Diapers Q&A - Cloth Diapers? Can you help me out PLEASE?

Cloth Diapers? Can you help me out PLEASE?

I just got some cloth diapers yesterday from a nonprofit group who lends cloth diapers to those who want to use it, but cant afford the upfront cost! Heres the deal, i have NO clue how to use these diapers! I've got some all in ones (AIO) and fitted, and i've got the extra pad to go in the diaper, covers, and wipes. They gave some kushies? which seem like it's all in one, but to me, it looks like if i put it on my son, and he takes a #2, it will go all over the place! I am totally lost, as i didnt get any instructions, other then how to wash! I am no dummy, but im just overwhemled whith these! With the AIO's, do i put the pad inside, so it is not directly touching my son, or is that what goes up against his skin? (there is a pocket in the diaper) But some pictures i've seen, it shows the pad as touching the skin! OK, if your lost now, i am too! Does anyone have any sites that help new cloth diaper uses how to use these, other then put them on the baby!? If you use cloth, what are some tricks that you use? Do they leak? How often do you wash them? Any comments in regards to their use would be more then helpful right now. EDIT: And when i asked how often do you wash them, obviously when they are dirty, but do you wait till most are dirty? Wash them with normal wash? Or just diapers?

Public Comments

I've never seen the cloth diapers that you are talking about. My mom used them on my younger siblings and myself. They were simply a cloth diaper folded and pinned on the baby. There were no pads or anything like that. They did have plastic "panties" that you could put on the baby over top of the diaper so they wouldn't leak.
"With the AIO's, do i put the pad inside, so it is not directly touching my son, or is that what goes up against his skin? (there is a pocket in the diaper) But some pictures i've seen, it shows the pad as touching the skin!" Those aren't AIOs, then? They must be pocket dipes. Stuff the stuffing in the pocket... The ones you see with the stuffing stuff touching the skin might be AIOs with a 'doubler'? Using an extra pad/'doubler' in AIOs might be good for overnight, but it isn't necessary with any of the AIOs around here for normal wear times. "If you use cloth, what are some tricks that you use" Your washing machine = awesome wet diaper pail. I'm sure that'll gross somebody out, but... "Do they leak? How often do you wash them?" Some are leakier than others. I end up washing them daily; we have a lot of laundry thanks in part to cloth wipes and general spitting up. If there's a big poop dipe it gets a cold-water soak and spin in the machine before getting laundered with the rest. I do dipes in general with: the waterproof pads we use as changing mats, the washcloths we use as wipes, and anything else in the house that's particularly dirty (the baby clothes we ate breakfast in) or hard-wearing (Mummy's grubbies), in a hot-water 'heavy' cycle. Borax works well to de-funk, and vinegar in the bleach dispenser never hurt a load of dipes. NO fabric softener!
i use to use it but its so hard to explain, here check here, http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/howto.htm
I tried using them and the laundry part really got bad and leakage does happen even with the plastic covers, I ended up with store bought. Some people do stick with it and can do it, I couldnt it became a hassel at the time for me. Was not a stay at home mom. In the long run it does save on tons of money. I am sure you can hit a site on how to diaper a baby using them. Its easier to be shown how to do it then to read it off the internet.
Spend some time on www.diaperpin.com. There is a lot of information there. There are lots of helpful articles on some of the diaper retail websites. I like www.cottonbabies.com, but many online store have information on how to use your cloth diapers. Someone mentioned Green Mountain Diapers. I learned a lot there! If your diaper has a pocket, but no absorbent padding, then it's a pocket diaper. Put the stuffing in the pocket, whent he diaper is wet, remove the stuffing and put the whole thing in the diaper hamper. If your diaper has absorbent padding and a waterproof outer shell, then it's an AIO. Some AIOs do have a place to put a booster. Use it or not--it's your choice. I recommend that you use the pocket, because the diaper probably has a stay-dry lining. We've all learned what we know from the internet. Just keep looking and find some websites that you like. Don't be afraid to put a diaper on "wrong." You'll figure it out. Sometimes the experiments that sound really dumb end up leading to really great discoveries! I wash diapers on their own. I wait until I'm in danger of running out, but that's just me! I toss the dirty diapers into a dry pail (a kitchen garbage can with a good lid). On wash day, I toss the diapers into a cold rinse cycle with a little bit of detergent and some baking soda. I run a hot cycle after that, with white vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser. If I feel like I need another rinse, I run another rinse. I try to dry the diapers in the sun for stain removal and disinfecting, but the dryer works too. Just try to quit using dryer sheets and fabric softener. It coats the inside of the dryer and will make your diapers stinky and repellent.
I think I would have to see your diapers to get a really good idea. Generally kushies do not fit every baby right. You may have to work with them a little. Did you get the right size? Doublers are used in the diaper to increase absorbency generally. If they are an AIO that should prevent many leaks. To wash it is fairly easy. Tip out poop in the toilet ETA: washing was every 2 or 3 days. cold wash hot wash extra rinse
Are all the diapers Kushies brand? Kushies does not make pocket diapers, only AIOs and fitteds. Both types have a soaker pad in them that is only sewn to the back of the diaper and it is loose in the front. You fold the soaker pad in the front for boys and in the middle for girls. It is only sewn down at the back so that they dry faster and you can customize where the extra layers are. They also sell doublers that you can lay on top of the diapers to make them more absorbent. Kushies are cheap diapers and unfortunately they are not very absorbent. You will probably need to use the doublers inside them all the time. I had some and can't use them anymore since my daughters legs got too skinny and she was peeing right out the leg holes! If your little one has chubby thighs you should be okay. Kushies need extra rinses as they hold onto detergent, which can irritate your baby's skin. Wash them with very little detergent (1/4 the recommended amount) and make sure you run an extra rinse cycle or two at the end. If you have Kushies covers, they cannot go in the dryer, but the fitted diapers and AIOs can. Do not soak the AIOs or covers before washing them. Store them in a dry pail with some baking soda to keep smells down. Depending on how many diapers you have you will need to do laundry every 1-4 days. Don't go more than 4 days --- it will get really smelly! I prefer to wash every three days, that normally requires that you have about 36 diapers. Wash only diapers together, you use too much detergent with your clothes and that will build up on the diapers.
There is a difference between AIOs and pocket diapers. With pocket diapers there is a pad that goes into the pocket. The benefit of a pocket diaper over and AIO is that pocket diapers take less time to dry. There are also doublers which can be used with any kind of diaper to make them more absorbent. Anyway I can't speak highly enough of Yahoo Groups and there are lots of groups for cloth diaperers. Which will get you many more answers than here as this is so mainstream. http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=cloth+diapers Good luck! Wish I could help more but I didn't end up cloth diapering (my grandma was so upset at the thought that she buys all my diapers, plus where I live they go into the compost so I pretend they aren't so bad *lol*)