Diapers Q&A

cloth diapers?

i would love to cut down on the $ and waste i put into the trash; but i'm worried the cloth diapers will cause skin irritations. i've done some research on different kinds but i still dont know the best way to go. i dont want laundry services coming to my house--i dont think that'll save me $. i heard theres a website to buy used cloth diapers but thats kinda gross dont you think? any suggestions

Public Comments

1. buy a bunch and wash them yourself like women have done since the beginning of time (until pampers came along, of course). if you change the diaper as soon as its soiled, your baby wont get any irritation from the fabric. use baby powder and baby butt cream and itll be fine, cheap and environmentally friendly.
2. as long as they are cleaned properly you need not worry..I always cleaned mine with a cup of baking soda in the laundry to help clean them and it did wonders. The main reason cloth diapers cause skin irratations is that they are left on too long soiled or with the rubber panties that have no airflow, the ones I had were great they had a mesh top so that the baby didnt soil or wet on anything but the airflow was there. I have used both kinds of diapers and if you are concerned about the money part, cloth is much cheaper to use, I had 2 dozen and washed them myself, hope it helps
3. Have you ever used cloth diapers?? I use to baby sit for a lady who used them and that is why I did not. I do agree its a lot of waste and may be it would not be so bad if its your own kids poop you are scrubbing out LOL I would defiantly not buy used ones, even if they are clean they would have put tons of chemical in them to get them that way. I also found the plastic pants ALWAYS leaked, but I am 34 and that was when I was around 10 so I would think they would have came a long way in cloth diapers by now.
4. Cloth diapers are actually better for babies skin!(as long as you use a gentle laundry detergent) My little one had constant skin irritation before I switched to cloth. Sposies are chemical laden, which can irritate skin. Also, cloth diapers are more breathable. I buy my diapers from http://hyenacart.com/ It is a collection of earth-friendly, work-at-home mom shops. http://www.diaperpin.com has a lot of useful info about cloth diapering. Good Luck!
5. Good for you! Cloth diapers are awesome! Your baby will actually have a healthier butt after you make the switch. Cloth diapers let air circulate, while disposables do not. Cotton is not irritating to the skin, like fresh plastic, sodium polyacrylate and bleached paper are. If your washing methods cause irritation, tweak them. Easy. I love a Chinese prefold with a Bummis SWW or a homemade wool soaker. I use a Snappi to help contain poo. I also like BumGenius one-size pockets for going out. They're trimmer, cuter and they really are one-size. Lots of people buy used diapers. I don't, but I like to make my own. I get really excited when I find old wool blazers, unwanted flannel sheets, torn towels or remnants of microterry in the remnant bin at Jo Ann's! Google free diaper pattern for lots of free instrustions, or just buy a few and copy the ones you like best. If you want a bunch of my favorite links, email me. They're in my MySpace blog, but I would be happy to paste them into an email for you. Rasta only had problems with her diapers because she used the cheap diapers from Wal-Mart. Those things are made to be burp cloths, not diapers. No one uses those as diapers! If she had used real diapers, she would not have had those problems. Guaranteed.
6. Cloth diapers do seem like an economical suggestion but in the long run we just used the ones we bought for burp clothes. They definitely came in handy when I would accidentally run out of the disposable ones and couldn't make it to the store on time, but I would say I spent more money cleaning or replacing the clothes my son ruined lol! Baby poo at such a young age can be so runny that you will be happy to have a better barrier that it can't seep through...especially if you are breastfeeding. I think that skin irritations can happen more frequently w/ disposable diapers but that is only because they don't get changed often enough...only the detergent you would use on the cloth would be irritating. There are cheap disposable diapers out there but if you want to try the cloth you can buy them at any all needs store like wal-mart/target; but I almost guarantee they will more trouble than they are worth...at least you could wait until the baby is a little bit older w/ more solid waste coming out;) Good luck to you!
7. I did cloth with my first child - the kind with the velcro closures. I wouldn't do it again. Too much of a pain to clean out the crap - pee's not so bad, but dunking that stuff in the toilet to get it off is a baaaddd thing. Also, you have to keep them around until you can get them washed, etc. yukk
8. Babies get nappy rash. So what? Put some Sudocrem on!
9. I bought all my cloth dipes used off of E-bay. They were in great condition, and most cloth dipering parents keep them looking great and sanitary because they are so danged expensive new, that most folks sell them when done. My fav was the contoured or fitted dipes with a Bummies-type cover. I love them. There are so many different kinds now. But honestly, you can just gedt the wrap covers and use prefolds just as well. Those are fairly inexpensive in the cloth dipe relm. Hemp ones actually absorb the best. You can also buy new ones from many different places, and most are by work at home moms, that make and sell them as their job. Look into them. Also, cleaning is easy, until solids are given, there is no need to dunk poopy dipes anywhere, just throw them in the pail and sprinkle baking soda on them. Wash them with a teaspoon of gentle laundry soap and vinager and there ya go! Clean diapes!
10. Honestly we used cloth diapers for the first two months and then stopped. We found that we were doing more laundry to keep up with the wraps and diapers in good supply than we would have done otherwise. The water bill was the final straw for us. It is either land fill space or water waste you have to decide which you are more comfortable with as each are a precious commodity. As for the skin irrations my child did not experience any, but he did cry the moment he got wet. We now use the store brand diapers and they are just as good as any of the name brands and cheaper. Good Luck to you.
11. I did half & half. I used cloths at home, and disposables when we were out and about. Also, by using cloths, I never had to run to the store because I ran out. It was quite convenient.
12. I did both.. My daughter had a really bad allergic reaction to the paper diapers.. I used cloth with my boys and ended up using it with her too..They learned how to potty train allot faster.. You need to change them more often.. The diaper service is great.. they know how many times you should change your baby.. I prefer cloth.. but on trips to the park.. I cheated and brought disposable..after all that was what they were made for in the first place.. for camping tips and such.. lol anyway.. Use cow balm too it is the best..But if you do not want a service then do your own.. But i liked not dealing with the problems of washing my own and not doing it right...
13. I use cloth diapers - I bought mine from www.tinytush.com and they are great. They never leak, and I don't find that the laundry is overwhelming. I bought 30, so if I use, say, 6 diapers a day, I only have to wash every 3 days or so. My daughter gets more diaper rash if I put her in disposables - she seems really happy and comfortable in her "tiny tush" diapers. Go for it, and well done for saving the environment!
14. Well, I'm finally glad to meet someone that really wants to help with the environment by using cloth diapers. I was beginning to think I was a thing of the past. Cloth diapers are he only way to go. I think you will be surprised about how much money they will save you compared to brand name disposables. I only say brand name because store brands usually don't absorb as much and you wind up using more then you would of the brand names anyway so the cost of disposables from one to the other is about the same. With cloth diapers you will find that as long as you change the diaper as soon as possible when needed that the instance of rashes is almost zero. Both my kids were cloth diapered when they were growing up and now myself, see, I'm incontinent and I too have worn both and when it comes to disposables, they are very uncomfortable, hot and sticky whereas cloth diapers are softer, more comfortable, and because they can breathe better than disposables, they are cooler and there are no rashes to speak of. With disposables, I would get rashes all the time, since I switched to cloth, I've had none. I think all new parents should be made to wear diapers for 6 months before having any children. Three months in disposables and three months in cloth and I would bet most would cloth diaper their child. The side benefit of cloth is that you aren't putting all that paper, plastic and human waste into the landfills. Imagine what the pile of diapers would look like in your back yard if you had to keep them there after changing your baby. It would be a huge pile, now imagine that times all the babies that you see around and you start to get an idea of how much goes to landfills every year. You don't need a laundry service. Just do the extra couple of loads of laundry a week and you will get into the routine to the point you won't even notice it. I do two loads a week for myself and it's no big deal when you take into consideration the difference in comfort that is involved. Just think of your child, you would lay down your life for him, why not a couple loads of laundry a week for that same child. Good luck.