I was asking questions over in the Diaper Chatter board but not getting the answers I was looking for. Figure I'll ask here too since honestly, I'd rather get all your advice first. I dont venture off the Thrifty boards much at all so I trust you ladies more anyways.
We plan to CD, but not right away. Since we dont own a washer and dryer and newborns wet so often we plan to wait until our son is out of size 1 diapers to CD full time. I do plan to CD part time in between to test it out, see what works for us, yadda yadda.
Anyways. So far I have 6 infant unbleached indians PFs, and 2 dozen Gerber PFs (shower gift, I'm gonna use them regardless) 3 covers: 1 small Thristies, 2 small Super Whisper Wraps, and 3 OS Wonder Wraps. I just placed an order over at Midwest Diapers for 1 dozen Premium unbleached indian PFs and 3 snappis. (They had the best price per dozen, on sale 20% off making them $17.60/dz) I also have one infant size BumGenius Bamboo fitted to try. Oh, I also have 1 OS pocket from clothdiaperwarehouse to try. We're trying everything! I do have a wet bag too.
But I'm really thinking PFs and covers are going to be the way to go.
Obviously I'm going to need more covers. Should I order more smalls, or just get mediums since we dont plan to CD full time until later? It says the smalls fit up to 15 lbs, or 2-12 months. If you used the smalls, how long did you actually use them? If the smalls are only going to fit a typical baby until 3 months, I'm just gonna skip them, CD part time until then and get all mediums. (I know, all babies are different.)
I just dont want to order smalls, use them for a month then have to try and unload them to afford mediums.
I plan on using Thristies for the most part. They seem to be well priced and I love the extra leg gussets, I think they'll be less likely to have blowouts. Cottonbabies has them for $11.25 each. Anyone know where I can get them cheaper other than buying used? (which I dont have an issue with.)
I'm also still looking for help washing. Since we have to pay $1 to wash and I have limited control. I can control load size (small, large) Rinse speed (fast, slow) and temp (cold/cold, warm/cold, hot/cold) (wash/rinse). How do I wash the PFs with those settings? How about drying? I dont plan to dry covers in the dryer, but should I dry the PFs on cool, warm, or hot? Is it smart of me to use vinegar in the rise cycle with PFs? I'm going to be using the A&H free and clear I got cheap at WAGS a few weeks ago to wash in until its gone. Half the normal amount. :thumbsup:
Washing at the laundomat costs more, $1.75 a load, and the cost to drive to my mothers (20 miles one way) really isnt worth the $1 it costs me to wash here.
I do plan on taking all my PFs over to her house to boil/wash prep though.
Also, wet pail vs dry pail in my situation?
Thanks mommas! Cookies to everyone who takes the time to read AND anwer my 532423432 questions! :goodvibes:
newfiemomma
01-10-2009, 06:02 AM
I'll try to answer most questions, lol. For Cding part time I'd say you are good to go. The Thirsties covers run big so you may find the small last longer than others. The med Thirsties covers are pretty big, but work great even if you have to tighten them to make them more snug. Its hard to say with an unborn baby what size covers to get. My 5 month 17lb chunker is into the med covers perfectly, but we will have to size up sooner rather than later because of her chubby thighs. If you have a skinny baby, small covers will last longer than the stated weight range. Prefolds are def the best way to go. They offer minimum investment and work great. You should also look into flats since they dry super fast.
The load size depends on the amount of diapers. If you only have small and large though, I'd choose large. Could you do a cold rinse then the hot/cold setting?? You need the hot to sanitize/fully clean the diapers but if you put the diapers straight into the hot water, any stains will set. I dry my pf's on hot. I never had to use vinegar, that's more for stripping the diapers (I think). I use Tide Free, so I'd say the A&H would work equally as well.
If you go with wet pail, you will need to spin them in the washer before washing, the dry pail will need to be rinsed in cold before washing. I choose dry because wet pails have a safety issue with small kids. I wash every 2-3 days and never have a stink issue. You could also get a pail powder to make sure there's no stinkies.
I hope this helps (and makes sense!) lol
Good luck!!:thumbsup:
lakemom
01-10-2009, 06:11 AM
I didn't start cd this one until she was 15 months so can't help on sizing but I'm sure plenty of mama's can.
The gerber pf's aren't the "greatest" but I have one acquaintance(from the breastfeeding group locally) that has used them on her kids along with good old fashioned gerber plastic pants and pins for years and she doesn't have any trouble with them.
With your washer choices, I would do a full wash on large (most water) cold/cold followed immediately by another wash on hot/cold with the rinse speed on fast (that will spin out the most water). For me, I would use bleach and detergent in the first wash and detergent alone in the second. You may have to experiment to find what works best for your little one (mine has extra sensitive skin, as does most of my family) in terms of soap/additives and rinsing. Dry the pf on hot...I find that I have to use hot and the longest setting on my dryer to get them completely dry. If paying for the dryer, you may want to just run them through once then line dry if they are still damp in the middle. In the warm months I exclusively line dry my pf's and covers.
beachmom
01-10-2009, 06:31 AM
With my kids, we got the most wear out of mediums...my youngest wore medium Thirsties covers from 3 months until 19 months. Monkey Toe Diapers is closing it's store so all their diapers are marked down...don't know what kind of selection she has left. I've only ever had 2 dozen prefolds and 4 covers...that got us through daytime diaper wearing and then at night we used pockets and had 4 of thoses. We wash every other day. You could always handwash covers in between if needed.
For washing...I just do a cold rinse then a hot wash/cold rinse with a small bit of detergent. I'd use a large load setting. Sometimes, I'll put some vinegar in a Downy Ball. As for drying, when I use the dryer I put it on high heat but mostly I line dry. I'd use a dry pail.:goodvibes:
myfrugalfunlife
01-10-2009, 07:02 AM
My son is almost 8 mos old and is small, around 13 lbs now and the Thirsties Small covers still fit him great-he started wearing them around 8 weeks old. I LOVE Thirsties covers and they're very cheap :goodvibes: We use Flats (can't get cheaper than that!) but for the first 8 weeks, I did have some nb gmd pre-folds I bought from fsot, that I used with thirsties xsmall covers-I probably broke even on what I would have spent on sposies so for the first few weeks, I think you can easily get away with sposies and then transition once your lo is out of the nb fit. The medium Thirsties covers are quite a bit bigger-my 2 yr old can still wear them! So I'd definitely get small to start with, at least in that brand. Sara
phridae
01-10-2009, 07:12 AM
Thanks so much! I think I'll go ahead and order another small Thristies and some mediums. I know I'll eventually need the mediums and I have the funds now... (sadly the monkey toes place doesnt have any mediums. Go figure!) I guess its going to be a wait and see with the smalls. If he gets to be 3 months and they're still fitting great with room to grow, I'll probably get a few more. So with the other small, and the covers I have I should be good to go.
I'll have to check the washer upstairs later to see what the temp. settings are. Different washer up there.
So I know flats are well...flats. Prefolds are basically folded flats, ya? How do you use a flat?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v707/Phridae/cookie.jpg for you mommas!
mom2piddle
01-10-2009, 07:22 AM
Here goes nothin'!
I'd say dry pail...If they sit and stay wet for awhile you may start to have smell issues unless you are planning on changing the water in the wet pail...just like washcloths left wet too long in the bathroom :yuck:
As far as covers go....Small thirsties covers only work for some LO's so you may want to try out the ones you have before you buy more of any size or buy 1 medium to compare, FSOT is probably the cheapest for used or try the Thirsties outlet for a deal. There is a big size difference between small thirsties and medium thirsties...and compare to one another it seems like the Bummis covers are inbetween sizes. So say small thirsties to med bummis cover (we use a superbrite) then Med thirsties cover...my LO is 13 mos old and still has room in the med Bummis superbrite. I *think* she would be swimming in a medium thirsties cover...she can still fit in a small BSWW with the right diaper underneath but because of the way the wings are in the small thirsties they put marks on her thighs
I would say wash on hot/cold (this is one of the few choices on my washer as well) and dry on hot for prefolds that way they will dry completely..you may have to use multiple dryer cycles on anything less then a hot dry...covers dry pretty quickly when hung to dry. It is ok to use vinegar on them. I would say if you have to pay to wash, invest in a downy ball if you don't have one that you can put the vinegar in so that it will open in the rinse cycle when needed...that way you won't have to worry about trying to catch it....I also wanted to say that you can prep the prefolds whereever you are doing laundry as well...The very first wash or 2 I would do them seperately. Then wash and dry with whatever regular laundry you are doing that day/week...Since they are brand new and clean...they won't hurt your other laundry...I prep them by themselves the first time and then with bath towels, the kids clothes, etc....I'd say all but jeans (they are too rough!)
AND if you have anymore questions pls feel free to ask in the back 2 basics thread :thumbsup: they are daily until the weekend and then there is one thread but the mama's over there are great at answering all questions (including sizing comparisons) and very welcoming even if you only own 1 prefold or none for that matter! I started with 2 (2 different sizes at that) and now that is a primary part of my stash!
mom2piddle
01-10-2009, 07:25 AM
Thanks so much! I think I'll go ahead and order another small Thristies and some mediums. I know I'll eventually need the mediums and I have the funds now... (sadly the monkey toes place doesnt have any mediums. Go figure!) I guess its going to be a wait and see with the smalls. If he gets to be 3 months and they're still fitting great with room to grow, I'll probably get a few more. So with the other small, and the covers I have I should be good to go.
I'll have to check the washer upstairs later to see what the temp. settings are. Different washer up there.
So I know flats are well...flats. Prefolds are basically folded flats, ya? How do you use a flat?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v707/Phridae/cookie.jpg for you mommas!
Flat are the equivalant to receiving blankets which you can actually use as flats...they are usually a one layer square around 27x27 (but there are other sizes) you fold them to the size you need...there are a bunch of different ways to fold them depending on the size of your baby and what works best for you....
momma.of5
01-10-2009, 07:33 AM
As far as your wet/dry pail I use a dry pail. I have a diaper spayer and spray all the poopies off before putting it in. I never have stains that way. And if there is a way you can put them in the sun that would help. I have heard of people putting them in the dashboard of their car to sun too. If you do rinse off the poopies good at home then I wouldn't do a first rinse (save money). I would do a hot/cold and then a cold rinse. I would be more worried about making sure you get all of the soap out than the stains. Also you want to use the most amount of water in the load, it helps rinse well.
We have a couple thirsties covers and the small still fits my 17 lb 4 month old. We also had some fleece covers(which is super cheap too) and proraps and he has outgrown the smalls. Actually my big boy outgrew them within a couple months. Good luck!
Fawn
01-10-2009, 07:45 AM
I'd skip flats, imo, too much work to fold :) Prefolds work great! My DD starting wearing unbleached regulars at about 3 mo and wears them still at 19 mo. We got them from a sweet WAHM on ebay-I think I got 2 doz and I remember it was the cheapest I had found at the time. I agree, Thirsty cover work great and are cheap :)
As for washing, you'll always want to wash diapers on your hottest/longest setting. Each washer and each detergent seems to be different, so be prepared for tweaking your regimen. We use Charlies soap and it seems to be ok. A dry pail should be ok if you plan on washing every 2 days, but I wouldn't wait longer. The only time I've heard of using wet pails is with folks who have a front loader.........since they don't use as much water, some people soak their dipes in some Oxyclean beforehand to prevent stink issues. If you're using regular washers, I doubt that will be much of a problem, unless the Arm & Hammer causes a build-up.
I dry my covers on a drying rack. The dipes I dry in the dryer on a hot long cycle. Drying them on the rack makes them crunchy feeling, although I know some people will dry them for maybe 10-15 min in the dryer first, then hang them up and they're not "crunchy". We also use wool covers here (love em!) and so on the top of the drying rack I have a sweater rack for drying my wool items. Have you thought about making some of your own wool.fleece covers? It's really not hard if you have a sewing machine or know someone who does :)
Good Luck!
phridae
01-10-2009, 08:24 AM
As far as your wet/dry pail I use a dry pail. I have a diaper spayer and spray all the poopies off before putting it in. I never have stains that way. And if there is a way you can put them in the sun that would help. I have heard of people putting them in the dashboard of their car to sun too. If you do rinse off the poopies good at home then I wouldn't do a first rinse (save money). I would do a hot/cold and then a cold rinse. I would be more worried about making sure you get all of the soap out than the stains. Also you want to use the most amount of water in the load, it helps rinse well.
We have a couple thirsties covers and the small still fits my 17 lb 4 month old. We also had some fleece covers(which is super cheap too) and proraps and he has outgrown the smalls. Actually my big boy outgrew them within a couple months. Good luck!
Wont washing on Hot set the stains if there are any?
Sadly I don't have the option of adding another rise cycle to my washer.
I'm going to order more smalls, and some mediums. I know I'll need the mediums at some point.
kocho
01-10-2009, 08:48 AM
In your situation I would look into that little pressure washer thing I've seen people use on here. You can wash a few diapers at a time real quick without regular washer hook-ups. I'll try to find the link, but they were under $50 I think.
kocho
01-10-2009, 08:49 AM
http://www.laundry-alternative.com/washing.htm
princesshannon
01-10-2009, 08:56 AM
I agree with pps! Dry pail it, stick with pfs, vinegar in the second wash/rinse cycle, you may can get away with even less detergent depending on your water. we have super soft water and i use 1 Tbsp. of detergent per load.
as far as covers go...that is such a depends on your baby question! BUT you can get prorap seconds really cheap from this number...1/800-397-8594!
Good luck mama!
phridae
01-10-2009, 09:02 AM
http://www.laundry-alternative.com/washing.htm
Hmmm, seems pretty easy. I would probably have to rinse things more than once, just to be sure though.
thirdtimemomma
01-10-2009, 09:34 AM
I purposefully didnt read everyones responses so Im sorry if there is a repeat in here.. But...
If you have the Wonderworks OS why not just rely on them? Bummis smalls last a long time as Im sure thirsty's do as well. But the OS would do it:thumbsup: Also consider using pins and Dappi Nylon pull ons. They are super cheap and if you buy smalls or even newborns it wouldnt be like you were throwing out $$ if they didnt last long.. KWIM?
And gerber PF arent as bad as pp say. They are doable. I used them on my two oldest at home with out much issue. I just used two trifolded in a cover for older babies. :)
Dont know anything about laundry mats but I do know that when you baby starts solids you'll want to rinse you diapers well before adding them to a dry pail. If you rinse every diaper you eliminate the need for the prerinse cycle which will save you laundry mat $$. :)
Good luck to you! and join us on the Back to BAsics or B2B thread. Lots of great frugal simple stash Mama's on there!
BNC
01-10-2009, 09:38 AM
You can get cheaper thirsties covers at their outlet on HC. They are $9 each there for version 1 (which I have always used and like) and they have their fitteds too.
DD was out of smalls by 3 months. I would go to mediums.
BNC
01-10-2009, 09:38 AM
ETA: here is the link (http://hyenacart.com/thirstiesoutlet/) to the outlet
momma.of5
01-10-2009, 09:41 AM
Wont washing on Hot set the stains if there are any?
Sadly I don't have the option of adding another rise cycle to my washer.
I'm going to order more smalls, and some mediums. I know I'll need the mediums at some point.
You know with my diaper sprayer I hardly ever have poop that will not come off with that. We did have a few when ds was first born that was more watery(had forumla issues) but never had any stains. The ONLY time I do a first rinse is if I have that type of poopy diaper. Also, you would seriously be amazed at what the sun can do for stains. I didn't believe it until I tried it. More severe stains take several times out in the sun but you can always tell how faded they are.
wimama
01-10-2009, 10:03 AM
I think you stash looks pretty good. The gerber prefolds should be fine. You might want to add a doubler if they are getting to too soaked. A cheapy washcloth or cloth wipe should do the trick initially and you can use the infant prefolds as doublers in the premium prefolds. You will probably need a doubler for night diapers.
If I was washing at a laundramat or apartment building washer, I would stay away from fitted and AIO with internal soakers. I would stick with prefolds or flats. They will wash up easier and more thoroughly.
If you can find any performance fleece pants at Old Navy they make cheap and easy fleece longies and would probably be on clearance now. Just, another option instead of all PUL covers.
phridae
01-10-2009, 10:16 AM
ETA: here is the link (http://hyenacart.com/thirstiesoutlet/) to the outlet
Whats the difference between V1 and V2?
I think you stash looks pretty good. The gerber prefolds should be fine. You might want to add a doubler if they are getting to too soaked. A cheapy washcloth or cloth wipe should do the trick initially and you can use the infant prefolds as doublers in the premium prefolds. You will probably need a doubler for night diapers.
If I was washing at a laundramat or apartment building washer, I would stay away from fitted and AIO with internal soakers. I would stick with prefolds or flats. They will wash up easier and more thoroughly.
If you can find any performance fleece pants at Old Navy they make cheap and easy fleece longies and would probably be on clearance now. Just, another option instead of all PUL covers.
I'm gonna try and stay away from fleece and wool for now. I wont lie, I dont understand how it stays dry. I'm much more comfortable with the PUL covers. Plus I dont want to scare DH. He's never even held a baby and the fact that he's on board with CDing at all is a miracle. I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible.
I only have the one fitted. I bought it on a whim because it was a seconds.
ctj101502
01-10-2009, 10:24 AM
ok so I have no idea how to change the temp settings for rinses, do you wait and know when the rinse cycle is then switch the temp? I had no idea that the hot would set in stains, that would explain my use green edged infant prefolds that were in perfet condition are not full of stains. I breast feed and thought that it was what I was eating causign the poo to stain but now I know..BLAH!
susansabrina
01-10-2009, 10:47 AM
You can get prowrap covers and PFs as seconds by calling (360) 699-5403 (in Washington State) or (800) 397-8594. I get all of my covers this way. They are less than half price and I can't tell why they were seconds except for one out of the many I bought had a pen mark on the front. The pen mark even washed out. LOL Prowrap covers and Bummi Super Whisper pants are my favorite coversto use. If you buy the prowraps as seconds though they are actually cheeper than the Bummi pants. :thumbsup:
As for laundering you can wash your covers by hand and hang dry at home. If you are just washing diapers I would wash on hot with a warm rinse. If you are using covers, esp Bummi Super Whisper pants made of nylon, only use warm wash and rise. I would dry pail because wet pailing wears out the fibers of your diapers faster and you would need to spin them out prior to transporting or washing them. I have tried this and I usually ended up getting nasty dirty diaper water all over not to mention having to haul a super heavy diaper bucket around. You can save money by taking wet diapers home and hanging them to dry.
When I dry inside (even outside or the garage) I take a wire mesh baby gate (like the pressure mount ones at Walmart) and put it over the back of 2 chairs. I hang from the mesh squares with clothes pins. I added extra support to the mesh by putting a couple zip wire ties in the middle of each side of the gate. It is very sturdy, I can get a full load of diapers on it easily, its convenient to store, and you can still use it for a gate if you want.
armywife2002
01-10-2009, 11:06 AM
my 15 month old can still wear infant prefolds. the premiums swim on him, i dont think he'll ever fit in them. i actually sold the ones i bought while i was pregnant. GMD reds fit him well with room to grow right now, and they have that size as seconds at little lions... or they did last time i checked. hes got tons of room in medium bummis, we've never used thirsties. he outgrew the small bummis at around a year.
oh, hes probably about 22 pounds right now
when i had to use a laundramat when our washer died when he was a newborn, and again when we moved, i would wait til i was at the very last of my stash then go use one of the supersized washers. hot wash/cold rinse. i rinsed the poop out really well before i put it in my dry pail. if i had to use a laundramat all the time, i wouldnt wait so long. i could go nearly a week without washing, and sometimes i ended up with 2 washers full, but i HATED taking the baby with me. as a newborn it was easy, he mostly just slept, but he was about 8 months when we moved, we were washerles for about 3 weeks, and it was awful trying to keep him occupied and off of the nasty floor there
DivineNature
01-10-2009, 11:59 AM
I agree you can get Thirsties cheaper! They even go on sale every year for about $8-9 each.
We loved Thirsties until they stopped working for us during size medium. My lo is thin with skinny legs and the top part would fold in to the dipe causing wicking. So, I don't know if I would stock up. However, they have good resell so you'd be fine if you get them cheap.
Oh, and I used Gerber everything with my oldest child. It wasn't as fun as all the fluff now. And I like my chinese prefolds much better (especially the different size options). BUT it worked and I did it for 2 years. I used Gerber plastic pants over fitteds with my middle child, too.
You might also want to look at kellyscloset.com in the clearance section for Mommy's Touch OS covers. I have one of those and I think they would probably last longer than the Wonderwraps OS. I haven't tried them on an infant, but it might be worth trying at that price.
