Cloth diapers

[USAFWife319]

I wasn't sure where to post this but for those of you that cloth, to start what's a good number of shells, inserts, and liners to have? Can you use the one size for newborns as well or are they too big?

 

[Mrs Dragonfly]

Following!

We're starting out with disposables for the NB sizes and while we transition into cloth since we never really built our stash up yet. Right now we have 6 charlie banana's with 12 inserts, 12 green mountain prefolds size small and 5 thirsties duo covers.

 

[USAFWife319]

We are doing disposables for NB too and possibly sometimes after he's bigger like maybe at night. I have 8 CB each with 2 inserts and I have 3 extras so 15 total inserts. Do you have to use 2 inserts per diaper? one in the pocket and one as a liner?

 

[Ziggie]

Bumgenius freetime. No inserts required just use a bamboo liner when they move to solids

 

[Rhapsodi]

They recommend 10-12 changes worth per day. So if you plan to wash daily then 10-12 is fine. If every other day 20-24.

I am planning to CD. So can't give many tips but that's what I read.

I am using smart snugs CD. I picked them because they actually sell all in 2s (so I can reuse the shell just replace inserts) but have mostly pockets as I got better deals on them. Their inserts are much thicker than the other inserts I have so I currently have the smart snugs stuffed with one insert each. Then all my others are stuffed with 2-3 inserts (depending on the diaper). I also am using bio liners to make washing easier.

I also like the smart snugs because they have snaps. I read the Velcro if not secured right before the wash can be a pain and reck the CD. The way the smart snugs are designed they look more adjustable.

We also are using disposables to start until baby fits the cloth diapers I have.

My stock pile has 17 pocket, 3 all in ones, 5all in 2s and about 40 inserts.

Hope that helps!

 

[ILUVSHOPPING]

I currently use Charlie Banana on my 16 month old daughter. They have easily adjustable legs that take them from fitting around 5 lbs to over 30 lbs. I do prefer pocket diapers, but with her narrow shape and heavy wetting I haven't been able to find some I like. While she was newborn up until 16 lbs I had been using g diapers. I only purchased 2 size small gpants but I have 6 pouches and about 12 of their inserts. I also have 3 Thirsties wraps which went from 6 lbs to 15 or 16 lbs. I would swap between whatever other brand of inserts I have available, but use the thicker ones for nighttime. With my next daughter I plan to go right into cd as soon as we get home from the hospital. I'll have her in the g diapers and Thirsties while my oldest will only wear Charlie Banana.

 

[USAFWife319]

I currently use Charlie Banana on my 16 month old daughter. They have easily adjustable legs that take them from fitting around 5 lbs to over 30 lbs. I do prefer pocket diapers, but with her narrow shape and heavy wetting I haven't been able to find some I like. While she was newborn up until 16 lbs I had been using g diapers. I only purchased 2 size small gpants but I have 6 pouches and about 12 of their inserts. I also have 3 Thirsties wraps which went from 6 lbs to 15 or 16 lbs. I would swap between whatever other brand of inserts I have available, but use the thicker ones for nighttime. With my next daughter I plan to go right into cd as soon as we get home from the hospital. I'll have her in the g diapers and Thirsties while my oldest will only wear Charlie Banana.

Do the Charlie Banana fit newborns? My SIL got me 2 OS and I ordered 6 more. I have 2 inserts with each diaper and she got me 3 more so I will have a total of 15 inserts and 6 diapers for now. I found some LBB diapers that I like and they have one insert each but come with 10 liners extra. Is there a difference between the inserts and liners?

 

[Nina83]

I plan on using disposables for the first week or so.
I have 12 OS Charlie bananas and one small which I think would fit a NB.
I also have 2 Lil helpers, one bamboo and one Charcoal with extra inserts. I heard the charcoal are great for night. After a prep wash of the bamboo I was really disappointed, they kind of curled up inside.

 

[WillowMummy]

We have 20 Little Lamb Bamboo size 1 nappies for our little boy. This includes 20 bamboo liners and 6 waterproof outers.

 

[mmMlm]

For the newborn phase, we used prefolds with covers (Thirsties or Sugar Peas fleece). I found the one-size to be pretty big & bulky for newborns, and prefolds are a cheaper way to get a big stash for the beginning. They also work well as doublers for night time later on.

 

[Mrs Dragonfly]

Any ladies use the Alva diapers? They're prices are tempting.

 

[kksy9b]

We use Alva! For the most part I like them. They tend to leak more as he is transitioning snap sizes than our other brands. But all in all worth it to me.

For us, I found the OS to be too big in the NB stage but my DS was only 6 1/2 lbs. I loved prefolds and covers until he was 12-13 lbs or so.

Here are a couple resources for you gals that are looking into/just starting your cloth journeys. I highly recommend doing a newborn trial. This will let you try out cloth without the investment really and let you see if it's for you.

https://itsybitsybums.3dcartstores.com/Help_ep_43.html

https://www.kellyscloset.com/What-do-I-need-to-get-started-cloth-diapering_ep_209-1.html

 

[ILUVSHOPPING]

I currently use Charlie Banana on my 16 month old daughter. They have easily adjustable legs that take them from fitting around 5 lbs to over 30 lbs. I do prefer pocket diapers, but with her narrow shape and heavy wetting I haven't been able to find some I like. While she was newborn up until 16 lbs I had been using g diapers. I only purchased 2 size small gpants but I have 6 pouches and about 12 of their inserts. I also have 3 Thirsties wraps which went from 6 lbs to 15 or 16 lbs. I would swap between whatever other brand of inserts I have available, but use the thicker ones for nighttime. With my next daughter I plan to go right into cd as soon as we get home from the hospital. I'll have her in the g diapers and Thirsties while my oldest will only wear Charlie Banana.

Do the Charlie Banana fit newborns? My SIL got me 2 OS and I ordered 6 more. I have 2 inserts with each diaper and she got me 3 more so I will have a total of 15 inserts and 6 diapers for now. I found some LBB diapers that I like and they have one insert each but come with 10 liners extra. Is there a difference between the inserts and liners?

I started with Charlie once DD hit 6 lbs. I only used 1 insert and I had them on the smallest setting. By the time she was 3 months I started using 2 inserts in each diaper. The liners that I've used would just go over the diaper as a barrier between baby and cloth to catch the poop. Those weren't as effective for me until her poop was more solid. As an EBF baby her poo was extremely messy and the liners made it worse. One thing I absolutely loved was the disposable insert. For extended days out I could pack fewer Charlie Bananas and at each changing put a new disposable insert on top of the diaper and go.

 

[Mrs Dragonfly]

Thank you for the links! I may look into purchasing some Alva diapers then, although I don't think I'll go for the NB size.

I love the idea of disposable inserts! I've been looking into either just the ones we toss away or that are flushable to protect our cloth and make washing them less of a hassle.

 

[tah2012]

I have a few things to say on the topic. Hope it helps!

First off, please, please, please be careful actually flushing "flushable" liners. So many times they cause problems down the road. My suggestion...buy them, use them but don't flush them. Just throw them out. Often times things that deem themselves flushable like that or cloth diaper safe (referring to creams and all) really aren't. You won't notice a problem for a while and then one day, boom, you have repelling issues or you are calling a plumber. Just my advice. The cost and hassle of that just isn't worth the chance to me.

I think that how many diapers you need depends on what kind you decide to use. I absolutely love my best bottoms. They are an All-in-2 system. It's one size with several rows of snaps (I don't like any Velcro diapers) to adjust the fit around the waist and legs. The shells are the costly item in this system but because they are reusable unless you had a messy poo, you don't need as many as All-in-1 diapers. The inserts are great too. Those come in 3 sizes but a lot of people only ever use 2 out of the 3 sizes during the diapering years. That just depends on the baby for which size people skip, if any. I love that I can add absorbency by using what they call a doubler or overnight insert, or just stacking a second regular insert on top. I just love how cute and adjustable they are. It's the only kind I'll ever need.

Keep in mind when you make your decision how you plan on laundering your diapers. If you don't want to use the dryer, you will want to buy more so that they have time to hang dry. And an all-in-2 system will take much less time to dry than an all-in-1. I like to hang dry mine and then fluff them up in the dryer for a couple minutes when done. Toss the inserts in the dryer with some wool dryer balls...then I've got nice, clean, dry and soft diapers.

With my first baby, we did not use cloth diapers right away. For one, we were trying to focus on adjusting to parenthood, but two, we had soooo many disposables gifted to us that we decided to use them. It made life easier for a bit and I honestly found it a relief. Baby's first poos are very messy and sticky. There's no way I would have wanted to deal with getting that off my cloth diapers. Yes, best bottoms will fit a newborn.

Oh, and one last thing...diaper sprayers are awesome (we hooked up a bidet sprayer to our toilet). Even for exclusively breastfed babies. Spray the poo off first and save yourself some trouble with staining. Stains will still happen from time to time but I think it helps if it isn't sitting on there until laundry day. The sun is awesome for treating stains btw (even on a cloudy day).

This may be way more than you asked for, sorry. I could go on forever. I am passionate about cloth diapering and the system I use. No matter what you end up choosing or kind you use, know cloth diapering was the best decision I ever made for many, many reasons.

 

[USAFWife319]

That's great info tah! Thank you! I'm excited to start our cloth journey but we will be using disposables for the first few weeks. I've looked at a sprayer and I believe we are going to get one as well. What do you use to wash yours with? What's your routine there?

 

[Mrs Dragonfly]

Really helpful information Tah! For the flushable liners, we did get a diaper genie where I plan to toss out wipes so I'll probably just toss the liners in there as well and save our toilet the possibility of issue.

I too am curious over your wash routine We have community laundry here as we're currently living in an apartment so I can't be terribly strict on doing multiple washes in different temps, I could be but that's a lot of time and money that I worry about juggling as a new FTM...

 

[Rhapsodi]

Tah,
Do you think if using the liners a sprayer is still helpful?

We are not flushing liners, we are using a separate garbage that will be emptied everyday/every other day. Just using them to hopefully make it easier on DH.

Also anyone make their own wipes? How many did you make? How did you make sure they don't fray? Right now I haven't made wipes yet but I'm thinking about it.

 

[burrr]

I have bought some Alva nappies, I couldn't resist the price. I'm due next week, but I don't think she'll fit into them straight away so I'm starting on disposables until she fits the one size cloth nappies.

I really hope Alva do the trick, because I'd rather have lots of cheap ones than fewer expensive ones. We have a big washing machine and our water is metered so I'd rather do washes every 2-3 days and fill the machine up.

Plus Alva do some really cool designs!

One thing I read about starting to use cloth is not to stock up on any one brand to start with because they might not suit your baby. I've got 5 Alvas to start am planning to use a trial kit from my local council to experiment with other brands if necessary. Then when I know what suits her best, I'll invest in some of those.

 

[kksy9b]

For our wash routine I do a cold rinse, then a hot wash (with detergent- I use country save) and another cold rinse. Then line dry when the weather is nice to sun any stains out and save on not running the dryer.