Moms Who Use Cloth Diapers

I am a little disappointed b/c we tried cloth (always a pink bottom and ALWAYS soaking wet under the plastic pants). We also tried the g-diapers, but it seemed like the same issue: my baby was much more pink and macerated than if we used disposables. I went back to the cloth, then tried g one more time. Unless I was changing the diapers all day long (literally), I couldn't keep her bottom nice and dry. Now I have resigned myself to using 7th generation, but I am sad that I "failed" with the cloth :( Any suggestions? Thanks! Congrats on making the environmentally sound choice.

Hello M. K
I am glad you put you idea on cloth diapers, I had 3 kids in cloth diapers at one point to me it's a lot more healthym you wash them and put them outside to dry and they smell so good them you bring them in, In my time we didm't have disposible diapers, I hope more mom will use cloth diapers. KEEP UP THE OLD FASHION WAY.

We've always used cloth and wouldn't have it any other way. No worrying about how many diapers left or where the money to buy more will come from. As I'm sure many can attest to, we had more money to throw around prekids and so before baby we invested $200 in cloth and accessories. They've lasted just fine from birth through potty training (18 months). Washing was a piece of cake and even traveling with cloth was easy as could be.

As another mama said, I use www.greenmountaindiapers.com as my base to learn and research and then I also bought things used through www.diaperswappers.com

Both my mother and my MIL cloth diapered and love all of teh advancements in 30 years. I only used prefolds, wool covers, and a couple of nylon covers. I can only imagine if they saw a fitted or an AIO!

I also use cloth pads and sea pearls for myself. I was skeptical when I read that cramps and flow both decrease greatly with the use of cloth, but it was definitely true for me! I'll never go back to disposables!

It's funny that you posted this, because we do EXACTLY the same thing- I started my little girl in cloth with prowraps, because they were cost effective, but found g-diapers later, and we LOVE them! I do wonder (referring to one of the other replies) whether using only cloth without the plastic would be better, but I do feel good about having a reusable product. We do not have to change liners every 6 months, ours have lasted very well over a year, and I don't plan on purchasing more before we our out of diapers. The only thing- maybe you have a suggestion for us- we are already in large at 18 months, and I am concerned that we will have to find a new wrap when she grows out. I'm not going back to Litewraps- they are too bulky in toddler sizes, and am considering an all cotton product, something that can transfer us into potty-training. Anyway, we love our diapers, glad to hear you use them too.

Hi M.,

We started off use Queen Bee Diaper Service and they were wonderful. Unfortunately, cloth diapers were not for my little man. He had a rash from the rubber too and it was persistent and when I weighed out how many onesies and outfits I had to change in a day because of leaks I decided to cancel the service. We switched to Nature Baby Care diapers which are biodegradable, no chemical, all natural disposables. They rock! Unlike Tushies or 7th Generation, which turn to mush when they get wet, the Nature Baby Care stay intact. We dispose of them in paper grocery bags since they are biodegradable. No use putting an environmentally good diaper in a plastic bag! We loved the idea of cloth diapers but the reality was not for us and not so good for our baby's bottom.

M.
I too used cloth diapers and loved them! It was so convienient, more sanitary and the soft diapers on their skin was well worth the cost and delivery. Although in the end it definitely was more economical to use the cloth. When you average it out the cloth was cheaper. You new moms - try them you will love them.
G. L.

I hate to sound like an old lady, but here goes. My oldest kids are old enough to have kids of their own (but don't, darn it) and I used cloth diapers for them. We didn't have these new G diapers but we did have shaped, ultra absorbant cloth diapers with wool or nylon washable covers so there was no plastic involved. Loved them. There used to be a company called Natural Baby that had all organic cotton products, etc. & I would drive there to get my supplies. Also used cotton washable wipes and cotton washable breastfeeding pads. I drew the line at their washable sanitary napkins, however. We were ecologically responsible even back in the old days. There's nothing softer than a baby's bum covered in natural, soft cotton & if there is a rash, you leave the washable cover off & let their bottoms breathe with just the cloth diaper on. Aside, wonder if the old glass bottles were a good idea too in light of what we know now. I breastfed, so wasn't involved in that decision.

I use Cloth and I LOVE them! I typically use a Prowrap wth a prefold and then an all-in-one or a wool cover overnight (DD is a big wetter). For me its cheaper and more convenient as I never have to worry about running out of diapers. We only use 'sposies when on vacation and my daughter breaks out in a rash as soon as they touch her skin, with disposables there are all kinds of chemicals that are not safe for all babies. My sister also switched to cloth after her daughter continually broke out into rashes because of disposables.
Oh and don't even get me started on the environmental benefit of cloth!! I can't believe more people don't use them, I guess they are just scared that they will be more work...but they aren't at all!
I am happy to talk to anyone who has any questions about cloth diapering..

M.

i'm confused, what is a PREFOLD?

Hi M. K,
We knew we wanted to use cloth diapers, and we did for the first year. Our sons tushie broke out in a rash when we did try to use a disposable on him, so we continued with cloth. It really is no big deal to use cloth, you just have some extra laundry to do and it helps to save the landfills from disposables that takes, literally, decades to decompose. Also, because your child will directly feel the result of his elimination, he may choose to potty train sooner.
Keep going with the cloth!
N.

We use cloth diapers full time. I wont use a reusable disposable because I think it defeats the purpose of saving money, plus even though there arent any harsh chemicals in them, your baby is still sitting on scratchy plastic. Here are the reasons we chose to use cloth.

#1) Soft cotton for my baby and no harsh chemicals that cause rash, yeast and cancers.
#2) Saves a ton of money. We have a large family and want more kids. The cloth is economical and can be used for future babies.
#3) Better for the environment. No nasty fecal and urine diapers sitting in landfills rotting and taking years and years to break down.

I don't find it to be more work. What one extra load every 2-3 days? I also don't find it disgusting. My son has never had a disposable blow up those cancerous beads on his skin.

We use Mother-ease, which comes in snaps. No pins. We use the one-size so it fits from birth to 35 lbs, but I found them to be bulky on newborns so for the next baby we are using the sized ones until he gets a little bigger. We also have a few Bum Genius on hand for outings. These are velcro and also fit from birth to 35 lbs. I love cloth diapering and will never put another disposable on my kids again! (I used them with my older 2)

Good morning. I have used cloth for both children. When they are only breastfeeding I used them all the time but when I had to start with food and snacks we use Huggies when we go out. You save so much money with cloth. I use prefold and bummis wraps from this website http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/ If this is what you are going to do ....... no bleach and no softener....... this will prolong the life of your diapers. I think I bought a package of diapers 36 diapers and 9 covers and it lasted forever. I finally had to get more diapers for my son because they were worn out. They are easy if you put your mind into the whole process. Email if you have any questions. Good luck........

Hey there,

Just wanted to chime in as a gDiaper mama. We have been using them since my son was a newborn - he's 17 months old now - I LOVE them.

To answer a few questions posed by people who don't use them:

I have never had to replace the snap in liners - I don't know why you would have to replace them every 6 months? They hold up really well.

Someone said your baby is sitting on plastic - that is not the case with gDiapers - instead they are sitting on a fibrus insert that is dye/chemical free.

I bother because although it isn't as easy as a disposable, I'd rather swish a little poo than have my son's great grand kids live on a planet that still has his baby diaper poo filling up the landfills (that seems a LOT more disgusting to me!).

And yes - it does cost money every month - but so do cloth - you have to wash them and buy detergent and spend electricity drying them. And on an environmental note I am really not convinced that cloth diapers are better than gDiapers from what I have read. IF you use a diaper service, they often use detergents and bleach to keep them white that go into our sewer system/environment that are very harmful. Lots and lots of energy is used drying them. Even if you don't use a diaper service you have to use a lot of water to wash and a lot of electricity to dry.

I hope more people try these - they are GREAT! And it would be great to have less diapers in our landfills!

I saw those diapers on diapers.com & was interested in trying them but I never got around to it. My 15mo old son has sensitive skin, eczema & i was using the 7th generation diapers when he was an infant. I think Im going to give the gdiaper a try. I do my best to protect the environment & go green when I can. I know these are also biodegradable. Thanks for the recommendation!

I use cloth on my twins and I own a cloth diaper store. I started because my son's rashes were so bad from the disposables that he looked like he was burned. He hasn't had a rash in the year+ that we've been using them. Glad to see another cloth diapering Mama around. :)

I used cloth diapers, prefolds and prowraps, with both my kids. We use disposables at night. For my first babe, we had a diaper service. For the second babe, I washed them myself. They really aren't that much work once you get a system going. We keep a large soapy bucket of water under the sink and just plop the poopy ones in until it is time to wash. Once your baby is eating solids you might have to jiggle the harder poops into the toilet - then soak.
Jillians Drawers has a promotion to try cloth diapers for THREE weeks to see if you like them for $10. They also have diaper pail liners that you can just chuck in the wash w/ the diapers, so you don't have to use plastic bag liners. Check them out www.jilliansdrawers.com

I wasn't very involved in my step-daughter's diapering years, but my husband and i have been trying for a baby a LOOOONG time now and we're also looking into adoption - so either way i'm so excited to be a future cloth diapering mom!!

I've done TONS of research and talked to many moms (and dads) on either side. Through it all, i've realized that cloth diapers are by far the best path for me and my family!

The biggest downside i've heard about GDiapers is that they don't seem to save you too much more money that disposables. Cloth is BY FAR the least expensive, even factoring in everything involved (washing, etc). For some people money isn't a huge factor, but for us it really is!

Environmentally, they are all surprisingly quite close on their impact! But if you look at the whole process from production to disposal, cloth diapers still come out way ahead! even though, as many people will tell you, it's not completely benign (but what is these days?). The production of disposables involved a lot of chemicals and natural resource use. And resources & chemicals used to produce and wash cloth diapers is, in my eyes, still better than leaving disposables in landfills with feces and urine in them (which in all reality you're still supposed to dump the disposable diaper contents in the toilet before you toss them out - but who does that?)

And in my eyes one of the biggest benefits is comfort and health of your baby! I can't imagine walking around in plastic underware all day. I'd chose cloth every time! So why not for our babies too? The most common comment i get to that is "disposables absorb the urine instead of making the baby sit in it! that can't be comfortable!" and that's when i say diaper rash isn't comfortable either and that's almost exclusively a disposable diaper problem - from the chemicals and from leaving the diaper on too long because the baby doesn't feel the wetness! plus, cloth babies have a bigger incentive to potty train much earlier because of that very reason!

Ease of use, i've talked to enough women who tell me emphatically that it's nowhere near as gross and difficult as most people think!! Most of them say it's no different that changing a disposable! plus things have come a long way since i was in diapers!

I know some say i'll change my tune when i'm actually doing it, but i highly doubt it. I am so excited about cloth diapering (and amazingly so is my husband!!!)

good videos: www.healthydiapers.com
good info: www.greenmountaindiapers.com
and a great message board to check out!: http://www.babyzone.com/Community/Topics.asp?brd=647

Hi M
I use cloth diapers and love them. We tried disposables in the beginning and i was always disappointed with the rashes, pee-leaks and poo-blow-outs. i can count on one hand the times a cloth diaper has leaked (my son is 13 months), and that was usually because of my error in putting the diaper together. we only use disposables if we're traveling; we use cloth on day trips.
i fail to see how 2 or 3 extra loads of laundry a week is a big deal. and though i can understand some people get squeamish around poo, if you can handle dog or cat poo then you can handle baby poo. i also don't buy the argument that the water used to wash diapers (i air dry them on a rack) is in any qay equivalent to extracting and processing the petroleum (plastic), fibers, and chemicals used to create a disposable diaper and its packaging.
i have no experience with g-diapers, but i can HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend cloth for anyone with a washing machine.
i ordered everything from greenmountaindiapers.com and have been very happy with the diapers, covers, and customer service they offer.

Amen, sister! I have used cloth diapers for both of my daughters, and will definitely keep using them for any future children. I agree with you, it's not as gross as people make it out to be. Also, between the money saved on disposables (hundreds of dollars!) and the environmental aspect (disposable diapers pretty much NEVER decompose, and think of how many hundreds of diapers even one child contributes to the landfills in just two years!), I was definitely sold on the cloth diaper thing from the very beginning. Almost everyone I know thinks it's so archaic to use them, but I love them! It's nice to hear that there are more Mom's like you out there!

My newborn also got a rash from commercial diapers so we looked into alternatives and found organic Seventh Generation disposable diapers. We also tried cloth, but it was a lot more work. The organic diapers don't contain latex, which is probably what she was allergic to. As it turned out, the organic diapers did the trick - no more rash.

I have four grown sons (ages 21 to 31). I used ONLY cloth diapers and saved a bundle. I still have some of them to this day and they made great menstrual pads and handkerchiefs for a miserable cold (wouldn't put paper on myself either), when I needed them.

If you're careful, there's nothing wrong with diaper pins. Sharpen them by running them through your hair. Also I double diapered at night. My kids rarely had rashes.

Almost everyone I knew at the time used diaposables. I hate them and especially the cost. Need I remind you about the threat to the environment?

J.

i love talking about cloth diapers!
we use cloth.
its amazing how easy it is.
daddy thinks its easy too!
there was a horrible article in parents mag last month.
anyone can do it.
its not gross.
when they eat solids you use a liner and dump it.
its actually softer on the baby bottoms.
your baby rarely gets diaper rash.
and
they say babies potty train earlier on cloth.
the debate is that you use more water.
we use a service and the plant treats mass amounts of diapers together.
its better than the gel in the disposables staying in landfills forever!

and its $29 per week.
thats for 40 cloth diapers per week.
we also get a pack of tushie brand paper biodegradable diapers.
you can also do 80 cloth for $24.
the starter kit-pail, lanolin wash, 4 covers and a pack of tushies was under $100.
go to healthydiapers.com.
there are demos there.
and they are so nice.
pick up once a week.

the only thing is the diaper covers and snappis.
i think the diaper covers are cute.
my babys bottom is always soft and not noisy.
you know, from the plastic.
the covers are $20 each (around).
we have a wool soaker (like lil pants for potential night leaks if you have a snoozer).
we also have about 4 bummis and another wool/fleece cover.
tjose are cloth too, but waterproof with velcro closures.
go to bummis.com for more info-how tos there too.
no pins, silly!
the snappi fasteners keep the diapers closed if you like.
otherwise the covers keep it all in place .
greenmountaindiapers.com is a great resource too.
they have a pamphlet that makes it even easier!

there are several folds that are easy.
we experiment with different ones as our baby grows.
some are tighter than others.
there are some leaks, but no more than i imagine with disposables!

again-we looove it!
may even start to make our own wipes with paper towels and mild soap.
you just keep a warm water thermos by the changing table.
anyways, let me know if you have any other questions!
-just & wade

I DO use cloth, and I would not use these. Here's why:

To me, the whole point of using cloth is to not spend my entire child allowance on diapers every month. Doing so in my mind is literally throwing away money. So why would I buy a diaper with flushable (disposable) liners, and with pouches that have to be replaced every 6 months? Just the pouches (snap in pockets) for 20 diapers would run me $50 every 6 months, with the kids in diapers for at least 2-3 years, that's $300 that I'll throw out. Add the cost of the liners themselves, and if I go throught 30-40 a week, that's a lot of money. Disposables would be cheaper.

Never entertained the idea and have no desire to do so. I did take a look at the video though as I was curious. What I would like to know is why do they just show a wet diaper... Why not show a diaper full of poo? Or a diaper full of diarrhea? Obvious it does not make for good advertising but it's t he reality. How much poo do they actually hold? I don't know about you but I'd rather not have to swoosh my babies poo down a toilet each time especially if you're not at home.. I do admit the colors they offer are pretty cool! But it does not go beyond that for me. Just not for my family. I loved my Huggies Supreme and so did my daughter. But to each it's own.. Kudos to those moms out there that do..I could not be bothered.