There are a million cloth diaper systems out there. After finding out we were pregnant with Cap my search began for the right cloth system out there for our family. As I read and read and read online, I eventually came across some info about Infant Potty Training. I am so thankful I did, because it helped me decide on which diapers to go with.
We stuck to 100% cotton. They make a lot of cloth systems that will pull away the moisture just like a pamper would. We didn't want that. When Cap wet or soiled himself, we wanted him to know it from the beginning. We didn't want him to loose the feeling of relieving himself. We wanted to go with his natural instincts, so we chose cotton.
It also was a very simple and cost effective decision. Other diapers can cost you $20 per diaper. In the long run, even $20 a diaper is still better than a 2-3 year pamper system. Our diapers estimated to be $30/dozen so $2.50 each. Then we bought 9 covers total (2 different sizes) for about $13 each. It was a great way to do it, and all the way below I break down what we spent total on our diapering system.
We ordered everything we needed from Green Mountain Diapers which you can find online. I will tell you right now, it is an overwhelming site, but very thorough. She has experience and has tried just about it all out there. It is a great resource but don't get overloaded. After reading her suggestions and comments under the things she sales, I was able to make some decisions on what we would use. Every thing I list below can be found on her site. If you have trouble locating it, let me know and I will send a direct link.
Cloth-eez Prefold Diapers:
We used unbleached and started with 2 dozen and went to 3 dozen shortly after. We mostly did wash every other day with the diapers. There was a time when we had 2 dozen where we did it one morning on day 1 and at night on day 2. So every day in a half kind of. That much wash is only for a season. I had a friend who waited longer sometimes 4-5 days and she just soaked them in water. Soaking is NOT necessary otherwise. We did that WAY later on because we weren't dirtying as much so we just didn't need to wash them, but they smelt so bad so soaking them in plain water helped.
I would suggest ordering at least 2 dozen in the next size up so you have some ready when they grow out of them. You will be surprised how sometimes they just wake up and something doesn't fit!
Thirsties Duo Snap Covers:
This in my opinion would be reason enough to use cloth diapers! The covers are so cute. Cap never wore shorts his first summer, and rarely wore pants in the winter. I made him some fleece leg warmers instead. It is WAY easier to EC when you don't have to take off pants, shorts, unbutton outfits, etc. Even on some of his onsies, we would cut the bottoms off and make into shirts.
Anyways, getting back on track we used the Thristies Duo Snap Covers. I am not a fan of velcro. It sticks to things in the wash and your baby will easily undo velcro one day with possibly dirty diaper!
They come in 2 sizes. Cap didn't need size 2 until he was 4 months, but he was a big baby. He moved to the medium prefolds then and we used them till the end. Never needed a size bigger since we did early potty training.
We had 5 covers of size 1. May be 4 on the size 2. Occasionally they will get a little dirty on the elastic edge, but we would just rinse it in the sink and reuse. We only washed covers once a week. These are also nice to have a couple of the next size up on. We needed them when we hit the medium prefolds.
Wipes:
We used the 2 sided wipes. LOVED LOVED LOVED THESE!!! We never even used a wipe until Kenya when Cap was 14 months old and holy cow what a difference. With these you don't feel like you are touching poop or like your finger is going to pop through at any moment! If you are going to wash some diapers, you might as well wash the wipes too. This will also help keep all the yucky stuff off your sweet babies bum that the wet wipes are covered in. Babies skin can be very sensitive.
Kissaluvs Diaper Lotion Potion Spray:
We just sprayed the bum rather than any of the other suggestions and it worked great with us. We used the spray bottles she suggest as well. You mix this stuff with witch hazel, and she said to use less potion than what the bottle calls for. We did what she says and it worked perfect. Not to mention, we only bought one bottle, and still have tons left. Of course, it helped we did most of our poo's in the potty by 7 months old.
Fasteners:
We used the snappis fasteners. Those do eventually break so good to have backups. We didn't know this:) We had some big safety pins made for cloth diapers, but we never once used them. The snappis were just so quick and easy.
The Pail Diaper Sprayer:
A MUST have in my opinion. We used a gift card. It was our splurge but we LOVED it. They make these whole pail systems, but I don't think they are necessary. The sprayer is awesome though.
Wet Bags:
You need several of these unless you plan on going through a lot of plastic bags, which in my opinion would kind of go against one of the main reasons of cloth diapering:) You will want a couple of big ones and several diaper bag size ones. In NC, it takes a FULL day to dry out after washing which is why you need multiple bags. Here in CO, things dry must faster, but I would still recommend 2 big ones, and 2-3 small ones.
We used a Fuzzibunz Large bag that my sweet sister in law gave us when Cap was born. I really could have used 2 of these. Then we had a medium size and a small size of the Thirsties zip bags that we loved!! I would suggest the medium sized ones for your diaper bags. The small was too small but I had ordered it first.
Total Cost Estimate of what we spent:
1 dozen newborn prefolds $24
3 dozen small prefolds $84
2 dozen medium prefolds $64
5 dozen wipes $55
Lotion Potion $8
Spray Bottles $3
Diaper Sprayer $50 (have seen now for $35)
Large Wet Bag $20
Medium Wet Bag $15
Small Wet Bag $12
Total $335
We used gift/baby shower money for most of this. We have very sweet family and friends!!! No matter how you pay for your cloth system, you will be saving TONS of money in the long run!!!
Okay, I know this was probably overwhelming but don't let it be! We didn't do pampers until Kenya and we were so glad we didn't! We enjoyed our cloth ones MUCH MORE!!!
Let me know if you have any questions.
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