I. Am. Overwhelmed! by all the CDing options! Which one did you pick and why? If you pick more than one, which diaper system for which phase?
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we use all in ones, they are easiest and most convenient very much like a disposable diaper. the freetimes by bumgenius are what we use
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@Mrsbells: Not to put too fine a point on it, but do you have to scrape the poo into the toilet with AIOs?
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Oh also with AIOs how do you deal with overnight and heavy wetters? Put in extra layers with cloth inserts?
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I use a combo right now...AIOS, Hybrids, Pockets, Fitted! I haven't used prefolds for months but they worked well when LO's legs were too skinny for the one size diapers. I always use a fitted with a cover or double stuffed pocket at night but otherwise...I just grab any clean diaper.
This book was helpful to me when I decided to CD:
http://www.amazon.com/Changing-Diapers-Guide-Modern-Diapering/dp/0983562210 -
@Mrsbells: We use the same. I knew I would need the easiest option in order to get DH on board with it.
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We have tried quite a bit over the past year.
I started with the grovia AI2 (cloth plus shell). I liked them but then tried pockets. I liked them too and we use a lot of these. I have also tried AIO (Bg elemental) and they aren't bad (long dry time and poo harder to scrape but no prep time). Lastly feeling adventurous and confident we tried the flip with a pre fold. I actually really like these but daycare won't take these.
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We've used a combo since birth of aio, pockets, prefolds & covers, and fitteds & covers.
For the newborn stage we used prefolds & thirsties covers during the day at home and bumgenius newborn aio & fuzzibunz xsmall pockets for nights & outings.
Now we use mostly pockets (sunbabies) during the day, fitteds at night, and prefolds in between & on wash day.
I'm happy with our system & want to get some more pockets... I only have 12 and you can never have too much fluff! lol
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We stocked up on BumGenius Freetime due to consistently good reviews on the BG brand. I like the simplicity of AIOs, plus I think you can actually stick an extra liner in the Freetimes if you want to bulk up the protection.
If MIL hadn't gone so crazy buying & picking out cloth diapers for us, we would have ended up only w/AIOs...but since she bought us ten 4.0s I'm planning to try those as well. I have heard pockets are nice for nighttime when you might want the option to double up for heavy wetting jobs. She also bought us prefolds...the Econobum kind, which I am planning to try only because they were free to us (and because I feel guilty returning them).
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GMD prefolds and Flip covers!
I chose this because:
- very cost efficient...fewer covers to buy (6 vs 18+)
- dries faster because insert and shell are separate
- 100% organic cotton insert so no polyester stink
- no stripping/less maintenance work because it's just cottonThat's the PLAN. Let's see how well it works
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Okay someone please explain what a prefold is?
Sorry - when i take to the open internet I get totally overwhelmed. HB save me.
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We use flip covers with prefolds. Inexpensive and efficient!
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As far as poo goes, you only need to spray/scrape if your baby is eating solids. Unless you have a completely disposable insert, you would need to do this for any type of cloth diaper.
We started with Prefolds and covers. This is the cheapest type of system to use and Prefolds are pretty bulletproof as far as wash and dry. I've never had any sort of stink or repelling issues with them.
I gradually branched out into Pockets and AIOs. (I have GroVia covers, which are technically an AI2 system but I use them with my Prefolds, not their snap-in inserts.)
Pockets are nice because most have a stay-dry layer built in. I also think poop comes off more easily because of the fleece. The cons are that you have to stuff them and the microfiber inserts that most come with are a little finicky in the long term. (I stopped using mine after they got horrid ammonia build-up and stuff my pockets with Prefolds.) We use pockets for overnight.
I also have a few AIOs. These are convenient because it's just one thing to grab. Even if you don't get a whole stash of these, you can get just a few for going out of the house. Some of these have the stay-dry layer, but many do not.
If you think you might want to use a disposable liner sometimes and cloth at other times, most of the systems allow you to do either. GroVia or Flip might be good ones to check out.
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Prefolds=think of old school cloth diapers that you had to fold up before putting on the baby. They're usually the cheapest option. But these days they have all kinds of cute covers you can put over and you don't have to use the giant safety pins w/ducks on them.
The kind we received are also a lot more hardcore & absorbent than the plain Gerber cloth diapers of olden days.
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prefolds:
You can do different "folds" & they are used with a cover. We do the "jelly roll" fold alot b/c it keeps poo in really good!
http://www.littleturtleknits.com/sidewallpf.htm -
@JoJoGirl: It is just a rectangular piece of fabric that is folded and secured by pins or a Snappi fastener. They also make great burp cloths!
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Prefolds are a several flat pieces of cloth that are sewn together with the thickest section in the middle.
There's a link to a post I did on my blog about cloth diapers. There are lots of photos.
http://glimmersnaps.blogspot.com/2012/10/cloth-diapering-your-baby-in-21st.htmlThe Prefolds in those photos have been washed more than 200 times!
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Thanks guys. Can I ask more dumb questions? If you are out and about you put the poopy diaper into a wetbag? And then dump the whole wetbag into the washing machine? My DH is very resistant to handling poo (well, I am too) so we were on a strictly hybrid disposable plan up until now, but researching this is like opening pandora's box and now I'm totally confused.
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@glimmersnaps: Ooh, thanks!
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@JoJoGirl: we have a diaper sprayer but now that she is on solids we can shake the poop off
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If you baby is not on solids then just dump the whole thing in the machine!
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Fascinating!! Hmm okay.
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@JoJoGirl: I think you'll have to handle poo at some point, whether in cloth or disposables. At least cloth diapers are supposed to have fewer blowouts, so in theory the poop will remain in the diaper...
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I handled WAY more poo in disposables with blowouts & leaks than we ever have with P in cloth over the last 8.5 months! Seriously.
For breastfed babies you can throw the dipes in the wash as they are... although many pockets you'll have to remove the insert (fuzzibunz perfect size will shake out on their own in the wash).
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@JoJoGirl: you can buy "poo liners" that are biodegradable and flushable. This is for when your LO starts eating solids! Great for when you're out and about.
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Subscribing - I am so overwhelmed by CD choices. It is my last pre-baby chore! Thanks for all the info.
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We bought prefolds and pockets, I exclusively use the pockets. I always double stuff, wash (I hand wash all, then into machine mostly already clean!) every 2.5 days. I have BGs (snaps and velcro) and FuzziBuns perfect fits (currently in smalls).
Started reluctantly at 3w and never looked back, love them.
I use the prefolds as burp cloths, lol.
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We're a combo too, pockets and AIOs. I love the AIOs during the day but I prefer the pockets overnight because I feel like there is less leaking.
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@JoJoGirl: Good question! I am bookmarking this for later.
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I do a combo of AIOs, pockets, and fitteds/prefolds + covers. My favorite resources for CD info are Abby's Lane and Green Mountain Diapers. Not only is there a ton of info on their website, they are super helpful through email too!
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Thank you all for your input!!!! After learning so much from all of you, especially about the liners that lift solids, we are much less intimidated and will likely go to all cloth. Hooray. We are also registered for a cloth diapering workshop nearby (perk of living in crunchy MA) in a couple of weeks. Mamas who use all-in-ones - I have a friend who prefers the pockets because she can double or triple stuff at night and baby is always dry. Do you have the same kind of control with an AIO? Can you stuff with extra inserts if need be?
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Oh and what do you all do when you travel and there's no washing machine available?
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We use AIO's because I felt that was the only way I would ever get DH on board with cloth. They're easy peasy, no stuffing, no folding, pretty much the same as using a disposable but you throw them in the washer. LO is 17 months and I asked him how he feels about cloth now that we've been doing it for awhile and he said he loves them
@JoJoGirl: We put in hemp inserts at night time. We put in two now because she pees A LOT and it works out great. When we travel for longer then a day we use disposables. I don't want to be doing laundry every other day on my vacation.
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We used AIO for newborn (seemed like an easy way to start).
Used one-size pockets for after 6 weeks and on (and I was really happy about faster drying time).
But for night time, found the pockets (even stuffed with different stuff) was no good from say 5 months on, so at night we use fitteds, stuffed with hemp, with wool covers.For all ages and stages and issues, I find that the correct fit is essential for no leaks. It sometimes takes a little time to play around with the size settings to figure out the right fit, so whatever system you choose, be ready to give it a bit of learning-curve time.
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@artbee: @cvbee: Perfect, thanks. We also need this to be as easy as possible so I imagine we'll also start with AIOs (how long do they take to dry?) - especially if we can put in hemp inserts if we get leaks at night. And maybe a few Grovia shells w/disposable inserts for vacations..
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@JoJoGirl: We have bum genius elementals because freetimes didn't exist yet when we started, and they take a long time to dry, 3 cycles! I suggest you try freetimes, I hear good things about them.
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We use OS so we're going with AIO throughout LO's whole diapered life.
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@JoJoGirl: Mine took 2 dryer cycles. They were cotton AIOs though (grovia AIO newborn). My hemp liners and my one cotton-bamboo fitted diaper need longer than 1 cycle too, but I just air-dry after the 1 cycle. When LO was newborn, he went through diapers so fast that I didn't have time to air dry the dampness out.
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We did prefolds for the newborn stage and then went to a mix of AIO and prefolds once he was bigger. For overnight we add a doubler on top of the AIO and that seems to work well.
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@JoJoGirl: We just washed our stash of Freetimes and they air dried almost completely overnight (I've read that they last longer if you don't put em in the dryer). The liner part lifts out to make them dry more quickly (one end stays attached to the diaper). I don't think Elementals lift out like that, which makes the drying take longer.
The kind we received are also a lot more hardcore & absorbent than the plain Gerber cloth diapers of olden days.
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