Hello and welcome to the new ladies! :wave:
I think that I got everyone's information correct in the list in the second post on the 1st page. Please let me know if you would like to add or change anything.
Thank you for all of the sympathy about the house ladies! It's still pending sale and the for sale sign is still in the yard and another one I liked but is currently out of our budget was pending sale for a while and is now listed as being "for sale" again so who knows, maybe whoever is considering buying it will back out.
We're not really impatient to buy right now, we just really wanted that particular house. We're more than happy to wait, become more financially stable, and find another house that has the potential to be just as amazing, or maybe we'll build our dream home. This at least allows me to still keep my delusional fantasy about fixing up a gorgeous Victorian that has been for sale in another town 15 minutes away for ages.
The cloth diaper brands I have currently are:
Softbums (Echo and Omni shells and both drytouch and bamboo pods)
Applecheeks (1 size 1 envelope cover)
Fuzzibunz (perfect size, mostly mediums and 1 large, not the one size)
An unbranded pocket diaper, probably from China
Thirsties (1 hook and loop large size cover)
Rumparooz (1 one size snap cover)
Blissful Booty (1 one size hook and loop pocket diaper)
Rock-a-Bums (1 one size 5 in 1 diaper)
Charlie Banana (small pocket diapers)
Happy Flute (heavy wetter All-in-1s, maybe charcoal bamboo?)
Some unbranded preemie/newborn prefolds that I just pad fold into covers or pockets since they don't fit my kids as prefolds.
So far my favorites by far are the Softbums and I also really like the Applecheeks. I'm not the biggest fan of the rest and probably won't keep them in my stash for long, just until I have enough other diapers that I need to downsize my stash. The brands I'm most interested in trying are:
GroVia
Blueberry
Bum Genius
Smart Bottoms
Best Bottoms
Rumparooz (I really want to try their other types of diapers since all I have is one cover)
For anyone wanting to try cloth I'm more than happy to help alleviate any time and stress that I can! I did so much research and convincing DH for 3 years before finally getting to do it. I'm going to start by saying that I LOVE it! I really regret not pushing DH harder on the matter after moving here and getting our own washer and dryer around DS's 1st birthday.
1. The first step is to test your water. Find a water strip that says "general hardness" or "total hardness". Avoid the free Whirlpool strips or Water Boss as they are inaccurate.
2. Once you determine the hardness of your water you will need to figure out a good wash routine for your diapers based on your hardness level. For example my hardness level ranges from hard to very hard depending on water temperature so I use Tide Original Power detergent and Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda. For a small load I do cold water, line 1 Tide, and 1/2 cup of Arm and Hammer in the prewash and hot water, line 3, and 1/2 cup of Arm and Hammer in my main wash. For a medium load I do cold water, line 2 Tide, and 3/4 cup Arm and Hammer in the prewash and hot water, line 4 Tide, and 3/4 cup Arm and Hammer in the main wash. I recommend visiting Fluff Love University's website to learn more about how to do your diaper laundry with your type of machine. I also recommend line/air drying your diapers as they will last a lot longer than if you put them in the dryer.
3. You will need to test your water for iron hardness. The easiest way to do this is by getting a cup, putting a tiny splash of sanitizing bleach in it, and then filling it with cold water. Then put an old white sock in it and let it sit for 15 minutes. Then pull the sock out. If it's still white then it's okay for you to use bleach when needed but if the sock turns orange that means that your water is iron hard and you won't be able to use bleach. There are a few alternatives to bleach on the Fluff Love University site but I only recommend using them if your water is iron hard making it impossible for you to use bleach. There are several reasons you may need to use bleach on your diapers: If you buy used diapers you will need to sanitize them, if your baby gets a yeast rash, or if they develop mold.
4. I recommend buying 1-3 diapers from several different brands each and several different types of diapers (covers and prefolds, All-in-1s, All-in-2s, pockets, ect for example) each so that you can test them out and see which kinds and brands work best for you and your family. When buying used diapers always buy with caution, ask the seller for lots of details such as the condition of the PUL, back and legs elastics, velcro, any stains, holes, tears, ect and ask for pictures of the outside, the inside, and the PUL if you can. Always pay for used diapers through PayPal so that if the diaper comes to you in worse condition than described and sold to you for you can dispute it and either get a full or partial refund.
5. I recommend doing diaper laundry anywhere from every 2-4 days. Going any shorter can mean that you don't have enough dirty diapers to wash properly in even a small load (your wash load should look like a stew) and going any longer than that can cause issues such as ammonia smell or mold or cause your diapers to stain.
6. Everyone will tell you that they aren't necessary but trust me you are going to want a diaper sprayer. I'm desperate to get one, dunk and swish is so disgusting and the only thing I don't like about cloth diapering right now. You can do this cheaply by looking up how to build one yourself from parts at a home improvement store such as Home Depot or Lowe's for example. I also recommend getting a Spray Pal sprayer shield or a Diaper Dawgs spray collar to keep the sprayer localized to your diaper or you're likely going to end up with a mess everywhere, and that mess will include poop.
7. If you want to do cloth wipes I recommend doing the "dry" method over the "wet" method. There are lots of solution recipes online but I'm going to just be using water and a squirt of baby soap in my spray bottle as I've heard of people doing that and it seems to be the most cost effective and easiest way. Just put dry wipes (such as flannel or baby wash cloths for example) inside of a wipe dispenser and spray them wet with a spray bottle of your chosen solution recipe as needed.
8. You will thank yourself later if you have any pocket diapers you use stuffed ahead of time. I stuff mine as soon as they're all done drying on the rack or line before I put them away.
9. Have at least 2-3 pail liners and a good diaper pail. The Diaper Dekor is a popular choice but metal foot pedal trash cans work too. Also have a variety of wet bags and wet/dry bags.
10. Get yourself a decent sized diaper bag. I highly recommend Ju-Ju-Be diaper bags but anything labeled as a "weekender" bag from any other brand such as Vera Bradley, JJ Cole, or Petunia Picklebottom will work as well. From Ju-Ju-Be I recommend either a BFF (for single children in cloth diapers only, it's not really big enough for multiple children in cloth), a Be Prepared (this bag is amazing but bare in mind that it is heavy), a Super Be (my personal favorite for my 2 in cloth as it's big but light and can easily be organized with small bags/containers inside for your things), or the Be Right Back (a backpack style diaper back).
11. Not every diaper is suitable for nighttime. I highly recommend GroVia O.N.Es or fitted diapers with a cover (preferably wool or fleece instead of PUL though fleece is easier to care for than wool).
I can't think of any other cloth diapering advice but feel free to ask me anything if something else comes up!