Tuesday, January 25, 2011

on a different note..... cloth diapers

So i have loved helping many of my friends with cloth diapers. i started using them with my daughter (third child) and absolutely LOVED using them! so much so that when we found out we were having a little surprise #4 (cruz). I got so excited thinking about getting to do cloth diapers again. When i started thinking about making the switch to cloth diapers after having used them with my first two kids it was kinda overwhelming. I really had idea what i was doing and no one to help me. my mom had used them but that was a long time ago and so much had changed. so for months i read blogs and forums researching and finding what i thought were the best options in the big wide world of CD'ing.
when it comes to things that one may think i would quiet on it just makes me want to succeed even more. im pretty stubborn that way! :)

I have a long list of info i have saved in a word document and so much more i will touch on in later blog posts. but for now this is a big chunk to chew on for those wanting to know about it. :)

verybaby


sunshine diapers
this next one is the forum you can read stuff with out becoming a member or anything but the first things that say like diapering 101 that stuff is VERY HELPFUL. and it will keep you busy for a long time reading all the stuff on there!
i really recommend joining the just mommies forum!
just mommies

this next one is one that i ordered some of my stuff from
green mountain diapers(where to get the prefold as well as other things)
diaper swappers(where i bought most everything as well as a lot of great info) you get everything for way cheaper. just find the forum part that sells the diapers.

cottonbabies

another forum
she knows

i also have two wet bags so when i put the wet bag in the wash with all the diapers i can just put the next one in the pail. the key for me to have cloth be easy is having a good set up. i use nellies detergent and oxi booster.
so a cold rinse with vinagar. then a hot wash with nellies detergent and nellies oxibooster. with a extra cold rinse and the end.

on a side note it is pretty important that when using nellies (as well as other detergents for cloth diapers) you use it for all you clothes as well. or it will strip the sides of your washer and put the other detergent on your dibs (diapers) and create unwanted build up. resulting in bad chemical diaper rashes! i know this from experience and its not pretty :( nellies works great on all our clothes and i nly use half a scoop unless it a huge load.

so with isabella i started out with 2-3 dozen small Indian prefolds and 8 covers ,three AIO'S (then i went up to regular size)

with cruz i had more fun buying and got 4 AIOS and about 4 fitteds and 10 newborn covers with 12 newborn prefolds, also 2 pocket diapers. i also cut up a old shirt and had it ready to line the newborn diapers with to keep the tar poop at bay and then just throw it.
now that he is bigger i use about 12 newborn prefolds (i just fold in three and lay in cover) 12 regular size prefolds, 4 fitteds, 6 AIOS and about 10 covers. i find i have way more than i need :) but its fun to have variety.

i cut up a old receiving blanket for wipes (about 24) two big wet bags one small wet bag (for diaper bag) 6 snappis, flush able diaper liners in case of diaper rash so i can use diaper cream. (and for when poop get solid so you can just dump in toilet and flush)

theres a lot but once you just read on it for a while it is not so bad :) and seriously fun which is weird LOL but i love it! and i love sun drying it gets stains out amazingly! so in winter i hang them out even if they dont get dry cause the little bit of sun still gets the stains out and i just finish the drying inside. you can use the dryer to if you like :) i only dry to fluff mainly ....but never dry covers.

my fav brands
green mountain prefolds for sure, goodmamas (i have only gotten as gifts cause there pricey! lol) if you can sew or know some one who can the darling diaper pattern for fitteds and AIO are my all time fav! mutts, there a lot of good ones wonderwraps are a good cover too. thristie covers are good but the velcro goes out faster.The thing with covers is they will fit pretty much every babies. Aios are the tricky kinds that don't fit all kinds. And leak more the prefolds and covers for the most part. Fitteds and covers I use also . i try to stay away from all micro fiber diapers they smell and are harder to get the smell out than cotton. :)I really like cotton!
I also sell my stuff on diaperswappers that are still in good shape. You def can't do that with all of the diapers cause some get really worn. But newborns you only use for so long. I also suggest get all snap diapers if your going for longevity. The only Velcro diaper cover I buy anymore is the wonderwrap. There velcro is tough stuff!
Ok anyways I could go on and on!
Oh one more thing if you can find osocozy aios, the older version with snaps there a great cheap aio that's just plan white cotton kind nothing fancy but hold great! The new ones I have not tried cause there Velcro. They may be great though. I found my older ones on DS and got like 6 for like 15 bucks.
i aslo have a few different fitted that i found on diaper swappers that where just cute and a great deal i bought.

I TOLD YOU IT WAS GOING TO BE A LOT OF INFO hehe
if anyone has other questions just ask :) i love to help!

15 comments:

Jen said...

Great Blog.....mine are all out of diapers but wow wish I had this info when they were younger. Have fun with your blog!

charis said...

you are a great researcher! i love how you find out all the ins and outs of something and do it all the way. this is going to be a great resource for people!

leah mari said...

thanks ladies :)

Heather said...

the cloth diaper posts are really helping me! im 11 weeks pregnant and i'm hoping to use cloth but its like learning a foreign language at times because there is so much to know. anyway, love your blog!! : )

leah mari said...

so glad i can help! heather if you have more question feel free to ask i love to help out!

Heather said...

thanks Leah! what do you recommend i start with? i noticed you said you got 2-3 dozen. and how many wet bags? and after the diapers are dirty do you put them right in the washing machine to soak? sorry, im so new to this! : ) thanks for your help!!

leah mari said...

i have two large wet bags that fit in my pail and one for on the go. if your just doing prefolds i would say 2 dozen infant size and one dozen regular then about 8 covers.
as far as washing them i just through them in the pail and wash about every 1 and a half to 2 days. if you breast feeding there is no need to rinse them. when they start eating solids you can use things called diaper liners that are pretty much thick toilet paper you put in the diaper. when they poop you just throw them away or flush them. or you can get one of these http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002PUGG5G/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_3?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0019HXQLS&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0AR7H2XG6G0MGGGJ84MZ

leah said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Heather said...

thank you for the info!! i think i'm going to order the diapers from green mountain. thank you for the link too!! wow, i am leaning more and more! :) this is very fun! 13 weeks now... :)

leah mari said...

make sure you check out my post on wool and cloth diapers... its my most recent post :)

Heather said...

i just read your post on wool. wow, i would never have thought wool could be used as anything but long underwear! so i just got an invitation to a friends baby shower and she is registered at bananapeelsdiapers.com - have you heard of that site?

Kelly said...

How often should you change cloth diapers? We're in the process of switching to cloth full time, and my little one has a bit of a rash all the sudden. Could it be from night time wetness? He also has eczema, so I'm a little confused about what is best ... ?

leah mari said...

well i dont change very often. every 3 hours about some times more sometimes less. but the rash may be from other things. if there not getting clean enough and have build up on them it causes chemical burn rashes. what do you use to wash?

Heather said...

hi Leah, what brands of pocket diapers and fitteds do you like the best or recommend?
thanks,heather :)

Heather said...

and which brand for the aio's? I'm trying to put a registry together. did you ever register for cloth diapers? its kinda hard! lol