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Hi
I just read about cloth diapering and was wondering if any of you could give me suggestions as to
----the number of diapers i would need
----the size of the diaper - a large or a toddleease? which would fit better
----the number of snap in liner (He is prone to rashes - do i need to use microfiber liners?)
----the number of air flow covers
My son is 11 months and 28 pounds. I was also wondering which one was better - the sandy or the one size. I plan to cloth diaper him full time.
What would i need to do for night time as in which diaper would i have to use as well as how may inserts? He sleeps through the night, so i would change him in the morning.
Thank you in advance for your time and patience. God bless. |
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Hi there,
Welcome to the board and congrats on the decision to cloth diaper!!
Ok, I'll take these one at a time...
Number of diapers depends basically on how often you want to do laundry. If you don't mind doing a load every day, then you could get by with as little as 18 diapers (maybe even less if you dry them in the dryer, but it'd be cutting things close and not leaving you much breathing room). Figure that at his age your son will probably go through 5-7 diapers a day so you can use that to figure out how many you'll need. Don't forget to give yourself time for the dirty diapers to get washed and dried (and give yourself a little 'padding' in case you're like me and can forget a load of laundry in the washer for a long time!). Consider also if you'll be line drying or dryer drying them (line drying takes longer, especially in the winter if you have to dry indoors). But also remember that there's no point in going overboard and buying 4 dozen diapers. You most likely can't fit more than 24 in a single load anyway so it's pointless to go over that number as you'd end up with two loads to wash... Also figure that you shouldn't go more than 3-4 days, longer than that can set in odors and make the diapers difficult to get clean.
At your son's age I'd say the large should be fine. You can always try one of each and see which you prefer but chances are the Toddle-Ease would be too long in the rise. The Toddle-Ease is made for toddlers that although might weigh only a little more than your son, are probably quite a bit taller.
One-Size vs Sandy's.... It's a totally individual thing really. Both are fabulous, great quality diapers and each has their own set of pros and cons. One of the biggest pros of the One-Size is needing only one size from birth to potty training but your son has already pretty much outgrown that advantage as he'll probably be good in the large Sandy's from now till potty training. Of course, if you plan on having more kids, that's when you could reap the advantages of the One-Size. You can search the board for more in-depth discussions of the pros/cons of each if you want. You could also try one of each and see which you personally prefer. ME has a great trial offer for the One-Size on the website and you can call them to get a Sandy's trial pack...
The liners will depend on which diaper you get and just how heavy a daytime wetter your son is. You'll need at least one or two for each nighttime diaper, that's pretty much a given unless you change him frequently through the night... Some very heavy wetting toddlers using the One-Size do need the extra absorbancy of a liner in each diaper but that's not the norm. It's usually older toddlers who pee a lot at once and almost never happens with the large Sandy's (since it's a little more absorbant than the One-Size). I'd go with the assumption that you won't need any during the day (maybe one for naps if he tends to take long ones) and then you can always order some if you do find you need them.
I'm not sure what you mean by microfiber liners. Do you mean fleece liners? Microfiber is an absorbant fabric used typically for pocket diaper inserts and it's usually recomend that it not be in direct contact with skin as it can cause irritations. Fleece liners are just thin pieces of fleece that you'd lay in a diaper to help keep baby's skin dry. Fleece doesn't absorb at all and dries really quickly, so the fabric dries almost instantly, that's how it works to help keep skin dry. Fleece is usually used in nighttime diapers to protect skin from irritation although some do use one in each diaper for babies with super-sensitive skin, to help with poop clean-up (poop tends to stick less to fleece than to the diaper) and to help prevent stains on the diapers (fleece itself almost never stains, especially if you get bright/dark colors).
Number of covers is an individual thing but most folks cloth diapering full-time have about 4-6 covers. You don't need to change the cover with every diaper (unless soiled of course, but that's rare). Some use the same cover all day, changing it only after the soaked nighttime diaper. Others will rotate a couple covers throughout the day, letting one 'air-out' while they use another (sometimes rinsing between uses, sometimes not). It's best to wash them seperatly from the diapers (they don't need the heat and more intense washing that covers do, it only adds to the wear) so you can wash them with regular laundry. Some also hand wash them, it's really not difficult and they line-dry within a couple of hours.
HTH,
Karen.
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Karen covered everything. I use 6 covers rotating them and have a 2 larger ones for at night. I also have Sandys and OS and i like them both. I wash basically every day, one day will be in the am and the next will be in the pm. I air dry indoors (I use my treadmill with kid hangers and they dry pretty quick), i only have 18 diapers but i can not stand having dirty laundy. I like to use a liner in every diaper and i also use the pieces of fleece but he is very sensitive. I can not change his laundry soap with out him getting a major rash.
I switched late in the game and I find having some Onesize helps my DS fit into some of his old clothes. This is why I also like the Bamboo, they are trimmer. He is 22 months old and is still 28 pounds for over a year now. He has thinned down but the OS does help. Anyway, good luck!!!! |
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I'd try one of each, like getting a trial pack of each dipe like the PP said. I started out with cotton OS, but my son is a hunk of chunk and Sandy's fit his body better. And the two kinds are so different.
Sandy's have elastic & ruffling around the legs and waist, like a posie. Large Sandy's have a higher absorbency than OS. Sandy's also snap at the sides, like the covers do, on the waist & legs.
OS have a binding edging all around the diaper, kindof like the ends of a bath towel. No elastic. And the OS have a centered row of snaps in front, and the row of snaps is mid groin area, not up high on the waist or low by the legs, but more in the middle. And the OS has a row of snaps inside and outside of the diaper, for folding over for small babies and snapping in liners for bigger babies.
Hard to explain, but if you look at pics on ME website of the two kinds, then you'll understand. But ME makes great dipes, so honestly you can't go wrong either way.
Welcome to the wonderful world of cloth diapering!
Cheers! |
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With due respect to PP, the OS _do_ actually have elastic around the legs and waist, but it _is_ different from the edging around the Sandys. The front doesn't stretch much, but around the legs and along the back have quite a bit of stretch/elastic to them, which makes sense for how the diaper fits.
Anyway, I will absolutely agree with trying one of each to see what you think. I've gone with mostly OS myself, with L Sandys for night because they are more absorbant.
They are both excellent diapers, and the decision really just comes down to how you like the fit and possibly what you see as their future.
I really do love the Airflow covers. I went with 6 in each size but ended up going up to 8 in the L size (don't know that I would have done this except that I sold my two Rikkis because my DH hated them and then bought another AF cover special). This is super convenient because I wash the covers with normal wash and that only gets done once a week. 4-6 is certainly enough, though, and if you don't do wash often enough, the covers are easy to handwash.
I have about 24 (maybe 26?) diapers, do the wash about every 3 days, and line dry. I figure I average about six diapers a day with my 2-year-old: one for that 12-hour overnight stretch and the other five used during the other twelve hours (changing every 2-3 hours). |
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| Is it elastic? Oh, I apologize. It doesn't seem very stretchy, so I thought it was just a binding to keep the edges from fraying. My bad. |
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Thank you to all of you who replied. It was very informative and like all of you suggested, I am going to try the OS and the large Sandy and see which one I like better.
One last thing my son is 31" tall and is tall for his age. Do u still think the large size sandy would be a better fit than the OS. I am assuming that this would be the size he would use till potty training.
Thank you again and have a good day! |
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| If you e-mail ME customer service, you can ask them for exact measurements on the rise for both diapers to see which is the longer, but honestly, the same diaper can fit different children so differently, so the best thing to do, esp. as you're getting up there in weight and height, is just to try them on. I think that my DS #1 was about 34 lbs and 34" when he PTed; he still fit in both the OS and the L Sandys. I'm trying to remember if one had more length; I would guess that the L Sandys might have had a little more room, but am not positive. |
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For what it's worth, my girls turned 3 in August, are about 39" and about 34-35lbs (on the tall/skinny side, small waist and maybe average sized thighs). Both the Lg Sandy's and the Toddle-Ease fit them fine. There's obviously a little more room to grow in the Toddle-Ease but I would anticipate that even the Sandy's would still fit for a while (but we're using only the Toddle-Ease right now as they only need a diaper at night).
I'd just try them myself though, that's the best way to tell. You can even return whichever one you like the least, so long as it hasn't been washed or soiled (put a disposable on underneat to protect the diaper). Or you can try and use both for a period of time and then sell one of them...
Karen.
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Duh! Just realized you were asking about a comparison between the One-Size and Sandy's not between Sandy's and Toddle-Ease!
Well, in my opinion, the Large Sandy's are definetly made bigger both at the waist and rise. They'd surely last longer than the One-Size.
That said, chances are that the One-Size will fit just fine till potty training. You probably wouldn't have a problem with the One-Size until you get to the point where you only need a nighttime diaper and it's almost impossible to tell how long that will last (anywhere from a few extra weeks to a few extra years!). ME also sells extenders for the One-Size so that way you could get the flexibility of the One-Size (say for future children) while still having a diaper that will fit your toddler a long time.
Karen. |
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i get by with just 10 one-sizes for my 11 month old, but keep some cheap flats around for emergencies (wash every day). i have a couple toddlers who still wear a bedtime diaper though and they wear large sandys or toddle-ease, which has been a life-saver for me as they like that they can pull the diaper on standing up (i think that is the greatest benefit of the sandys style diaper, ditto for airflow cover). my 11 month old COULD wear the toddle-ease (as the waist/legs are not that big) but the rise is awkwardly long (and hard to cover with a large airflow). she is comfortable in large sandies though.
i think it is also worth noting that the sandys and toddleease dry a lot slower than the one-size. |
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