Help from CD-ing mom's - creating a "gift pack"

[dotgirl]

One of my friends is due to have a baby girl in early February. She has decided to CD and will be using prefolds. She's very devoted to staying home after the baby and wants to minimise expenses, so she's planning to wash all her own diapers - no service - and use prefolds (to avoid the expense of AIO or whatnot).

I'd like to do what I can to help her out with this, as she's gotten a lot of negative feedback about her decision to CD.

Just to note - we do not CD, but that's only because once I realised how much money I could spend on cute diapers, I figured disposables were the only way to prevent my husband from leaving me. ;)

That being said, I'm totally CD clueless, so I was hoping that some of the more experienced members could help me out with some ideas/info.

1) Are there prefold 'accessories' that make using prefolds easier? If so, what do people like/dislike/wish they'd known about sooner?

2) I've read that a lot of people use prefolds for at home, but use AIO or pocket diapers for going out/when grandma babysits, etc. If that's the case, which do you suggest - AIO or pocket?

3) If you were planning to use prefolds and were going to receive a "gift pack" of CDs, what would you want to be in it? Possibly AIOs for using when you go out? Prefold covers?

4) She's not planning to use a diaper service (too expensive), but I remember that in the first few weeks after Riley was born, I did not want to do laundry - would 2 months of pre-paid diaper service be a useful gift, or would it just be difficult (I understand they supply you with diapers)? Thoughts, please?

Any and all input is much appreciated, because I want to do everything I can to support her in this decision and help give her things that will make this a success.

Thanks!

[katydid1971]

How nice of you. My non-CDing frineds kept telling me how much I would hate it, 6 months later I still love it.
1.One thing I think would be a great gift would be 4 dozen cloth wipes (Lucyshopechest.com) and a wipe warmer (you can get those at Target, BRU, Walmart, etc) I love haing nice warm wipes for cleaning up my darling son. Another thing she will need to cloth diaper with prefolds are covers. A few wool soakers would be wonderful, they are expensive but worth every penny. Finally two Bummis diaper pail liners and 3 snappis and your friend will be set to cd.
2.If you get her some pocket diapers I think you can't go wrong with Fuzzi Bunz and you can get them with a great insert at cottonbabies.com.
3. Go to the different sites that sell cloth diapers, there are lots of package deals that would all make great gift packs. Montanasdiaperstore.com has a very good basics pack for about $80.
4. I have always washed my diapers no problem. Once they are in the washer it does all the work. I would appreciate diapers more than diaper service myself.

She is very lucky to have a friend like you!
Sarah

[new_mommy25]

>1) Are there prefold 'accessories' that make using prefolds
>easier? If so, what do people like/dislike/wish they'd known
>about sooner?

If she doesn't have them already she will need a couple snappi's. They are used to fasten the diaper and many people find them a lot easier than pins. They are availiable at many different online stores, www.lilbunz.com has free shipping. I personally switch between snappis and pins without a problem. The best pins are Dritz, also availiable at online stores. The Gerber pins you get in the grocery stores are crap.


>2) I've read that a lot of people use prefolds for at home,
>but use AIO or pocket diapers for going out/when grandma
>babysits, etc. If that's the case, which do you suggest - AIO
>or pocket?

I would suggest pockets just because they are more ecomical and adjustable than an AIO. In a nutshell, a pocket has a waterproof outer layer and an inner liner made of fleece or suedecloth. There is an opening at the top that you stuff an absorbant material into. You can stuff them as little or as much as you need depending on the situation. For daytime around the house you probably only need one insert, for nap, nighttime, or when you're going out and not going to change the diaper for a while then you will want to stuff it more. There are many different brands of stuffings availiable but most are made out of hemp or microfiber. You can also use infant sized prefolds but they won't be as absorbant as hemp or microfiber.

The most readily availiable brands of pockets are Fuzzibunz, Happy Heineys, and Wonderoos. HH's have a velcro closing and the prints are cute but sometimes leak. Fuzzibunz are generally the most popular. Wonderoos are a one sized diaper which works for some but not for others. Wonderoos are lined in suedecloth which I personally do not like as much as fleece. There are also several WAHM's that make pocket diapers. Some off the top of my head are www.snap-ez.com and www.greenacredesigns.com

>3) If you were planning to use prefolds and were going to
>receive a "gift pack" of CDs, what would you want to be in it?
> Possibly AIOs for using when you go out? Prefold covers?

I'm sure she will have all the prefolds and plain covers she needs. If you want to get her some AIO's then I really like www.angelwraps.com or www.tykiediapers.com. Or you might want to get her a fleece cover for fun. I really like the fleece covers by Sugarpeas, which are availiable at www.naturalbabies.com as well as a few other online retailers. Also check out Tykies for embroidered pul covers. She has some cute ones instock right now. Also, go here http://tinyurl.com/7oguc cute Snugwraps on sale.

Otherwise for a gift pack, you might want to get her some cloth diaper friendly diaper cream (nothing with fish oil in it), some cloth wipes, and some yummy smelling cloth wipes solution. If you do cloth wipes you will want to get about 24. www.lucyshopechest.com has nice wipes- my favorites are sherpa/velour. She can use a wipes warmer, an old disposable wipes container, or a small sterilite container to keep her wipes in. If you want to buy her a Sterilite container, they are availiable at Target in the kitchenwares section. Here is a link to what it looks like http://tinyurl.com/yupmr

Another great gift would be a nice wetbag. At home she will likely use a pail liner and a trash can for her dirty diapers. While she is out she will want another smaller bag to put in the diaper bag. You can get some really cute ones from http://www.happytushies.com/ I would have loved to recieve one as a gift.
>
>4) She's not planning to use a diaper service (too expensive),
>but I remember that in the first few weeks after Riley was
>born, I did not want to do laundry - would 2 months of
>pre-paid diaper service be a useful gift, or would it just be
>difficult (I understand they supply you with diapers)?
>Thoughts, please?


I'm not sure if that would be a good gift or not. It would depend on your friends personality I guess. Personally I think the easiest thing for her to do would be to just jump right in from the start so she can really get the hang of things.

>Any and all input is much appreciated, because I want to do
>everything I can to support her in this decision and help give
>her things that will make this a success.

You might want to read the Cloth Diapering 101 thread pinned to the top of this forum. It'll help you determine what your friend needs and maybe you could even forward it to her. Other great ressources for her are http://www.diaperpin.com/home.asp and http://www.thediaperhyena.com/

HTH!

[ktshea]

Oh, you're so sweet! I'm sure she'll appreciate having a thoughtful friend like you. :) As for recommendations, here goes:

If she doesn't have her prefolds yet, the Indian cotton ones from seller granitesmith on ebay are really nice. We used the infant sized ones with no problem from the time my daughter was born. I don't have the link to her store handy, but you can find her by doing a search by seller on ebay.

Covers with gussets would be good for a newborn for keeping in the runny stuff. Proraps and Bumpy (Imse Vimse) have those, and I think a few other brands do too (Green Earth, maybe? dunno...). We used Bummis on DD but had a few probs because they don't have gussets. Wool covers are really nice, but with a newborn she might have to wash them quite a bit. Of course, not everybody's baby is a poo-monster like mine was, but ya never know. To be safe, a size medium might be good, since her baby will probably be on some solids when those start to fit and things won't be so messy, KWIM?

She'll definitely need Snappis. You can get those just about anywhere that sells prefolds.

Finally, from a personal point of view, I'd skip the diaper service. She'll probably get a package of newborn size disposable diapers from somebody for a shower gift and by the time those are gone she'll probably be up for doing a load of laundry every once in a while. Really, newborn CD laundry is no big deal. You just take the bag of dirty diapers and empty it into the washer. No more work, really, than taking a bag of disposables out to the trash. :)

We didn't use any AIOs or pockets when DD was little (see the poo-monster reference above, lol), but I'm sure other folks will have recommendations for ya there.

HTH a little. And good for you for supporting your friend! She's lucky to have you helping out!

[mudder17]

>If she doesn't have her prefolds yet, the Indian cotton ones
>from seller granitesmith on ebay are really nice. We used the
>infant sized ones with no problem from the time my daughter
>was born. I don't have the link to her store handy, but you
>can find her by doing a search by seller on ebay.
All my prefolds have come from her and I love working with her because you don't need to go through her ebay store. Just e-mail her at teresa.smith at rocketmail dot com. She will help your friend figure out what she needs in terms of sizes, types, numbers, etc. She'll also let her mix and match prefolds.

>Covers with gussets would be good for a newborn for keeping in
>the runny stuff. Proraps and Bumpy (Imse Vimse) have those,
>and I think a few other brands do too (Green Earth, maybe?
>dunno...).
Proraps, Green Earth are similar in style--proraps are cheaper versions. Bumpy's and Litewraps are similar, but litewraps are much cheaper (I got mine from Babycenter and they worked great for DD). Bummis pull-on pants are also supposed to be excellent for poop containment.

>We used Bummis on DD but had a few probs because they don't have gussets.
Yep, we had the same problems.

>Wool covers are really nice, but
>with a newborn she might have to wash them quite a bit. Of
>course, not everybody's baby is a poo-monster like mine was,
>but ya never know. To be safe, a size medium might be good,
>since her baby will probably be on some solids when those
>start to fit and things won't be so messy, KWIM?
I would recommend fleece instead of wool for a newborn for this very reason. Or at least a washable wool cover like the Angeldry covers. She makes both wool and fleece (and PUL) covers that have gotten raves here. But to my knowledge, they don't have gussets (actually can't think of too many fleece or wool ones that do, but I didn't use them at the newborn age, so there may be some really good ones that work with newborns (because of gentle elastic) that work despite not having gussets.

>She'll definitely need Snappis. You can get those just about
>anywhere that sells prefolds.
Yup, I've gotten mine at Lilbunz and theBabyBlanket. I think I'd prefer the older ones with loops to the newer ones, but I haven't actually used the newer ones. One more thing I'll add is a minishower. Although she won't NEED them at the newborn stage, it is nice to have and she'll LOVE it when the solids poop starts!

>Finally, from a personal point of view, I'd skip the diaper
>service. She'll probably get a package of newborn size
I agree.

I actually used prefolds almost exclusively for the first 6 months. The exception was when the Kissaluv 0s I had fit her for the first 2 months? I used the kissaluvs (fitted diapers) for nights and outings. It was still a two-part system, but you didn't need to worry about a snappi and making sure the gussets in the prefolds were done correctly, etc. So it was definitely faster. But with my DD's leaky poop, I was always afraid of leaks, and indeed, sometimes the prefold or fitted didn't quite contain all the poop and it got on the cover (which is not a big deal but a sign to us that we needed a 2-part system). So I personally did not and will not go with AIOs or Pockets with the next baby at the newborn stage, although if it was a choice, I'd probably go with Pockets. Wonderoos, which are one-size pockets, are rather bulky for a newborn, but they do have gussets and for the few days we tried them on Kaya, they did a good job of containing the poop. FBs didn't work for leaky poop when we tried it at around 5.5 months, before we started Kaya on solids. An AIO that did a reasonable job of containing leaky poop were Angelwraps.

I guess if I were planning on using prefolds and had already figured out where I was going to get my prefolds, some nice fitted diapers would be a plus! And maybe a nice cover to go with them (which can also be used over the prefolds).

Personally, I'm glad we figured out the washing of diapers early on, so I'm glad we did not get a diaper service. However, some people would appreciate it. Still, diaper service diapers are washed with bleach and I think I would prefer that the money be used towards other diaper supplies that I would use. But that's just my take on it.

I hope this gives you some ideas. And wow, what a great friend you are!

Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/candle.gif for Leah
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_emerald_18m.gif

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_4_Kaya+is.png
Kaya's a cousin! 10/1/05, 5lb13oz

[kitmama]

I used a diaper service for quite some time, and did appreciate the month I received as a shower gift. That said, I probably would have preferred some of the following:

-several Snappis
-Kissaluvs size 0 or Muttaqins NB fitted diapers
-a great big tub of Triple Paste, or a tube or two of Burt's Bees diaper cream
-nice cloth wipes
-nice to-go wetbag
-size medium pocket diapers
-size medium wool cover
-a printout (with pictures) of diaper-folding techniques
-a list of good websites that sell CDs and CD supplies
-a printout of washing information and routines (it might also be really nice of you to call her water company and learn how hard or soft her water is- this is very helpful info for washing diapers)

(I am working on the assumption that your friend will be getting her PFs and covers already. If that's not the case, then pps have great recommendations for these).

This is very cool of you- I wish I could get my family to buy us CD stuff!

[SeekerMage]

Wow,
I want some friends like you....hehe I love getting yummy cds for the new baby!

Since she is going all prefolds, what about some "fun" prefolds. Maybe some hand-dyed ones, or some with embroidery?

I just bought a whole rainbow of colors from sunflower derriers : http://www.sunflowerderrieres.com/ If you use the code MDC at check out you get 10% off you order, and if you order 8 or more they are only like 2.50 each. The colors are soooo pretty! It would really brighten up her stash and you can get a whole rainbow for the price of one or two fitteds. She also has fitteds,aios yummy wipes and covers. I know there are some other places that have embroidered ones too but for the life of me I cannot recall any!

I would also consider getting her some fitteds for on the go or just for fun. sugarplumbaby.com has some CUTE ones and she mentioned her newborns fit up to 12 lbs or so. She is also on hyena cart and has a yummy newborn basket that has some fitteds, wipes and doublers. others I know of are tykies as someone mentioned.

I also second/third getting some yummy wipes. I just got the yummiest ones from emibeans.com She has some on special for the diaper hunt and if you joined the hunt (www.diaperdecisions.com) and have the special code she sends you a dozen free....they are not just seconds but the yummiest variety of wipes I have ever recieved! I know bum-ware also has some nice ones as well.

As others mentioned, some pockets would be nice for on the go, or heck for dad if he is diaper phobic. We love out fuzzibunz and happy heineys. lilbunz.com is my favorite place to order from. you can also get your snappis there, as well as some fun covers. I would splurge and get some of the bumpy/imse visme covers. The prints are cute and they are nice and soft! Im not a big bummis fan, they seem kinda stiff to me and a bit on the bulky side, though they do work.

Another idea is that motherease.com has a try me pack you can send her. THey send you a one size diaper, doubler and cover for a lower cost....and they have cute prints!

Really, I think anything that you send her will be totally appreciated. Heck, even some plain prefolds and a plain cover is fine because you are supporting her and right now it sounds like something she needs.

Let us know what you decide....I love hearing all the yummy diaper goodies!

[lizajane]

i only used prefolds and prorap covers for schuyler and i washed them myself so i think i could be a good resource. we received a pair of fuzzibunz as a gift and i was really glad i did. i bought three more pairs and used them as my nighttime diaper as soon as 1) he fit into the mediums 2) he slept longer at night and 3) the runny newborn poop slowed down.

honestly, i would keep it as simple as possible. since she is using a very simple and economical system, i would allow her to stick with it. because she is washing herself, i would allow her to keep it as easy as possible- stuff that can all be thrown in together.

here is what i think she needs:
3 dozen infant sized prefolds
4 newborn covers (unless she expects a large baby- i skipped 'em.)
6 small covers
2 dozen standard size prefolds
4 medium covers
15 premium sized prefolds
4 large covers

(for covers, i recommend proraps.)

here is what i think would be nice to have in addition:
4 snappis (very cheap)
a box of ziploc bags (to be re-used until they tear) as to-go bags
2 pail liners (can use cheap bags from camping section of walmart)
4 pairs of medium fuzzibunz (can be stuffed with infant prefolds)
2-4 hemp inserts for FBs in case baby is a heavy wetter at night- we used a joey bunz and an infant prefold together for al ong time with great success.
2 dozen cloth wipes (sherpa/velour is my recommendation)
microfleece cut into hourglass shapes or rectangular strips to use as stay-dry liners
microfleece topped diaper doublers for added absorbancy- maybe 6.

depending on your gift budget, i would say my top priority would be the fuzzibunz because snappis and microfleece liners are cheap and she can buy them for herself. (i mean a piece of fleece from any ol' place cut herself.) and it would be nice to add a joey bunz insert for each pair of FBs you get because she can use infant prefolds for inserts, but if she HAS to have more absorbancy, nothing beats hemp.

washing instructions to print out:
breastfed baby poop does NOT need to be rinsed off prior to washing.
wash every other day or every three days. diapers wash best when only 2 dozen are in a load on the highest wash setting. (i cheat this and add more!)

dump diapers and PUL covers into the washing machine and do a soak cycle on cold. add 1/4 cup to 1 cup of detergent-tide is good- depending on whether you have soft or hard water. run the longest cycle with the hottest water. run an extra rinse cycle on cold. if lots of suds remain in the water, run another rinse to get all the detergent out of the diapers.

too much detergent will cause the diapers to smell. to remove built up detergent, run extra rinses without detergent until the water no longer makes suds. you may want to add some calgon water softener when "stripping" diapers of extra detergent. most folks strip every so often, not at every wash.

too little detergent will not get diapers clean. they should smell neutral when coming out of the washing machine and dryer- not like the perfume of soap and not like pee. if they smell like detergent, use less. if they smell like pee, use more.

dry diapers on high heat and line dry PUL covers or dry on low heat.

remember to close velcro closures on covers before washing so that they won't stick to diapers or themselves.