1. What brands should I buy?
This is a tough one! And in my honest opinion, there is no right or wrong answer. There are several factors that can play into your choices, such as: budget, choosing to cloth full or part time, how heavy your child urinates, and how you feel about laundry.
I was slightly obsessed with the pattern choices, so that sometimes played a decision on my brands. For the most part though, I didn't want to have just one brand. CJ was a very heavy wetter so I had to make sure that he had extra absorption at night or we would be changing the sheets constantly! We were blessed to have a brick and mortar store here in town to help me with some of the questions I frequently answer for friends. This was also helpful in picking brands. I was able to see how durable they were and compare the absorption of multiple materials.
Before I list what brands I have in my stash I must mention that I specifically chose to have a variety so that my husband could see what brands he liked as well. We were both changing diapers, so we both had to like them. For example, we used pre-folds in our stash in the beginning. Once we used them a little while we realized that pre-folds were not really our cup of tea (or coffee in my case!) So we sold our pre-folds and got a few more OS diapers.
Okay, lets get to that list!! Brands I have in my stash and why:
BumGenius AIO- Perfect for dads! Once the diaper is used one time, its time to put on a new one. Simple enough concept for new parents. Material is absorbent enough for daytime use, but I wouldn't use for an overnight diaper.
Thirsties Pockets-The inserts are super absorbent! CJ outgrew the infant cover quickly but I continued to use the inserts for additional layers in other diapers.
Best Bottoms Hybrids- LOVE these for traveling! Inserts snap in and out very easily and the Hemp inserts are very absorbent! Hook & Loop doesn't get worn easily!
Sustainablebabyish- These were our go-to night time diapers when we realized CJ was a heavy wetter. I wouldn't go with anything else! Pair these with a Flip or Sweet Pea or Best Bottom cover and you're good! As long as the legs have a double gusset (to prevent leakage!) you'll be safe!
GroVia Hybrids- Another great brand for traveling! Super cute prints too! (Always a plus!!)
Simplex- These diapers are very absorbent and also have an opening at both ends for easy access if needing to add additional absorbency to the diaper!
Tots Bots-These are the cutest little diapers ever! They only come in Hook & Loop, but I love that the OS diapers come with a flannel insert used for easy removal when baby has a bowel movement.
Kawaii
I also have a few WAHM brands that were made for special occasions. Such as CJ's Sock Monkey diapers and ACU print diaper. These can be a hit or miss, but its worth a shot. Support a fellow crunchy mamma and buy her diapers! I happen to find a picture of CJ in his ACU diaper and his Sock Monkey diaper. You can see now why I had to buy them!!
I have also heard great things about Rumparooz, SoftBums, and Fuzzibunz. I just cannot attest to them myself.
Okay, lets move on.
2. Do I really need the diaper sprayer or Spray Pal?
Ha! Well, if you enjoy handling bowels on a daily basis, then no. But rinsing diapers out in the tub gets kind of old. Plus, having that nifty Spray Pal to attach the diaper to and then just rinsing and squeezing it out without having to get messy is always a plus in my book.
All joking aside, we went the first month without them and did just fine. However, it does get quite messy sometimes and I wish we would have invested in them sooner rather than later! You can check them out here!
3. Can I just use my Tide detergent on my diapers?
NO, NO, NO and NO! There are people who do, but they end up having to strip their diapers because of the additives in Tide (and other popular brands). The additives can build up in the diapers and prevent them from absorbing properly. Therefore stripping (removal of the buildup) is required. You may be thinking, "Oh its just buildup!" But let me just warn you! "That buildup" mixed with urine can cause MAJOR irritation on your babies bottom! ZERO FUN, SIR!! Therefore, I ONLY recommend using detergents approved to be safe for cloth diaper usage. I chose to buy several sample packets of Country Save, Rockin' Green, and BumGenius and give them all a try. I eventually went with Country Save because it had no extra stuff added and my husband noticed it got everything really clean! He particularly saw a difference in our towels. He said they were more absorbent and soft! We switched from Purex and exclusively use Country Save now! It has been the greatest choice!! One large container of CS can last us 5-7 months and costs $20. And that is counting all the washing I do with J's ACU's and PT uniforms too! So for a non-military family it could potentially be stretched out even longer! Can you say goodbye grocery store detergent!!
Any of these brands will be safe for your diapers and I wouldn't use anything else! Better to be safe than sorry! I wouldn't want to ruin my investment! I can't mention detergent without adding that dryer sheets are a NO GO as well! These can cause build up too! I add essential oils to my dryer sheets to create great smelling laundry. Some combos I use are Lavender & Lemon, Citrus Bliss (smells like a dreamcicle!), Wild Orange & Spearmint (probably my favorite!!). Its a great way to have good smelling clothes and reduce the amount of chemicals in your home. (I'll do another post on this shortly!)
4. Did you water bill skyrocket when you started washing diapers?
Honestly, I could not answer that question.We lived on a military instillation where the price of our water was included into our housing allowance. I only washed diapers every other day due to the size of my diaper stash and also to ensure that I had a full laundry load. Even still if you think about it, that is only 3-4 loads more a week. If the water bill is going to skyrocket any, it would be during the prepping of your diapers. For those who don't know, prepping is when you wash your diapers a set amount of times over and over to get the material to reach its maximum absorbency after they are purchased. You do not have to do this if you purchase used (or pre loved) diapers. This is an added bonus for buying used diapers.
5. What is a decent price to spend on a cloth diaper?
On average, you will spend anywhere from $18-$30 on one diaper. The absorbency, brand, and if you buy them new or used will go into the price of your diapers. Just remember that the biggest cost savings with cloth diapers is when you use them with multiple children. You better believe that if I ever have Baby #2, that the stash of cloth diapers will be back! And guess what! They're already prepped and ready to go! If I'm ever blessed with a baby girl, then she is going to rock some awesome dinosaur and monkey diapers! That being said, I chose colors that were somewhat gender neutral, but I do have a few boyish colors.
6. Can you dry cloth diapers in the dryer?
It depends on the diaper. If you are using inserts that you must stuff into a cover, DO NOT DRY THE COVER! This will melt the PUL material and ruin your cover!! If you can, air dry them. If you are needing the cover due to running out of diapers, try putting it on Extra Low (if your dryer has this setting) or Low for just a few minutes then promptly remove. Any inserts and AIO (all-in-one) diapers may go into the dryer on LOW heat. I repeat.... LOW! Because AIO diapers have the cover on them you don't want to get the PUL too hot!
Being in Texas, I was lucky enough to air dry my diapers almost year round. I will occasionally stick any hemp/cotton and hemp/bamboo diapers back into the dryer to soften up the material. This reduces the "crunchy" feeling of the diaper.
7. I heard you cannot use diaper rash creams on cloth diapers. Is this true?
Yes. The use of diaper rash creams is to create a "barrier" between your baby's bottom and the diaper. This helps diaper rash clear up in most cases. Sadly, the barrier causes a barrier on the cloth diaper and will prevent your cloth diapers from absorbing. This causes your diapers to become leaky and not function properly, which means you must strip your diapers. And who has time for that?? Not this Momma!
There are several name brand diaper rash creams that are safe for using with cloth diapers. Thirsties, GroVia, CJ's and Motherlove just to name a few. Being the crunchy, oily momma I am, I chose to make my own by mixing Cold-Pressed Coconut Oil, Melaleuca Essential Oil, and Lavender Essential Oil and storing it in a small glass jar. It was nifty and convenient since I already had all these supplies on hand. Plus it worked wonders!! I can count on one hand how many times CJ got a rash down there. Each time he had a rash he was cutting teeth, so I'm sure there is a correlation. Want more information about the essential oils I choose then check here!
8. Did you use disposable wipes?
Yes and no. We had several packs of disposable wipes so we decided to use all of those up first. Then once I realized how easy it would be to whip out my not-so-fancy sewing machine, I decided to make my own! I just used a few of CJ's old receiving blankets (which thankfully were already brown!) and traced out a pattern from a washcloth. From there it was just learning to sew the edges neatly. They were not perfect by any means, but honestly, they were for cleaning up poop explosions! Who cares if they aren't perfect? I kept the cloth wipes folded into a Huggies reusable wipes container since I already had that handy. The next part of using my own wipes meant I needed to find a good wipe solution to either soak the wipes in or keep in a spray bottle. I found a great recipe for a wipe solution and kept it in a spray bottle. This recipe uses the same oils mentioned above, so less I had to buy again! Another score for this Momma!! I kept the sprayer bottle beside my wipes container and was ready for diaper duty. Here is the ingredients used for the wipe solution.
Hopefully this has helped broaden your knowledge of cloth diapering or maybe even helped finalize that choice of whether or not to cloth diaper you little one! Either way, you will know what is best for your baby. If you have any questions about cloth diapers or any of the cloth diaper accessories, feel free to leave me a comment! I would be more than happy to answer your questions! Let me know what your favorite brands are or even your favorite patterns!!
Essentially,
Andrea
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