new and needing advice!

[kristi]

Our second is due in about 7 weeks and I would like to try cloth diapering this time around. I have a couple of diaper covers and a bag of cloth diapers given to me by another mom. Here are some of my questions:

1) How many diaper covers should I have in each size?

2) Diaper doublers? Flushable liners? Both?

3) I was looking at the Imse Vimse Flushable Liners, (http://store.naturalbabies.com/store/WsDefault.asp?One=1311) and they say that you can dump them in the toilet and flush them for a solid mess, or drop them into the wash and reuse for a diaper that is only wet. How does this work? If they can stand up to a washing for a wet mess, how can they possibly be able to degrade if flushed?

4) I have no idea what I am doing and the variety of products is, honestly, overwhelming. Help!

Thanks,
Kristi

[peaches312004]

Hi and Welcome to AB , I hope what i post will help ya in some way, There are a few ladies here that can give even better advice on this as well, I am sure they will stop here and post and help ya out.


1. How Many Cloth Diaper Covers will you Need?
This will really depend on two things - your budget and/or how often you want to be doing laundry. If you are on a tight budget, you can easily get by with a bare minimum of 4 cloth diaper covers in each size

[hugglebear]

Celeste will be able to answer your questions she has twin boys in clothe diapers rigth now.

I will point her this way! :)

[peaches312004]

I found this on our board here and thought it may be helpful to ya:
http://www.awesomebabies.com/boards/showthread.php?t=2440

[kristi]

This is good stuff... keep it coming!

[peaches312004]

I am glad it can be helpful to ya.. I will see what else i can find as well and post it here for ya.

[peaches312004]

Kristi, I found a couple more things for ya to check out:

How Many
How many diapers are you going to need? It really depends on how often you want to do the laundry.
Most parents find that 2 dozen diapers allow them to do laundry every 2-3 days. Newborns tend to go through the most diapers every day, so you might want to have 3 dozen small prefolds on hand - or have a dozen prefolds to supplement your fitted/pocket diaper stash.

With a newborn you will want 4-6 diaper covers . Once your baby is older and you move out of newborn sizes, 4 diaper covers should be plenty. If you're using all-in-ones or pocket diapers you don't need covers (though you may want a couple if you have prefolds as backup!)

If you are using prefolds, you need your diapers and a way to fasten them. You can use pins just like our mothers and grandmothers did.
You can also use a Snappi to fasten your baby's diaper. These nifty little fasteners work by "gripping" the cloth diapering fabric in three places and completely doing away with the need for pins.

You'll also need to get a diaper cover to go over your prefold diapers. You'll use a cover with fitted diapers as well. Fitted diapers usually have snaps or hook and loop closures (Velcro or Aplix) and don't need pins or a Snappi. You can buy many different kinds of covers - try different covers before you decide which you like the best.

Simply put your baby in a diaper then put the cover over the diaper to use. Make sure that the diaper is completely tucked into the cover or else you may get leaks. Some covers have a pocket in the front to tuck your prefold into.

You don't need to change the cover every time you change the diaper. Just put on a clean diaper and replace the cover. If the cover is wet on the inside you can hang it up and get a fresh cover. Switch out covers again the next time you change your baby.

4-6 covers is a good number to have on hand for cloth diapering. It allows you to rotate a couple of covers while the others are waiting on the laundry.

If you are using pocket diapers you will need to pick a "stuffing." This can be anything from prefold diapers to micro-fiber inserts - almost all pocket diapers come with one micro-fiber insert, which absorbs many times its own weight in liquid. Moms like micro-fiber because they get a lot of absorption in a trim diaper.

Your pocket diaper has a "pocket" for you to place as much stuffing material as you need. Your baby will have the soft inner liner against her skin and a waterproof outer shell on the diaper. The inner liner is made to wick moisture into the stuffing of the diaper - meaning your baby's skin stays dry.

Going Out with Baby
So you've decided to cloth diaper – are you going to be tied to the house now? That’s a definite NO! You can take your baby out in cloth as easily as you could with disposables.
You always want to change your baby frequently - no matter what kind of diapers he's wearing. If you know that you won't be able to change your baby for several hours, your best bet is to put your baby in the most absorbent diaper you have with a doubler or mircro-fiber inserts inside. This will allow the diaper to absorb more.

Be sure that you have the diaper fastened on your baby correctly - and if you need a cover be sure that all of the diaper is tucked into the cover (any amount of diaper sticking out could leak onto clothes.)

The biggest causes of cloth diapering leaks are not putting all the diaper into the cover and using diapers in the wrong size. Be sure you check for both when you get your baby ready and pack her diaper bag! Put a plastic bag or a waterproof tote in your diaper bag to hold the wet diapers until you get home. If you want to use disposables while you are out, you may want to go with an eco-friendly option, such as Tushies .

[peaches312004]

Check this out as well:
Using Cloth Diapers From The Start
http://www.motherhoodnaturally.com/cloth_front_the_start.htm

[peaches312004]

Here is another thread from our board here that may help as well, just click here: http://www.awesomebabies.com/boards/showthread.php?t=986

[kristi]

OK, so I guess my biggest questions to those to have cloth diapered are:

1) do I use a diaper doubler?

2) do I use a disposable liner?

3) can I use both a diaper doubler AND a disposable liner without it being too bulky?

4) can you just put the diaper in the diaper cover, or do you need some sort of pin or snappi to hold it together first?

[peaches312004]

4) can you just put the diaper in the diaper cover, or do you need some sort of pin or snappi to hold it together first?


YOU MUST ALWAYS LOCK & SECURE THE DIAPER

[peaches312004]

Diaper Doublers for added absorbency (for heavy wetters and naptime/overnight.) Most babies need to use doublers by the time they are 8 months old, depending on which type of diapers you use. Adding layers like a doubler to your diaper will always be better then looking for a super thick diaper that is impossible to clean.

http://home.att.net/~ofuzzy1/diaper.htm

[peaches312004]

http://savvychic.wordpress.com/2007/06/19/cloth-diapers-tips-and-definitions/

[peaches312004]

I sure hope what i am posting is helping in some way, I have bee waiting for Celeste to stop in on this thread since she does the cloth diapering, I know she is out of town and should be back soon. I left her message to stop by HERE...

[kalynnsmom]

Sorry I didn't see this earlier!! We've been out of town and just got back!!

You don't HAVE to use a doubler or liner. With BF'ed poopies, all you do is just pop them in the washer. I know some moms do use doublers because their child is a heavy wetter, so maybe wait to see if the baby is. I haven't needed to use a doubler with my boys. I use a pocket with a CP as an inswert.

There are some covers that you don't have to use a snappi or pins, but I'd rather just use them so that they're more secure..

[peaches312004]

Thanks Celeste for helping with this.

[kristi]

Thanks so much! This has been a huge help!

One more question. Do you just use the cloth diaper right against the skin, or some other sort of fleece or something on top to keep the moisture away?

[kalynnsmom]

Thanks so much! This has been a huge help!

One more question. Do you just use the cloth diaper right against the skin, or some other sort of fleece or something on top to keep the moisture away?

Yup, I do CD at night. I put the boys in Fuzzi Bunz pocket diaper and I use a CPF folded in thirds as an insert.