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| We are expecting our first child in December (and are VERY excited) and would like to use cloth diapers. We have had a few friends recommend MEOS but am wondering how others made the decision about ME or some other type. Do you use a mix of ME and prefolds or pocket diapers, etc? Or exclusively ME? Just trying to sort out what is best combination - financially, for ease of use, etc.? We have plans to visit a store that sells multiple types but thought I would start here to learn from your experiences. Thanks in advance! |
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Hi Kate. The unfortunate thing I found about buying cloth was that there were almost too many options, and its hard to know what you'll like until you're using it, plus it probably depends on the size of your baby as well and his/her habits (and yours!).
I actually have so many different kinds of CD's at home! I tried a lot out.
My experience is that I had a hard time with CDing until DS was about 3 months old and the diapers fit better. I used prefolds or flat diapers until that point. I have several MEOS which I like and I use for naps and when we're out, often with an extra liner or two since he's a bit of a heavy wetter. I actually use the flat diapers most of the time, mostly because they dry so easily, but the capacity isn't as good and I also need to double up sometimes. I also just got some Sandy's large to try for daycare since the flats can be a bit awkward.
One of the big things in my choice was how well the diapers dried, but maybe our house is on the humid side, because I have a friend who had no problem air drying her AIO's, whereas my OS would take days!
One thing about the MEOS, DS is quite chunky and they got fairly tight around 1 year old, though he's still wearing them at 18 months. If you suspect you might have a relatively large baby (and of course, who knows for sure? but it seems to run in our family) you might want more sized ones. That would cost more, but if you think you also might have more children, it might be worth the investment. If you think you're not prone to large children, I think the MEOS would last a long time and be very economical.
I don't know if I've been helpful or not?
Anyway, one last thing, if you do find CDing difficult at the beginning (and not everybody does), don't necessarily give up on it. When the baby filled out the diaper better and I wasn't so exhausted from having a newborn, I eventually really liked it.
Sorry, long post.
All the best on bringing your new LO into the world! |
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Congrats on the baby and on looking into the wonderful world of cloth diapering!
First, I want to say that I thought CDing would be more work and more leaks, and boy was I wrong. My first son was a blowout master, and ME diapers saved me so much additional laundry (when we used disposables, poop would get all over him, and me, ugh!).
I use ME exclusively, a mix of OS and Sandys (about 19 OS, 6 or 7 Sandys for one child; I had about 12 more OS for two in diapers).
I also was pretty overwhelmed by the different choices, but finally decided that for economics it made sense to me to go either with a prefold system or a one-size. ME was highly recommended to me by our local nappy lady, and since I was living in the UK at the time but went back to the US for visits, I was able to buy my ME diapers in dollars and figured that if I didn't like them I'd resell them in pounds and not be out anything (given the exchange rate at the time, and I saw that ME have really good resale value). I ended up loving my ME diapers and am very happy with the choice.
I like the OS because of the idea of using one diaper from birth until PTing (and that has been the case with both of my sons, who are dramtically different in build). When I had two in diapers, I really liked being able to use the same diaper on my 7-lb baby and my 32-lb toddler, since it just made it easier on the brain. I have, however, liked having some Sandys in the mix, too, since the S Sandys can offer a trimmer fit on a newborn than the OS, and the L Sandys, while a smidge bulkier than the OS, offer more absorbancy.
Whether the Sandys or the OS, I do like the two-part system. Although perhaps not quite as close to a disposable as a pocket diaper (once stuffed, that is), I really liked having two layers of elastic. Neither has to fit especially tightly, but they very effectively stop leaks. With the one layer on AIOs/pockets, I feel like there's a little less room for error (that is not to say that there aren't many happy users of those diapers out there).
Although I have used only ME diapers, maybe KarenC can comment here--I know she's tried just about every diaper out there and thinks ME is great. |
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Personally, I had never even considered cloth diapering until a neighbor told me about how she used ME One-size diapers and loved them. I took a look at the forum and was impressed with the positive comments, plus I wanted something simple, easy and foolproof, so I bought MEOS plus a few newborn Sandys for the beginning. I had trouble believing that OS would really work on a tiny baby, but my son was 7 pounds at birth and they did work straight from the beginning. So I never looked back: I used all MEOS all the time (once my son outgrew the newborn Sandy's at 8 weeks, but even before that I used them in combination) and loved them.
I have friends who went for cheaper alternatives and gave up on cloth diapering altogether because of leaks or other issues. We never had a leak. I have other neighbors who have a variety of cuter covers, etc., and sometimes I think it would be nice to branch out, but I'm too lazy: I have a wonderful system that works great, even if the covers may not look the prettiest, and I'm satisfied.
Good luck with your decision, it is a lot to consider in the beginning and you may find that you are happier with a mix of brands, but you can trust ME when it comes to leakproofness, durability and good customer service! |
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I think the OS system is foolproof and a good price. I'm glad I started with them. I use(d) them exclusively except for Toddle-ease just before my son potty trained, and XS Sandys b/c I had a small second baby. For SIMPLICITY, I would stick to one type of diaper.
Now that I'm more experienced with cloth diapers, however, I would reccommend something similar to other posters. Mostly OS, maybe some XS prefolds for a newborn b/c they're cheap, maybe some Sandys for the trimmmer fit, and some sized pockets or AIO's for grandparents, babysitter, church nursery, etc. Have fun! |
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| Thanks for sharing your experiences - much appreciated and I know this will be a big help as we decide which way to go. Thanks! |
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I have indeed tried dozens of different diapers, covers and pockets. Some were quite horrible, most were good and a few were excellent. Basic rule of thumb is that you get what you pay for. If you're looking at AIOs that are the same cost as a prefold, there's a pretty good chance it won't be the best quality. Now, that doesn't mean that diapers like flats and prefolds aren't good just because they're economical, but watch out for cheap fancier diapers. And even when looking at prefolds, it's worth getting good quality DSQ (diaper service quality) or CPFs (Chinese Prefolds).
There were a few brands that I found to be approx. equivalent to ME but most of the time they were a good deal more expensive and didn't really offer any advantages. ME is leakproof, economical (while not being 'cheap'), easy to wash and cute to boot (love those new colors!). Prefolds are more economical and a good basic diaper to add to any stash, but they're definetly not as convenient (some people don't care and barely notice, but for others that added convenience can be a deal breaker). Pockets can be the ultimate in convenience but they can also be a huge pain to wash (ie keep non-smelly and not repelling).
Now, all that said, if you're still not sure that ME is right for you there are many stores nowadays that allow you to take a trial run on many styles/brands of diapers. You try the diapers for a week or two and then you can pick the style/brand that works best for you. Usually the fee is about the same cost as disposables for the same amount of time and can often be applied to the purchase of product from that same store. Just keep in mind that issues like problems with washing are unlikely to crop up in the first couple of weeks so keep that in mind if contemplating pockets.
Karen. |
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| I used a diaper service first since I was afraid of CDing - the laundry side of things. However, I quickly got used to poop and decided to try CDing on my own so I bought a set of MEOS at 4 months. I liked the idea of using them from birth to potty training. The diaper service I used sold me ME XS Rikki Wraps so I looked at the ME forum and saw lots of positive reviews. I had friends recommend pockets but I was already used to the 2 step process of diaper and cover and I like having that extra leak guard, just in case, like the other poster said, I ALWAYS had poopsplosions with disposables. Also with pockets, you would think the covers would not last as long since they do not come apart (I mostly handwash my covers). The ME prices didn't seem bad compared to other brands and since I loved the diaper covers, I assumed the diapers would be just as good and they are. I also bought some AIOs to try and they are nice for quick changes and probably easier for babysitters. For my next one, I plan to buy some newborn Sandys. Oh and I'm not sure if there are many companies selling bamboo but I love the bamboo diapers that I got! |
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