I'd like to use cloth diapers, but I'm totally clueless about them. How many are needed?

Question

What are the different types and brands? What's best for newborns, infants, toddlers? How many loads of laundry do you need to do each week?

Answer 1

I CD and have 30...I think. I wash a load of laundry everyday, but that's all the house hold laundry. I also line dry everything outside in the sun...since the sun is a safer bleach. I make my own contour pockets, but there are prefolds, and All in Ones as well. You might want to try a few and see what works for you. Once you get use to cloth, it's no different than disposables. For me, when my son pees I pull the soaker out and throw them both in the laundry basket. When he poops, I pull the soaker out and rinse the diaper in the toilet and put both in a wet pail by the washer...otherwise I'd forget about them. When I'm ready to wash, I put a little detergent on the poopy ones and throw them in with the rest of the laundry. If there are any stains after washing the sun bleaches it out. On rainy days, I throw everything in the dryer except p**p stained, I'll air dry those since the dryer sets the stains.

Answer 2

theres a really long answer to this question

I have cloth diapered from birth

I do 1 load of diapers every week to 10 days

I have used prefolds (infant sized) from birth to potty training

a great place to find out more is  www.diaperswappers.com

for prefolds I would recommend at least 2 doz (that would be 2-3 loads a week depending on how often the baby is changed)

whats best depends on you and your baby

there are many types of diapers

flats, prefolds, fitted, prefitted, pockets, all in two, all in one etc.

there are hundreds of brands depending on what you are looking for

Answer 3

i use prefolds and covers - and have a frequent wetter (consistently averages 15 diapers a day - 24 hour period)

i have approx 8 dozen and can go up to a week w/o doing laundry - however i try to do diapers every 2 days - but w/an infant and keeping my 92 yr old grandmother during the day, that doesnt always happen

Answer 4

I'm not sure but as a mom i would say that you would need a lot.

Answer 5

Good for you for wanting to cloth diaper!  I used disposables for my son's first few weeks (partly because I was really nervous about cloth), but since then, I am doing cloth exclusively and I like it alot more than using disposables.  

We use Fuzzi Bunz, www.fuzzibunz.com.  We have 24, and I do a load of diapers every other day.  I was going to buy more diapers, but then I realized it was probably better to have to do wash them more often, so the dirties weren't sitting around for very long.  

They wash beautifully.  I was most nervous about the poopy diapers.  I put them in a cold rinse first, with no soap.  Then they go in a hot cycle with just a bit of soap.  I use Charlie's Soap, which is a natural soap recommended by Fuzzi Bunz.  Then, pop them in the dryer.  I haven't found one stain on any of my son's diapers.  

Good luck, I hope you go for it!

Answer 6

I went with BumGenius all in one diapers. Works from about 1 month up (depending on the size of your newborn) until kid doesn't need them anymore.

You can do about half a load every 3 to 4 days - they just get tossed in the washer and then dryer. I bought 30, and might get a few more over xmas if I find I need them. They come with two cotton inserts - one thick and one thin. Take a look at their website for more info - my cousin uses them and I tried them on my nephews before I invested in more than a few.

They are called pocket diapers, but there are other types out there. They have velcro to close them (no pins!) and little snaps to adjust the sizing as your kid grows. So there is no folding of diapers or anything else, and they come in some nice colours.

Pocket diapers mean that the shell part is waterproof, and you put the cotton liner inside of it - the part that touches their bum stays nice and dry - you can even switch out the liner if they just pee in them. There are also very thin (almost like dyer sheets) liners that can be flushed/thrown out that the poo is on, and that way you don't need to worry about scrubbing diapers. While out, you can put the soaked liner in a sealed bag and wash it when you get home.

Some other brands are two separate items, being the outer shell and then a cloth diaper underneath. I personally really like the BumGenius. With cloth diapers, I've found them well worth the money up front for them, as they do save a TON in the long run.

You'll end up doing at least a load of clothes every week anyways - so you can just toss these in (use a soap like WonderWash) with the rest of baby's clothes/blankets and they come out nice and clean without having them soak in anything beforehand.

What you can do is find a source for the diapers and try one or two if you'd like, or at least see how different ones work. If you know someone else with a child or children in diapers, then perhaps try them out on them and see how you find it. I did that and left the dirty diapers for about 3 days, then washed them and they came out looking like new - and I was able to see how well they fit both a 1.5 month and 2 year old.

So search around online, find a local source (they will usually give you a price discount if you buy more than 15 at a time afterwards too) and see how you like them.

:) Hope that helps a bit and good luck!