Try Cloth Diapers Risk Free

Sunday, March 15, 2009

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What do we love?

We are currently cloth diapering 2 boys under 2. Keaton is 23 months and Benjamin is almost 7 months. We started cloth when Keaton was about 8 months old and we found out about #2 coming. We knew that the cost of buying diapers for two would drain us immediately.

I had a friend send me some Pocket Change diapers to start with. We loved these and immediately ordered more. We also purchased 6 BG3.0 to try. I knew immediately I did not care for these, and I was right. They've caused problems from day one. The main problem I have with them is the "BG train" that comes out of the wash. The velcro never stays on the wash tabs. I saw a suggestion to place the tabs on the front, but they still came off. Also, these are the only diapers my 22 month old has ever been able to figure out how to get off.

As Keaton grew bigger and outgrew the Medium sized diapers, I got brave and started trying other brands of diapers. Filling Benjamin's stash was when I really went all out and experimented with various types.

Currently the boys' stashes look like this:

Keaton (23 months) -
1 Large Pocket Change
6 BumGenius 3.0
1 Large Happy Heinys
3 Large Bummis Wraps
1 Baby Kangas
6 Prefolds
24 cloth wipes

Benjamin (7 months) -
1 Medium Happy Heinys
6 Medium Pocket Change
1 Bamboozle
2 Medium Nana's Bottoms
1 Medium Thirsties Fab Fitted
1 Medium Bummis Wrap
6 diapers made by friends
24 cloth wipes

Benjamin was 8lbs.5oz. at birth. His 'girth' combined with him developing thrush at 2 weeks didn't allow him to stay in teeny-tiny cloth diapers for very long (Our LC suggested we not use the cloth because the yeast would live in the diaper and be very hard to get rid of. I never researched this, I was too tired at 2 weeks post-partum to worry about it) but our stash for him included the following:
3 extra-small Thirsties AIOs (v.1)
4 extra-small Thirsties Fab Fitted
3 extra-small Thirsties Covers
2, size 0, Kissaluvs
1 newborn and 1 small Prowraps covers
6 prefolds

6 Months ago, I would have said that Pocket Change diapers were by far our favorite. But, that has since changed. I do love the Thirsties Fab Fitted - how soft are they?!??! Oh my! But, my new favorite is Happy Heinys. As we are no where near Potty training Keaton, and Benjamin continues to grow quickly towards needing large diapers, I see myself replacing the BG's with HH's.

If I were to rank our diapers from favorite to least favorite my list would look like this (1 being the highest rank).
8. Prefolds (I'm just not a PF gal!)
7. Baby Kanga
6. Friends' diapers (they don't seem to be as absorbent as other diapers)
5. BG 3.0
4. Bamboozle with Bummis Wraps
3. Pocket Change
2. Thirsties Fab Fitted with Bummis Wraps
1. Happy Heinys

We love our cloth diapers and are so thrilled we took the plunge 14 months ago!


- by Terra J.
Follow her on her blog.

34 comments:

Montana Mama said...

It's interesting to me how different everyone's tastes are! Some people LOVE prefolds, others would DIE before using them! :)

Dani said...

Thanks for sharing! It is interesting to see how everyone has different preferences. My diaper preferences are constantly changing, luckily there's so many different brands/types of diapers to try so it never gets boring.

Upstatemamma said...

It is so funny how much your favorites change overtime. :) I am totally a prefolds gal. And we like BG for overnight. I would love to try THirsties Fab Fitteds though. I love their covers so I am sure I would love their fitteds. I just got some of their AIOs but I need Baby Sister to grow a little to use them. :)

holly christine said...

why haven't you tried fuzzi bunz? i am always surprised that they are rarely mentioned on this blog...i LOVE mine:)

Katrina said...

It's fun to hear about what other mom's love and dislike about different brands. I love my BG's and had problems with my Thirsties Fab Fitteds. (They didn't work well for my oldest, but seem to be wonderful for my youngest who is just growing into them.)

Maggie said...

Thanks for the info. It's good to know and it's great to hear all the differing opinions there are.

Meghan said...

Its interesting to hear what other people like and don't like. It seems that everyone is different and it takes some experimenting to find what works for you.

Suzy said...

I started out with prefolds because it was all I could afford. Then we were able to buy some Blueberries I have six and if I have to wash everyday in order to just use Blueberries I do.

Brittany said...

What a great post! It is really helpful to see other people's opinions of different CD brands.

Anonymous said...

It is funny how everyone has their own preferences. I have been disappointed with my Happy Heiny's. They leave a red mark on my child's back. And I just love Bum Genius!

Denise said...

It's great to hear about what works for other people. I hate velcro!!!

Kristin said...

I have heard all those things about the BG.... makes me glad I didn't get them! And posts like this keep convincing me to get some fitteds. I've never tried them!

Joanna said...

I think I'm more used to PF's because that's what my mom used on my sister who is 12 years younger than me. I haven't had much exposure to pockets, other than the ones I repair for folks or make on my own. I do think they're great diapers, but very pricey for the actual constructions, in my opinion!

Liz said...

I love reading what other people have in their stash! I was a little confused, what did you end up doing when Benjamin had thrush? Did you use sposies? My DD had thrush (but I didnt realize it right away) and I switched to sposies until it cleared up. I *thought* I got rid of it but she has developed a rash (now over a month later)that the dr says is yeast so its back to sposies and then I will have to REALLY clean all that junk out! Any suggestions? I LOVE CD and I dont want to give up!

Serena Michelle said...

Hi Liz!

I've recently been dealing with thrush and diaper rash (yeast infection)... I can tell you it's not necessary to switch to disposables. However, it is important to make sure you're properly disinfecting the diapers to make sure all the bacteria is being killed.

The safest way to disinfect cloth diapers from yeast is to wash them on hot and do an additional rinse with 1/4 - 1/2 cup of vinegar. Vinegar will help kill any residual bacteria. Additionally, it would be best to set the diapers (and inserts) in the sun... the sun will also work to kill any additional residual bacteria.

To help prevent the re-occurrence of diaper yeast infections it helps to change the baby frequently (as soon as they become wet or soiled) and allow their skin to dry thoroughly before putting another clean diaper on.

If you're using an medicated topical antibiotic or anti-fungal cream it's important to use a liner to prevent build-up on the diapers which will lead to leaking/repelling issues. (Make sure if you're using a washable/reusable liner that you wash them, and any wipes separate from the diapers to prevent it from the residue from depositing onto the diapers in the wash).

I hope this helps!
-Serena

Knit Wit said...

It's always nice to hear another moms cloth diaper journey. And to hear what brands and dipes they prefer.

AScott said...

I agree that the size and type of your baby is usually what determines what diapers you will prefer. It is hard for there to be a definite one diaper that everyone goes to because of this!

Cecile said...

I like the BG on my one year old, but the one-size is too small for my almost three year old. I switched to HH, but my daughter keeps having leaks with those. No luck with FB either. If BG had a higher rise, it would be my favorite of all.

angelina said...

have you tried motherease? they are my favorites

Kristin said...

I will add my agreement to the others. I got a bunch of hand-me-down prefolds and covers from a friend. While she was perfectly satisfied with the Bummies and Mother Ease covers she was using they just don't fit my daughter at all well. I have been much happier with the Thirsties covers and BGs that I bought.

Liz said...

Thanks Serena!
I guess I wasn't washing my liners and wipes seperately (but I didnt realize I was still dealing with yeast). And I will try the vinegar rinse! I always (well almost!) sun dry my dipes...I think I will REALLY wash all of my dipes before putting them back on DD! Thank you!

MaineMomma said...

It's fun to see different people's opinions on diapers... I love our fuzzi bunz and thought my hubby preferred the BG- but just last night he said he actually likes the FB better bc he has a hard time getting the velcro off of the laundry tabs! (Which never seems to be a problem for me!) I've purchased some prefolds and covers for our newborn and am feeling kinda silly thinking about how fun it will be to use them on her! Maybe it's just the excitement of CDing OUR newborn that I really can't wait for???

Anonymous said...

Just starting up a "good" stash, I've been doing laundry every 3 days, blah. Good to see what others are using though I agree it in the size of the wearer for the most part. Ours consists of Prefolds, HH's, BG's, FB's, Drybees, AIO's that I made (taught myself how to sew making these lol), RRP's that I made, a couple other pocket dipes I made, and I'm working on some fleece soakers.

Tami Tripp said...

Liked your informative listing of your diaper likes and dislikes!

I'm not a huge fan of BG either.

Unknown said...

Holly christine - can you believe I forgot to mention our FBs!!! we have 2 for Benjamin...I don't know HOW I forgot those! I'd put those in between the PC and the bamboozle :) We can't get the snaps 'just right' on our chunky monkey...

I would totally agree with so many of you that it depends on shape/size of baby - but the funny thing is, Keaton is looooong and lanky and Benjamin is...well...a chunk...22lbs at 7 months! and the HH are perfect on both, like they were made just for them...love love love them!

We did use prefolds (just trifolded) and bummis wraps at night time but, Keaton would get horrible diaper rash - we never attempted night time with anything else...I'd love some night time diaper tips for boys!

And as far as what we did with thrush, sorry, I didn't explain that out, lol - we did use sposies during that time. I knew that I could disinfect them, but learning the ropes with 2 under 2...it was just easier to go to sposies for that time :)

I have loved reading what everyone loves and hates!! so fun!

Minnie said...

Your boys are SO cute! Thanks for sharing your insight on all of the different brands you have tried. It gives more perspective. :)

Amanda G.

Lindsay Anne said...

It is funny, with my first daughter I knew there were lots of cloth diapering options, but I didn't realize HOW MANY there really were, let alone the vast differences. Thanks for sharing!

Kelly said...

Jerri - Sorry to hear that you have the laundry tab problem with your BGs. I finally broke down and bought some BGs and FBs after using prefolds and covers for over 4 years of CDing. And I will say that I like my FBs much better than my BGs. And I know that my OS BG won't fit my son through CDing just because of the rise being short. But all in all I still like my BGs just prefer my snaps on my FBs better.

gibsonfam said...

Thanks for sharing! I'm really wondering if I'll like Happy Heiny's more for my second as well since he's a lot more baby to love than my first.

EdenSky said...

My stash is kind of similar...and my conclusions very different! Everyone should try lots of things to see what they like best.

Kathy said...

Thanks for sharing your stash contents. It's fun to see what someone else is using.

Andrea said...

I love these rankings! What works varies so much from kid to kid, and it's nice to know what works and what doesn't and why. It would be cool if this blog did that a little more formally-- like what works best for a chunky baby or a heavy wetter or whatever.

Anonymous said...

I used all prefolds with child #1 and then when i was pregnant with #2 someone gave me her old Fuzzi Bunz stash. Those leaked like crazy for us, where as the prefolds had never leaked!
Now we have a BG stash and a couple of HH. I loved the HH's at first but now that my baby is 18 months and starting to get more slim, I am noticing that the HH elastic really digs in to his skin on the legs and back.
Yes, he can remove the BG's on his own accord (!) but they are still my favorite so far.
I have never experienced ALL of the diapers being velcro-ed together in the wash. Maybe it depends on the weather? Like a dry area or something? I don't know. I have a very small capacity washing machine, maybe that makes a difference.

Heather S said...

The BG 3.0 works great on my 25 month old! it's the Best diaper we've tried!