I'm not exactly thrilled about this possibility...but if its going to save me money...maybe maybe maybe I'll do it! I'm not typically a queezy person... but I just canNOT stand the thought of cding for some reason. I need advice from all you ladies who were once in my shoes and now switched. There is SOOO many diapers out there too...how do I know what I want/ don't want. (I know I definitely want to touch as little of that stuff as possible!) Anyways, change my mind ladies...I need your help
Specific Questions:
1. Favorite cd and why?
2. How much $$ will I have to find to start out?
3. How much extra time does it take?
4. How do I keep them from totally stinking because I live in WI and lets face it...I'm NOT bustin' the snow drifts to go hang out laundry!
5. Any other advice...

My hubs suggested we cloth diaper when our first daughter was born. I balked at it and dug my heels in because I thought it was so gross. It wasn't until my sister started doing it that I took an interest in it. Cloth diapering has changed so much since I was younger. There are so many options and it really isn't gross.

1. Favorite cd and why?

My favorites are pocket diapers. When you are first starting out and you have the gross factor these are the ones I would recommend. They are just like disposable diapers except you don't throw them away. There is an insert you have to put in the diaper but other than that you grab one put it on and go.


2. How much $$ will I have to find to start out?

Depends. You have 2 options used and new. Almost all my diapers now I bought used. You can get diapers from Ebay, Diaperswappers.com and numerous cloth diapering stores online. Average start up can cost anywhere from 100- 300 depending on how many diapers and what kind you buy. Opinions will vary on how many you need. I personally have 6 prefolds, 6 fitteds, 2 covers, and 7 Pocket diapers in my rotation. I wash about every other day. Remember though that diapers do pay for themselves in the long run and anything you buy can be resold.

3. How much extra time does it take?

Honestly very little. Sure you have to send them through about 2 wash cycles and 1 rinse. But it doesn't take any more time than any other load of laundry. To boot you don't fold so not much time there.

4. How do I keep them from totally stinking because I live in WI and lets face it...I'm NOT bustin' the snow drifts to go hang out laundry!

Lol. Cloth diapers can be dried in the dryer. The only thing I would recommend hanging up to dry would be the covers and they don't take up much room. In fact I hang mine up in my laundry room over a bar. During the summer though hang away. If you don't have a dryer, get an indoor laundry rack. I hang up diapers to dry on that. If you wash small loads of diapers it's not overwhelming. To keep diapers from stinking in the pail, make sure and rinse any poo off. Store in a can without a lid. A lid will seal in the smell and compound it.

5. Any other advice...

Get a diaper sprayer. These nifty devices attach to your toilet and allow you to spray off poo without having to dunk it in the toilet. Although most poo will just roll right off sometimes you do need to spray.

Start off by getting a couple different kinds and see how you like it. This allows you to figure out what you like without spending an arm and a leg.

Lastly go for it. I never in my wildest dreams would ever have thought that I would enjoy cloth diapering but I do. I love the fun patterns and adorable diapers they have now.

HTH

I agree, pocket diapers! I love the FuzziBunz and Bumgenius both, and I actually found some Canadian-made versions that are a lot cheaper but similar to FB. As far as how much $$... I bought them 1 and 2 at a time... it never felt like a huge investment because I was spending $50/month or so on sposies! And I never really noticed that it took more time... another load or two when you're used to doing laundry for 5 - isn't much! I don't have a diaper sprayer but I think that would be the greatest help ever!

Thanks so much ladies:) How do you get past that *yuck factor* though? That's the thing I'm having the hardest part with! (Dh actually said he's fine with it, but it does sound really gross...lol) The pocket diapers sound like they would help a lot...but not sure if I can get past that.
O and how many diapers do you need. I plan to do laundry every other day.

I thought it would be really gross but I found it not to be that gross. Honestly I think it's a lot better than vomit. That grosses me out. Also for me the more I did it the less gross it became.

As for a stash my current one consists of-

4- Blueberry one size pocket diapers
3- Fuzzibunz one size pockets
6- Swaddlebee Prefolds
1- Thirsties Fitted Diaper
2- Thirsties small covers (these go over prefolds and fitteds. Unless pooped in they can be rinsed and reused.)

Total of 14 diapers. I also have some Gerber prefolds I'm converting. Plus I have had great success in using my extra inserts as a prefold in the Thirsties covers.

I wash about every other day. Depends on whether LO is having a particularly poo-y day. Cloth is more absorbent so I find I actually change less. This would be a great starter stash. I am always on Ebay looking for more so as time goes on my stash will get larger. I actually like a much bigger rotation since the diapers don't wear out as fast. But this would work. But like Margi said if you buy a couple here and there the cost doesn't seem so much.

We still use sposies overnight. We only cloth diap during the day. Eventually we'll go overnight but I want to grow my stash before that happens.

Thanks so much ladies:) I'm thinking of trying to just buy a few at a time and slowly get into it...I think this would be helpful in several different ways:)

I agree, it's not nearly as bad as vomit! I thought I could never do the icky-ness of it, but the way I managed, is I only started with 2 diapers and I'd use sposies while they washed. It was a small investment so I knew if it was the right thing before I put a lot of $$$ out there. Also, I washed every day so there was no smelly stuff several days old. Now I have about 12 diapers maybe? And it's plenty because I still like to wash every other day or so...

Next list of questions:) (I'm sure there will be LOTS more:mrgreen: )
1. Do you use anything besides reg laundry soap to wash them?
2. Do you spray them to keep them from staining?
3. Should I get one-size or are those not all that great?

Next list of questions:) (I'm sure there will be LOTS more:mrgreen: )
1. Do you use anything besides reg laundry soap to wash them?
2. Do you spray them to keep them from staining?
3. Should I get one-size or are those not all that great?

1. Personally I use Rockin Green which is for cloth diapers. But you can you reg unscented detergents to clean. If they start getting leaky you can strip them with a bit of Dawn detergent.

2. Formula and solids can stain diapers. Spraying won't really change that but stains don't affect the diapers anyway. I always put mine out in the sun whenever they get stained and the sun bleaches the stains right out.

3. OS diapers are great. I use them now and since Ashlyn is a bit older the OS diapers should fit her fine. However, I would get one and try it out to see if you even like it. Each person likes different diapers. You may find that your personal preference is towards sized diapers.

Here are a couple of cloth diapering blogs you can check out.

http://allaboutclothdiapers.com/

http://blog.thanksmama.com/

My personal favorite: http://www.theclothdiaperwhisperer.com/