Guest guest Posted October 30, 2000 Report Share Posted October 30, 2000 We switched to cloth diapers when my son was eight months old, I know, kind of late in the game, but better late than never. I ordered a pattern to make my own diapers and diaper covers, it really saved money and they are adorable. They really are easy to make even if you can't sew. While I was in the process of making them, I just used regular pinnables and vinyl pants. He stays dry. Since we made the switch, he has not been in a disposable diaper, we even took him to Cedar Point in the cloth diapers, it really is not that big of a deal. I was worried about all of the extra laundry, but it really is not that bad, I just throw in one load at the end of the day. They really are a lot easier than I thought that they would be, I am embarassed that I did not use them from the get go. Sara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 30, 2000 Report Share Posted October 30, 2000 Hi everyone, We're expecting our first (vegan) baby late March. I would very much like to not use disposable diapers mostly for environmental reasons. I would prefer not to use a diaper service, as I am sure they use pretty toxic bleach-like chemicals to clean the diapers since you have to use other baby's diapers, and I think that would cancel out some of the environmental benefits of cloth diapers. I am aware that my parents and many people from their generation used cloth diapers with diaper pins and washed them themselves in the machine, but these days, there appear to be so many neat looking alternative cloth diapers. In Mothering magazine, they advertise many different kinds, with velcro attachments, metal snaps, prefitted, one size fits all, etc etc etc. I was wondering if any of you out there have tried any of these newer cloth diapers and what you think of them. I don't want to waste money on diapers and then find they don't keep my kid dry. Also, when travelling, I'd like to use disposables, so I'm also wondering if any of you have had any experience with " alternative " disposables, like Tushies. Please if possible let me know the exact name brand or company you used for diapers and the style. Thanks so much - I'm having trouble finding people locally who have decided to go the cloth route. Leena -- Visit the garden: http://www.leenasgarden.com " Every aspect of our lives is, in a sense, a vote for the kind of world we want to live in. " - Frances Moore Lappe " All beings tremble before violence. All fear death. All love life. See yourself in others. Then whom can you hurt? What harm can you do? " - Buddha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 31, 2000 Report Share Posted October 31, 2000 Hi. Since becoming a first-time parent of my own vegan child four months ago, I have done a lot of research on the web for the best diapers.... The absolute best diaper website is www.borntolove.com. There are many, many articles on the cloth diapering, advice, an uncensored 'reviews' section organized by manufacturer and by product that covers just about ever diaper that exists in the US and Canada, and a discussion board where you can ask any question you have and see what others are doing . As for the diapers they sell, they have the best prices anywhere on the web (also because they are in Canada, it's a good exchange rate for Americans). The best thing is that they have a " sample pack " option where if you order 6 or more items (mix and match - diapers, covers, etc) you get a special discounted price. Because my husband and I only wanted organic cotton diapers (to support organic farming, especially since conventional cotton is one of the most sprayed/earth harming crops their is, and for our child's skin), we bought ours from www.ecobaby.com and www.earthangels.net (since borntolove does not carry them). We have used flat (rectangular with absorbent strip in middle) diapers ($6), hourglass diapers ($6), one-size-fits all fitted diapers from Oskri (the kind that snap and hold by themselves)($11), and traditional square gauze diapers ($1.75)(all prices are for organic cotton - conventional is much cheaper). As for covers, we ordered Bumkins Air-Flow ($8) and Alexis Feather-Lite ($3.50) and a Polar Babies cover ($16). So my opinion on these are: If I did it again I would only buy the gauze diapers (which I have only found at a German company www.assmus-natur.de- you can order a catalog on-line) and Bumkins covers. The one-size diapers are still enormous on her. The others are fine, they serve their purpose - the newborn hourglass are a perfect size to convert to menstrual pads and the hemp/cotton fleece blend flat diapers from earthangels are the best of those type. But we love the gauze! They dry in 15 minutes in the sun! and an hour without, and you can fold them into any size you want. The Alexis covers are only good if you have fitted diapers, or else they are way too big. The Bumpkins covers are excellent, we rarely have any leaking. The Polar Babies fleece cover is nice but only for when she pees (the poop shoots out) and I don't think it's worth the price. As for numbers to buy: We have 28 diapers, of which the four newborn sized we are using as doublers. We use 2 covers at a time. If they are only nylon like Bumkins you can just rinse it out under the tap and hang it and it dries in less than a half hour, while you're using the other. As for laundry: We just throw them dry in a bucket when they're used and because we sometimes just put a towel under her so she can air out, we end up doing laundry only twice a week. The gauze diapers are extremely easy to hand-wash so I sometimes do that. All of our diapers are still completely white because we only dry them in the sun (and even without sun they seem to come out almost as new). As for traveling: When we travel (many multiple-day trips, all without a car, some camping) we carry a water-resistant diaper bag and we just throw them in and when we get home we put in the machine. As for wiping her, we just pour a little water over her bottom, or wet a corner of a towel. What we learned from our experience so far is that cloth diapering could not be any easier. It is making our goal of having a waste-free baby very easy. And our investment of less than $200 (we suppose we'll spend another $100 on large diapers - skip the medium - and covers) does not even come close to the $1750+ (.25 X 8/day avg. X 2.5 yrs) others spend on disposables and wipes and whatnot, not to mention the burden on the conscience. It's really the only way to go! Hope this helps! Erika PS. I've heard that many diaper services use environmentally friendly products. You might want to call and ask your local service and ask. " The quiet conscience is an invention of the devil. " - Dr.Albert Schweitzer 1875-1965 leena [leena] Mon, October 30, 2000 9:08 PM diaper help! Hi everyone, We're expecting our first (vegan) baby late March. I would very much like to not use disposable diapers mostly for environmental reasons. I would prefer not to use a diaper service, as I am sure they use pretty toxic bleach-like chemicals to clean the diapers since you have to use other baby's diapers, and I think that would cancel out some of the environmental benefits of cloth diapers. I am aware that my parents and many people from their generation used cloth diapers with diaper pins and washed them themselves in the machine, but these days, there appear to be so many neat looking alternative cloth diapers. In Mothering magazine, they advertise many different kinds, with velcro attachments, metal snaps, prefitted, one size fits all, etc etc etc. I was wondering if any of you out there have tried any of these newer cloth diapers and what you think of them. I don't want to waste money on diapers and then find they don't keep my kid dry. Also, when travelling, I'd like to use disposables, so I'm also wondering if any of you have had any experience with " alternative " disposables, like Tushies. Please if possible let me know the exact name brand or company you used for diapers and the style. Thanks so much - I'm having trouble finding people locally who have decided to go the cloth route. Leena -- Visit the garden: http://www.leenasgarden.com " Every aspect of our lives is, in a sense, a vote for the kind of world we want to live in. " - Frances Moore Lappe " All beings tremble before violence. All fear death. All love life. See yourself in others. Then whom can you hurt? What harm can you do? " - Buddha For more information about vegetarianism, please visit the VRG website at http://www.vrg.org and for materials especially useful for families go to http://www.vrg.org/family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 3, 2000 Report Share Posted November 3, 2000 Hallo, what about considering elimination communication? In most of the world babies are raised without diapers, helping them when they express need to piss or poo (by making noises or body signals when they are very small). you may want to check out this link http://seafish.freeyellow.com/index.html I used disposables for about 3 month and a half, and then gradually made her diaperless. Daniela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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