iamachristianjesusfreak's Journal, 05 February 2014

The potential savings is not worth it for me personally, between the yuck factor, extra work, needing initial investment of diapers/supplies/diaper sprayer, etc, and little one going to day care. I think Lindsay was going to cloth diaper. I only know one person who does it and she loves it, but it definitely fits her lifestyle (all natural everything, vegan, very environmentally cautious). I think it's just personal whether its a good idea or not. 

5 kids in with the 6th on the way poop doesn't faze me. Lol. Plus I stay home so i dont have to worry about anyone else being bothered by it. We have talked about using part of or tax money to buy them so it won't break the bank. Also found a diy sprayer tutorial that would cost us 25.00 that hooks to the toilet.  

I've cloth diapered all 4 of mine. It's so worth it to me. I've saved so much money since doing it with all of them. And its really not as gross as it sounds. If babies exclusively breastfed you don't have to even rinse poppy diapers, just wash them. Then after you get the hang of rinsing them its not too bad when theyre older either. I don't use a sprayer at all, I had one at one point, but actually prefer scraping it off with a spatuala in the toilet. They can be really expensive to start, so I'm not sure how much it saves, I am cheap and make my own diapers, so I've really only spent about $150 for prefolds and fabric to diaper all 4 kids. And they will be used again if we have more. I was buying disposables for my older 2 at bedtime, but had to male them some special bigger ones because I am so sick of throwing away money! 

I am going to cloth diaper as soon as the belly button is healed. But, the all in one one size fits all diapers are HUGE on newborns, so I'll probably use my prefolds until he's a little bigger. There are some awesome youtube tutorials for all kinds of cloth diapers that helped me out royally. I can't wait to start using them-and we have used some already and they wash fine as long as you do a cold cycle, the a hot cycle and dry really well. I heard in the summer you can hang fry them outside and the sun actually takes the stains out.  

fry=dry* 

Don't leave one laying on the stairs; they can do a number on varnished wood. 

They cost a little bit up front -- it'll take 6-8 monts of using them before you start saving, especially if you get the fleece liners and waterproof covers. I used them for a year, when my second came along 16 months after my first I said Forget It. I used regular detergent and hung outside to dry -- sometimes. :) try it out, what have you got to lose?  

Months* 

Ya I plan on buying the all in ones. I thought about getting disposables for the first week until I am not so pooped. <----- Corny jokes lol! Lindsay where and what type did you buy? I will definitely be going with the all in ones but can't decide between bamboo or cotton with the fleece liners. LovingMama what kind of material did you use to make yours and have you ever had any issues with rashes? Also yes my babies are always exclusively breastfed so glad to hear that quickens the washing for a bit. Also I read that if the diapers seem to become discolored to spray them with lemon water before line drying in the sun. Also I plan to use All Free and Clear or Dreft for the first few months of her life for laundering.  

I know a Couple who does and yes it saves them a bunch of $! 

Use the cloth diapers at home, but use the disposable ones when you go on a trip. 

i even just put my 18month old in training nickers at home and she`s already starting to tell us when she needs to go because they let her learn the difference between wet and dry. 

I make mine out of PUL or fleece outers with fleece, minkey or suede cloth inners. I like to make pockets or all in 2's but find myself using just prefolds and covers more often then anything else. I've never had too much of a problem with staining, and love hanging them outside to dry. The only problem I had with dashes was when my diapers needed to be stripped, after a while they can get a build up of detergent, and oils from baby, and even ammonia, then you have to use really hot water, and I use dawn dish also and wash multiple times through. I do my prefolds in a big pot of boiling water with a little bit of soap because it seems to work better. But you can't do that with the PUL. That's part of why I prefer pockets to all in ones, plus all in ones can take forever to dry. It doesn't have to be done often though, my sons 6 months and I will probably have to strip them for the first time since before he was born pretty soon here. You do need to be careful about what detergent you use and how much, it takes very little. I actually make my own detergent for diapers, and it works great. It can feel really intimidating at first, but its really quite simple once you get the hang of it. I do do disposables for a few weeks after babies born though just to make life a bit easier.  

You will have to shoot me your detergent recipe as long as it doesn't have borax. Also I feel like I would rather have all in ones after researching everything and make some liners for them to wear inside when we are out or at bedtime. Have you ever consider soaking them in the wash with some vinegar and baking to pull any ammonia smell out? That is what I did with stuff when we having an issue with a cat before we got rid of him. That pulled it out. Which inners did you think were best as far as durability and softness with the babies skin? Minky, fleece or cotton? 

i bought bumgenius mostly-because that's all they sell at the popular stores and I had gift cards to use up, and a few off of etsy from different mommas who make them. they are all too big for my newborn right now.  

Please keep me updated on what you think about them. I have a minute before I have to buy some. :) 

I used cloth diapers for my kiddies and we fared well. We lived in Hawaii though, and I think that made things easier...not having ice cold, soggy wet diapers to deal with. We used to wash them in the washer and then hang them on the line in the sunshine and they were always fresh and soft and sanitized! FYI...don't use fabric softener on cloth diapers, it causes the diaper to repel the wet and the pee runs right through...Good luck.. 

We don't use fabric softener or dryer sheets at all because of the chemicals in them. 

My brother wore them and got bandy legs - could be hereditary tho cos grandma is bandy 

I tried cloth nappies on my son for the first few months, but he was really petite, and the bulk was obviously too uncomfortable, as he became a different child when I tried him in disposables. Daughter was even smaller, so didn't even try cloth ones on her. Didn't mind cleaning them - in the UK, we have a brand called Bambino Mio, who also make their own nappy detergents etc, which work well - not sure about chemical content tho.