Well, I never thought I would be doing this!

[J&K Mom]

Yes, people. I've turned into a hippie! JUST KIDDING!!!

I never in a million years thought I would ever breastfeed. I didn't Megan or Jake.. "ohhh gross!"

Well, I did Katie and it was the best thing ever, right?!

I never thought I would co-sleep (or whatever it's called) And I didn't "officially" But let's just say Katie was in my bed more than Mike was the first year of her life!! :p :D :eek:

And now what???? Can you guess???

Yes people, yes indeed. I am giving a go with cloth diapers! Every time anyone has ever mentioned cloth diapering to me, I thought they were a nut!

But I've joined some groups online that do co-ops for fabrics. I've been making bibs and slippers and stuff for sn kids. And the types of fabics and stuff I need are some of the same that they use for cloth diapering.

Katie's bottom stays red and raw all the time. She lives in nystatin. So I've decided to make her some cloth diapers and see how it goes. I'll probably just use them at home and just do the disposables when we are on the go.

My only experience with cd'ing was when Megan was a baby and my mom put her in just the basic Gerber fold with saftey pins... and NO rubber pants!!!

Um... no thank you!

Anyone here cloth diaper? I am really hoping it will help her bottom. She had a horrible reaction to Pampers when she was a newborn so we've always used Huggies, but I am wondering if she is allergic to all of it or maybe it's the b-12 shot making her pee ph too strong, I don't know.

[callyflower]

I did cloth quite a bit with my dd, oh so many years ago. I don't suggest MAKING the diapers, however. I got mine from Natural Baby. They have really nice diapers, and diapers with built in covers. I used a disposable liner (kind of like a dryer sheet) in them to collect the poo which I then just picked out and flushed in one quick move. Worked great!

BTW, I passed my diapers on to a friend when she had her baby, they lasted thru beautifully and I believe she passed them on to someone else.

Cally

[mumtosarahlou]

I did cloth diapers with my sons-I used a diaper service. Neither of them had rashes and my oldest was allergic to everything it seems, so that's a good sign. You might as well give it a go and see how her skin responds.

[WorkinMom]

I used a diapering service with my first born for all of about a week! LOL Too much added laundry - no not the diapers but moreso MY clothes, his clothes, blankets, sheets, etc.

Best Wishes
Jennifer

[PaulaScott]

I do, part time until I get another dozen made. I've cloth diapered Em from the beginning. What fabric co-ops are you on? Are you making your own or buying? We use disposables for long trips and for school and change to cloth at home. I make my own and do fitteds with a snap cover.

We have the same problem with Em -- she gets very red and sore from long exposure to disposables, so I alternate with cloth and she does better. I have also developed an intolerance to disposable pads and have changed to another alternative. I believe that it is the bleach used to whiten the wood pulp that is used in both the diapers and the pads because when my panties accidentally end up in "whites to be bleached" laundry bin, I get a yeast infection.

I'm finding it hard to find patterns for bigger kids, though, so am working on developing my own patterns. I may offer them for sale at some point, I don't know. I don't like making diapers that well -- they are boring.

[Mother's Heart]

I used cloth nappies for the first 4 months with my dd...then switched when we moved in with my in-laws. I thought it was a lot to ask of them to allow me to do that much laundry.

I didn't use a diaper service....unless you count my hubby. :D I couldn't go down the steps into the basement where the washer was. I didn't mind the extra wash for some reason. ;) it really didn't seem that bad. we just set up a diaper pail with solution in it and tossed the nappies in there, then ran a load of laundry each evening. I really liked the nappy covers and the all-in-ones were nice too....but I only had those a few weeks before we stopped.

I bought more gerber nappies when my son was born, with no intention of using cloth diapers. Love them for burp rags and for every other use you can imagine.

I would guess cloth would help the skin issues, .unless ....she is prone to yeast infections (does the nystatin help?) because of her mma or other metabolic stuff going on? or dietary?

[J&K Mom]

I am going to make a couple All In One's. I have the PUL, flannel, and velcro here already and have microfleece ordered. I need to get some fold over elastic though.

If... and I mean IF I find that I can make the diapers and they work, I am also going to make some bigger ones. Possibly offer them for sale. I am doing big kid bibs right now, getting ready to do some slippers, and a few other things.

I am in SEVERAL fabic co-ops on Yahoo. Joy of Sewing, Diaperfabricssop, Fabricsandnotions and several more. I've just bought some PUL, ribbing, Jiffy Grip, and microfleece. My PUL came in yesterday. :)

[PaulaScott]

I'm on JoyOfSewing and FabricAndNotions also and KathyS for elastics. I've joined and left a number of co-ops - I get tired of waiting forever for my stuff to arrive.

What pattern are you using or are you designing your own? I've been using the Choe's Toes pattern for two years, but Em has outgrown the largest size.

If you're not a member already, check out the SewYourOwnDiapers yahoo group and a new site that just sprang up this summer: DiaperSewing (http://diapersewing.wordpress.com/) She has free patterns.

[J&K Mom]

I'll check them out.

The PUL came in quick just a couple weeks, but I think the other stuff will take a while. :(

I just went thru a gazillion free patterns and have printed half and will get the rest tomorrow and read thru them to see what looks best to me. I've got Mama Bird, Happy Nappy, and a few more.

[PaulaScott]

If you have any questions, feel free to pm me or email me (my email is in my blog, link in my sig). I've been making diapers for five years and have a little bit of experience.

[J&K Mom]

I'm sure I'll have quite a few questions!! :) Here's one. I see snaps and hook & loop. Because Katie is carried all the time, which pulls her clothes/diaper, is one better than the other. Wouldn't the snaps come open easier than the velcro when holding her on our hip?

I visted your blog. :) Where do you find time to sew??? I find it so frustrating! I wish I had more expierence, wish I had someone to teach me. I have just started making these: http://s82.photobucket.com/albums/j254/mickyashley/links/th_blackorangeflamebib.jpghttp://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j254/mickyashley/links/th_bluestripedinobib.jpg

It's fun, but not a HUGE market for them, but fun. I am getting ready to make these (without the applique):http://www.sewbaby.com/big/patterns1_/patterns1_imgs/_t801.BootiePnk.jpg
and also the diapers, and wheelchair blankets.

None of these take huge sewing skills!!! (except maybe the diapers :) )

[RathyKay]

I went the opposite way. Samantha was almost completely cloth-diapered. At the end, she got too big for the largest sized plastic panties that I could find, so I switched to disposable. I did cloth for the money savings. I started out with Claire in cloth diapers. She's a stockier build than Samantha, so she outgrew the plastic panties earlier, and was in disposables longer. When Tom was born, Samantha was 3 1/2, Claire was 2, and I felt like I was doing enough laundry as it was, so he had disposables all the way.

I used the Gerber cloth diapers with velcro. They were pretty nice, but the velcro definitely doesn't last as long.

Oh... and I'm one of those on the minority side of early potty-training.

[PaulaScott]

I prefer snaps to velcro for three reasons: 1) the velcro snags on the fold-over elastic and makes it all fuzzy and 2) if you forget to close the tabs to wash, they make "diaper" snakes in the washer where all the diapers stick together and 3) velcro tends to accumulate fuzz and bits of thread over time and you have to clean them out to make them sticky again. Plus, my sewing machine hates velcro and always snags the thread while sewing it.

My fitted diapers don't have fasteners -- I use a Snappi to hold them together and a side snapping cover over that. Makes the diaper a lot faster to sew as well. I also don't care much for all-in-ones anymore. Eventually they wick, even with good 2 mil PUL and particularly if bound with FOE. It's hard to rewaterproof them. My covers can be thrown into the wash with some Nikwax and come out as good as new. AIO have to be sprayed with camp dry and you have to be careful not to get any on the absorbent part of the diaper.

You bibs look nice and the booties look like an interesting project. Wheelchair capes are a good project and needed -- I've had a number of people interested in Em's cape, but I find that no one else can seem to figure out how to move her from wheelchair to carseat and vice versa without removing the cape, so I gave up on the idea. I'm considering designing a coat that looks as good backward as forward so that I can slip it on after she's in her chair or before.

There is a crying need for clothing for SN kids, but I have my hands full at this time with my own three chick-lets, so until all three are in school full-time, sewing for profit is on the back burner. As far as finding time to sew for them, it's mostly after they are in bed at night. Sometimes Mary will let me sew for a bit while the other two are in school, but I can't sew at all if Em is home, she wants my attention.

I taught myself to sew from books, Kwik Sew patterns and reading many many messages on Quiltropolis lists, SewingMamas.com and PatternReview as well as many other lists and boards. It's the only thing keeping me sane and even with my fabric purchases, still cheaper than therapy. ;)

[J&K Mom]

funny, i was just looking at the snappis on diaperhop.com trying to figure the out! lol

What do you think about the pocket diapers? What do you use for your fitteds?

[PaulaScott]

Pockets are hugely popular but personally I don't care for them. Takes too long to stuff then unstuff to wash. Some people have luck just dropping them into the washer and they unstuff themselves but mine never did.

My fitted are pretty simple. My last set of diapers, I did two layers for the body: one of birdseye for the outer layer and one of knit terry for the inner. The birdseye is very Snappi-able and doesn't snag, however, it frayed out around the leg gussets so I think that I will stick to a thick knit for that. I love veloured terry for the inner as it stays very soft wash after wash, but can't find it anymore. I do a soaker that is sewn on one end so that it flaps around of three to four layers of sherpa and a top layer of microfleece to help draw the wetness away from her most sensitive parts. I'm not sure this is really working though and may skip the microfleece in the future.

Using a heavier knit works a bit better as the diapers will fit a while longer and look nicer. I have a serger, so I serge around the diaper in pretty colors. You don't need a serger to make diapers -- you can turn and topstitch just fine or use FOE, but serging is fast IMO and as I mentioned, I don't like making diapers, so I look for shortcuts.

I do leg gussets similar to those on the PooPockets. Many people hate these but Em's poops are so loose (have to be or she won't go) that the gussets do a good job of catching most of it. Also, she's so thin that without the gussets, the legs gap.

I use a night time doubler for more absorbancy at night, if I use cloth at night. Usually I double diaper with disposables (actually dh does). Mostly because dh is the one who usually puts her to bed and he can handle disposables, but cloth is beyond him for some reason. The doubler is made of microfiber and hemp fleece folded into thirds and wrapped with a piece of microfleece. I read somewhere that the microfiber/hemp combination is the most effective. I use a wool cover at night, but will change to wool pants when I can get some made as the FOE on the wool cover is making red marks that last for days. So does the disposable, actually, which is why I really need to get into gear and make more diapers.

Sorry, I'm writing a book now. My diaper system keeps evolving over time and at the moment, this works for us, but it wouldn't for a lot of people. The only way to figure out what works is to play around and make one or two of each diaper you want to try until you find what works for you.

[mom2lydia]

Nathan's mommy sent me this thread because she knows it is my latest obsession. LOL! After months of late night research online, I started switching to cloth six months ago. This is after six years of constant disposable in our house, one to three bottoms at a time. We are back to three in daipers, now all in cloth, and I am loving it!

The baby (3 mo old at the time) was the first I switched completely: Prefolds, snappis and covers for economical sake, a couple of pockets for church nursery/babysitters. Being just breastfed, Caleb was having so many blow-outs in disposables. We've had dramatically less with cloth.

Love the snappi for prefolds. It has teeth that catch kind of like fastners for an ace bandage wrap. I don't use my snappis as much these days b/c he's added solids. I can just trifold and lay a prefold in a cover w/o poo messes resulting.

I took longer to figure out what I liked for my older ones. Lydia (who's now 6 1/2 and will never potty train) is now mainly in pockets. I too wasn't sure about these at first, but Lydia has a neurogenic bladder (heavy wetter is an understatement). I can stuff the pockets with lots of absorbancy and then whomever is changing her diapers has it easy, like putting on a disposable. Lydia has actually used cloth at school too for a few months now. Far few clothing changes due to diaper leaks. I do double layer her for school, a PUL cover over the pocket diaper for good measure. (Not a normal approach, but she's not a normal diapered babe.)

I have eventually aquired AIO trainers for Amelia (3yrs old). These snap on the sides for messy clean-up. I like the AIO aspect for less stuffing...but like the pocket too for a couple of reasons. I can add extra absorbancy for overnight...and I can stick my hand in the pocket to determine if the dryer has finished it's job.

The draw-backs to AIOs (outside of cost, which is less since you are making them) are not being able to tell when they are wet (from baby) or dry (from the dryer). Also, they take forever to dry. You could add extra absorbacy by laying in doublers, that's just extra for teachers...to keep up with in our situation.

I like snaps because I think are kinder to the fabrics in the laundry. Even with folding back velcro tabs religiously, I've had some things picked up. Still, we mainly have velcro for the sake of other caregivers (like school/babysitters). Velcro does give more adjustability of fit. I like how side snap diapers allow different settings for tummy and legs as we have a big tummied, skinny legged girl.

My favorite resourse is www.diaperswappers.com. The boards are really active and moms full of helpful advise. I got most of my info from Diaper Chatter, but Craft Chat might also be helpful to you, talking to other moms who are sewing their diapers. They have a WAHM section where you could sell you bibs/shoes too. Very cute! I stumbled across another mom on there who cloth diapers her dd who's in a wheelchair (older than Lydia). They use pockets too, for school and home.

Whatever you end up with, I hope you love it like I do. I don't like to use sposies now. DH thinks I'm nuts but supports me. Oh, not necessicary, but I do like my diaper sprayer for those in-between consistancy poops.

I've bought most of ours so far, only made my own hemp doublers, pail liner and zippered wet bag. So, I've not gone the cheapest way, yet we've already broken even and have diapers for years of use to come. We've got some cute diapers too!

Enjoy!

[J&K Mom]

Allison, Thanks for the reply! I was going to buy some used, but I already have most all of the fabrics here, so why not? You know.

I will probably make an AIO or two, and some fitteds and covers. I already have in mind a cover.... velour and I'm dieing to use the embroidery function of my new sewing machine, so an applique on the back of the hiney. :) With a pul layer.

Mike thinks I'm nuts. :)

[mom2lydia]

Good for you! I claim not having enough time as to why I haven't made ours. Maybe someday though, especially as Lydia outgrows the standard sizes. The big kid ones are very pricey!

You will have a ball with the embroidery! I haven't ventured out that fancy. Again, people pay big bucks for those!!! With summer coming, you should make matching embroidered t-shirts. :)

Cloth diapering has made a necessicary "evil" a fun thing for me. I really caught the joy of it. Whenever I change ANOTHER diaper, I feel like I'm doing something positive for my family, the environment...

The velour outer will be so soft! Can't wait to see! Those diapers I have with cotton outside layers (PUL layer "hidden") do wick some. Of couse they make velour in cotton, bamboo, polyester...but if yours is an absorbant fiber, a waterproofing spray would take care of any wicking problems. Atsko brand is the one I've seen most recommended for this use.

Have fun!

[wheeliebird]

Micky, You're just so talented!!! ;)

[Guitarmom]

http://naturalbaby.stores.yahoo.net/prefolds.html

http://www.mother-ease.com/

making your own is cheaper, but the premade are nice. We did the cloth with the covers. We did have to use disposable at the church nursery and when we were out...
....
Hope her rash is better with cloth!!

G