Diapers Q&A
How do I get started using cloth diapers?
I am considering cloth diapers but know nothing about using them. How many diapers will I need to start with for a newborn? What other accessory items will I need to start with? What is the initial cost? Is a diaper service necessary or is washing them yourself simple enough? Is there a brand or style of diaper you have had luck with? Any tips at all will be very much appreciated!
Public Comments
- I bought the Target brand plain white towelling nappies. The ones you have to fold yourself. I have 3 dozen per child. Costs about $20 a pack in Australia. I also bought about 6 packs of nappy pins, I was forever loosing them. Plus a couple packets of nappy liners (if you are Australian, get the Wollies brand ones, super strong!!) I fold them kite style. I also wash them myself. I have 2 nappy buckets filled with boiling hot water, and a cup of pure soap. Get 2 different colours, so you know where your putting what. I put soild in one, wee in the other. I leave to soak in there over 24 hour period. Then chuck them into the washing machine, and rinse. The wash with a cup of lemon juice, to keep the smelling lovely. For the stained ones. A couple of hours in a bucket of boiling water and bleach does the trick. Then wash with tomorrows nappies.
- Well if you have a bit of money to invest in the cloth diapers then I would sya try the g-diaper. I use them for my daughter (regular ones when we are out because I dont really feel like having to deal with it all, but the G's are very easy to go out in). They are a cloth cover/holder that you slip like a giant pad into and then another into that. They are kind of expensive but the liners are actually biodegradable if you want to toss em, or if you have a powerful toilet you can use the swizzle stick to break em down in the toilet and flush em (never tried this though we have a septic tank). Go to gdiapers.com. Honetly we were going to switch totally to cloth ones but then last month Parents magazine had this article. One of their writers, a dad, did a test of all the major types of cloth including the g diapers, and also the reg. kind of diaper. Basically if you are doing it for enviroment reasons the experts he talked to said that unless you use something like the g-diaper that dosnt need constant washing then you arent helpin the enviroment any by using cloth. You are just hurting it in different ways, all the energy it takes to run a washing machine and also all the water it wastes, especially since you need to soak them and then wash them. You might as well stick to disposable diapers. Sorry to disappoint you, but if you still want to give it a go I'd use the G's.
- HI i have been a user of cloth diapers and beleive me ..i was as confused as u are..I am not against using cloth diapers at such a young age...i would say it is not proper time to use cloth diapers yet..as a new born would sleep for long time he would wake up easily if he can feel little bit of wetness..i had the same problem with my daughter..so i used cloth diapers when she was about three months old and have been using since then..she is seven months old now , ..we luv using cloth diapers on her... I used gerber birds eye 6ply cloth diapers available at walmart..and i know they are many more available out there...but these worked just fine...also its lot of work initially ..but we will get used to it..mind you..iam stay at home mom and so it doesnt seem that much of work to me... i use disposables when we go out and during night sleep
- www.greenmountaindiapers.com Everything you'll ever need to know about cloth diapering, from different types to folding to washing (and their prefold diapers are the absolute best out there!).
- There's lots of info online about using cloth. http://www.diaperpin.com has a tutorial for those new to using cloth. There's also a lot of info in the forums at http://www.diaperswappers.com and http://www.diapertraders.com . My personal favorite diapers are fleece pocket diapers, like Green Acre Designs. They're waterproof and breathable, and really soft. I personally don't like PUL diapers, like Fuzzi Bunz and bum Genius, because they make my son's butt clammy, but tons of people love those diapers, so maybe you would too. :-) Whatever you do, don't buy cheap cloth diapers at department stores, like the Gerber prefolds I got at Walmart and used on my first two babies. They're horrible. Trust me. I wash mine at home just fine. You'll find plenty of info about how to wash diapers at Diaper Pin and elsewhere on the internet.
