Cloth Diapering

[tortoise]

Thread for discussing cloth diapering products and care.

 

[Mini Horses]

😶wow, things are so different from when I had my kids! I used plain birdseye rectangles. I preferred them because I could change the fold depending in the changing size of the baby,

Same here! They washed and dried so nicely! Lines full of white! 😁 I had no problems folding "to fit". There were plastic covers to snap over when going out. Handling used took some advance thought...plastic bags. And frequent laundry!

My babies were spoiled with warm soapy washcloth instead of cold wipes

There were NO packages of wipes back then. only the wet washclothes you carried along. Now you know why diaper bags used to look like a suitcase...and you emptied it at once when you got home!! I bought a lot of Clorox.

The expense was far less when you had reuse. Those disposable diapers are very costly. Plus, you have all that trashcan and landfill overflow. Gross. I even had lovely dust rags once kids went to training pants!

 

[FarmerJamie]

Cloth diapers were excellent for the eldest. She was sensitive to the disposables.

Side note. Somewhere I have a recipe for homemade wipes. Half roll of paper towels, baby lotion, witchhazel and couple of other things. If interested, I can look for it

 

[tortoise]

I'll share random tips from my cloth diapering experiences

• Prefolds are the easiest to wash, but most difficult to manage in other ways, like leaks. They have many uses. The Gerber prefolds sold in stores are absolute garbage, don't buy them!
• Diaper pins are pre-historic. Look for Snappies instead. Safer and easier!
• AIO (all in ones) are difficult to wash, and are best for newborn sizes.
• Pocket diapers are the best compromise for ease of washing, low risk of leaks, and ease of use.
• Adjustable pocket diapers are hard to wash when the elastic is cinched down to the smallest sizes. It's hard to prewash the poop out of the fabric folds.
• Look for diapers with gussets. Gussets prevent poop leaks.
• Buy used! There is a brisk market for used cloth diapers!
• Babies come in all different shapes and sizes, so don't buy a lot of a single brand/style of diaper until baby arrives and you know what shape and size your baby is!
• Fluff Love is an excellent resource for cloth diapering laundry advice.

 

[tortoise]

Oh! And if you have a stay at home parents and laundry machines in your home, you don't need nearly as many diapers as people would suggest. There are parents who collect hundreds of cloth diapers. With AIOs you'd need more diapers because they take longer to dry. But with pocket diapers 6 - 10 was enough for me.

 

[Britesea]

wow, things are so different from when I had my kids! I used plain birdseye rectangles. I preferred them because I could change the fold depending in the changing size of the baby, I had a few vinyl covers for dress-up, but mostly I just changed the diapers as soon as the baby soiled them. Went through a lot of diapers in a day, but my babies never had skin problems because their bottoms weren't exposed to poop and pee for long enough to cause a problem. New moms have told me you can't get diapers like what I used anymore, which I think is a shame because they were inexpensive, easy to use and easy to clean. Things might get a little stinky when the diaper pail got full, but I tried to not let it get to that point.
When Pampers first came out, I did buy some because they were so convenient when leaving the house, but I did notice some diaper rash when I used them; I think because they didn't allow fresh air to come in anymore than they allowed pee to come out.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Don't know why this popped into my head - but my DD had a 'wipes warmer' when her kiddos were small. Dunno if they even still make 'em, but I remember how nice it was for baby to have a warm wipe instead of a cold one.

 

[Britesea]

I need to dig deeper. Did a quick Google search and it seems every recipe has essential oils (one even had CBD oil) and other extra stuff. Does the baby's bottom need to smell of lavender?

Not lavender, no. A clean baby has the most delightful smell in the world, without need of perfume. On the other hand, I might add some calendula oil to it- to help with any skin issues.

I remember my old pediatrician telling me the BEST thing for a baby's bottom is fresh air.

 

[tortoise]

Some of the new cloth diapers are very difficult to get clean and get detergent residue out of them.

@NH Homesteader brings up a great point, when you are sleep-deprived and overwhelmed with child care is NOT the time to learn to cloth diaper. I wanted to use prefolds with my second baby because the laundry is easier, but I didn't learn any of the folds. I was so sleep-deprived I was unable to follow the instructions and learn how to do it!! Get diapers early, get or borrow a life-size newborn doll, and practice before baby is here. The doll isn't going to kick, roll away, or pee on you like the real thing.

 

[JanetMarie]

This is a great thread. Not only diapers, but think if toilet paper and tissues are not available what will you do? Do you have cloth hankies? What about toilet paper? Everyone knows that we have become a throw away society. Everything is packaged in plastic, which is good for what (nothing)?

When I was in elementary school, in the 70s, my mom always sent a cloth hanky to school with me. I do have cloth hankerchiefs and bandanas just in case. Wash and reuse.