what brand of cloth diapers do you all use?

how many diapers do you have?

how often do you do a load of diapers?

what detergent do you use to wash them (i've been reading about certain detergents leaving a film)?

My husband and I had already decided to do the method described by the writer, disposables for the first 3 months, or until he hits 14 lbs, then go for cloth diapers after that. Disposables for the first little bit because I've read that until the little pooper is a certain weight, cloth diapers tend to leak. So we have about 7 weeks left of disposables.

We decided cloth based on environmental reasons and cost savings. Now to convince the day care that cloth diapers are okay to use (we got given some run around that it's against state law to use non-disposable diapers at day care facilities, didn't find that law if it exists myself)

In advance, thanks for any information you all can share with a first-timer.

I mainly use the old pre-fold and cover method of diapering, and use pocket diapers for overnight. My daughter has been cloth diapered since she was 8 lbs. Never had a problem with leaking diapers because you can modify the fold of the diaper to fit the baby as s/he grows.
I have 30 prefolds, about 5-6 covers, and 5 pocket diapers. Pre-folds last you at least 12-15 months size wise. The covers are about 5-7 months depending on your baby's growth rate, and if you get the one-size adjustable pockets, they're all you'll ever have to buy.
I use a dry pail method, and wash every three days (because by that time the diaper pail is full). I use Allen's Naturally detergent (purchased online at their website) and nothing else in the wash with it, but you need to test your water to see if you need an additional water softener, baking soda, etc. (Buy the water test strips at the pet store in the fish section.)
In most states, day care places CANNOT deny you using cloth diapers. All you need to provide is a separate container for them to dispose of your baby's diapers in, and the lining or the pail has to be taken home with you every day. My daughter is in daycare, and they gave me a hard time because the director thought it would be "too hard," but her actual teachers have no problems with it.

Only other things to look out for is what cream to use for diaper rash. Anything with cod liver oil will stain and ruin your diapers.

Here are some good websites for info;
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what brand of cloth diapers do you all use?

I have some of just about every type, prefolds, fitteds, all in one and pockets. Mostly pockets, it would be easiest for you to look at my photo album to see all the different brands, because I have so many, I have tried almost every major brand and now try to buy mainly from work at home moms, I would rather support another mother and help her be able to stay at home with her children than give my money to a big corporation. <link>

how many diapers do you have?

Including prefolds around 7 dozen but that is including mediums that he is almost grown out of and larges that he is not grown into yet. I just bought a bunch of larges, I have enough diapers to last through potty training (my ds is almost 10 months). Also I prefer to have more than I need to go between 1 washing ( I have enough that I could roatate through the stash and only use each diaper once in a 7-10 day period, this means less wear on the diaper, the better shape the diaper is in the more $$ I get from reselling them when he outgrows them)

how often do you do a load of diapers? Every 2-3 days I have a flip top trash can that I got at Family Dollar for $5 that I use for a diaper pail and when it gets full I wash.

what detergent do you use to wash them (i've been reading about certain detergents leaving a film)?

I use SUN it is cheap, has no brighteners or added agents and works great. I have a regular top loading washer and dryer.

I just wanted to add that my son was 6 lbs 13 ozs at birth and has been in cloth from his first diaper. It is so much easier than everyone thinks. We had newborn prefolds, nb Bummis Super Whsper Wraps and some tiny newborn fitteds. We didn't have any problems with meconium staining anything. It has been super easy and fun, it has also been nice not buying any disposibles. I was so commited to doing all cloth from the beginning that I told everyone to not buy any disposibles and the 1 bag I did get I returned. If you decide to go with prefolds I want to suggest <link> I just bought some of their red edge prefolds and love them with a smaller baby you would probably need the yellow edge. They are so much softer and quilt up more than other prefolds I have tried!!

Good Luck!!

Here's what we do: At 5 months, we have 25 cloth diapers. We use 10 contoured ones + cover (the cheapest at $3.50 each), 7 Bamboo Ones ($15 each) + cover and 8 Monkey Doodlez ($22 each from www.newandgreen.com). This would work out to doing a wash (one rinse in cold, one wash in hot with Nature Clean Powder) every 2-3 days. The Monkey Doodlez ones are expensive but they are good for naps and for night-time because the wetness gets absorbed so well, stays away from their skin and doesn't wake them up.

I have one piece of advice, instead of buying baby wipes, I put paper towels in a covered plastic container with a little water and gentle soap and used those - homemade wipes that were always ready to use. Saved a ton of money and was much more gentle on the butt.

If you are using cloth diapers it's best to use cloth wipes, no having to throw away dirty wipes or having to pull them out of the diaper laundry after washing. I use 8x8 pieces of flannel for wipes. They work great.

Thanks for the information all. My husband and I are looking forward to getting into the cloth diapers. I think we're planning on the all-in-ones with extra inserts. Our little guy is a super soaker. Poops once a day almost on schedule but pees every hour or two.

Plus we have coworkers who are expecting later this year and are planning on cloth diapers too, so they are waiting to see how we like them.

What brands are you thinking of trying? I would suggest trying one or two of a few different types, because not every diaper works with every baby, body shapes can make a big difference. Some online sites have sampler packages and there are a few that will let you try out diapers and if they don't work for you then you can send them back for most of the money you paid. There are alot of informative sites. diaperpin.com has lots of reviews for many diapers available. I found alot of info and help on babycenter.com they have a board Diapering Your Baby that has tons of info and nice helpful ladies (and a few dads too!!)

Good Luck and have fun!!

We used cloth diapers and loved them! We started with them as soon as the meconium was done. Here's a summary of what we did that I wrote up for another friend:

For Newborns: Kissaluvs size 0. These are fabulous cotton fleece and
fit newborns beautifully. You'll also need to buy covers for these, you can get wool or PUL, a waterproof polyester. We had about 16 or 18 diapers and I think 5 or so covers.
We did PUL during the day and wool at night.

For Older Babies:
Fuzzi Bunz, in the appropriate size. These are the ones with a
fleece/PUL pocket and an insert. They are a little more trim than
other cloth diapers, the fleece lining keeps the babies dry, and they
are easy to care for. They don't require additional covers.

Sugar Peas: We used one they call a Two Size, with two rows of snaps in the front. They also make a side snap, which I don't like as much. They come in either organic cotton or a cotton hemp blend. They fit well and are very absorbent. You need to buy covers for these, I recommend you use the ones made by Sugar Peas to guarantee a good fit, they make wool and fleece covers.

Bum Genius: I discovered this one toward the end, and I think it was my favorite. It's like a FuzziBunz and a SugarPeas hybrid. It is a pocket style like the FuzziBunz, so does not require an additional cover, and also has a multiple size deal like the sugar pea. It fit well and the fleece seemed to be better than the ones in the FuzziBunz.

I think we had about a dozen FB/SugarPeas/BumGenius, maybe a few more than that. We washed them every day or every other day, depending. We tried a variety of detergents and I never noticed a major difference with any of them.

Good luck!