Where to start???

[kurret]

Hi! Third time mom here, but hopeful first time cloth diaper user.

My LO is 7 weeks old but a chunker, 14lbs already wearing 3-6 month clothes. Where do I start? Adjustable cloth diapers? Inserts? Brands? How many? Wet bags? Tips? HELP!! I’m so intimidated but I feel like cloth diapering will save us money, the environment, and less chemicals on babes bottom. Plus, cloth diapers are SO cute!

I really appreciate all the help and advice!

 

[zailena]

@kurret Start with some prefolds and covers! Keep it simple. Green mountain diapers are our favorite.

 

[kurret]

@zailena Thanks so much!!

 

[ittwirbaacs]

@kurret If you have a girl or don’t mind girly prints message me! I was about to sell some

 

[kurret]

@ittwirbaacs Awww I have a boy!!! Thank you though!

 

[stan123]

@kurret Most cloth diapers are one size fits all from roughly 8-30lbs. Do your research on what type(s) you want to use. I went with pockets because I feel they are easy and very like disposables. Flats/prefolds and covers are another popular choice. Some parents use both. I watched a TON of YouTube videos while pregnant to learn about the pros and cons of different types, wash routines, and accessories. It really helped. Start there. As a rule 24 diapers will let you do laundry every 2-3 days and I would consider it the minimum for exclusive cloth diapering. I have 42 and can get 4-5 days (no nights - we use disposables) most cycles. 36 was a comfortable amount for 3-4 days.

Of my pockets I LOVE my Hippybottomus the most. Mama Koala and Alva are okay but they do fit differently and I am more likely to get leaks with them. I also think the hippy’s are better quality but I am only 3 months in so who knows. All of the inserts I use now are charcoal bamboo and I love them too. They are partially MF so they might not last forever. MF inserts as a rule are generally trash. Most diapers come with them by default. If you can upgrade, do that. MF is good for some things and you can use them with proper layering, but bamboo, hemp, and cotton are better.

Accessory wise you want a diaper bin (we went closed diaper pail for smell but open bin with good air circulation is better), small (2-4) and large (2) wet bags, diaper sprayer and/or diaper liners for once solids are started, clothing line or wire rack to hang drying diapers, wipes (1 per diaper + a few extra), CD safe bum cream (we use coconut oil), and CD safe detergent.

A lot of families choose to go used. If you can afford to buy new I would recommend that. With used you run the risk of needing to replace snaps, elastics, velcro, or inserts. Plus you will need to do a strip and sanitize right off the bat (which sounds intimidating to me haha).

A lot of companies will do bundles! For example, with hippy’s you can get like a $200 stash of many diapers, wet bags, inserts, etc. If you find a brand you like see if they have a package deal to bundle and save.

 

[jesussaves7763]

@kurret My baby isn't here yet, so take everything I'm saying with a grain of salt, but I've spent a LOT of time thinking about this. Lol. It was soo overwhelming at first, but the best thing to get past my analysis paralysis was to jump in and order!! This is what we're doing...

We are kind of on a budget and after looking at more expensive Charlie Banana covers at BBB, I decided to explore Alva's. I watched a few YT review videos and ordered a handful (8 pockets, 1 wet bag - $60) directly from their website. Although there are some really good deals for packs on Amazon right now, I ordered direct because I wanted to pick specific prints and I love that they give you options for the insert. You can totally omit, or upgrade to 3 layer bamboo, or 4 or 5 layer bamboo blend from the standard microfiber. (I picked 3 layer because it's 100% bamboo, whereas the 4 and 5 are microfiber on the inside layers.)

They came in 9 days and I'm happy with the quality, especially considering they're literally a fraction of the price of most other brands. The one complaint I've seen about Alva is that the seams come undone, but mine all seem really strong! I probably won't machine dry them unless I have to though, just to give them the best shot at longevity.

I also jumped on the LPO factory sale that ends today, and ordered enough to hit free shipping ($80 - ordered yesterday, haven't received them yet but everyone seems to love LPO so I wanted to have a "higher quality" brand in there for comparison), I got 7 pockets and they come with 2 bamboo inserts each.

Now my stash is 15 diapers and 22 bamboo inserts for ~$140 USD and I'm feeling pretty dang good about it! I will probably wait to see if any other brands run black friday sales, and if not order the rest from Alva.

There is such conflicting advice about certain diapers "not working for your baby," but the consensus I'm choosing to believe is that the stuffing and inserts are where it really matters.

I think we will end up with 30+/- one size diapers, they fit up to ~35 lbs and try really hard to potty train her before needing to size up. We haven't gotten a diaper pail yet, but probably 2 pail liners and 2 wet bags for out and about. I'm imagining this will be enough for about 2 days between laundry... Maybe I'm mistaken, if anyone is more experienced and wants to chime in with corrections or additional advice, please do!!

 

[joshuafranulovich]

@jesussaves7763 As far as diaper pail, I highly recommend getting a cheap plastic hamper from Walmart or Target. I bought one for about $8 at Walmart and I can just wipe it out with a disinfectant wipe as needed. We had a top loader so I would just dump the diapers in. Now we’re renting a place while we’re in escrow on our new place and we have a front loader. I’ve been hand-loading the diapers which I don’t love. Moral of the story here, a cheap hamper goes a long way. Airflow is good. Until we started solids, we had no smells and almost every diaper was a poop diaper. I even had my mom do a sniff test to make sure I wasn’t just accustomed to the smell! I can’t copy the link from the Walmart app, but I have the “Mainstays Flexible Wood Look” hamper. It’s white and looks nothing like wood

 

[jesussaves7763]

@joshuafranulovich Excellent point! It's easy to get suckered into the fancy diaper specific pails. I googled your pail - LOL at the name! But you're soo right, it's 1/6 the cost of the Dekor one I was looking at. Thank you for bringing me back down to earth on that!!

 

[joshuafranulovich]

@jesussaves7763 It’s a small investment too if you don’t like it!

 

[sophie0813]

@kurret Check out the sidebar, or this graphic is an easy way to compare the different types of diapers.

 

[kurret]

@sophie0813 Thank you!

 

[zzareyan]

@kurret Check out our cloth diapers 101. It’s linked on the sidebar.

 

[joshuafranulovich]

@kurret I went all in on La Petite Ourse diapers and love them! I liked that they came with bamboo inserts so I didn’t have to worry about buying different ones. They’re having a big sale that ends today. I would stay away from microfiber inserts because you will likely need to boost later on with natural fibers. I wrote something similar the other day, but ask yourself a few questions to decide which route to go. Do you have a very tight budget? Flats and covers might be a good option, or Alva pockets are cheap but you’ll need to get different inserts than the microfiber they come with. Do you have a larger budget? Pockets or fitteds with covers cost a little more. Do you want something that puts on like a disposable? Pockets, AIOs, or fitteds are the closest in my opinion. Do you mind doing a couple quick folds? Prefolds or flats with a cover. Is dry time very important? Stay away from AIOs and try flats or prefolds (my LPO pockets and AIOs dry in two dry cycles, so not bad but not great). Do you want quick, easy laundry? Honestly, any diaper. But I think prefolds are the easiest, followed by AIOs. Pockets take a minute to stuff, but once stuffed are the easiest to put on (especially if you have a squirmy baby who just wants to crawl away). I would personally just go straight to buying new but that’s because your baby is already here. I’m assuming you don’t want to take the time to replace any elastics or strip and sanitize diapers. I know that I would rather just dump it all in the wash and go. You will need to wash everything a couple of times before they’re absorbent enough to put on baby. My favorite brands from what I’ve tried are LPO, Nicki’s diapers, and Happy Beehinds (the “perfect fit” with the brown lining). The only AIO I would recommend is LPOs. It’s actually absorbent and the insert snaps out to dry faster. I bought prefolds from Nicki’s which are great, but you will need multiple sizes, which I find to be kind of annoying. I like that my pockets are a one-and-done deal. If you do go covers + fitteds/flats/prefolds, I really like my thirsties covers. I hope that’s helpful! My biggest piece of advice is to just start. Don’t get analysis paralysis!

 

[kurret]

@joshuafranulovich Thanks so much this was SUPER helpful!!!

 

[joep]

@kurret I love bubblebubs bigs with Motherease Airflows on top. That's what The Nappy Lady (UK advice and sales website) recommended for me once baby reached 10lbs. The covers are sized but the nappies should last til potty training as they are very stretchy.