CD moms: What do I need to buy if I use a diaper service?

[peasprout]

This is my third baby and I'm thinking of cloth diapering for the first time. I'm a little overwhelmed and don't know where to start. I've read the cloth diapering threads but I'm still confused. If I do go with cloth, I will most likely use a diaper service (since the thought of washing poop and pee in our washer is hard for my DH to accept). Does that limit the types/brands of diaper wraps I can buy? What will the diaper services provide me with (are they usually prefolds?) and how many wraps will I go through in a day? I'd like something easy to figure out and something fairly simple since this is already such a big jump for me (and none of my friends have ever cloth diapered,...they think I'm crazy!).
TIA!
JP

[tylersmama]

You sound kind of like me a little over a year and a half ago. :) The thought of CDing had never seriously occurred to me until my mom got me a gift certificate of 6 months of diaper service at my baby shower. I was pretty overwhelmed at first, too, and still am to an extent! I actually really liked CDing, so much so that I took the plunge and bought my own diapers once my gift cert ran out.

Most likely, if you are using a service, you won't have to buy much, if anything. The service I used provided just about everything: diapers (of course!), 4 wraps, diaper pail, deodisks, and a pail liner. I think some services require you to buy your own wraps, but mine didn't. They gave you 4, and you had to wash them on your own. When it was time to go up to the next size, you just called and told them, sent the old ones back with the dirty dipes, and they sent new ones with the next week's clean dipes. If you have to buy your own wraps, it's kind of just trial and error to find what works well for you. My service provided Proraps, which were kind of gappy around DS's skinny thighs. When I went out on my own, I went with Bumpys (which I've been very happy with) but I think for our next size up, I'm going to go with Bummi Super Whisper Wraps. You don't have to wash the wraps every time you use them. If they don't have poo on them, you can let them dry out and reuse at least a few times. I think at the beginning, I was washing wraps at least every other day if not more often, but I was doing a lot more laundry anyway with all the spit up and explosive breastmilk poo! :P

A couple of things that you might want but aren't absolutely necessary are a wet bag or two to put dirty dipes in when you're out and about (you can always use a ziplock baggie, too) and when baby gets older and has more solid poo, either a minishower or flushable liners. I use the flushable liners and really like them. You may also want to get some Snappis. I've never used them, but a lot of people really like them. I just fold the diaper and use the cover to hold it on.

I think most, if not all services use prefolds. They're a little intimidating at first, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. Practice a couple of different folding techniques on a doll to get the basic idea, then you can figure out which one works best for you when baby arrives. I stuck with prefolds when I started doing my own diapers both because I already knew what I was doing with them, and also because they're one of the cheapest options. I get really overwhelmed when I look at all the other choices out there like AIOs, pockets, fitteds, etc.

Wow, that was a little long, but I hope it helped a little. Let me know if I can answer anything else!

[kitmama]

It depends on the service- I used one for a long time, and they only provided the diapers. I bought my own pail, bags, snappis and covers. The service only had prefolds. I washed the covers myself.

The prefolds had a learning curve, but we got it down pretty quickly. Once baby was sleeping longer at night, I started adding some night diapers and wool covers to my stash of wraps. (And once I started buying diapers, I didn't stop! LOL).

You can use any kind of cover over a prefold- experiment, and find what works best for your baby! I preferred Bumpy Day, Prowraps and Bummis print covers. Oh, and a couple fleece covers for more breathability. . .

I had at least 8 covers in the beginning, preferably more. As baby gets older and poops start to firm up a bit, you won't need as many.

Go for it! It was an easier adjustment for us than I had anticipated. That was the very beginning for us, with our very first baby. Now I'm expecting our third anytime, and the CDing is going strong! It has really worked well for us. :)

[kijip]

When we use a service, we had to buy covers.

I used ProWraps because at the time I did not know there were any others. :P

They gave us the pail and the pail liners and the prefold diapers.

As way of a cost comparison, I found the service more expensive than disposables.

I really recommend Bummis covers with prefolds- that is my brothers fave combination for his daughter so far. I used that myself a little when we cloth diapered and washed at home from age 11 months to potty training.

Good luck! Once you start, you will love it :)

****Rocking out while parenting my smart little 4 year old munchkin Toby.
The butter melts out of habit, you know the toast isn't even warm. -Ani DiFranco

[SnuggleBuggles]

I loved my diaper service.

I leased diaper covers from them. They used Prowraps which actually worked just great for us. (We are going to cd on our own this time since there is no service in our area and we will use Prowraps- nothing wrong with being happy with the cheapest option out there!). After the first 2-3 sizes we probably should have just bought our own covers b/c we were in the sizes for so long.

They'll let you know how much you need.

I bought the pails and such from the service.

Beth

[SnuggleBuggles]

I loved my diaper service.

I leased diaper covers from them. They used Prowraps which actually worked just great for us. (We are going to cd on our own this time since there is no service in our area and we will use Prowraps- nothing wrong with being happy with the cheapest option out there!). After the first 2-3 sizes we probably should have just bought our own covers b/c we were in the sizes for so long.

They'll let you know how much you need.

I bought the pails and such from the service.

Beth

PS- sorry if this double posts- it keeps crashing when I hit "post"

[american_mama]

I have not used a diaper service, but have talked with the owner of our local one. Find out what types of covers your service offers. You can choose from that, or you can buy your own from online diaper stores. If you buy your own, ask if you will have to wash them on your own (you probably will, since the diaper service doesn't want to be responsible if you buy a cover that, say, falls apart in their laundry or bleeds on the diapers).

To my knowledge, almost all diaper services use only prefolds. Remember the prefold is the absorbent part of the diaper. The cover is the waterproof outer.

So, I'd say focus your attention on covers and, if you are really interested, websites showing different folds. Here's one that I remember offhand http://www.diapernet.org/howdoesitwork.htm. You can use whatever covers your service has or recommends, and once you are comfortable with that, you could buy your own covers and wash them on your own. Your husband would probably find it acceptable to wash covers, as they don't get poop on them too often or in too great a quantity.

ETA: I realized that maybe you want advice more about the non-diaper items. You will need:
1) diaper pail, which the service may provide. If not, you can use a kitchen trash can with a lid; the kind where you touch the button on the top and it pops open works the best. You'll want a big one if you have to hold a week's worth of diapers before pickup.
2) waterproof bag to line the pail, which again you might get from the service or could buy your own. If you buy on your own, I'd buy the lightest color you can from a reputable diaper company since I've heard of cheaper diaper bags running in the wash, like my red waterproof camping bag from Walmart did.
3) bag to put wet diaper in when out-and-about. I used plastic shopping bags twisted and folded or knotted around the wet/dirty diaper, then just throw the bag out when I get home. Some use Ziploc. Some buy a small cloth bag.
4) some sort of deodorizer. Assuming the service only picks up once a week, you'll probably want this. They may provide it. If not, there are Deo Disks, Citrus Circles, or just a few drops of tea tree oil put on a square of fleece or a baby washcloth taped to the inside of the pail or sewn to the bag. Tea tree oil is available at any natural foods store.

Optional would be cloth wipes and some wipe solutions like Kisslauv Diaper Potion or Dixie Drops, but I wouldn't bother until you get the hang of cd'ing. You can buy cloth wipes from cd websites or just use baby washcloths.