HELP

[ZgTxN808]

I am a first time father where my wife has two from a previous marriage. We are certain we want to use cloth diapers, but are not sure which style. She has not used cloth before and is as lost as I.
Any and every bit of information is welcome.
Mahalo

[wifey09]

My first recommendation to anyone starting out is to try a little bit of everything before buying a bunch of one kind! I like flats and covers for out because they hold anything. Fitteds without cover for home and pockets for dh! Read lots of threads on here you will learn as you read!

[TrennaII]

Well, the confusion starts here because my advice is the opposite ... we did much better having all one style, LOL! With lots of different styles it was hard for people who didn't change the baby very often, to figure out which diapers went on which way.

I'd highly recommend visiting www.Greenmountaindiapers.com. The blogs and all of us around here get extremely overwhelming with our opinions!

I also suggest thinking about which factors worry you the most. I was most afraid of diapers not fitting well, or for a long enough time, and I needed a small up front cost, and I needed them to wash well even in an apartment coin-op situation. So for me, flats were best. I then didn't experiment until later, when I'd gotten comfortable with my first system (and I always return to the flats, because everything else is harder to wash).

[DiannaVB]

Check out some youtube videos. I found the cloth diapering 101 videos really helpful when I was getting started figuring things out. Everyone seems to like something different.

[Pixi6s]

I think it is fine to settle on one type but it's probably best to try a few things before buying a full stash. Are you expecting or is you child already here? If you are just expecting it's a little tougher if you want to go full cloth from day 1 (because you don't have a chance to try a little of everything first). I also second searching on youtube. It's a great place to start to understand cloth diapers. Also see if there is a cloth diaper store in your area, sometimes they have classes and if not, they can show you the different styles and maybe even try them on a doll to get an idea what you will like.

You can do rentals at some places like kissed by the moon dot com. Other sites like jilliansdrawers.com offer cloth diaper trials where you can use the diapers for 3 weeks and return the ones you didn't like (or all of them) for most of your money back. Or you can keep them and continue on your cloth journey.

For first timers you may want to start with looking at pocket diapers or All-In-one / All-in-two diapers (AIO/AI2) they are generally the least intimidating. once you are comfortable researching those, you might find yourself branching out.

I cloth diapered my son from day one and didn't know anyone else who cloth diapered. I just researched alot. I bought several different types of diapers in newborn and small. I learned what was best for my family during this phase and for later phases bought what worked for us.

It can be alot to take in but this thread might be helpful once you start to get an understanding (eg might not want to read this first) http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/...d.php?t=581835

baby pics! http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/....php?t=1415976

[MothyrGrimm]

Congrats! This is where I first got my basic understanding: http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/newtocloth

There's a little drop down menu, and it covers a lot of info on types of diapers and such. YouTube is helpful too.

[jam's mum]

I wrote a 15 page booklet on Cloth Diapers 101 for a friend when I was bored last year. I can PM it to you if you want?

[vansen19]

some factors to consider when buying cloth diapers:

-who will be changing the most diapers, daycare, parents, nanny?
stay at home mom's/dad's can use their preferred diaper style but most daycare and nanny/baby sitters do best with all in one (AIO), all in two (AI2) and pocket diaper styles as they most resemble disposables, especially those with velcro closure. but it is good to have velcro and snap closure diapers at first, you might prefer one to another at different stages of babies growth.

-do you own a washer/dryer and can you hang dry cloth diapers?
in general, flats and prefolds traditionally machine wash and dry more easily. some wash/dry microfiber inserts just as easily. some prefer to hang their diapers to dry making it less wear on waterproof outer and elastic, for example AIOs and fitted diaper styles, even pocket diaper shells can be hung dried.

-baby sensitivity to different fabrics
if you use AIO/AI2/pockets, some babies need synthetic stay dry fabric (fleece or suede) between diaper and bum, some babies don't and do fine with natural fibers like cotton or bamboo prefolds and fitteds. some babies can't so synthetic at all, only natural fibers. if you use prefolds/flats/fitteds, some babies need breathable covers (wool, fleece) while some do just fine in regular PUL/TPU waterproof covers.

definitely spend time researching different styles and brands online, cloth diaper 101 stuff, check local craigslist for cloth diapers to see/buy inexpensively (always inspect and ask thorough questions before purchasing so you don't get faulty/overused diapers), that's how most newbies get started including myself. best!

[Saharan]

Do a diaper trial and see what you both like best.