Babble

With our first we used disposable, which was easy and convenient. I always had a twinge of guilt when I threw the diapers in the trash. I am expecting our second child in April. I have been thinking about going cloth with this one, but I don't know where to begin. What's good? What works? What's user-friendly? I have a friend that uses a diaper service, but that is not an option in my area, so I need something that I can wash at home. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

My suggestion to those who say cloth diapering is too much work is to do a little research - there are so many different kinds, from the folded, flat ones we may have been raised with, to ones that are just like disposables in terms on ease of use.

ValreeC - We've been cloth diapering since the baby was about 3 weeks old and love it.  Even got my husband on board.  We use a combination of different kinds, and some disposables in emergencies or for relatives.  Although, my sister who's expecting is really interested in trying out cloth with the new baby!  Anyway, we use BumGenius! exclusively.  They make several different kinds, from one style that is just like disposables, to ones that require a cover made from bamboo.  For the cover, we use Proraps.  We have both, as well as the pocket version (which is adjustable and will fit all they way through to potty trainng) and are happy with them all, although my husband prefers the ones most like disposables (AIO's - all-in-ones).

 
 

Agreed. My husband and I chose to use cloth diapers before the birth of our baby (our first) and have been really happy with that decision. Everyone thought we were nuts and predicted that we would give up after a few weeks, and I still don't understand why. They are easy to use, save money, don't require runs to the store, and are definitely far better for the environment than disposables. On the rare occasion when we do need to use a disposable, we like the Second Generation brand.

We've been using organic terry cloth Kissaluvs and Swaddlebees and will soon switch to Fuzzi Bunz pocket diapers. We haven't had any problems with leaks with any of them, and diaper rash isn't a problem as long as you change the baby regularly -- which you should do with a disposable, too. It definitely prevents you from getting lazy.

The extra small load of laundry a few times a week is not a big deal, particularly since we rinse the diapers first with a spray hose that attaches to the back of the toilet. You can hang them out to dry, and there's nothing to fold. We use cloth wipes, too -- just some cheap washcloths from Target.

Everyone with access to a washer and dryer should try cloth -- you can order them online if you don't have a local store that sells them. We don't know why everyone is so afraid of it, especially considering that disposables are a relatively new invention.

I think some good advice for anyone considering cloth would be to Know Thyself.  Sure, an extra load of laundry here and there may not be much for some people, but if you're me, and you have a load sitting in the dryer that has been there since SUNDAY and a pile of ironing that has been hanging out all wrinkled for about three weeks, then you will know that perhaps the cloth diapers are not for you. 

 If you're up to it, then rock on with your cloth diapering self.   If you aren't, then do your thing and don't stress about it.  Maybe if we have a second one (ha ha ha hahahahahahaaaaaaaa) I'll do the cloth diaper thing, but I know for certain sure I couldn't do it now.

That is, if anyone wants to come over and do my laundry?  I can't pay you but I make awesome banana bread.  And my baby is really, really cute!

Yeah, reading this thread makes me feel guilty that we gave up on it mostly out of laziness, or because we just had too many other things going on those first few months.  Book me for accessory to planetcide...

I used cloth on all four of my kids with great results. As far as changing diapers goes it is no different. I guess the biggest obstacle for most people is the the laundering, but we use a handysprayer an they go in the diaper pail pretty clean and the extra few loads of laundry is insignificat around my house where we do 18 loads a week (what's a few more?).

My favorites are: BumGenius! 2.0, Sammy Sherpa One-Size and Bummis Original Covers.

 

Eh... cloth is easy, as long as you have your own washer/dryer.  Never run out of dipes and doing a load is emphatically easier than lugging those mondo packs of sposies from the store and those reeking poop-and-plastic bombs to the curb.  The modern all-in-ones are like sposies design-wise - no complicated folding or pinning, just grab one from the bin and snap it on - and liners or easy-release synthetics make short work of poopy bits. 

Lazy asses can motivate by paying themselves as much for each load as sposies would've cost.  It's amazing how the five minutes TOTAL necessary to dump a load in the washer, move it to the dryer and put it in a bin doesn't seem so bad when you "earn" ten bucks' shoe money for it.

 The total dipe load can also be reduced by doing a little elimination communication, a cumbersome term for noticing when the babe's about to go and popping her on the toilet.  This can start at six months.  It doesn't have to be a big thang; if you hit it, one less dipe to change, if you miss, big deal, change the dipe.
 

G-diapers! It is the perfect compromise between cloth (uses too much energy, water and a REAL drag, so to speak) and disposable (500 years to decompose, anyone???). G-diapers is actually flushable. Genious. Plus the brand in totally cool! You can get them at Whole Foods. www.gdiapers.com

We use cloth, but use a service.  Seems to be the best of both worlds for us.  The service does cost more than disposables would -- that is until I negotiated with them to provide the same service for a little more than half what we were paying before.  Which is a good thing 'cause I was considering laundering our own instead, but it's so convenient to leave them on the doorstep and presto -- clean ones appear in their place.

Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems to me that gDiapers are the worst combination of cloth and disposables. gDiapers are a nice hybrid concept (cloth diaper with a biodegradable, flushable insert under a nylon liner) but are 1) really expensive (you have to buy the cloth diapers, the disposable inserts, and occasional liners); 2) still require you to wash the cloth diapers in the laundry AND flush the liner down the toilet, using a lot of water unless you own a composter; 3) still expend a lot of resources in their manufacturing; and 4) still require "diaper runs" to the store to buy more inserts. Does anyone have experience with these?

Chimads:

Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems to me that gDiapers are the worst combination of cloth and disposables.

 I love gdiapers. To respond to your comments:

1. The initial outlay of money is expensive but not unreasonable and the disposable inserts are way cheaper than disposable diapers I used to buy.

2. Washing the cloth diaper outer shell happens every few days (usually when I'm doing the laundry anyway) unless there is a leak or other mess that has to be taken care of immediately. The inner liners are washed with every use, but these are very tiny little things and can be hand washed and rinsed and hung to dry. The liner is totally biodegradable - which means you don't have to flush it if you don't want to. We are really only flushing more because of flushing the diapers that just have been peed on. I would be flushing the solid contents of a poopie diaper anyway, so there isn't necessarily more flushing.

3. I can't respond to this one. But I can't imagine they expend more resources than disposable diapers company do.

4. The diaper runs can be minimized by buying the inserts in bulk, as we do. There are still very few stores that carry gdiapers (Whole Foods does, but I haven't seen many other places carrying them.)

That said. I really like them. They work for us.

I tried gDiapers and we never continued using them long enough to use up all the inserts. What I did like about them is they are cute and fit nicely. What I didn't like was it took 3 weeks to get them and the inserts. I found them hard to rip apart to flush ... it was hard to get the stuffing out of the liner so it would break up small enough to flush. We ended up plugging up the toilet more than once. I am not able to buy the refills locally so I don't find them convenient.

I use cloth about 97% of the time and I think that it is easier to use cloth than the gDiapers and in the end less expensive and certainly not more work.

I really liked Gdiapers until my daughter outgrew them. Now that we're faced with buying an entirely new set of large covers, I'm back to using disposables. And I have to say, I HATE the way the diaper bin always seems to be full. I was spoiled with all of the flushing.

I loved cloth. I found them to be cheaper and more environmentally gentle. 

I hate the whole idea of disposables, but in Australia, we're in the midst of a hardcore drought, so water is tight, tight tight - and also, I was too darn tired to even consider cloth after those first 6 weeks.

Plus, my over-opinionated Mother in law - prior to the birth of our son, was raving on and on about cloth nappies, assuming that we'd be using them, and I hate to say it, but it sealed my relationship with disposables.

I try to make up the difference by recycling, composting, having shorter showers, watering with grey water, trying to reduce my footprint so I can use the disposables with a little less guilt. I know it's not ideal, but if anyone has any feedback on the eco-friendly disposables I'd love to hear it. I am a bonafide Huggies user, but am open to change....