Diapers Q&A

Cloth diaper help?

Hey! I'm a soon to be new mommy and wondering if anyone could help me prepare! I want to use cloth diapers to be green, and I think I'm going to go with flats and/or prefolds mostly for the price factor. I've done some research but I still have a bunch of questions! Would love your advice :) How many cloth diapers should I have on hand? How many diaper covers will I need? Is wool really as awesome as they say it is for a diaper cover? Where do I buy pins? Are regular safety pins okay to use? Smell-wise, how long is it possible to go between washings? Can I put regular clothes in with the diapers or do I have to wash them by themselves? I hear that when using gerber flats you have to double or triple them depending on how old your baby is and how much they go at once, does this mean a newborn needs less absorbency or more? And is there a stage when diaper covers are not needed?

Public Comments

1. From my experience with cloth diapering..... You need 2-3 dozen prefolds. I recommend going with unbleached prefolds, they're softer and absorb better. Covers wise, I would say a dozen. I like the Bummis Super Whisper Wraps the best for covers. You do need to wash them separately with very little detergent because it will cause them to have less absorbancy. Here is a great link to help get you started! Have fun, I had a blast with cloth! http://www.diaperpin.com/howto.asp I usually could go 1-2 days without washing and I used a dry pail.
2. we used cloth for all three of our kids (now in their 20's) Use regular safety pins, large ones. Teach the babysitters how to put on a cloth diaper (DAMHIKT). We washed diapers at least weekly. Washed them separately (from other clothes), with pre-soak, double rinse and bleach. Always used "rubber pants" (is this what you mean by covers? As you will have some "blow-outs", you will want a number of rubber pants. Probably one per day between washings at a minimum, with a few extra. Rinse out soiled diapers in the toilet to get solids out. We liked the flat diapers best. Folded them usually into thirds, but a bit more for newborns. I also believed they washed better. A diaper pail with deodorizer is a must.
3. It depends on how often you want to wash. I ended up with three dozen of the small prefolds and I think that was a good amount. Again, it depends. 5-6 would be great. Yeah, it's great...but you have to wash it by hand. Personally, I am hugely lazy when it comes to this so I liked fleece covers better. Go with snappis. They're easier & safer. Get them online when you buy the diapers. (Get the diapers online, NOT in a big chain store: chain stores sell "diapers" but they aren't absorbent because they aren't meant to be used as diapers.) I recommend doing a load a day. I typically had a load in the wash, a load in the drier, and a load put away at any given time. I just thought it was easier. I put all the baby stuff (and towels) in together & wash it all on high heat. Of course fancy clothes can't go into that load. DON'T go with gerber diapers, PLEASE. They aren't absorbent. Buy online (e.g. www.greenmountaindiapers.com) to get better diapers. A newborn typically pees about a tablespoon of pee ten thousand times a day ;) so you will need less absorbent diapers but you will need to change frequently. I really didn't use a cover on my newborn at all but I literally changed her diaper and her pants every time she peed. Good luck.
4. You should ideally have 24-36 diapers and 4-6 covers. You need to use a fresh diaper each time you change but you can reuse the covers until they have been soiled by poo! It is best to rotate them throughout the day so that the covers have time to air out between uses. Wool is nice for diaper covers. It breathes well, it doesn't need to be washed as often and it holds in moisture very well. It is however quite expensive and most wool covers need to be hand washed and treated with lanolin to keep them waterproof. I have found a wool cover that is machine washable though and does not need to be treated with lanolin often (I have had it for 4 months and haven't had to treat it yet!). It is by Sckoon --- I only use covers at night (I use pocket diapers during the day) and this one has been great. http://www.sckoon.com/er-n69a000.html To save some money you can buy some other types of covers made of fleece or PUL. I really like Polar Bummis (fleece), I use them at night too. Bummis Super Whisper Wraps are VERY popular diaper wraps and their new Super Brites are really cute. http://www.bummis.com/en/Products/covers/PolarBummi.html http://www.bummis.com/en/Products/covers/SuperWhisperWrap.html http://www.bummis.com/en/Products/covers/SuperBrite.html Bummis also make a nice diapering kit that includes pre-folds, covers and flushable liners. http://www.bummis.com/en/Products/covers/Kit.html The best pre-folds are unbleached Indian cotton ones. They are the softest, will last the longest and are the most absorbent. http://www.parentingbynature.com/201_unbleached_prefolds.htm Another nice pre-fold option is hemp pre-folds. Hemp is incredibly absorbent (way more than cotton), as well, it is farmed without pesticides and is naturally anti-bacterial. Jamtots makes some wonderful hemp pocket diaper stuffers that I use --- I haven't used their pre-folds but I am sure they are as good! http://www.jamtots.com/Hemp-Prefold-Diapers-C57.aspx There is no need to use pins anymore. Most people use Snappi fasteners or just a snug fitting diaper wrap (like the Bummis Super Whisper Wrap). http://www.parentingbynature.com/04_snappi.htm As far as smell goes 4 days is the longest I have ever gone and the pail gets pretty smelly! It's a pretty powerful ammonia smell! After 2 days it will get a little smelly when you open the pail, but it is not bad. Do a dry pail method and sprinkle baking soda on the bottom to help keep odor down. Make sure your diaper pail is NOT air tight. By allowing some airflow the diaper pail will not be as smelly! You should always wash your diapers together in a dedicated wash cycle. Keep your clothes out of it. Diapers require WAYYYY less detergent and DO NOT use fabric softeners or bleach with your diapers. I like to run a cold rinse cycle and then a long hot wash cycle with 1/3 of the recommended amount of detergent. After that they can go in the dryer or out on the clothes line. I wouldn't use Gerber flats --- or any "diaper" you find at Walmart or Target or wherever. Buy your cloth diapers online or in a Baby Boutique. Getting good quality diapers is essential to sticking with it! People who buy the cheapest thing they can find often are the ones that give up right away because they run into quality and function issues. You don't need extra frustrations when you have a newborn baby! Trust me! And I would always use a cover with my baby. I know some people let older babies (usually close to a year old) go without a cover around the house. But my daughter is a very heavy wetter and I wouldn't want to deal with the wet spot! You will get to know your baby and know if you are comfortable with letting them go without a cover. For naps, overnight and out of the house you should always use a cover though. When they are coverless they should also be without pants so you can tell when they have wet through! Good luck! Feel free to email me if you have any more questions.
5. I used cloth diapers on my son, I used the flats and prefolds, I would buy a little of both a use them see which you prefer. And nowdays its hard to find diaper pins, Walmart or JC Penneys may have them. Yes, cloth helped the environment but you have the expense of having the cloth cleaned, whether you clean yourself or have them professionally cleaned versus the pampers which are easy, which I used on my second child, but hard to dispose and are expensive to buy, bad for the environment. I used regular safety pins make sure the pinpoint fits good in the top part (the shank I call it). I would dump the waste in the toilet then soak in hot water before washing, it helps gets the stains out. I always washed the diapers separate from our clothes and the baby's other clothes. And I used Ivory Snow for baby's delicate skin, also, Tide I think has a special tide for baby clothes, cause when I was looking for Ivory snow (liquid and powder) Our local WalMart did not handle Ivory Snow, but they had Dreft, our local grocery store had Ivory Snow is what I prefer, but it doesnt smell as good as when my kids where babies, about 22 yrs. My daughter just had a baby and we use Ivory snow. More, my grandson dirties atleast 3-6 diapers a day. I hope I helped you out on this. I never used wool for diaper covering I used plastic pants, if you type in google or ask jeeves, and "ask where can I find baby diaper pins", they may give you places where you can order them. Good Luck, Horselover_1952@yahoo.com