cloth diapers?

I'm mostly a lurker, but there is such a wealth of knowledge here and
I'm hoping that you all can chime in with your experiences. I'm 36
weeks pregnant (expecting a girl) right now and we're hoping to come
to a decision soon. =)

Anyway, my question: Is anyone using cloth diapers and, if so, what
has your experience been? DH and I think we'd like to use them, but
we keep hearing horror stories from friends and family about how they
will leak all the time and don't contain messes as well as
disposables. We keep thinking that they'll be healthier since they
don't contain all those chemicals...

Also, if you have any ideas on which is better - using a diaper
service or doing them yourself - that would also be appreciated!!! We
have the option of a diaper service where we live, but I'm not sure if
it's worth the expense, know what I mean?

Thanks!

-Lesley

Lesley asked:

Anyway, my question: Is anyone using cloth diapers

I have used cloth diapers for four babies and will be using them again for my
fifth.

and, if so, what
has your experience been?

I wouldn't use anything else, for allergy, environmental, and financial
reasons.

DH and I think we'd like to use them, but
we keep hearing horror stories from friends and family about how they
will leak all the time and don't contain messes as well as
disposables.

I used disposables some with my first baby and she had blow outs anyway,
believe me. I read posts here and on mkb all the time about trouble people
have with various disposables leaking. I do think cloth has more of a tendency
to leak urine at night if you don't change them, but I always just tripled or
quadrupled them.


We keep thinking that they'll be healthier since they
don't contain all those chemicals...

Also, if you have any ideas on which is better - using a diaper
service

We no longer have a service here, but with my first two babies we did and it
was provided to us for the first several months as a gift. If you can get it
as a gift or can afford it I would recommend it for the first few months, as
that gives you one less thing to do while you are adjusting to motherhood.

or doing them yourself - that would also be appreciated!!! We
have the option of a diaper service where we live, but I'm not sure if
it's worth the expense, know what I mean?

I'll go ahead and mention, because I'm fairly sure I'm one of very few here,
that I don't have one of those fancy expensive diapering systems. :-) I
actually use old-fashioned trifolds with pins and rubber pants--cheap as
anything and has never given me any trouble. I've had a few of the other types
given me as gifts, but they are not so much better that I would pay for them.

Leslie

Lesley says:

Anyway, my question: Is anyone using cloth diapers and, if so, what
has your experience been?

We've used cloth diapers with both of our sons. We don't use a service;
we just bought the diapers and wraps and wash everything ourselves. In
the early months that would mean a diaper load of laundry every other
day; later, a little less frequent. I've never really found it to be
much trouble.

We bought Gerber Diaper Service Quality (DSQ) diapers at Babies R Us but
there are plenty of online sources too, and many cloth diaperers swear by
the Chinese prefolds they've gotten online. Take a look at
http://www.earthbaby.com or http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com. I've
bought things from both, and both offered great service.

We use disposables for convenience, like if we're going to be out for
several hours. And with both boys we switched to disposables for the
overnight when the nighttime diaper changes started being too stimulating
for them and woke them up too much. We also bought diaper doublers
(actually, just preemie sized diapers) when our first son would drench
the diaper and leak through with one pee, sometime after his first
birthday. We've tried a few different brands of wrap -- Gerber, Dappi,
ProWrap, and Bummis Whisper Wraps, and prefer the Bummis by far. Gerber
and ProWrap are okay, but I wouldn't recommend the Dappis at all.

There is no doubt that disposables are a marvel -- they do soak up pee
like you can't believe. And they may contain wet poops better, though we
haven't had much problem with our diapers leaking poop. But we decided
to go with cloth because they're more cost-effective and we didn't like
the idea of depositing more and more disposables into the landfill that
will sit there for generations to come.

When I was considering whether to use cloth diapers, I decided the best
thing to do was figure out how much the cloth diapers and wraps would
cost, then see how long it would take to break even with how much we
would have spent on disposables. IIRC, the break even point was
somewhere during the 3rd month. So I decided, well, I'll use the cloth
for at least that long, and then decide whether to keep going with it.
We cloth diapered our first son for well over two years, and we're past
the first birthday with our second son, so we've made back our investment
many times over. :-)

-- Alpha
mom to Eamon and Quinn

I highly encourage cloth. We started with a service and around 2 months we
switched to washing them ourselves. We have about 30 prefolds and wash
twice a week. Now that we don't have a newborn anymore (they grow SO
fast!!) keeping up with the wash is easy. Proraps are great, workhorse-type
covers, but we're starting to transition to some really nice wool covers.
Health-wise, environmentally, financially . . there's no question for us.
We used a few disposables early on and they got sooo hot inside (I hate
thinking about the future fertility of those lil roasted testicles)! The
gel chemicals in disposables are very harmful, especially for little girls.
Here's a great site for all-round info:
http://www.onestopdiapershop.com/questions.htm
And for reviews of covers, try www.diaperpin.com.
BTW, for us, disposables *always* blew out.
I'd be happy to tell you more about my specific experiences if you're
interested.
Hannah
and Jasper, 5 months

tigger wrote:

Anyway, my question: Is anyone using cloth diapers and, if so, what
has your experience been? DH and I think we'd like to use them, but
we keep hearing horror stories from friends and family about how they
will leak all the time and don't contain messes as well as
disposables. We keep thinking that they'll be healthier since they
don't contain all those chemicals...

Ignore the horror stories. While it may take some
trial and error to find the right diapers and covers that
work for your baby (just as it can take trial and error to
find the right brand and size of disposable diapers), you
should be able to find something that works admirably. We
never had troubles with cloth diapers leaking or blowing
out (at least, no more so than with disposables, and we've
used both).

Also, if you have any ideas on which is better - using a diaper
service or doing them yourself - that would also be appreciated!!! We
have the option of a diaper service where we live, but I'm not sure if
it's worth the expense, know what I mean?

Personally, I wouldn't use a service unless I didn't
have my own washer and dryer. Once you have kids, you're
doing laundry all the time anyway. I never saw any particular
difficulty in doing one extra load every few days. For us,
it was dramatically cheaper to wash our own. With a diaper
service, it's not much cheaper than disposables.

Best wishes,
Ericka

Personally, I wouldn't use a service unless I didn't
have my own washer and dryer. Once you have kids, you're
doing laundry all the time anyway. I never saw any particular
difficulty in doing one extra load every few days. For us,
it was dramatically cheaper to wash our own. With a diaper
service, it's not much cheaper than disposables.

It's generally more expensive to use a service than to buy disposables, I've
found, except for twins (the big charge is the pick-up and drop-off, extra
diapers cost very little). I did find washing my own to be too difficult after
a while, but that was due to a specific combination of circumstances -- a
toddler who pooped way more than average (up to six times a day), a bathroom
very inconveniently situated with respect to the changing table, and an
elderly, cranky washing machine that was on a different floor. I have certainly
seen washing one's own diapers work perfectly well for other folks. I used
diaper service for my twins, disposables for the first year for my singleton,
washed my own for six months or so, then said the hell with it and paid for the
service again for another year or so, until my son was going through too few
diapers in a day for it to make sense.

--Helen

I was getting ready to post a similar question, so thought I'd piggy
back. I would like to use cloth diapers as well and was wondering what
people have found to be good brands/types. In looking I have found the
traditional kind available at Target and everywhere, and then some
expensive but nice and cozy looking ones online (that have velcro
fasteners and built-in waterproof exteriors.) I will definitely launder
myself. Does anyone have brand recommendations? Also, are some types
better for newborns?

Thanks!

-kim


In article ,
says...
I'm mostly a lurker, but there is such a wealth of knowledge here and
I'm hoping that you all can chime in with your experiences. I'm 36
weeks pregnant (expecting a girl) right now and we're hoping to come
to a decision soon. =)

Anyway, my question: Is anyone using cloth diapers and, if so, what
has your experience been? DH and I think we'd like to use them, but
we keep hearing horror stories from friends and family about how they
will leak all the time and don't contain messes as well as
disposables. We keep thinking that they'll be healthier since they
don't contain all those chemicals...

Also, if you have any ideas on which is better - using a diaper
service or doing them yourself - that would also be appreciated!!! We
have the option of a diaper service where we live, but I'm not sure if
it's worth the expense, know what I mean?

"Kim E." wrote in message
a.net...
I was getting ready to post a similar question, so thought I'd piggy
back. I would like to use cloth diapers as well and was wondering what
people have found to be good brands/types. In looking I have found the
traditional kind available at Target and everywhere, and then some
expensive but nice and cozy looking ones online (that have velcro
fasteners and built-in waterproof exteriors.) I will definitely launder
myself. Does anyone have brand recommendations? Also, are some types
better for newborns?

Unless you can afford no better, you may prefer to steer clear of the
diapers available at Target, Fred Meyer, or other chain stores. These tend
to sport an "absorbent pad" which in reality is less absorbent than the
plain cotton would have been, and....no.

If you wish to use prefold diapers, spend your $2 each and search the net
until you find Chinese Cotton Prefold Diapers. These can be used pinless
with velcro wraps, or with pins or Snappies and pull-on or snap-on pants or
covers in any variety of types (PUL, wool, fleece, etc). There is nothing
wrong with these, and if money is a concern, this is the inexpensive way to
go. You will not make yourself happy using the cheapiest way (Target
quality). Spend a tiny bit more and get quality.

If you wish to use shaped diapers, well, I love the Mother-Ease system. At
about $9 per diaper, it's a substantial initial outlay, but the diapers
should last until the child is potty-trained, so the per-use cost is very
low. Plus, it fits most baby body shapes from newborn to 35 lbs (and I can
confirm this is true. I have used these for those sizes.)

If you want the kind with velcro tabs, make sure you get some with fold-back
patches so you can fold the tabs back for laundering. Otherwise you will
have a ball o' diapers when you take them out of the dryer, and you will not
be happy. I personally do not like velcro. Babies learn to undo it pretty
darned fast. And I don't like the feel, but your mileage may vary. There
are some beautiful work-at-home-mom-made velcro (and snap) diapers out
there. You will save money if you choose a one-size diaper. Many kinds of
diapers, including the pocket diapers such as the Fuzzi Bunz system, come in
various sizes, so you will be buying new ones (and they are expensive) all
along as your baby grows. But, the pocket diapers are appealing if you
really mind baby having wetness against the skin. My kids have never cared,
so I haven't either.

If you're handy with a sewing machine, you can make your own pattern for a
Fuzzi-Bunz-type fleece pocket diaper and sew them yourself
(http://www.geocities.com/gabrielbaby1/fuzzibunz.html). They're not
complicated. I do recommend Malden Mills fleece though, and the stuff isn't
cheap. The nice thing about pocket diapers is that they can be stuffed with
anything you like. I have torn up old ratty bath towels into squares, folded
the squares, and used those. Good way to recycle, and you can always pick up
towels at yard sales for next to nothing.

If you can get back to us with what style you think you like best, maybe we
can point you toward better information?

--angela

Thank you for all the tips! I figured the Target cloth diapers were
probly best for burping! I never thought about the velcro causing a
pile o' diapers in the laundry. After looking at some of this stuff
online, I think I will probly go with a combination of Chinese prefolds
and shaped diapers. I am sifting through all the recommendations to try
to decide which shaped ones to go with. I have a few more questions:

-Do those snappies really work to fasten the diaper securely? They
looked like a great idea that might not stay put from the pics.

-What kind of covers are good to use with the prefolds? As in pull-up
vs velcro closure, wool vs fleece vs cotton etc.

-With the diapers you use, the mother-ease, you said the diapers will
last until potty training - does this mean the same size fits from
newborn to toddler?? That seems to be what you are saying, but it seems
to good to be true!

-What would you recommend for night time specifically?

Thanks!!!

-kim





In article ,
says...

Unless you can afford no better, you may prefer to steer clear of the
diapers available at Target, Fred Meyer, or other chain stores. These tend
to sport an "absorbent pad" which in reality is less absorbent than the
plain cotton would have been, and....no.

If you wish to use prefold diapers, spend your $2 each and search the net
until you find Chinese Cotton Prefold Diapers. These can be used pinless
with velcro wraps, or with pins or Snappies and pull-on or snap-on pants or
covers in any variety of types (PUL, wool, fleece, etc). There is nothing
wrong with these, and if money is a concern, this is the inexpensive way to
go.

If you wish to use shaped diapers, well, I love the Mother-Ease system. At
about $9 per diaper, it's a substantial initial outlay, but the diapers
should last until the child is potty-trained, so the per-use cost is very
low. Plus, it fits most baby body shapes from newborn to 35 lbs (and I can
confirm this is true. I have used these for those sizes.)

If you want the kind with velcro tabs, make sure you get some with fold-back
patches so you can fold the tabs back for laundering. Otherwise you will
have a ball o' diapers when you take them out of the dryer, and you will not
be happy. I personally do not like velcro. Babies learn to undo it pretty
darned fast. And I don't like the feel, but your mileage may vary. There
are some beautiful work-at-home-mom-made velcro (and snap) diapers out
there. You will save money if you choose a one-size diaper. Many kinds of
diapers, including the pocket diapers such as the Fuzzi Bunz system, come in
various sizes, so you will be buying new ones (and they are expensive) all
along as your baby grows. But, the pocket diapers are appealing if you
really mind baby having wetness against the skin. My kids have never cared,
so I haven't either.



If If you can get back to us with what style you think you like best, maybe we
can point you toward better information?

"Kim E." wrote in message
a.net...
Thank you for all the tips! I figured the Target cloth diapers were
probly best for burping! I never thought about the velcro causing a
pile o' diapers in the laundry. After looking at some of this stuff
online, I think I will probly go with a combination of Chinese prefolds
and shaped diapers. I am sifting through all the recommendations to try
to decide which shaped ones to go with. I have a few more questions:

-Do those snappies really work to fasten the diaper securely? They
looked like a great idea that might not stay put from the pics.

I think it depends on your type of diaper. I had some very tightly-woven
diapers at one point and the Snappies didn't work with them. I was
disappointed. They do have little teeth that dig in, you see, and they
couldn't clip in that particular kind of fabric. They may also snag some
softer/looser woven fabrics. I think they would be great in terry squares
such as are used in the UK, but I've never actually seen them. But don't
quote me on this! Talk to someone who uses them full-time and find out what
kind of diapers they use them with, and what frustrations they may have.

-What kind of covers are good to use with the prefolds? As in pull-up
vs velcro closure, wool vs fleece vs cotton etc.

Personally, I like the PUL (polyurethane laminate) covers, wherever you get
them. I adore my Mother-Ease covers. Heck, you can make your own - I've
bought squares of PUL for $3.50 each (and the smaller $2.50 size would have
been adequate really). These are truly waterproof, I have had so few
cover-escaping blowouts in 6 years that I could probably count them on one
hand, and they also breathe a little. However, you must pin, or have a
velcro-on or snap-on diaper for these. These are covers, not wraps. The
difference, I think, is that a wrap is tighter, designed to hold a prefold
in place. A cover just covers it. Be wary of any cover with cotton or
rayon bias tape edging. These will wick wetness right out to clothes and
furniture.

I do not like fleece for a baby that sits around. I tried them once. I kept
finding wet spots wherever the baby sat. Fleece doesn't wick, but it does
*compress* if a wet butt sits on it, and as long as the baby is walking,
you're fine. To use fleece, you better be prepared to change the diaper
every single time the baby pees, or have wet spots all over the house. Some
people do this as a matter of course. I don't, so fleece is not for me.

-With the diapers you use, the mother-ease, you said the diapers will
last until potty training - does this mean the same size fits from
newborn to toddler?? That seems to be what you are saying, but it seems
to good to be true!

The Mother-Ease do not fit every shape of baby. Babies with particularly fat
thighs do not always fit in these. But I can tell you from extensive
first-hand experience that they will fit a 50th percentile baby from 7 lbs
(I mean, where is a 7 lb baby going to go anyway?) with the front of the
diaper folded down and the flaps overlapped and snapped, to potty-training a
35 lb 3 1/2 year old kid, with the snaps on the largest possible setting.
They are not convenient for potty training. We moved to the mother-ease
training pants for that (all bought in consignment shops) for that stage.

-What would you recommend for night time specifically?

We use a snap-in liner, plus a homemade doubler, in the Mother-Ease at
night. We never have leaks or blowouts. Other people double up their
prefolds, or buy All In Ones designed for nighttime.

--angela