Diapers Q&A - How do cloth diapers work and what do i need to buy?

How do cloth diapers work and what do i need to buy?

i want to use cloth diapers on my lil one when they are born but i dont know which are best to get and what exactly to get. I understand you need to buy the prefold and the outer waterproof part..can someone describe to me how this works. Also how many for each baby stage do i need...ie: new born etc etc

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I would recommend joining a cloth diaper group for all sorts of suggestions. There are several on Yahoo!Groups. I made diapers for my cousins and another woman. The pattern below is what I would have used had it been available at the time (it is a one size; fits all sizes). The prefolds sold in stores are TOTALLY WORTHLESS. They are used for baby burp pads. They are not good enough for holding moisture. If this is the way you want to go, then buy them online.
You want a cloth that can stand up to many many washings, yet stay soft enough to not chafe the little ones bottom. Also with whicking abilities to take the moisture away from the bottoms. You will need pins or sew on Velcro. You need an outer plastic pant to prevent staining of clothes, bedding & what ever they are laying on. As far as number, depends on how often you will be doing laundry. You want more than You think You'll need, to be safe. Talk to some older ladies they are a wealth of information & have been there. Great job for wanting the best for Your children.
Cloth diapers have SOOOO many options. I haven't had the babe yet but have narrowed down my options. Honestly though I think our first will be a bit of a test subject in terms of cloth diapering and working with Elimination Communication :-) My grandmother used cloth but it was so long ago, she used just prefolds and plastic pants, which don't allow for breath-ability. My husband and I have chosen to use prefolds, with 100% wool outer wraps, it's a natural fiber that is very absorbant and fairly low maintainence. I think I will also be using microfiber towels (bought in bulk at Sam's Club) as a soaker at night as well, we will be cosleeping so the fewer accidents the better. I am part of a diaper Yahoo Group, called sewyourowndiapers but even if you don't sew (learning) they have awesome ideas for options. Also, if you are interested I am in an Elimination Communication Yahoo Group as well, I figure if I just catch the signals to avoid 1 diaper a day that's one less to have to be washed! We will also be asking for 1 or 2 of other types of cloth diapers, such as fleece covers, or some of the brand name types to see if I prefer something else. Good luck! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sewyourowndiapers/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eliminationcommunication/
There are also "all-in-ones," where you just...well, like it says. You don't need to get separate covers. http://diaperpin.com/ has some good diaper reviews. I am waiting on some all-in-ones from http://clothdiaper.com/ -- check them out if you're interested in that style; they are plain and cheap and reasonably well-reviewed.
You can either buy: 'pre-fold system', which is the nappy and a waterproof outer like the Mothercare Smart Nappy, 'All-In-Ones' which are the same as the prefolds but the nappy part doesnt come away from the waterproof outer (these normally take FOREVER to dry) Or the old fashioned terry toweling nappies. they say a baby needs changed around 10 times a day, but this depends on the baby so you can't really be certain on the exact amount you'll need. Also, how often you want to wash the nappies makes a difference to how many you need to buy. For example, if your baby needs changed 7times a day and you want to wash every other day, you're best to buy about 20 nappies and probably about 6-7 outers of each size. If you want to wash every day, then you'll need half. I have a mixture of Bambino Mio nappies and Mothercare Smart Nappies at the moment (And a set of Terry Toweling and rubber pants for 'just in case'), but I'm not keen on the Bambino Mio ones now and have just ordered myself some more of the Mothercare ones. I do a wash every day and I have 2 Mio outers and 2 Mothercare outers, 12 Mio inners and 2 Mothercare inners (The mothercare ones are trial packs). I would recomend the Mothercare Smart Nappy over the Bambino Mios. The Smart Nappies seem to be much better made. My daughter is only 7 weeks old and the Bambino's are already loosing their stitching on the inners. The outers also have quite hard velcro on them which seem to rub on my dd's belly even when it's not fastened very tightly. You're best to buy yourself trial packs first, instead of splashing out on full sets. I didn't do that with the Bambino Mios and have basically ended up wasting £100 as I probably won't use them once I get my set of Smart Nappies.
The most economical route for newborns who are under 8 lbs is pre folds or flats and covers. You will need 24-36 diapers and 4-6 covers. This will leave you doing laundry about every two days, you might be able to stretch it to 3 if your baby uses less than 15 diapers a day! Mine didn't! Pre-folds are layers of fabric sewn together with extra layers in the centre. You must fold them and secure them with a snappi, pins or just a snug fitting outer cover. There are lots of sites with folding instructions, but I like this one the best: http://www.punkinbutt.com/article_info.php?articles_id=7&osCsid=00r898j07b3n98865ilqqd4mk5 We used the 'reverse angel' fold on my daughter during our brief adventure with pre-folds, which only lasted a few days! However, it was the best fold I tried. There is also a link at the bottom of the page to link to folding instructions for flat diapers too. Personally I did not like using pre-folds and would only do it if my baby was under 8 lbs and then I would use one-size pocket diapers like bumGenius and Baby Kangas. If I have another baby here is what I would do: I already have a collection of one-size pocket diapers, but I would sell the remainder of my sized pocket diapers and buy additional bumGenius diapers and Baby Kanga diapers. These diapers are one-size fits all, starting at around 8 lbs. To round out my collection I would buy some Jamtots one-size Hemp Fleece prefolds to use on the baby when they are small (I would buy around 12), and then use them as stuffers in the pocket diapers later. http://www.jamtots.com/JamTots-One-Size-Hemp-Fleece-Inserts---2-Layer-P23C57.aspx I would also buy about 12 cotton newborn size prefolds for when they are under 8 lbs. If I wasn't having anymore babies after this one then I would either sell these or use them for cleaning! I would buy 4 small diaper covers, most likely Bummis Polar wraps and their new Super Brites (probably 2 of each). http://www.bummis.com/en/Products/covers/PolarBummi.html http://www.bummis.com/en/Products/covers/SuperBrite.html So I would have 24 infant sized pre folds to use when the baby is really small with 4 covers. Then I would have half of the prefolds still to use as inserts in pocket diapers. From 8 lbs to potty-training I would have about 20-24 one-sized pocket diapers to use! After cloth diapering my daughter I think this is the most economical way of doing it, while still having some convenience (pocket diapers). I wouldn't do pre-folds for the whole time, but many people do. That is the cheapest way to do it for sure. I like having a quick diaper change though, once my daughter started rolling and crawling and walking diaper changes turned into a battle and I know there is no way I could get a pre-fold and a cover on her now! My diaper storage and washing routine is below: Dirty diapers are put in a step-can (we bought a rubbermaid garbage can that has a removable plastic liner bin inside). I separate the inserts from the pocket diapers before they go in the bin. The bottom of the bin is sprinkled with baking soda to keep down any smell. If there are solids in any diapers I knock them into the toilet. To save water I usually wait until I have to go to the bathroom before I clean the diapers. Then it is not a wasted flush! Every 3-4 days (this will be more often for a newborn!) I dump the bin of diapers into the washing machine. I run one cold rinse cycle to get rid of any remaining solids and urine from the diapers. This also helps to stop stains from setting in the diapers. Next I run a long hot wash cycle with a cold rinse. I use 1/4 of the recommended amount of Tide Free detergent. Sometimes I add 1/4 of the recommended amount of Oxy-clean too. After the wash all diapers go into the dryer, or onto the clothes line (depending on the weather). Once dry I stuff all the pocket diapers and fold them into a wicker laundry basket. As I need diapers I take them from the laundry basket.