So I am starting cding and have a few questions. We don't have a washer or drier and will be washing at a friends house one time a week and the laundry mat another. I am storing my dirties in a dry bucket outside, should I use a wet bucket since they will be sitting for so long (3-4 days)? Right now I have 2 kinds, Kushies (6) and a no name/homemade(3) that I got at a 2nd hand store. I have been CD all day (my first day) and have had no leaks (changing every 2 hours) however no poo (Josh is an every other day or so pooper) so I have no clue if either will hold poo well since he is BF and has the WONDERFUL bf poos. I am thinking about getting some fuzzi bunz (I don't want to make my own) but don't know about size. The size chart says for me to get smalls (josh is almost 12lbs) but I feel like he might out grow the smalls too quickly and would rather get med. What do you gals feel...do you think he might be ok in the med, or would it leak like crazy? Also if anyone CD at a laundry mat I would love to hear how you wash. Thanks ladies.

I would keep a dry pail. Mine sit for 3 or 4 days on a regular basis. I've only ever used the dry pail method. Not a problem.

No clue about the FB and sizing. I don't "get" pocket dipes.

As for how to wash at the laundry mat...
Well, I don't know that you'd have a soak function there would ya?
Maybe just a regular cold wash and then a hot wash would be fine. Just remember to use minimal detergent as I'm not sure you'd have the extra rinse option there either.

Just rinse the dipes as well as you can at home, in the toilet, when the messies happen. At this age, you should be ok.

Good luck!

thanks Tara! I know the laundry mat has a pre-soak. Also you told me to use the toilet to soak....what am I suppose to do? Do I let ALL diapers soak in the toilet or just the poos. Also how long should I soak them for? Thanks again.

Umm... bystander just listening in... I'm interested here too... I've been debating between cloth and just sticking with disp. I definitely couldn't do the fitted diapers, but I'm looking at prefolds, but having a tough time trying to find a non-pin solution that's inexpensive... hope I didn't hijack the post here, Becky! I'm interested in your same questions~

My newbie is the first one I've cd'ed and I love it! I wash more often (every other day usually) but would think a dry pail method would be the way to go still.

I use fuzzibunz and I love them. I started with AIO's and went over to pockets because they dried so much faster. My dd is 7mths old and weighed 15lb 3oz last week (she's a tiny one). We are just now starting to transition over to mediums. I bought a few a month or so ago just to see where we were at with them. She still comfortably fits into the smalls at this point. You can kind of tell where you're at with F.B because of the snap positions, she still has two leg snaps we could expand to and two more at the waist. She will fit into the mediums, they just look a bit silly (as they come half way up to her armpits :-). If you're buying new you might be okay as the elastic will be super stretchy. We haven't experienced any real leaks with the bigger size. If you're buying used I'd be more cautious as the elastic does wear and they might not hold so tightly. Depending on how fast your little one is growing I guess. You could always get a few of each. There are many places you can sell or trade your smaller f.b to recoup some of your money. PM me if you need specific info.

Umm... bystander just listening in... I'm interested here too... I've been debating between cloth and just sticking with disp. I definitely couldn't do the fitted diapers, but I'm looking at prefolds, but having a tough time trying to find a non-pin solution that's inexpensive... hope I didn't hijack the post here, Becky! I'm interested in your same questions~
no problem...all questions are welcome! we all are learning from the cd queens! have you heard of snappies for non pining?
http://www.parentingbynature.com/04_snappi.htm I have heard you only need 1-3 of them.
thanks gm for the info on fb. Josh is a slow grower and very little too so maybe it might be good to start out in small. I found a sit that sells fb "seconds" they have minor inperfections like a button not exactly in the right place, wrong color thread, ect. they are 10/$100 still bad I know. thanks for telling me to look at thr elastic on used...hadn't thought of that.

Hi, we do not have a washer or dryer. I wash every 3-4 days with no problem. I use a dry pail, if they sit for a while I presoak them in my bath tub with baking soda before washing. However, after each poop I wash as much off as I can in the toilet.

I use pockets, prefolds, fitteds with wool covers. I use the snappi for my prefolds. I think you can get 2 for like $7 they are very easy to use.

HTH!

no problem...all questions are welcome! we all are learning from the cd queens! have you heard of snappies for non pining?
http://www.parentingbynature.com/04_snappi.htm I have heard you only need 1-3 of them.
thanks gm for the info on fb. Josh is a slow grower and very little too so maybe it might be good to start out in small. I found a sit that sells fb "seconds" they have minor inperfections like a button not exactly in the right place, wrong color thread, ect. they are 10/$100 still bad I know. thanks for telling me to look at thr elastic on used...hadn't thought of that.

Thanks, Becky! No, I hadn't heard of them, that I recollect! Thanks!

Yes, Jen, snappis are definitely the way to go! You can get a pack of like 6 or 7 of them for about $10.00 on ebay. That's the route that we went. Right now we are using AIO's and Fuzzi Bunz with prefolds as back up when I run out of the first two.

no no, no 'soaking' in the toilet....just swishing. Rinsing what you can off the dipe, into the toilet before depositing into the pail :)

I hear the Snappis are great. Never used 'em myself. Big fan of Bummis Super Industrial Whisper Wraps :)

For smaller babies and prefolds I have heard good things about DiaperRaps and ProWraps covers. Cheaper than Bummies, Bumkins and MotherEase, but sufficient quality to hold up to the little ones. :)

Thanks Tara! So far my cd journey has gone great! I am still using throw aways at night (eventually I want to cd at night too once I get used to it and figure out absorbency) I have a nice (2nd hand) variety of things. I am using Kushie AIO a homemade (not by me) AIO, Happy heinys pocket and (in the mail) Fuzzi bunz, Also some prefolds with Green Earth and Bummis covers. I also have snappi for my prefolds. I have yet to have a poop in a cd and I have only had one leak in a Kushi during a nap. It is so fun cding before I would get stressed out just looking at the cds but now everything makes sense and is so simple. Now when I am using throw aways all I can think about is getting them off ASAP. I will be doing laundry for the first time tomorrow so we will see how that goes.

we loved snappis with the prefolds!

what size sposie are you in?
X-small FB are equivalent to preemie size sposie
small FB are equivalent to size NB-1 disposable.
med FB= sizes 2-3 sposie
lg = 4-5
XL=6+

HTH!

thanks Rach for that info. So here's my next question, because the cloth diapers are more bulky, Josh's legs are spread out a lot and I am just afraid his legs will be effected by it. I figure it won't but I just want to make sure this is normal. His legs are spread out the most when he is wearing prefolds (I have to fold them down, plus he is just a small baby)

no problems with proper leg growth/adjustment has been determined by use of cloth diapers

did that sound official?

heehee

To help though, have you heard of the 'bikini twist' for prefolds? You simply give it a twist/flip in the middle and proceed as usual. It helps eliminate a bit of that bulk between the legs :) And has no ill effect on the absorbancy/efficiency of the diaper. Some have even said they think it works 'better' with the twist.

THANKS! (and yes it sounded VERY official[clapping]) I have heard of the twist so I will try it with my next diaper change.