Questions about buying secondhand cloth diapers and building a stash

[sydwell]

I've been researching cloth diapers for a while and I'm still very overwhelmed, but I really want to make it work!! Everyone here seems so knowledgeable and I admit I'm quite intimidated to post over here. But we're getting started on building our stash now, and I would really love to have some guidance. We're both first time parents and have been learning about CDs from youtube videos and this sub.

Anyway, I've arranged to pick up a few secondhand items this week, and I'd like to know if these are good deals (assuming the elastics and PULs look good when I see them in person). The market for cloth diapers in my area doesn't seem that great, I see tons of items posted on FB marketplace but they just stay there for weeks.

Deal #1 is $45 total. They were used for one kid until potty training and a few months with a second kid. The pocket diapers seem to be cheapie brands from Amazon (Besto Baby and LBB). According to the seller, most of the elastic are in great shape. I figured for this price I can attempt to fix the elastic or gift them to someone who can.

Deal #2 is $25 for 6 x-small velcro Bum Genius AIOs and 1 small Thirsty that will need a cover. They were used for one kid and have elastics in good condition, no stain because the seller used liners with them. Our plan is to use AIOs overnight as it sounds... easier?

We're also planning on buying these 6 Alva Baby pocket diapers for $25.99 and maybe these 5 Kushies velcro AIOs for $20 secondhand but brand new. Does that seem too overkill/unnecessary to have so many of pocket diapers and AIOs?

I've also heard of doing reusable covers with changeable flats or prefolds. I saw some deals on Mercari with 12 receiving blankets to use as flats for $10. But I can't find diaper covers secondhand anywhere for a reasonable price. Maybe I'll buy these Alva Baby covers?! Can pocket diapers double duty as diaper covers (I like the idea of reusing the covers and only changing the inserts)? If not, do you have any recommendations for cheap diaper covers?

We also plan to buy new (natural fiber) inserts as I heard microfibers don't last long.

Thanks!!

Edit: I apologize in advance for the standalone post, I don't see a weekly or daily threads for questions. I've read through a few posts for newbies, a lot of the brands that everyone raved about aren't on the local secondhand market. I'm afraid to spend tons of money on brand new items when I don't even know if it'd work for us.

 

[andujartyler]

@sydwell You won’t lose any money with the first deal. Just the wet bags and disposable liners will almost bring you to $45 on their own! It’s a great and super cheap way to test different diapers.

The second one is interesting if you want to cloth diaper from the start (birth). If you don’t want to, those might be kind of wasted. I CD from birth and had no issues at all, but not everyone wants to!

CD deals come and go super quick. I have had good luck with Facebook marketplace. I also tend to check in the more expensive neighborhoods; cloth diapers tend to be cheaper and of better quality in the fancy neighborhoods.

 

[sydwell]

@andujartyler Thank you for checking for me!

For the first one, I was thinking at least I'd get the sprayer out of it. This is kind of dumb, but... What are the liners for? Is it just an extra layer that you don't have to worry about washing? I thought it was diaper pail liner at first haha.

For the second one, I guess I just jumped on it because the price seems reasonable and I recognize the brand haha. It's very encouraging to hear that it worked out for you (it sounds like the general consensus is to use disposable until baby grows out of the newborn size).

I've been checking FB marketplace everyday. It's either way too expensive (almost same price as brand new items for secondhand items) or brands that I don't recognize and can't find any reviews on. I'm hoping I'll have more luck in the next 3 months!

 

[andujartyler]

@sydwell The liners are useful for when baby starts eating solids and ointment. You just trash the liner with the big particle of poo or you rinse it if it is reusable.

Some rash ointment don’t wash very out of polyester fabric (like pockets) so people use liners.

Newborn cloth diapering was not super hard for us. I breastfed exclusively so the diapers went straight to the washing machine. We changed him at least every two hours at first, sometimes more and it felt so good not to trash anything. I did have a giant newborn that fitted in OS almost from the start, but I also had a small stash of newborn cloth diapers. Considering how expensive are diapers and how often you have to change them, I would say we broke even.

I also don’t think there are brands that are bad, per se. I don’t love the few China Cheapies (like Alva) that I have, but they usually work fine. My husband prefers the Charlie Banana and the LilHelper, I prefer the La Petite Ourse. For the same baby

 

[sydwell]

@andujartyler Thank you for explaining the liners!

My baby was measuring on the smaller side at the anatomy scan, so I wanted to have a back up option in case she doesn't fit into the one-size. How did you CD your newborn? Did you keep the same system throughout? I was thinking of using AIOs for nighttime when I'm too sleepy to deal with many parts of cloth diaper, but I completely blanked out on what to do during the day if she doesn't fit into the OS yet. (I don't think 6 AIOs will last us a day.)

I did see Charlie Banana on Mercari, posted by the same person who was selling receiving blankets to use as flats. I'll keep these brands in mind when I shop around!

 

[andujartyler]

@sydwell We had AIO (12) and prefolds and covers. We had a super heavy wetter and used newborn prefolds at night + newborn covers and AIO during the day. Prefolds with a snappi are pretty easy and cheap; my husband who had never hold a baby did most of the changes and it went fine!

Charlie Banana were the OS that fitted the best from birth! You adjust the elastics for the thighs which prevent gaps. They have microfiber inserts but they work super well for us.

I think there is a quality in microfibers. The inserts that came with my cheap pockets don’t work as well as the used microfiber inserts from my Charlie Banana.

I have bamboo, cotton, charcoal bamboo, prefolds and I found a combination of bamboo+ cotton or bamboo + microfiber works best for my baby.

 

[pauldevereux]

@sydwell The Xsmall AIOs look like newborn sizing from what I can see in the picture, which would get outgrown fast but can be good when they're first born and don't fit in one-size yet.

I wanted to give you a note about Alva: They ship directly from China and their shipping in and out of the country is severely limited. So, if you buy from their website, you need to spend at least $49 for their faster shipping and still expect long delays. They even state on their website that it is taking people anywhere from 3 to 8 weeks to get orders, depending on what happens in shipping. They cost a lot more to buy from Amazon, though. So getting your 6 pockets and bulking out the rest of your order with covers and accessories could make sense.

You can't use pockets as covers. They can grow bacteria and ammonia in the inside soft part when it gets wet. Imagine peeing in your pants, letting them air dry, and then putting them back on - that's basically the process of letting a pocket diaper dry and then reusing it. Gross.

Covers instead should have a smooth layer in the inside that doesn't absorb water, allows you to wipe it clean between uses to remove urine, air dry, and then put back on the child for 1 or 2 more uses (with the cleaning it part an important step that pockets can't do). I don't see any problem with getting some of the Alva covers, to be honest - although the size of the front and back flap looks annoying compared to other options.

You may also need to eventually invest in better inserts than the used microfiber that tends to not hold up well over time and is likely to leak on you.

 

[sydwell]

@pauldevereux Thank you for your reply! I have so many questions to follow-up if you don't mind...

I didn't even consider the newborn AIOs will likely be outgrown fast. Ugh!!

I appreciate the heads up on Alva shipping, I didn't know it would take that long (I imagined it'd take longer now with the pandemic and everything). Do you have any experience with using Alva products? Any favorites from them?

I understand the differences between covers and pockets now! I do think the flaps in the Alva covers look annoying, and it also throws me off because it looks nothing like the example covers I saw on youtube haha. Do you have any suggestions for inexpensive covers? I have such a hard time finding them secondhand.

I've been looking at the bamboo charcoal inserts from Alva. It looks like only the outer layers are bamboo charcoal, the inner layers are still microfiber. Would that still not hold up well? All the inserts I saw on amazon seem to have the same arrangement, but maybe I haven't looked hard enough.

 

[pauldevereux]

@sydwell I'm not due until September, but I've done nothing but talk and think about diapers for the last few weeks. It's so easy to fall into a hole and need more information.

it's nice to have some newborn sizes starting out! You'll likely appreciate it if you have a smaller baby and want to get started before the one-sized diapers actually fit. I'm starting with 5 newborn pocket diapers that I got used just to try out and get used to the idea of cloth diapering early on (though it will require bulking up laundry to wash them if there's only a few and not a full load of diapers).

My first set of Alvas shipped yesterday and isn't here yet, so I haven't seen any of the inserts in person. Basically anything other than the cheap microfiber (from any brand) holds up better/longer.

What you want in terms of inserts will really depend and need to be adjusted for your own child as they get older. You can start with basically any inserts when they are young and then adjust up absorbency as they get older and start exceeding the capacity of the inserts too fast. I got some of the super inexpensive Flour Sack Towels from Walmart that people post about all the time to try out as insert doublers for more absorbency to start.

 

[flda_grl]

@sydwell OK, can't answer if you got good deals because I'm not familiar with some of those brands but I can answer some of your questions. Pockets are a single use and then wash item. They have a cloth pocket which is in contact with the baby so the whole thing needs to be changed, not just the insert. The ability to use AIOs overnight depends on the individual baby. I have a heavy wetter who likes her sleep (12 hours uninterrupted by 3 months) so I would never manage with AIOs or pockets at night. The times I did try, she would wake needing to be changed. I use fitted with a cover at night. It's just what works for us but other people find them great. I mainly use pockets and AIOs during the day and it works great for me.

 

[sydwell]

@flda_grl Thank you for your reply!

I was hoping for using AIOs overnight in a sense that... we can just change baby into a new diaper the way we would with disposable instead of taking the time to fold or insert like the other type of diapers. I didn't consider having a heavy wetter who sleeps long hours through the night!

If you don't mind me asking, is using fitted with a cover the same as using a flat or prefold with a cover? Do fitted diapers just work better for you than flats or prefolds or are there other reasons that you use fitted?

 

[kirsten1214]

@sydwell A fitted with a cover is basically the same as a flat/prefold with a cover. I use flats as much as possible. I keep a few fitteds on hand for when my husband does the nighttime diaper.

Flats are easy to wash and dry (I can dry a load of flats in less than 40 minutes on low heat), highly customizable, and very absorbent. However, they need to be folded and can sometimes be fussy to get under a squirmy baby intact. At night, I have to boost our flats, which is a setup my husband just can’t wrap his head around, so he uses a fitted if he does the nighttime diaper.

Fitteds are simple. When my babe was a newborn, my husband preferred fitteds to the prefolds we had. They were just easier for him. They are usually super duper absorbent, and a lot of people use them for night time. But they take a while to dry and can take a little more effort to get clean.

 

[flda_grl]

@sydwell I've never explored flats and use prefolds as pocket inserts. I keep meaning to explore prefolds but haven't gotten around to it. Fitted would be a bit like prefolds or flats in that they are a complete wrap around of the absorbant material. They go in like a pocket or AIO though, they just need a cover. I got into those because it's what people were recommending. It wasn't until later and someone was selling prefolds that I got some. She's very squirmy right now though so not the time for experiments.

 

[sydwell]

@flda_grl I see! It looks like fitted are easy to use than learning to fold flats or prefolds correctly (just based on my own learning from youtube, of course). Do you have a brand recommendation for fitted and covers?

 

[flda_grl]

@sydwell That really depends. What country are you in? I'm in Ireland so the ones I use may or may not be easy for you to get depending on location. I mostly prefer Petit Lulu maxi night. I don't need to boost those and their covers are gorgeous with lovely fleece around the edge. I also use tots bots bamboozle and boo+boo bamboo fitted. I need to boost both of those with hemp. I have some Happy Flute (aliexpress) hemp fitted ordered so I'm excited to try those. Really, any wrap can go on most onesize fitteds.