Diapers Q&A

decided to switch to cloth diapers well what are the best ? I'm tired of blowing money on disposables?

I'm tired of blowing money on disposables what are the best i tried birdseye but there not working out for my son very well any others that i can buy at Walmart or Target? any advice will be great I'm new to cloth diapers i think washing diapers is cheaper then disposables and i only used bleach it's like $40.00 a month in diapers compaired to what 5-10 in washing diapers

Public Comments

1. Don't' you think that disposable diapers are better? Think about it all the money you're going to have to waste on detergent soap to wash all the cloth diapers.... and time on washing them too.. I'll stay with disposable diapers....
2. Clothe diapers are great for all the obvious reasons! But you probably already know this! I used clothe diapers with my children (who are grown now). I think it is best to use these if there is someone in the home to change the diaper as soon as it becomes wet of soiled because of the irritation factor, ei..rashes, etc Also the best brand would be the ones with the lightest, breathable cotton...I am not sure where to buy them now. Back when my children were babies, we had to use 'rubber pants' over the diapers when going out anywhere and i am not sure if they still sell those but you can find out. Congratulations on your efforts to keep out environment healthier. It will be lots more work for you. also, remember that you will have to pre-rinse the soiled ones out into the toilet before the washing machine.
3. I used birdseye on my boys, all 3 of them. I never could justify the disposable thing. I use the oblong diapers folded around the smaller tufted one. I think people use them for burp rags now. If you need help on folding them just email me. I'll help.
4. It is much cheaper.. I remember when disposable diapers were first coming out... since my kids are grown now.. not sure of the brand names.. but it don't matter.. downy fabric softener will take care of roughness.. The thing with cloth diapers is that you need to change them much more often than with disposable ones.. it is not going to matter what kind.. walmart.. target. you will be doing a lot more changing either way.. and that is ok.. disposable things have made us all lazy.. you go girl. hahahaa.. bring some tlc and time back into taking care of a baby...
5. I prefer the disposables. Pampers preferably. Why waste the time cleaning cloth diapers when you could just be spending time with your child? And as for those who say it causes roughness, obviously you have no clue how to how to take care of your little ones Booty!
6. We use cloth and they are wonderful! We are saving tons of money...FYI the average paretn speds about $3,000 per child on disposables. We've spent a few hundred on cloth and they should get us through all of our kids. When choosing cloth diapers, you need to do some research. I have found that ones you can buy at local department stores just don't cut it. They aren't very absorbant, and you tend to give up on the cloth diapering thing. If you go with prefolds (the ones that look like burp cloths), you want to find "Diaper Service Quality" (DSQ) and you will need a cover for them. I love Bummi covers. You will also need to fasten them with something, and they now have something called a "Snappi", which is much easier than pins, IMO. A great place to look for diapers is Ebay. There are also fitted diapers, all-in-ones, and pocket diapers, which are more expensive, but still cheaper than disposables in the long run. You can check out some websites like "The Diaper Pin" and "Diaper Hyenia", or just type in a search for cloth diapers. There is tons of info out there! Plus, you will want to read up on how to wash them...you want to use a detergent like "All Free", as soaps can build up and cause your diapers to be smally and lose absorbancy. You also do not want to bleach your diapers as that will break down the fibers. It takes a little research and time, but personally I don't find it any harder, plus it is much better for the baby and environment. Oh, do be prepared to change baby more often, because you don't want them to have moisture against their skin.
7. Here's the lowdown: Cloth is way better and way cheaper. The ones you find at chain stores suck and will make you hate cloth diapering. The days of pins and complex folding are long gone! You simply take the diaper fold the sides in and top down for a boy, or width-wise into thirds for a girl and stick it in the cover then velcro it shut. If you want to go cheap: Get a couple dozen chinese prefolds and a 1/2 dozen Bummis Super Whisper Wraps (they are the best!) this will run you about $100-$120 dollars total and you will be set until potty training, or 30 pounds, whichever comes first. My son is potty trained now (age 2.5), but he never needed larges. So you could save alot of money just buying toddler sized prefolds and medium wraps if your baby is over 6 months or about 18 pounds. I don't understand these people that think washing a load of diapers twice a week is so very time consuming. We have machines for this purpose you know. DO NOT use bleach that destroys the fibers and can hurt baby's skin. Do not use fabric softener either, it makes the cotton less absorbant. After a change I shake out any solid poo into the toilet (if it won't come off i don't worry about it.) You are actually supposed to do this with paper diapers too, as landfills are not set up to contain human waste and it spreads E-Coli. I then throw all the diapers into a pail lined with a waterproof bag. Then, when its full, or i'm out of clean diapers, I dump the bag into the washer, wash on high heat with a tiny little bit of detergent and some Bac-Out and then do an extra rinse. If things seem a bit smelly, I put some cider vinegar into the fabric softener dispenser. Some people do a cold rinse first, but I'm lazy;-) i then throw the whole lot into the dryer on high for the longest cycle. if you want to spend a little more money, i highly recommend All-in-ones or pocket diapers. i love happy heinys and these are great for people, like dads or caregivers, who may have cloth diaper phobia. They just velcro on like paper diapers do. They are great for when you're out too, you stick them in a little waterproff bag in your diaper bag until you get home then dump them in the pail.
8. forget Wal-mart or Target!!! and forgot the bleach please....bleach ruins cloth no matter the fabric i use hemp personally and i LOVE IT....after using hemp i cannot imagine using anthing cheaper i use Crickett's Diapers and Growing Greens if you buy cheap then you will regret it.......birdeye is NOT worth it good quality diapers are going to cost some money but it's sooooooo worth it
9. The only quality kind that I know of sold in a department store are Kushies. Some Wal-Marts carry them. And if you can't find them, look for Gerber DSQ Prefolds. They're not the best, but they're certainly better than Birdsye. And the only kind of covers you will find in a store that will work at all are vinyl pull on covers. There is so much more available online. If buying online is the problem, email me your city and address, and I might know of a boutique near you that carries quality cloth diapers. Kushies are all in ones, though. All in Ones are not the best diapers to use if your child is under 6 months and still have liquid poops. If your child is eating solids on a regular basis, they should work just fine. If you really want to save money, you could buy used cloth diapers. Most of the time the diapers have been used for a short period of time and still have lots of wear left in them. There are a ton of online cloth resale shops that I will link you to. But you can try your local children's resale shops, many of them accept good cloth diapers and covers. This is a great informational site for beginners- http://www.natural-forces.com/essays/whycloth.htm If you're low income try Miracle Diapers- http://www.miraclediapers.org/ And check out their links page, there are many great links including sites that sell affordable new and used cloth diapers- http://www.miraclediapers.org/discover.html More info- http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/basics.htm Good sites to buy new cloth diapers and covers- http://www.katieskisses.com/ http://store.naturalbabies.com/store/Default.asp
10. I'm too old and out of touch to know what are the best cloth diapers out there. I know that there have been a lot of changes to cloth since I last used them on my kids so I will leave that answer to someone who really knows. I just wanted to congratulate you on your choice. I applaud you in this day and age of where we use everything once and throw it away. Thank you. Good luck.