This is in response to Jenny P's questions to mamas about cloth diapering.
We cloth diaper. I've gotten all my supplies at Green Mountain Diaper's. They are a Christian business and they'll even send you free books and such with your orders.
I started cloth diapering with my son (aged 2 1/2) a few weeks after he was born. He is potty trained now, though he still wears diapers at night. We now have a 6 month old girl who we've cloth diapered since the first week or two as well. So yes, with your first baby, I too, agree with Amy and Serena; disposable diapers for the first few weeks until you're ready to give it a try! Nursing is more important than cloth diapering! :)
I got three dozen yellow edge prefolds and I have used them from the NB stage to the toddler stage. I wash them about every 3 days. I do not use Snappis or anything like that. I just fold the prefolds into thirds and lay it in a Thirsties cover. I tried the Bummis Super Brite NB size but I found them to be too small with the prefolds. With Elsa, I went straight to the Thirsties XS/NB size. They worked GREAT! Both of my babies started out at about 7lbs and kinda skinny BUT they both got chubby fast! I also only get three wraps in each size. You'd reuse the cover if its just been peed in. If its been pooped in, then it will need to be diligently rinsed out and hung to dry.
In my 2 1/2 years of cloth diapering, I could probably count the times that I've had leaks on one hand and that's usually because it wasn't fastened quite right, etc--that's not counting an overnight diaper that didn't have a doubler (oops :P). I use doublers at night for Elsa that a friend gave me, though the GMD's hemp doublers look really nice! For Nathaniel (and when Elsa gets bigger) at night I use two diapers laid flat and then folded into thirds. I do not soak them or anything extra. We also don't have hot water to the washing machine and I haven't had any problem with that either.
I have two large wetbags--one for washing and one for dirty diapers. I have one wetbag for the diaper bag, but I'd like another one. I also have one of their changing pads which I love--again, I'd like another one.
If I missed anything, just ask! I love cloth diapering! It has saved us SOOO much money and I love the thought that I'm not putting horrible chemicals next to such sensitive skin!
I also posted some pictures and descriptions about the GMD prefolds and Thirsties covers which you can see here.
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Rachel, I secong Green Mountain Diaper Co, they are wonderful Christian people who will give good prices, good advice and no baloney! I've used Tiny Bird Organics too, she has a free soaker pattern for you knitters. :D
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your extensive reply! I hadn't heard about Green Mountain yet; I've definately added it to my bookmarks. I'm glad to hear you love cloth diapering -- we're committed to it, but I'm kind of nervous at the same time. It's reassuring to know that we're not "weird" (at least no weirder than many other people!).
ReplyDeleteIf you skip the Snappis (or other method), have you had issues with the diaper shifting around, out of place?
Also, I just looked at GMD. Yellow edges = small. Did you/do you use any of the larger sizes as well, or are the smalls really that versitile? They say they're good to 15lb. How do they work in the "real world"?
Cloth diapering is definitely making a come-back, I think! Its really not hard at all. I truly enjoy it. Don't worry about it, just take the plunge and before you know it, you'll love it, too! ;) Though, I DO know that it can certainly be intimidating! There's almost too many options!
ReplyDeleteNo, I have never had problems with the diaper shifting. As long as your cover is the correct size, I don't see a problem with it.
Yes, yellow edges equals small for GMD prefolds. No, I don't have any of the other sizes. Because I fold them in thirds and lay them in the cover, it doesn't need to fold around the baby. I'll do a post with pictures for you ;)