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Hey there,
I am new to cloth diapering. I will also be completely new to motherhood in November, my hubby and I are both very excited.  I decided to do cloth diapering because we both have very sensitive skin. In fact I could only be put in cloth diapers because disposables gave me a rash as an infant.
Anyhow, I have been doing a lot of research into cloth diapering and came upon this site a couple days ago. I am slightly confused on a couple things.
1) I am back and forth on rather I should do prefolds or not as it would be cheaper. If I did prefolds then all I would need is a diaper cover, nothing else right?
2) Now if I decided not to go with prefolds, then the other options that I see are the Sandy's, One Size, and All in One diapers. I figured these options may be better at times for family members whom have never played with prefolds before. At the top of the diaper page is this:
"Our diapering systems consist of three components: a fitted cloth diaper available in one or two sizes, an absorbent liner for additional protection at night or whenever needed, and a breathable, waterproof diaper cover worn over the diaper."
Does this mean that for any of the three options I posted above I would also need a diaper cover?
I was confused on this because many of the diapers, Sandy's I believe, come in colors and having a colorful diaper covered up by a diaper cover would be a little pointless hehe. 
3) I am also looking more for functionality then just how it looks on our baby, so if anyone has advice regarding my options on mother-ease I would appreciate that as well. |
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Welcome & congrats!
ME makes great diapers. You can't go wrong with the one-size(OS) or Sandy's. You'll find on here that there are many fans of one or the other or who like both. Pre-folds or flats would be cheaper but are slightly more time cobsuming to change & confusing for non-baby changers to do. Sometimes you have to tweek it here or there to get the wings tight without drooping, causing you to spring a leak.
Fitteds are nice because they change quickly and are still adjustable enough to fit a wide range of body types really well. Even the OS diapers are just like a disposable in form, just with snaps & not Velcro tabs. My hubby, grandparents, and doctor have no problem adjusting it correctly the first time. Basically the diaper is like a terry cloth towel hugging your little dude's bum all day. So much better than papery plastic with gel inside!
Yep, you gotta use a cover. Prefolds, flats, ME OS or Sandy's. You can use wool shorties or longies(pants) instead of a cover if you want, creating a purely breathable natural diapering system. I use woolies and love them! But I also have used the Air Flow covers and they work well.
I don't know about the colorful diapers. None of mine are colored and I like it that way. I have Bamboo diapers and I love the buttery creme natural color they are, so to me that's beautiful! But lots of mamas love the splash of cuteness color brings to a ho-hum diaper change. Sometimes we let our babes run around coverless in a diaper. I know I do. After dinner in the summer, we "redneck it" with our 18 month old son in his Bamboo Sandy's outside. He loves being practically naked and it is cute. I think cloth is beautiful, colored or natural. I wanna show 'em off. I'm proud of using cloth to diaper my son.
I'm certain lots of other ladies on here will be glad to lend more advice & insight. Welcome aboard! |
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Thanks for your advice nakedbabytoes. I'm not really picky on color myself, just thought it was odd.
I do have follow up question though, do you need a cover for the all in one's too? I noticed you didn't say anything about them. |
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Nope. All in one is exactly what the name implies-a diaper complete in itself. The cover is attached to the outside already. These are the most easily & fastest changing diapers out there but also the most pricey. But really not that bad if you add up all the inner, covers, and liners you need for a separate system. I have never used them myself, but I know other ladies have and can lend more insight on using AIO(all in one) diapers.
Here is my person expense over my son's 19 months of exclusive CD(cloth diapering)
Started out with 24 OS. Gently used, $8.00 per=$192
12 liners. Gently used, $2.00 per=$24.00
5 small covers. Gently used, $8.00 per=$40
then my chunk monster almost outgrew his OS at 8 months, so I sold above stash for $200 flat and got:
24 Large Bamboo Sandy's, new $12.25 per=$294
15 bamboo liners, new $3.50 per=$52.50
15 covers, 5 medium, 5 large, 5 x large, new $10.50 per=$157.50
For bedtime, he has toddle-ese because I stuff them with 3 liners & a fleece scrap for dryness.
5 toddle-ese Sandy's, new $15.50 per=$77.50
Now, that's just my personal stash. We are done having kiddos and I am fine with the choices I made & the stash I bought. You can get more mileage if you have more kids
obviously. And some people use fewer covers and we have woolies which I spent money on also. It can be cheaper OR can be more expensive!
But if you add up what I spent on the Sandy's and covers, you almost have the same cost as if I had just went AIO instead.
I guess just research it all & go from there. |
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That price comparison really helps me a lot, I appreciate all the typing and calculating you had to do, thanks! We are actually planning on having five kids, with at least one adopted, so in the end I will be getting a lot of millage hehe. Fortunately, I still have about four more months left to research and I tend to do a lot of research especially when it comes to baby. I will probably just buy a couple all in ones just to see how they work, though I am leaning towards Sandy's diapers right now.
Again I just want to thank you for helping me out. |
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I agree on the color thing. I've never really seen the point of colored diapers myself, but then, I'm also a boring underwear person! There's the fun factor, the giving-the-older-child-some choice-factor, and also darker colors would hide stains a bit better. You'd be surprised, though, that once you get into CDing how fun it can be, and I suspect the colored diapers are just kind of an extension of that. I will admit to choosing printed covers on days that I know someone else will be seeing them!
Some people like to have a few AIOs for the diaper bag, but I've never really felt the need, myself. I might feel differently if we'd been able to have other people watch the boys much, as I assume they'd be that one step simpler for people used to using a disposable.
For your own use, a separate cover and diaper becomes routine so quickly, and I feel that it offers some advantages. Besides wear and cost, you also have two layers of elastic (assuming a fitted diaper) to stop those bf poos.
The OS are the most economical way to go among the ME products, but if you are planning on having five kids, I think you'd definitely get your money out of the Sandys while being able to enjoy the trimmer fit that the S offers on a newborn. Because it doesn't have to be folded-over, the S Sandys also is a bit easier for non primary diaperers to use in the newborn phase.
Personally, I have mostly OS and really like them--and really liked being able to use the same diapers on my 2-year-old and newborn, as well. Between the Sandys and the OS there isn't a wrong answer. Each has some advantages (and each has its fans on this forum) and both are well-designed and very durable. I have mostly OS and some Sandys, and while if I had to go one way I'd go with all OS, I enjoy having some of each.
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| I appreciate your comparison on One size, and Sandys diapers aavt. One of the reasons I am leaning towards Sandys is because of the special newborn size. My mother had all very small babies, the biggest was born only seven pounds in fact. I can see; however, that having a mix of One size and Sandys being beneficial as my family grows. More to think about hehe. |
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Well, I'm one of the ones for whom those colored diapers are fabulous! I had mine before the colored diapers were available so I even went to the trouble of dying mine in a huge rainbow of colors, even going so far as tye-dying some of them. I think they're beautiful and I don't care if I'm the only one to see them. They're like a pretty set of pjs for your baby, it's nighttime, it's dark and there's probably no one but you that will ever see them but you don't care cause they're cute and they make you smile. Plus I did let my little ones go coverless in the summer...
As for prefolds vs fitteds and Sandy's vs One-Size, it's a tough decision as, like others have said, each has their own advantages and disadvantages. Prefolds are good workhorse type diapers, nothing fancy but they're inexpensive, work just fine and last forever. Never a bad idea to have a few around regardless of what you choose as your main 'system', you can use them as backups if you run out, as burp cloths, changing pads etc etc... Once outgrown the preemie or infant sizes can be used as extra absorbancy liners inside a nighttime diaper.
As for Sandy's vs One-Size, again it's a toss-up. Sandy's tend to be trimmer on smaller babies especially, although the diaper itself is thicker so once you stop folding the front of the One-Size it's actually a little trimmer than the Sandy's. Since it's thicker many find the Sandy's useful for nighttime even if they use the One-Size during the day.
I'd say experiment and see what works best for you (the trial packs are great for trying out one diaper with one cover and one liner - you can call directly for trial packs of various diapers). Some of us like to have more complex 'systems' with various diapers to fit more specific times or needs (eg xsmall Sandy's for those cute outfits that would be too quickly outgrown, One-Size for everyday, Sandy's for nighttime, AIOs for going out and reluctant sitters etc etc). While others prefer a simpler system with just one diaper that works for all occasions, having multiple diapers for different times is just unnecessary and needlessly confusing/expensive.
AIOs are great for diaper bags but for someone planning a large family I wouldn't recomend their full-time use. The cover part will wear out more quickly, they don't offer quite as much of a bullet-proof system as a seperate cover/diaper do, don't offer the ability to go coverless (for rashy bums or just when it's hot outside). Plus they're more expensive and don't offer the same fabric choices as the other diapers do (AIOs come in regular cotton only not bamboo, organic cotton or stay-dry). All that said, some do love AIOs and wouldn't cloth diaper with anything else so in the end, it's like all the other choices, totally personal.
HTH,
Karen.
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Thanks for your input Karen. I didn't even think about going coverless in the summer. It can get pretty hot over in Michigan. That's usually around the time I start getting rashes from rubbing my arms raw in the heat and my babies probably will have a bit of my sensitive skin.
I did kind of figure I wouldn't be using all in ones all the time, but for a few anti-cloth siblings of mine. I have one sibling who really thinks I'm nuts because his doctor told him formula and disposables are better, and I'm doing the opposite. I'm just glad that both my and my hubby's parents are fine with it. I'm thinking now that I may have a few Sandy's and One size around the house, to at least try them both out. May just end up keeping both hehe.
Now you've gone and reminded me I need to look at the different materials as well as far as absorbency and use with sensitive skin types. My research is forever ongoing.
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The absorbancy is the same, regardless of fabric type, across the same kind of ME diaper (i.e. the OS absorbs the same amount whether in organic cotton, the regular cotton/poly mix, bamboo, stay dry). The different diapers themselves have differing absorbancies, like the XS Sandys is much lower than the L Sandys, but that kind of tracks with the age of child you'd use it with/expected output. The only time absorbancy becomes an issue with most of the diapers is nighttime use; many people then use one (or two) of the lay-in or snap-in liners. Nights are not, unfortunately, usually an issue with newborns, so most people don't even need to think about it. Some heavy-wetting toddlers do need a liner all the time with the OS (my first did, my second has never been even close to needing it, almost doesn't even need anything extra at night).
Since you have sensitive skin, I'd personally think about staying away from the stay-dry fabrics, as that will have a polyester layer right next to baby's skin. That might not be a problem at all, but if it were, you'd be stuck. Many of us use a layer of fleece to gain the same benefits--dry feeling and easier poop clean-up--and then it's something you can take away if you think baby might be reacting to it. |
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| Ah I see aavt. It's good that the type of fabric doesn't affect absorbency, that is bound to make things easier. Also thanks for you advice with stay dry. |
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Ah, don't think you've gotten out of the complication just yet though, LOL! Fabric doesn't affect the absorbancy of the diaper but it does affect things like drying time and bulkness of the diaper. For example, bamboo is much more absorbant than cotton, so while the bamboo diapers absorb the same amount as the cotton they are quite a bit trimmer. Of course, since it's more absorbant bamboo also takes longer to dry... Organic cotton is usually felt to be denser and slightly less flexible/stretchy than regular cotton because it doesn't have the polyester. More eco-friendly since it's organic but then may not last quite as long since the polyester does tend to add durability to fabric.
Hope I haven't complicated your life too much but you still have plenty of time to consider these kinds of things...
Karen.
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Oh I am starting to get use to the complications Karen, in fact at times I make things more complicated then they really are.  Oh and nope you haven't made things more difficult for me, just given me more to think about. This is exactly why I research early.
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