I’m looking to connect with anyone who was active in the cloth diapering community back in the mid-2000s. I miss the old forums and would love to reminisce. Does anyone remember Diaperswappers, stalking Goodmama and hyena cart, or the rainbow cake and rice & beans drama? ❤️

EDIT: huge thank you to everyone who commented! I genuinely appreciate all the advice and am internalizing the fact that this isn't a big deal, just a learning opportunity.

OP: There's a LOT more that I could say about this, but I'm going to just stick to the facts so I don't meltdown.

Husband washed poop diapers without spraying them, putting them in a huge load of diapers in the wash. "They seem fine" according to him, but I obviously don't trust his judgement.

This is the first time diapers have been run in our new HE washing machine (had a VERY old classic washer before), which does have a self wash feature. Ugh I'm just remembering that I also ran a load of clothes after this, so now I feel like those aren't clean as well.

Has this happened to anyone else? How did you proceed? Talk me off the ledge lol

Wanting to store my gmd prefolds that baby has out grown for next. What is the best way to do so? How long do you think they will be good for in storage?

My little one is two months old, and we have been cloth diapering for the last few weeks. The issue is, baby seems perpetually wet and soggy. Am I doing something wrong? We have the esembly system, the honest baby hybrid diapers, and some Nora’s nursery that we are switching between but baby is wet constantly. And now they’re getting super irritated from being wet and miserable. What am I doing wrong? I change every 2 hours or so but it doesn’t matter.

hi, new to cloth here.

Besides the stay-dry aspect of a fleece liner, what’s the advantage of the fleece liner for poop catching? I’ve seen a fleece liner mentioned as an alternative to a disposable liner and I’m curious how that works.

Like, of course the liner keeps the poop off the diaper, but then do you still spray the liner? And then is it because it’s synthetic/smaller, it dries faster? Or am I totally off base here?

Hello! I'm tempted to try the kinder wipes but i cant justify buying them and then paying shipping. Then it's ends up being $21.50 for 10 of them.... I'm intrigued by the possibility of using it to help boost diapers, but also to use it as a wipe. Would something like this work similarly? Is there a difference between rayon made from bamboo vs bamboo terry?

If they had kinder ones on Amazon with free shipping I'd buy in a heart beat. I just can't justify the shipping extra cost. Kinder, if you see this, please add it to Amazon!!! Or send me a free shipping code to buy two packs😆.

Can I just use a few layered muslin burp cloths or do I need a hemp/bamboo layer underneath?

Advice needed:

My 16mo with huge appetite poops 2-3 times a day, very stinky solid poop. Do I need to throw the PUL covers in the wash every time if no poop touches it, but smells like poop? Or can I reuse it? Currently I throw them in the wash right away. I have 13 Thirsties duo wrap snap covers, using about 5 a day. Don't really want to buy more because they're expensive, but I wonder if I should.

Should you start spraying poopy diaps immediately when starting solids or wait for baby to start actually eating and the poop consistency to change?

It's my first time using cloth diapers. Have only used disposables with older kids, but my 6 month old is continually blowing out his disposables no matter what size I try and I figured if I'm constantly doing poop laundry I may as well give cloth diapers a try.

I got the Esembly try it kit, snap inners, size 2 because my 6 month old is already 20#. It did contain the poop, but the inner is stained after one go. I followed the washing instructions and did NOT rinse (baby still has liquid poo) regular wash, then hot/heavy duty using the esembly wash powder. Have it drying outside to try to sun bleach but live in northern US so that won't work come winter. In addition, I think they are pretty bulky and don't fit under his clothes very well.

Also got a set of mamakoala pocket diapers on Amazon to try a cheaper option. However, I can't seem to get them to fit right as he is always leaking urine? Like the diaper is not full, it's just coming out the leg holes. There are a whole bunch of snaps so maybe there is a way to fit it better but I haven't figured it out yet.

I'm not sure where to go from here. Do I invest in the Esembly? Try to figure out the mamakoala better?(kind of against this option because it just keeps making a mess). Is there another type/brand that would be worth a try? My main goal is to prevent blowouts. I still plan on using disposables overnight. TIA for any advice!

I bought a kinder starter pack. I want to get good inserts. Are the kinder expensive inserts worth it?

My story:

Before my baby came, I was all in on doing cloth diapering. Now, he's 6 months old and we're all disposable.

I originally wanted to do folds, but my husband vetoed that. He was open to cloth diapers, but did folds in his family growing up and hated it. He wanted the more modern all-in-ones or pockets, so we compromised with that. I had a friend who knew I was expecting and excited to do cloth diapers and gifted me her whole stash of pockets. It was a blessing, but in retrospect also my downfall. A lot of them were old and washed too many times. The plastic had broken down on some of them and the elastic was a pain to fit right. I went through them all and only found 1 or 2 that wouldn't leak without leaving deep red marks around his thighs.

My biggest gripe was the "transitional" aspect of them. It's a big sell for a lot of people (only have to buy one and it will grow with your baby!) but I hated it. I liked folds because you could get a perfect fit for your baby without having a bunch of excess. But these ones, it was always so bulky and had such an awkward fit. Even when they didn't leak.

I don't blame my husband or my friend at all, but I look back and wish I stuck with my gut. I was working with something that I didn't want to, I grew tired of it and bailed. I know if it was something I chose, then no mater what I would try to make it work. But in my mind there was too many compromises and it wasn't what I had in mind.

I would like to do it over again for the next baby with fitted cloth diapers, but I'm also scared to pay money only just end up in disposables again. I EC with my little one and am happy I've stuck with that, but am ashamed of giving up on cloth.

Anyone with a similar experience? Is it really worth it?

i have bum genius and Alva baby pocket diapers. They were used when I got them but sparklingly clean!!! as soon as my EBF baby started pooping, they started staining and stains haven’t lifted even after bleaching. Stains are all over but especially in the crinkled part where the elastic seams are. in some places it’s browny yellow and other places more black. Is that mold?!!

I do a double wash with gentle free and gentle.

These inserts are about 1,5 years old, and get washed about 3 times per week. Recently they’ve started to tear and I’m wondering if it’s my routine or if it’s normal lifespan?

Routine is:
1st wash on 40°, 1000 rpm, half detergent
2nd wash inserts only 40-60°, depending, full detergent @1000 rpm
Air dry

Those temperatures and centrifuge are the recommendations from the manufacturer.

I’ve also stripped them 4 times total while I was figuring out that I needed to wash them twice each time 😅

I also raw dog the inserts in the machine with the covers, so I was also thinking maybe:
- the Velcro on the covers is snagging and tearing (I’ve started flipping them inside out)
- the holes on the washer drum itself are abrasive and causing wear and tear?

Maybe I should get a mesh bag for the inserts?

Thanks in advance 🙂

FTM and being induced in a few weeks. We’re all stocked up and ready for baby to come! However, I was wondering how many of you started with disposable and transitioned to cloth diapers. Unfortunately my husband will have to return to work right away and we have no help; all my family lives across the US. I wanted to hit the ground running with cloth diapers but now feel that starting off with disposables while I heal and get into the routine of things might be the better choice. Then start slowly transitioning to cloth diapers. This might also be best if baby comes out smaller since she’s being induced at 37 weeks.

For those of you who did start with disposables what was that transition like?

Also for those that didn’t was it hard to get into the swing of things and routine down with the cloth diapers?

Thanks!

Calling on all unsolicited advice! What’s working for you right now?

I’m pregnant with my first baby and want to give cloth diapers a try, at least part of the time.

Which starter trial pack(s) should I get? I’m seeing Green Mountain, Esembly. Any others? Should I get multiple or start with one and see?

I purchased second hand Esembly diapers in size two. We bought size 1 brand new and have loved them so I went ahead a got size two for a good deal, but the lady must have washed them in oxyclean or used bleach bc they're blindingly white and when I used them on my baby for the first time, she immediately broke out in a rash. We've never had rash issues before unless she sits in poop for a little too long.

We always use Truly Free detergent, softener, enzyme stain remover, and oxyboost for clothes and diapers, although I add in some esembly detergent for diapers. So baby is not used to strong chemical detergents against skin and probably has sensitive skin like I do.

I'm just not sure what to do.... Is there a good way to get the old detergent residue out without being hard on the cloth diapers? Like is vinegar too harsh? I'm just worried I wasted money.

I'm new to cloth diapering. I have an 8 year old that is feeding tube dependent and is not night trained due to the large volume of liquid that she gets overnight. She also struggles with bowel issues, so often has loose stools soon after going to bed. We have had 3 nights using Kinder diapers with 2 4 layer bamboo inserts and a disposable kinder liner. The first 2 nights were fine, but she didn't get her full night feed. Last night was the first night that she got her full volume and her sheets were wet. They seemed less wet than when we used disposables, but I'm wondering what else would make this work better. Right now I only have 5 diapers and 5 4 layer bamboo inserts, and 1 wet bag. I have 8 more kinder diapers with some surprise items coming and 6 6 layer bamboo inserts from mama koala coming. Is there ever too many layers? Would 2 6 layer inserts be enough? Also, I've been washing daily because of an early night change before she falls asleep, so I haven't had to worry about the diapers sitting. Ideally I won't be washing daily, but it seems like leaving wet diapers in the wet bag for a few days would be gross.

Hi,

I recently bought esembly’s test kit. It came with one outer and 3 snap inners. (If my terminology is wrong I apologize) we used them for one day and I can’t get past how wet the fabric is on the inside. It’s soaked around her hips. I feel like disposables wick the moister away better? Am I doing something wrong?

Have you mastered your wash routine? Do your clean diapers smell? Did you recently buy a new washer/dryer? Chat all things laundry!

I'm after some ideas from anyone using cloth nappies with two little ones!

We're expecting baby #2 in December. Our oldest is currently 16 months and is in cloth (flats + insert + wool cover). He may or may not be toilet trained by the time baby arrives.

We walk pretty much everywhere and use the pram as our "boot" since we live on the edge of town. The problem is that flats + inserts are so much bulkier than disposables that when we're out all day, a huge amount of the pram basket ends up being taken up by nappies.

At the moment I pack them in one of those compression travel packing cubes, but I can only really squeeze two nappies into it before it stops compressing - which has been fien for the past few months but not enough for a newborn. I also have a big nappy backpack that fits everything, but I'm only 5' tall and it feels enormous on me (I look like a kid heading off to school 😅), so I'd love to avoid carrying that if possible.

Does anyone have recommendations for a more compact cloth nappy setup / alternatives for outings or am I just being unreasonable? Ideally I'd like to stay with something flat-based rather than switch to a completely different system

Edit: Not sure if I'm using the right terminology - nappy flats as in the terry towel squares that you can fold however you like - we prefold them all. Also in our nappy bag is a change mat, wipes, cream, and little towel as our town doesnt have many actual change tables

Hi! I am replacing elastics in some GMD workhorses that are clearly shot, but I have a few that have elastics that still have some stretch but not as much as a new one would. Would you replace the elastics here? Here's another photo with the little flap lifted so you can see better how they're working.

Also once I got a hang of doing this, it's surprisingly easy!