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In this Discussion
- packgal February 28
Before commenting please use wise judgement with your words. This forum is solely to provide answers to cloth diaper questions and make the whole process easier. Thank you for your participation!
Starting cloth at 10 months?
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Hi cloth diapering gurus, I'm new here. Let me defend my use of disposables first- we were living abroad when we had our little girl and the washer we had in our flat was incredibly small, slow, and very weak; so I decided to wait it out until we moved back to the US. Then we moved into a place with a community laundry center and I procrastinated again- surely paying for laundry would make cloth a hassle. Well, now my daughter is only going through 4 diapers a day and cloth seems less daunting, plus I line dry most of our clothes anyway. Today an older lady judged me a bit when I was at the store buying Ralph's generic diapers (and my mom is always trying to get me to go cloth, like 98% of everyone else back in the 70's!). So it kind of prompted me to get serious.
Disposable works fine when you find the right size and brand. My daughter's never had diaper rash, though before solids she had many many a poo-splosion. But the landfill part is killing me. I have massive disposable diaper guilt.
Instead of working I've spent a good chunk of time on this site perusing the articles and forums, and before my baby wakes up from her nap I'd better just send this and apologize for potentially duplicating other posts.
Here is my question to you all-
1. What do I need to go old school? I want to use plain and simple pre-folds. No inserts or anything disposable. Is there another option besides prickly ducky pins? I can see myself stabbing myself, my husband the same.
2. What size should I get? She is a wee thing at 10 months, about 16 pounds, but very long.
3. What diaper covers are good?
4. Should I get a diaper pail or use a wet bag? For the latter, do you soak the diapers at all?
5. How do you keep the baby bum from being so ginormous that you can't put them in a onesie fit for their age?
6. Lastly, does anyone have any tips for cloth diapering with a community laundry center? It's about $1.25 per wash.
Thanks a lot and I look forward to your suggestions. 
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1. You can use snappis (https://www.sweetbottomsbaby.com/Snappi-Diaper-Fastener_p_180.html) or boingos (https://www.sweetbottomsbaby.com/Boingo-Diaper-Fastener--NEW-Version_p_1649.html) to fasten diapers. Snappis are sold by many retailers, boingos not as many. I see snappis working better for smaller babies, boingos for larger babies/toddlers.
2. I would go by the guides provided from wherever you are buying your prefolds to decide what size to get. I have really liked the prefolds I bought from Green Mountain Diapers, and according to their chart your kiddo would be a medium. I would definitely go for medium as my 4 month old baby is 15.5 lbs and I can no longer fasten the smalls around him (but can still use them trifolded in a cover).
3. I have not tried a lot of different diaper covers but I love Flip covers. I have a Thirsties Duo Wrap which I don't like as much (the elastic in the front rolls down and leaves red marks). Hopefully more people will chime in with what other covers they like.
4. Diaper pail or wetbag seems to kind of be personal preference. I have a pail (just a garbage can with a liner) and I really like that. If you have room you may consider a pail, if you don't have much room you can use a wetbag. I would say just make sure whatever it is hanging from is a strong strap, as wet diapers can be heavy.
I don't know of anyone who does a wet pail/soaks diapers. Dry pail storage is usually recommended.
5. In my experience the onesies these days will not fit over a cloth diapered bum. You either have to size up, or go with other options (sleep n plays, shirts/pants, etc). I have also found wider cut older onesies at garage sales that work well. These days they make onesies to fit over disposables, not cloth.
6. I don't really have many tips for laundering with a community laundering center, as I have my own washer. If I were you I might invest in a diaper sprayer (I have the potty pail and love it) so you can spray off your diapers at home, that way you may not have to do a pre-rinse before washing. Be aware that you will have to do at least one extra rinse at the end to make sure all the detergent gets out of your diapers. I would make sure the washers you are using can do that, and be prepared to pay extra if needed for that.
Also be aware that you will go through more than 4 cloth diapers a day. Even the most absorbent cloth will not hold the freakish amount of pee that a disposable can :) Good luck and hope you find something you love, and that works for your family!Whitney
Mom to adorable son born 10/20/12 -
oh and I forgot to say, wool covers are also amazing!! check out wildcoconutwear.com and the WCW buy/sell/trade (BST) and chat groups on facebook!Whitney
Mom to adorable son born 10/20/12
