Cloth Diapers - Spring,TX

Autumn Beck has a blog at allaboutclothdiapers.com. She sells an ebook about cloth diapers for about $20. It would be worth buying to get her recommendations - she's been through a lot of trial and error. Yes, they do run $20 and up, but she also lets you know how to resell them when you're done so you can recover some of that investment. Good luck!
-D.

S.,
Kudos for wanting to go this route. It can require a lot of research to figure out what you want to use, but it's worth it. We have used cloth diapers for 2 years and found them far superior to disposables.

I'd recommend inserts ("doublers") for 6 months on and definitely when they are older. They can almost double the absorbency of the diaper (especially helpful at night). They also help in cleaning out messes--just remove and clean insert instead of whole diaper.

There are 3 kinds of diapers: Chinese prefolds, contours (these may have gathers and snaps and look like a disposable), and pockets (easiest for babysitters to handle, great for overnight: a cloth diaper on inside and plastic cover on outside sewn together, with room for a double inside the pocket between them). Unless you are using pockets (quite expensive), you will need diaper covers. Not all covers are compatible with all diapers. The cover is the best part of the system, in the sense that it prevents leaks that many disposables don't.

My husband didn't want to deal with diaper oragami and pins, so we didn't do prefolds (though those are cheapest). We chose contoured diapers with gathers and snaps (for durability).

I don't know if it's realistic to use one set from birth to toilet training, because the nature of the diapers is very different. Breastfed poo is challenging to contain for some cloth diaper systems; once they are older the bigger challenge is absorbing all the liquid. We used Kissiluvs for the first 6 months--the best at preventing breastfeed-only poo leaks. Then we switched over to Sandy's Diaper by Motherease (out of Canada) for absorbency. They have a couple of lines of one-size-fits all diapers. The Sandy's Diaper is the most absorbent on the market, and with the Rikki Wrap cover, leaks are basically nonexistent. We ended up using a smaller size and a larger size of the Sandy's. But the diapers are still in good condition for our next baby. I'm probably going to get some new covers, though--ours are thrashed (and we had ~4 per size).

I have loved my cloth wipes. We have some furry terry ones by Kissiluvs for messy diapers, and some plain cotton/hemp ones for wet diapers. The hemp ones have worn like iron--360 washes before they started getting holes. We use the worn out ones to dry her off before putting on a new diaper. My husband and I agree that she gets way cleaner with cloth wipes than with disposable ones. When we travel, I miss my wipes.

Another tip is to get some rice paper liners (like see-through paper towels) to use when your baby gets a rash or diaper rash. The liner keeps the cream off the diaper. You wipe the cream off with a disposable wipe, and flush the liner.

We have a Brabantia diaper pail in the bathroom, and I use rubber gloves. I have loved my Mother of Eden diaper pail liner, but I'm having problems getting it replaced. We use a smaller version to put messy diapers in when we're away from home.

Also, if you're into being prepared for loss of power or other emergencies, get a camp washer (less than $50), clothespins, and have extra detergent on hand. Then, even in an emergency without power, you can still do diapers for your child. (I was horrified at what some of the kids went through during Katrina.) They're easy to use and don't require power. We also like to keep about a 2-week supply of disposables on hand (we use those when we leave her with sitters or if we are sick).

Cloth diapers really are the way to go—they have saved us money and once you get a cleaning routine, they don’t take a lot of extra time. The cheapest prefold diapers I found you can get at any discount store made by Gerber and come in three different thicknesses. I picked all three to have for different times a day. Liners might be nice but it’s just another thing to buy so I use the thinnest prefolds and double them with the thicker diapers. I know there are other, nicer all cotton prefolds out there but are more expensive. I have been using mine for 9 months and they are all still in good condition. Paper liners are good once babies start solids. Some reuse several washings. For covers, Thirsties are good but tend to run big. I’m a fan of wool covers. You hand wash them but not nearly as frequently as other covers—lanolize (greenmountaindiapers has a thorough explanation of how to do this) and air dry between uses—they are more expensive but last as long as your baby will fit them and will serve for your next. And a hint for stains on diapers. After you rinse them out as well as you can, hang them in the sun before washing—it bleaches the stains completely, that way you don’t have to worry about setting them with wash/drying. Good luck!

If you go with snaps then Fuzzi Bunz are your best. They are what you call pocket diapers because you have to stuff them with doublers for absorbency. That way you can stuff them with 1 or more if you need it. They have snaps in several different places according to the way your child is shaped.
If you want a diaper that will last for the whole time then you need One Size diapers like Bum Genius which snaps down for newborn size and then snaps larger as they grow. (Some Targets are selling these now)I personally didn't like them because they are very bulky. These are also pocket diapers. You can also get AIO's (all in ones) which are just like disposables and they don't have anything to stuff in them.
If you go with covers they work with prefolds, contours, or fitteds. The cover is the waterproof outer layer over them.
Now a wonderful in between cloth diaper is called a G diaper and it is essentially a cloth cover with a snap in liner that you put the doubler inside. They come with flushable inserts and you can also put cloth inserts in them. I love these and use them more than any other brand I have. Check out www.gdiapers.com and they also sell them at H.E.B. These might be your easiest diapers to deal with. They have small, medium and large sizes and you don't have to buy as many of these because you can use them for a while without washing the covers. I began my cloth diaper adventure 11 months ago when my daughter was 6 months old and I am hooked!!! I will never turn back and will only cloth diaper my future children. :) Good luck!!! Here are some other brand I like as well, Drybees, Thirsties, Knickernappies, Swaddlebees.

If you can make it, I highly recommend that everyone attend a free cloth diaper class at Austin Baby! It really helped me to touch them, feel them, and decide which ones I would like to use. I found I did not like the ones everyone had told me to get, so I was very happy to be able to try them out. The store charges a little more than I can afford, but it's a free class and I did not buy anything from them. For some reason, the website for the store is down, but they do offer a diaper service as well, and that website it up: http://www.austindiapers.com/ and the number to the store is: ###-###-####

I would suggest pre-folds and covers. You would probably need a few different sizes of each, but would be so much cheaper than some of the other items out there. As for the all-in-one's that grow with the baby...You might get 1 and try it. I got one from diaperswappers for Free for shipping and did not like it at all.

We use the doublers with the pre-fold when we are going out for a little while and I am unsure of when I might be somewhere to change or when my little one is napping.

Check out diaperswappers for some great deals in the Free for Shipping section or Lottos.

Feel free to email me if you like.

I just started using cloth with my newborn twins, after using disposables with my toddler. I feel I'm saving a ton of money! I searched the web and compared prices for the best deals. I have found prefolds for $11.50/6 pk, and Thirsty's covers for $9. The Thirsty's were recommended to me and I like them a lot. They have leg gussets that Ithink helps prevent leaks. I have one "snap" cover and do not like it. It's too difficult to adjust. The "snappi" replaces diaper pins. Stretch them really well before the first use. They have "teeth" that catch at the hips to hold the cloth diaper tight, then you put the cover on over it. If you're in San Antonio, Eden's Baby in Artesian's Alley sells cloth diapers so you could go in and touch stuff and ask questions. There is also a place in New Braunfels, but I can't remember the name. I recommend cloth for the savings and for being green! Good luck!

Try fullcirclebaby.com. A locally owned all natural product business in New Braunfels. Also you can try etsy.com for prices nationwide.

First of all the cheep ones will wear out fast and are thin. If you are going to go to cloth get some that will last til they go through potty training. That will be several years, and lots of washing. The size will depend on how you fold them and yes you will want some covers for them if not when they wet etc. it can go through depending on how much and how long they sit with it in there. There are inserts that can make clean up easier get them will save you time. I found that it worked better for me to use the cloth was not as expensive in the long run as the one that you throw away. I would be easier just to burn that money. Be sure and use bleach when washing them that will help keep the diaper rash down that they get even with the throw away's. Good luck and a hug for that baby.

Check out kellyscloset.com It has alot of useful information on there that may be able to help you. I used fuzzi bunz and a velcro diaper. I didn't have trouble with the velcro wearing out, the diaper did start coming apart after about a year of daily washes. I washed daily so I didn't have to buy as many. Good luck!