More Cloth Diapers

[sagittaria]

Hey all! I know there is a topic on this but I have some other questions regarding cloth diapering.

I have a 15-month-old daughter and another girl on the way. With both in diapers, I know that I want the one size fits all. I can interchange them between the two. Once my oldest begins potty training, I can pass them down to her sister. My first question is: What brands people find best with one size? I plan on buying a couple and trying it out with my daughter. So far, Kawaii seems reasonably priced. Next question is: With two in diapers, how many should I get? I know the newborn will go through them quicker than my 15 month but what would be a good number? Also, though I'm not sure if one-size covers these, what do you prefer? AIO or AI2? Or whatever type that the one-size might come in. What extras would you recommend like diaper pails and the such.

Thanks in advanced for your advice!

[zaelia]

We use cloth for our 9 and a half month twins. I can't speak from experience to having two different sized kids in diapers at the same time, but I'll give you my experience and suggestions.

First I think it is really important to buy a few kinds and try them out before making the big commitment. Until you try it you have NO idea which will work well for your kid! (With two you'll have to hope you can find a kind that will work well for both...)

We use mainly BumGenius, but we also have a few FuzziBunz and Kawaii Babies (all one size pocket diapers- I guess that would be what you called AI2). The BumGenius have pretty much worked well for us since day one which is why we decided to invest in more of them. My kids are about 23 lbs now and the FuzziBunz are starting to feel a bit small. When they were pretty young the Kawaii Babies (other than the particular newborn diapers) felt HUGE on them. Even when they were about 12+ pounds we still found they leaked a lot. We put them away for a long time and recently have been trying them again in a pinch. They seem to be fine, but the definitely didn't work for us before the boys were pretty sizable. (That said, the Kawaii Baby newborn diapers we had worked great and the diaper that best fit my smaller boy for a while.)

Kawaii baby diapers are definitely cheaper but in my opinion that reduction in cost is evident also in the diaper itself- they feel much less sturdy. Our 20 BumGenius diapers have been washed every other day for over 8 months and are still in great shape. I don't know if the Kawaii Baby diapers would have held up as well. I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you have to replace a cheaper diaper it might not actually end up being cheaper. Maybe someone else has some experience on this that they can share with you because I am only speculating based on my perception of our 4 Kawaii Baby diapers. We have not put it to the test.

As for number of diapers, that really depends on how often you are able to do laundry. (I think they recommend a max of 2 or 3 days before washing them.) We run a diaper load every afternoon. It is a long cycle with a pre-wash and extra rinse and then they hang dry. Until recently for our two boys we had 20 BumGenius diapers, 2 Kawaii baby (non-newborn sizes) and 2 FuzziBunz although we rarely used the Kawaii Baby and FuzziBunz. We recently purchased 10 more BumGenius diapers because we wanted a bit more of a laundry buffer for when they start preschool in the fall and we won't be able to run a load of laundry and have them dry in time for the next day. (Not all brands can be dried in a dryer.) We do use disposables at night although we could probably double stuff the diapers and have them be fine. At this point the 'nighttime diaper' is part of our bedtime routine so we aren't planning to change back to cloth for overnight.

We definitely considered getting the spray nozzle but decided against it and I'm glad we did. We rarely have trouble getting the poop out of the diaper and I think it would have been a waste of money for us. As for diaper pail, honestly we use a large plastic bin that gets scrubbed out every week- nothing special.

I definitely think one-size is the way to go but using the one size fits all for two different aged babies I wouldn't plan to frequently switch between which diapers belong to which kid (until they are both on the largest setting). This is because if they share you will have to change the size of the shell each time you use one and potentially the insert too (depending on which kind of diapers you buy)- not impossible but an added step that could become cumbersome. It doesn't take a ton of time to switch sizes, but enough that it would add up. I think we were on the fully extended diaper by the time the boys were probably about 20 lbs (but I'm guessing- I don't remember precisely).

Good luck with your decision!

[moxielove]

I used BumGenius for my daughter (now only wearing diapers at night). I know everyone recommends trying several different types until you find what works but I just went all in and bought 18 One-Size Bumgeniuses. Over time I've added a few more and worn a few out so I think in total I have 21 now. SO happy with my decision.

I imagine that 24 would be more than enough for you. Your older one will be wearing fewer and fewer. Also, I used disposables for my daughter the first month she was born. She just blazed through diapers (sometimes 3 per change!) and I was so overwhelmed in the beginning that it just made my life easier.

Good luck and congratulations!!

[pink peonies]

I love prefolds from green mountain diapers, but I know not everyone does. Prefolds are cheap and will last many kids. No elastic means that I can dry them in the dryer on super hot to get all the germs out. With my son, I would sell covers and buy new ones online and always get some (if not all) of my money back. Plus, the orange edge prefolds were a PERFECT fit on a newborn. So awesome. I wrote about my system in my blog way back when,


For a one size fitted diaper, I LOVE LOVE LOVE sbish snapless! My good friend used bumgenius diapers, but I prefer cotton or bamboo so that's why I never tried them.

[hamish's mum]

WE use itty bitty and they are fantastic for OSFA. great fit around the legs and no poo explosions. I wish all my Nappies were all this brand.

[mind_the_gap]

I've been cloth diapering for 3.5 years now (my son for 3 years, and daughter for 18 months) and have used a variety of diapers, but for the last 2 years have used prefolds and Flip covers (they're one size starting around 6 weeks or 2 months, depending on babies' size). My pocket diapers (purchased new) have leaked nearly from the beginning. I don't know if it's something in my water, but I've used Rockin' Green deterget, I strip the diapers, I avoid diaper creams, and they still leak! I feel like Flips are just as convenient as pockets but I never worry about them leaking since there's no fleece to repel. I've never used the Flip microfiber inserts, so I can't comment on those. I also sugget looking into green mountain prefolds.

[mclainpauline]

You have to use different size cloth diapers for your both baby. As my point of view huggies is best brands for baby which is organic and baby skin friendly.

[mimimommy]

I use Alva Baby diapers. I like them. They are a pocket diaper. I order them individually on ebay and have gotten them for as little as $3 a diaper (although that wouldn't always include the insert). For the insert you don't have to use the one it comes with. You can buy microfiber cloths as the dollarstore and stuff the diapers with that. It's important that the insert fills out the entire space from side to side at the crotch, or else there will be leakage down the sides. The inserts they come with aren't always wide enough, which is why I recommend the microfibre cloths, or a prefold you can fold how ever wide you want. I just use a regular step garbage bin as a diaper pail, and I have some pail liners (love them) so I can just lift the whole thing out and wash it all together.