CD ?s... please help!

[2forhim4forus]

First off, please let me introduce myself... my name is Laura and I am a SAHM mom to Nicholas 27 months and baby girl due Christmas Eve. I also have 2 step-sons, Colin 9 and Adam 4 who live with us Sunday thru Friday. Ok... now to the nitty gritty!

I would love to start CDing and have done a TON of research but I still have some questions and need a bit of a nudge... ;)

For the baby I would like to start with a bunch of CPFs and proraps with a few fitteds (kissaluvs?). I would also like a couple AIOs or Pockets for when we go out, which would be best for a newborn?
How many prefolds and proraps would we need and what sizes should I go for? (our babies are typically in the 6lb range and grow on the slower side)
I know I saw a 1-800 # for proraps but now I can't find it? Does anyone have it?
I just tried the kissaluv outlet but there was nothing availible, how much do the seconds usually run? Is there another site that is comparable in price?

Now... for Nicholas, I have no idea what to try for him. He is very interested in PTing BUT never tells me he has to go. Though every time I sit him on the potty he will do "pee-pee" and if I see that he is trying to have a BM and I get him to the potty quick enough he has no trouble doing his business there. I think he just doesn't care if he wets his diaper because it's not uncomfortable... does that sound about right? He doesn't tend to wet huge amounts at a time and is relatively small for his age, 25lbs and 33.5". I was looking at maybe trying the Fuzzi Bunz or Bum Genius?
How many would I need?
What do you all like to stuff the Fuzzi Bunz with?
Should I double for night time and outings (do I need to double during these times for the new baby as well?)? If so, with what?
Would I need to change him during the night so that he doesn't leak?

What are your favorite sites to order from? I did look at the CD 101 thread, which is soooo helpful, but noticed that it was started quite awhile ago and didn't know if there were any new favorites?

Lastly, I noticed that some of you had posted that fleece can be used as a liner or doubler. Did I understand that right? If so, Jo-Ann's has fleece on sale this week, it's called Blizzard Fleece, would that be ok? When and how would I use it? Also, can flannel be used like fleece?

Thank you so so much for taking the time to even read this! Guess I had a lot more questions than I thought!!! TIA!!

[brittone2]

Hi there! We're always ready to help someone convert to the darkside LOL :)

For baby, let's see. THe number of dipes partially depends on how often you'll want or be able to wash. I'm kind of a minimalist on most things in terms of quantity, so I'm not the best person to ask. My guess would be that you'd want about 3 dozen prefolds to start with, if those will be your primary dipes. It depends on how many fitteds you'll want to buy too, but I'd say at least a mix of 36?? HOpefully someone else will advise you there. (so iMO you could do 2 dozen prefolds and a dozen fitteds). If you are expecting a smallish baby, I'd definitely get some preemie sized prefolds and then some infants. The preemies will be outgrown pretty quickly, but can be used as doublers later, or as burp cloths, milk catchers if you are nursing, etc. We started CDing w/ DS when he was just shy of 3 weeks, and he was 8lbs 4 oz at birth. I found infant prefolds kinda bulkier than I liked, so this time I did get a dozen preemies. We stuck with mostly prefolds with DS initially. We'll make due with our infant prefolds left from DS, and then I have about 18 fitteds (mostly Muttaqins, Bijou Baby Gear, and a few other random fitteds from DS). Some people love Kissaluvs, and some dislike them. Make sure you get some sort of doubler for them as without a doubler, they get peed through pretty quickly from what I've read. The outlet had a stocking recently so I'm not sure if one will be on the horizon or not. I know they mentioned their prices are going up (on all Kissaluvs) in an email I got from them. If you get on their email list, they'll tell you when they stock the outlet.

I know proraps has 2nds, but I never used proraps and don't know the number, although I've seen it posted before. I'm sure someone can help you with that. We used green earth covers and liked those for an inexpensive newborn cover.

For all in ones, I don't have much experience w/ newborn brands. We started using pockets at night w/ DS (small FBs) when he was probably 2 months old, maybe a little less? I think they have XS sized ones now. THe problem with those is that there are no gussets to keep the poop contained. How much of a problem that is depends on the kid IMO. DS never pooped much at night compared to many babies, so it worked for us. But, if your baby has explosive nighttime BMs, then you might have a problem. Ditto for using them in the daytime if you are out and about. Sometimes that's where fitteds and covers are nice. If both the fitted and cover have gusseted legs, then you have a better shot of keeping things contained. A lot just depends on the kid though.

For your toddler, my DS is on the smaller side as well, so I feel like I can help you there. He fits well into Petite Toddler sized FBs. He's mostly PT'd now other than poop, including overnight, but we do use dipes occasionally (he's 2.5). Petite TOddler gives a longer rise but is similar in size to mediums. Large FBS are quite large. I've never tried BUmgenius, but it certainly might be nice to try one or two with your toddler, because if he PTs in the near future, they could be used w/ the baby since they are one-sized.

YOu can get all kinds of premade inserts, etc. Hemp, microfiber, etc to stuff in the pocket. We kept it simple and found for us that microfiber towels worked just fine. Costco sells packs of yellow ones in the automotive section. Walmart sells blue and white ones in their automotive section (smaller sized). Usually 2 trifolded together and stuffed in the FBs worked for my DS, except for a few periods of time where he was a super heavy wetter overnight and we used a hemparoo (i think?) and 2 microfiber towels folded together. The microfiber towels tend to bleed a bit w/ the first washing or two so wash them by themselves IMO.

For quanitities, again, I'm a minimalist. I could get by with a dozen fBs, but they are now worn to death, kwim? A bigger rotation helps them last longer. It just depends on how often your child goes, how heavy of a wetter, how often you wash, and if you anticipate working on the PTing so he's peeing on the potty sometimes vs. in the dipe. I'd say 2 dozen is probably what most people would want? Again, hopefully someone else will help because I'm not good at quanitities ;) Oh, and you shouldn't have to change at night, at least, once you get your system down (how many towels or inserts your son needs to stay dry, and finding a dipe that fits him best. Sometimes there's a learning curve, but after that, you should have very few leaks if any). No need to change overnight in most cases.

Fleece can be used to prevent meconium stains or to make it easier to remove poop from the dipe, but IMO most people don't use it daily. Some kids also react negatively to fleece since it is a synthetic fiber (which can also happen w/ FBs and similar dipes). It won't hold much pee so it isn't a good doubler fabric. Someone recently recommended anti-pill fleece to me as a liner (we're going to CD from birth this time sos we're dealing w/ avoiding meconium sticking to the dipes). Not sure if that's the same as alpine fleece as I'm not a fabric guru at all! Flannel wouldn't really make baby feel drier and wouldn't hold much, so it really wouldn't work well as a doubler (I wouldn't think). Fleece tends to wick the moisture away which is why some people use it. For people that use prefolds at night, it can help baby feel drier. Overall, I'd say most people don't use it as a liner unless they have special circumstances. If you want to use it as a liner, you can cut it without sewing i believe since it won't unravel. I would just cut out a maxi pad type shape I guess? Liza would be the one to ask as she sews dipes as a WAHM.

HTH!

[2forhim4forus]

Beth,

Thank you so much! Your reply was so helpful! I will definitely be ordering the Petite Toddler FB. It sounds like they will be a good fit for him. I was going to order from cottonbabies.com but it looks like they don't carry the petite size. Where did you get your's?

Good idea about the microfiber clothes as well! Never thought of that and sounds like it would be just right for us to start. Good to know about the bleeding also!

Thanks again! I'm sure I'll be bugging you with more questions once I have a chance to look over your reply without yelling children! LOL!

[Alice523]

Hi, Laura! Congratulations!

I'll answer what I can really quickly. We CD'd from the time we got home from the hospital. We had a diaper service for infant prefolds (baby was born 10.5 lbs) and I used a combination of 8 covers. We used smalls right away, but with a 6 lber, I'd feel confident that newborn sized would work well. Proraps were definitely my favorite cover in those early days (still are at 10.5 months). Bummis Super Whisper Wraps were great, too, but they will wick if left too long and my son was flooding dipes back then. I still don't use them in the morning because DS is too heavy a wetter at that time of day. I also love Bumpy Day covers because they're soft and flexible, but in those newborn poopy days, the Proraps were the best and never let us down.

Fleece makes good liners to be used for the meconium, to protect diapers from diaper rash cream (diaper cream with fish oil can stain diapers), and to help with the poop because it will come off of the fleece more easily. I cut it into an hourglass shape. It doesn't require any sewing because it won't unravel. (As a side note, I only use fleece liners when DS has a rash, which has happened all of two times in 10.5 months.)

I love to order from Abbyslane.com. I have had great experiences and as long as they carry what I need, I order it there. I've also had great experiences with nickisdiapers.com, cottonbabies.com, and naturalbabies.com.

We use FuzziBunz w/ either a prefold + microfiber insert or a lizajanebaby insert OR a fitted with Aristocrat wool cover for nighttime so that we can get through the night without a change. We started doing this around 5 months, which was when my son stopped pooping during the night. This system works really well for us.

For daytime, we stuff a Fuzzibunz with a microfiber insert (more for a long car trip, but that is rare). We didn't start using Fuzzibunz until DS started pooping less and that is how I will do it with future babies. IMO prefolds/fitteds + covers are better for not-so-solid poop.

We use a BumGenius and I really love the fit, but it is not a good nighttime diaper for us. I can't stuff it as much/well as FuzziBunz so I reserve it for daytime use.

HTH! My husband and I love, love, love using cloth diapers. We are so glad we were brave enough to try them.

[lizajane]

my quick 2 cents...

start with prefolds and proraps (and maybe kissaluvs) for your baby. you may want premie prefolds for a 6lber. get 6 newborn covers and 3 dozen prefolds. you may want to do 2 dozen premie and 2 dozen infant if you babe will be small for a while. also get 3 dozen wipes. and 2-3 snappi fastners

i would skip pockets/AIO for newborn. they don't hold the poop. you won't have trouble with kissaluvs and covers while out. you may want a bummies pull on cover to go over the kissaluvs.

for your toddler, i would do fitteds, not pockets. you don't want him to not be able to feel wet if he is pting. snap ez, for example, has pocket trainers that can be stuffed like a diaper or left unstuffed like underpants. i would go that route. get at least 6, in my opinion. and maybe 2 covers. (you don't need a new cover every time, you can rotate 2 or use one all day. just wash when it gets poop on it or when it smells.)

fleece is to line the dipe to make baby feel dry. it will not add absorbancy. i would use the premie prefolds as doublers, or get something in hemp for super absorbancy. i would use the fleece for baby, not for toddler. and anti-pill or microfleece is best.

[heather_c]

For my 13 month old, we use a combination of pocket diapers like Fuzzi Bunz. My favorites are Green Acre Designs, Bum Genius (one size) and Fuzzi Bunz. The GADs are hard to get as she only makes 12 per week. I stuff my pocket diapers with a Cotton Babies One Size Microfiber insert or a Joey Bunz Hemparoo with a microfiber towel from the auto section of Target. I use the hemp combo for the heavier wetter times (mornings for us). Bum Genius are sold with the Cottonbabies insert. For night time, I use Very Baby Simply Nights fitted diaper with a Stacinator fleece cover. It holds a ton of pee and is breathable for night.

I did not diaper a newborn, so I cannot help with that.

For your son, I would look into pocket trainers like these:

http://www.snap-ez.com/ShoppingTrainers.html
http://www.happyheinys.com/web/product/pockettrainers.php

He can pull them down easier than regular diapers.

I love to order from www.abbyslane.com and www.cottonbabies.com. Shipping is expensive at cottonbabies unless you are buying $75+ and get free shipping. They have Bum Genius on sale now because they are releasing a updated design for them in November. I hope this helps!

Heather

Matthew - 9/7/05

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