea of pockets.) You could also try the diaper sampler at naturalbabies.com Colleen has always been very helpful and has super quick delivery.

I would get enough dipes to try so you can work out what you do or don't like, what does or doesn't work for Claire's body type and whether she's a heavy or light wetter. Then you can start experimenting with other diapers. Eg. the sugarpeas work for us, but I'm now branching out to find other diapers.

Finally, search this forum for answers as you research diapers and post questions - everyone is so helpful and make CD easy to do. Diaperpin.com is also a great place for reviews of different diapers, covers and stores.
Have fun,
Nicci

[toomanystrollers]

You can do it Jessica! :)

Prefolds are an easy way to start daytime cd'ing. For overnighting, take a look at the Fuzzibunz pocket diapers.

Another great fitted to try (for daytime) are the Motherease Sandies (I didn't particularly like the Motherease One-size - in terms of fitting chunky thighs). I did use fleece-topped doublers inside the Motherease fitteds to help with extra absorbancy. Motherease Airflow covers are a great product too.

www.motherease.com

I also like the Bumkins AIO - reliable, mass-produced (vs. hard-to-get "hyena" products). Once again, I use a fleece-topped doubler inside as well.

www.naturalbabies.com is a great place to get started (one-stop shopping).

And you have many great fluffy mamas in your area (Rashmi, Helene,...)

-Pam

[KrisM]

I agree that it's hard to figure out all the terms! It took me forever.

I'd skip the infant sized prefolds and go with regulars. We moved out of infants by 17 lbs and that was pushing it. Regulars are enough bigger to work for a while. Heck, he's still wearing them at 23 lbs and 1 year. I'd start with a dozen prefolds. They're cheap enough to do that many and that should be enough for a couple days for you.

For covers, I'd start with 4-6, since you might get the poop on them still. I liked Bumpy the best, because the wide Velcro area makes them very adjustible. I had a hard time with Prowraps; they left red marks on the waist when I had the thighs tight enough. Bumpy's are expensive though. Maybe get 1 or 2 of a few different types to see what works for you guys.

I don't really do fitteds, but I did try a Sugarpea size 1 and liked it well enough. It seemed to contain the poop well and was adjustible. I just prefer prefolds to fitteds though, so I didn't use it a lot.

Just jump in and get started. You'll laugh at yourself when you start using it and find it's really not so hard after all!

[brigmaman]

Hi Jessica. :)
Cadie is just a bit bigger than Claire but has chunky thighs and runny bf poops as well.
I use regular Indian PFs on Cadie from Granitesmith. I'm waiting on some dyed premiums (8 middle layers rather than 6 on the regulars) because Cadie pees right through the regulars. I have a few regular unbleached pfs that I could send you ffs. Just lmk.
As for fitteds, I'd go with Sugarpeas to start out. I liked the side snap in the beginning. It's a more clean look, but others prefer front snap. I've just started moving Cadie to more front-snapping dipes. I find they are easier for a squirmy change. Sugarpeas are easy to find and relatively well-priced.
For covers we only have wool. I am thinking about trying a Motherease airflow again. I loved the one I had when Cadie was younger. That cover never let anything through! Very reliable!
For aio's, I love Very Baby. We have a bunch for going out. I often just use them under dresses if they match. These are super easy to use and there are some wahms open. Check here:
http://www.verybaby.com/ccp51/cgi-bin/cp-app.cgi?&pg=contractors
Good luck!!

[JLiebCamm]

Thanks so much for your help. Are "gussets" the elastic gatherings around the legs? (I'm really a beginner here...) And I'm a little confused; do you use a cover with both a prefold and a fitted? I was under the impression that fitteds are worn without a cover (unless I'm misunderstanding what a fitted is; is a Fuzzibuns a fitted?).

[JLiebCamm]

Thanks so much...I'll e-mail you!

[JLiebCamm]

Thanks so much for all your advice. I may take you up on a loan...I'll e-mail you if I need to. Thanks!

[JLiebCamm]

Thanks Pam! How do you choose a doubler (Fleece vs. Hemp, etc)?

[JLiebCamm]

Thanks Trish. What made you decide on the Indian prefolds vs. the Chinese? And are the dyed prefolds a style preference only or is there some advantage to them? I may take you up on the regular prefolds. I'll e-mail you. Hope your MD appt was OK!

[tarahsolazy]

Not Trish...

The Indians are slightly fluffier after washing than the unbleached Chinese, and are about an inch less wide, and an inch shorter.

I'd recommend regular Indians or regular unbleached Chinese

Dyed prefolds are just super cute, and a cheap way to add color!

Fuzzibuns are pocket diapers, a type of All-in-One, or AIO diaper. They have fleece lining, a waterproof polyester (PUL) outside, and an empty space in between. You stuff something, ie a special hemp insert, or a prefold in there to catch the pee. These require no cover, its built right in. There are also AIOs that have cotton outside layers, with hidden PUL or nylon below for water proofness, and some absorbant pee catching stuff inside. These also do not need a cover. There were some at the fluff party like this.

Fitted diapers look alot like the AIOs with cotton outsides, but they have no waterproofness at all, they just absorb pee. So, you need a cover. You can use PUL covers (Bumpy, Bumkins, Prorap, Green Earth, Motherease Airflow), or wool or fleece covers. PUL is easiest and most economical.

I like the Very Baby AIOs that Trish mentioned, they are great! Also, www.angelwraps.com has nice AIOs, I think a medium would fit your girly. For easy to try fitteds, Sugarpeas and Motherease Sandies are great.

[toomanystrollers]

For a doubler, you want fleece (like Maldens Mill fleece) on top of hemp. Here's an example:

http://nurturemama.com/detail.aspx?ID=54 (these are one of my favs.)

[mudder17]

Gussets are an extra layer within the folds of the leg that sort of "catch" the poop. Look at the picture of the cover on the bottom of this page:

http://www.diapersewing.com/all_in_one.htm

The extra layer tucked in around the legs is the gusset and it helps to hold in leaky poop. When you do an angel fold or newspaper fold on a PF, you can create something similar around the legs that help contain the poop. The combo of the cover and the PF both having gussets usually means no leaks onto the clothes. With that combo, we MIGHT have had one leak around the legs with leaky poop. The combo really seemed to work better than anything else at keeping the poop out of her clothes and bed.

A fitted diaper is something that looks like a diaper, but there is no waterproof outer layer. So it requires a cover, just like a prefold.

A FB is a pocket diaper (some people say pocket all-in-one) and has a waterproof outer lyaer, so it does not require a cover. You stuff pocket diapers with absorbent material, since the pockets just have a waterproof outer layer, and an inner layer that wicks the moisture away from the baby's skin (usually fleece or suedecloth) and into the absorbing material that you stuff inside the pocket (called inserts).

Eileen

Mother of Beautiful Kaya, www.chemicalgraphics.com/kaya
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/candle.gif

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif , 14 months & counting
Kaya's cousin, due October 9th!!!

[ismommy]

Hi Jessica,

I had planned on CDIng about 6 hours a day and came up with a good package that cost me 60 dollars with a mudpie cuctom. I am swamped right now but will write what I got in a bit. I am also going to be selling a couple of my beginner dipes to make room for fun stuff :)
Ok - my beggining stash was which I bought from Trish at lil bunz
was 12 Indian infant prefolds, 2 snappis, a bumpy softy cover which fits him well, a bumpy day cover and a green earth cover. I had found these thing at diaperco.com for 47 shipped and Trish price matched. I have since ordered from diaperco.com and she was very helfpul too.
I then got a custom mudpie cover for Gunners welcome baby party.
I will warn you though the cding for 6 hours a day lasted about 3 days and within a week we were fulltime including nights. I have been using fuzzibunz at night with either 2 joeybunz and a joeybunz and pf with no problems:)
I had listed a couple of new fb's if you are interested
Good luck and be careful its addicting
Helene
mommy to Isabella
and Gunner
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/candle.gif

[JLiebCamm]

I e-mailed you, let me know if you don't get it. Thanks!