Try Cloth Diapers Risk Free

Thursday, April 30, 2009

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Small but mighty cloth diaper stash

I began my fun journey into cloth diapering by purchasing three different brands of diapers to try before buying more. I purchased one BumGenius 3.0, one Happy Heiny One-Size, and a Fuzzi Bunz. From my research, I knew I wanted to start with pocket diapers and that one-size diapers would be the most economical. After testing these three diapers for almost a month, I then ordered 12 Bumgenius 3.0. Recently, I added two Baby Beehinds Bamboo fitteds and a Bummis SuperBrite cover to my stash. This allows me to wash diapers every other day.

From our current stash, my favorite diaper is our BG 3.0 in Zinnia. I just find it to be so cute on my daughter. We only have two Zinnia diapers because I wanted most of the others to be gender neutral. Here's a photo of her wearing it...doesn't she even look happy? I like the BG 3.0 because they are one-size and the quality on them is great.



My least favorite diaper is our Happy Heiny One-Size. I really wanted to like this diaper since it has a snap closure. However, I have had several leaks with it. I think the fit just doesn't work well for my daughter.

My favorite bedtime diapers are the Baby Beehinds Bamboo fitteds with the SuperBrites cover. The Baby Beehinds are exceptionally absorbant and I don't have a strong pee/amonnia smell in the morning like what I did when we used our BG 3.0 overnight.

So, while it is fun & exciting to try different brands/types of diapers, it is also possible to cloth diaper full-time with a smaller stash too!

- By Melissa

38 comments:

Ashley said...

Happy Heiny's are the only diapers I'll use at night... I cannot trust my bGos! Isn't it funny how everyone's cloth experiences are different?

Your daughter is adorable!

Melia said...

I have also had a problem with an ammonia smell with my BG dipes in the mornings. I have stripped them by hand and in my washer and still have the smell. Is there anything that you would suggest that I do with them? I use Planet detergent because it was one that had a high rating on all the charts that I found. Thanks for any help!!

lsnellings said...

I have had leak issues with HH too.

Upstatemamma said...

It is so possible to stick with only a few diapers and truthfully, you are probably better off sticking with what you know and like. It saves money. :)

melissad.williams said...

Cute stash! That BG Zinnia is to die for!

Knit Wit said...

That Zinna is a pretty color. And your baby looks so cute in it!

Sarah said...

That color is beautiful. I don't have a girl to use one on though. :)

Minnie said...

I also love the Zienna color...and Clementine too! You should try the BG AIO, OS Organic Diaper w/ Snaps...you would probably LOVE it. I have found the fit to be just as good as the BG OS Pockets but I never get an ammonia smell and I have found them to be even more absorbent than the BG OS Pockets.

Amanda G.

Katrina said...

What a colorful stash! The zinna BG is adorable...sure wish I could feel right about putting it on my son...lol I bought one last month for a fluff swap on a forum I post on so I got to see one in person - so cute! BTW - your daughter is adorable. She looks so happy in her fluff.

Kelly said...

I started with a relatively small stash too, about 10 diapers, when my daughter was 3 months old and still EBF. I had to do laundry every day. Now I have about 35 diapers. I only have to do laundry twice a week. The concern I started to have over my small stash was the wear and tear on my diapers. As great as they are, they do start to show their age when washed every day.

Angela said...

I love my BG's too. I also had trouble with HH, but have seemed to work that out. What a colorful post:)

Rebecca said...

I have a small stash too. Well, small meaning I don't have lots of different kinds of diapers. I mostly use Chinese/Indian prefolds and a snappi with Bummis Super Whisper covers and Thirsties covers. I recently bought 3 bum genius 3.0's for nights (to get away from disposables at night) and now want more for outings. They (the bum genius 3.0's) fit so nice under clothes, give us lots more time between changes and keep my daugther feeling dry. So nice!!! But for economy sake, we have stuck with mostly prefold diapering which is tried and true and I do love. :)

Kacey Batterton said...

I have what I consider to be a "small stash" as well. I have 14 Fuzzi Bunz, some microfiber inserts, and about 20 Baby Kicks Hemparoos inserts. That's it! So I wash every 1.5 days. I don't mind it really. Sure I would love to have a big stash full of Blueberries and cute fitteds and every different brand of pocket, but that would defeat my whole purpose for cloth diapering--saving money (well, it's one of my reasons anyway).

Brittany said...

Its great to hear that smaller stashes still work out! Mine is going to be small when I first start in July.

Liz said...

Great post! I love my bumgenius diapers too. I also have happy heinys and like them.

A Psych Mommy said...

I have been looking for a new bedtime diaper! I'll have to check out Baby Beehinds, thanks!

Michele said...

Thanks for the great post! We have plans to start out our cloth diaper stash small just like you have. It's reassuring to know that it can be done!

Anna said...

It's always great to hear what's worked best for other moms...thanks for your input!

Serena Michelle said...

Melia:

The ammonia smells are more often than not caused by a reaction between the urine and residual bacteria in the inserts (the problem isn't with the diapers themselves). You'll need to bleach the inserts in order to kill off the bacteria. Run the inserts through a small load on hot water with 2 Tablespoons of bleach (for a front loader) and 1/4 cup of bleach for a top loader.

If at all possible put your inserts in the sun to dry for a few hours - the sun will also help get rid of stink issues... but you'll definitely want to bleach the inserts in order to resolve the issue immediately - then go with a maintenance routine bleach every month or so.

If you put the inserts out in the sun regularly then you may even go longer between bleaching sessions.

Remember, you're only bleaching the inserts, NOT the diapers.

Hope this helps!
-Serena

Aisha said...

I'm glad you mentioned Baby Beehinds as a good nighttime option...We've recently had that ammonia issue with our daughter (using BG pocket w/ superdo & the 1-size microfiber)...I dug out the kissaluv fitted we had to try it out...did some research and wanted to try out Baby Beehinds...just been trying to prioritize/maximize my diaper funds.

Does your daughter sleep throughout the night or does she wake up for late-night feeding?

AScott said...

I find the pee smell a bit overwhelming in the morning after using my bumGenius for overnight. I will have to try the fitted option!

hosiewosie said...

ooh a fitted for overnight, I haven't really heard a lot of others having success with that- maybe a good idea to try...

Ally said...

Thanks for this post. I just ordered my 1st bumgenius 3.0, I cant wait to use it! =) I'm a prefold and thirsties cover user, this will be new to me!

Jackie said...

I use primarily prefolds with bummis & thirsties covers - but I just ordered my first BG 3.0 and can't wait to try it out! I love hearing of other moms' great experiences w/ those diapers. I can't wait to try mine out!

Meghan said...

Great post! I too have a smallish stash and it works fine some days and others I forget to do the wash and we run out! So of course I want more diapers even though technically we can do with out. They are just so cute!

Talina said...

Oh, good because I am freaking out these days! I have one BumGenius 3.0 and my little girl is due in June. We just haven't had the funds to invest in more right off the bat and I've been stressing about how many I'll need to make it all work. I thought you needed like 25-30!!!

Becky said...

I'm curious about your thoughts on the Fuzzi Bunz. I really like it as an overnight diaper, however, it's much too big for the daytime for my little guy!

CariC said...

I, too, have a small stash. I've only been CDing for 2 or 3 months and while I've figured out our nightime diaper (Fuzzi Bunz) I'm still trying to find a great daytime diaper for us.
Hoping to figure it out soon so I don't have to do laundry every day and a half!
Thanks for your message - it helps me to feel better that I'm not the only one with a small stash and it will be OK if we never do get a huge stash!!
Cari

Shanaka @ Mama Bee Does said...

Glad to see other mamas with small stashes. Starting out I felt that we didn't have enough diapers b/c I was washing diapers every other day. Now I know I wasnt alone. Thanks for sharing :)

coconuts said...

I have a very small stash too and it is completely possible to CD full time with barely anything. I will agree I LOVE bamboo for the overnights!

the monkeys' mama said...

I never heard about Baby Beehinds before your post. I'll have to check them out--thanks for the tip!

Katie said...

Thanks for the info. I never thought of using baby behinds for bed. I am glad to hear that they work well.

Diane said...

I only have a dozen pockets, but I have enough pre-folds that I wash every second or third day. I feel like this has helped cut down on the cost of power and water impact without adding a ton of cost to the stash. I'm so jealous of your zinnia BG! I got mine a year ago, right before all the new colors came out. So upsetting! Your daughter is adorable.

Coupon Mama said...

Great post! Love how this lets people know that they don't have to put tons of money into diapers all at once. In other words you can start off small and stay small... or expand like most people do. I love my BG's and am always happy when I see someone else in love with them.

Serena Michelle said...

Talina: You don't need 25-30 diapers to cloth diapers. I've talked to some mamas who try to get by on as little as 6 diapers and just wash them every day... of course, newborns do require more diapers because they go potty so frequently. Therefore, if you don't want to be washing diapers every day, the we do recommend at least 18 diapers to get you through 1 1/2 - 2 days before having to wash.

Another more cost effective cloth diapering alternative would be prefolds and diaper covers - these can be your workhorse in the early weeks, allowing you some time to buy a diaper or two at a time until you have what you need.

-Serena

TheClothDiaperWhisperer said...

bumGenius are our favorite hands down. We use all 3 types of BG but like the BG organic os aio the best. I am not a pink lover but LOVE the Zinnia color. Hubby wouldn't like it on our 11month old though! Great pics-your daughter is SO adorable!!

Heather S said...

We're Working up to Full time! We only have 4 CD right now! We have a BG OS and We LOVE it. Our 4 diapers last us 2 days. (2 on one day, and a night disposable, and then 2 on the next day) My daughter sleeps 15 hours at night, so it allows us to only use 2 CD a day! I'd like about 10 diapers which would get us FULL time CD for about 2-3 days!

Gwenn said...

Cool post, it gives me an idea on what I might like to try next!