Cloth Diapering..

[mom2threeblessings]

Ok, ladies another question here.. I hope this is the right spot to post it.. Did or do any of you use cloth diapers, and if so, can you give me some hints, tips, and tricks, for keeping them clean, unstained, and not smelling up the house.. I have purchased a few here and there made by other moms at home and have a pattern or two coming so that I can look into sewing some of my own fitted ones before the baby comes in late July early August.. I have never used cloth diapers, well I have on other peoples children but not my own.. SO with baby 4 on the way, and needing to save as much money as possible, I am going to give it a go.. since my youngest now will be 4 and of course long out of diapers, I figure it wouldn't be to hard with only one in diapers and the other old enough to help out

I appreciate any tips, hints, ideas, on diapering, what kinds work best (not the $10+ each ones though) patterns, getting stains out.. smells, etc.. you know anything to do with cloth diapering.. even if it seems like something common sense..

Thanks a bunch
In Christ's Love,
Heather

[benshelpmeet]

Dearest Heather,

I'm so glad to see you! I hope you are feeling well and your pregnancy is going well. My pregnancy's are always very hard on me but what a joy the reward is, to hold my precious baby in my arms and look upon it's tiny little face. Words cannot express the emotion. It's worth it all! I praise the Lord for his abundant goodness to get me through rough pregnancies and then reward me with a gift, that I can turn around and raise for Him. What a joy! What a commitment, a challenge, worth it all! Children help us to grow spiritually, and emotionally. The very child you nurture and raise, take care of, meeting their every need, grows up and becomes your friend. I am experiencing that with my 19, 14, and 12 year old. Benjamin my oldest is a dear friend to me.

Here is a conversation we had a while back, I think it will be helpful and answer your diapering questions.

coveredbaptists.proboards31.com/index.cgi?board=comments&action=display&thread=1133294710

Have a great Day! Love, ~ sister Darlene ~

[mom2threeblessings]

Thank you Sister Darlene! I looked through some of the archived posts but just never found it.. LOL anyway.. Pregnancy is going great.. I am a little tired off and on, but that is not near as bad as it was in the begining.. it is always hard on me in the beginning simply because I want to sleep, 24/7. I do not have morning sickness or any other complications.. so I am good to go.. I have to say I PRAISE GOD that HE blessed me with easy pregnancies, or else I am not sure how many times I would do it.. oh yes I do, as many as HE would let me.. My family keeps telling me that the labor part should stop me wanting more, since I go all natural with midwives and it does hurt oh so badly, and I try to quit about half way through transition.. but you know, I forget all that the minute they lay my baby on my chest.. ;D.

Thanks for the link, I will check it out..

By the way, I received the Round Robin Letter yesterday evening and placed it in the mail this morning with my letter..

In Christ's Love,
Heather

[benshelpmeet]

I'm glad to hear your doing well!

My labor seems to slow down and even stop right in the middle of transition, but thats how my body works...after 8 babies I've found that is normal for me. My labors are very painful too. But well worth it. We believe in home birth too. We have had 5 in the hospital and 3 at home. Home is best. Rarely do people ''need'' to go to a hospital. I think people like the security of a hospital and a doctors care. I'm the oppisite...hospitols are bound by policies and rules that dictate how one births their baby and what they do and cant do during labor and a doctor is not free either and they do things I totally disagree with and pressure the patient to comply. Yuck! I enjoy the relaxed atmosphere at home in my bed, I totally trust the council of the good mid wives I choose. They are better than a doctor and know much more about birth than a doctor does at least most doctors. The mid wife stays by your side from start to finish and uses herbs instead of synthetic meds to help and heal. They are more in tune with your body and your health needs during your pregnancy. They become your friend. An oh the helpful advice they give...Mid wives are a blessing to the yielded womb. amen!

Thank you for quickly sending out the Round Robin to the next person. I had it longer than normal we had to make some changes and add new people and we had your dress written down wrong! Penny caught me the day I had sent it to work with Bro. Ben to mail, I called him via the cell phone and he was able to change it before he mailed it. I can't wait until it comes back around...I love hearing from you ladies, it blesses my heart. When we get to heaven it will be wonderful! We will spend all eternity together, how sweet that will be.

Blessings on your day sister!

Love, ~ sister Darlene ~

[benshelpmeet]

Dear sister Heather,

I hope this is helpful!


coveredbaptists.proboards31.com/index.cgi?board=sisters&action=display&thread=1146508275


Love, ~ sister Darlene ~

[christena]

Well, I thought I'd pipe up here so to offer some encouragemnt.

I know cloth diapering can be overwhelming! I have alternated these last several years myself and learned quite a lot and often the hard way. LOL. May I suggest you browse the websites for cloth diapering ? They often have valuable information on care and use and that varys with different cloth systems.

One of the cheapest/affordable is the ole fashioned system of prefold/pin/cover. You can get a couple dozen dipes( I suggest chineese diaper service quality prefolds) and a few covers to start with and then figure out what meathod you are inclined to use in your home.

Try this site...I've always recieved excellent customer service and she carrys quite a lot and btw has layaway if needed. www.naturalbabies.com

If you only knew what I *thought* I knew in the beginning and how many mistakes I made you'd laugh yourself silly! ;D

Blessings,
Christena

[Donna]

If using the chinese prefold diapers you may want to check into getting Snappi fasteners. They are a bit pricey, but last 6mos or longer. They are a rubber t-shaped gadget with gripper teeth on the three ends. They are used to hold the diaper on and when in use resemble the letter Y. The price is approximately 2.50-3.00 per Snappi. They are available in 2 or 3 packs for a bit of a savings. They are much faster than the standard diaper pins -- especially when diapering a squirming little one. As far as keeping the diapers white.... Bleach can weaken the fabric if used a lot. I found that the sun does a marvelous job of bleaching out the stains. I always did a cold water rinse before washing in hot water with minimal detergent (about 1 1/2 TBS liquid detergent - the least expensive I could find without any brighteners, softeners etc) per large wash load. I also did an extra rinse cycle to insure that all the soap was out. It is amazing how much detergent the manufacturers will tell you that you need to use....Just isn't true! Even with your everyday wash loads, use 1/2 the recommended amounts.

Hope this info helps
Donna

[benshelpmeet]

I wish they had those clips when I used cloth diapers. If the Lord ever gives us more children I'd like to use cloth diapers again.

~sister Darlene ~

[christena]

Sisters,
I hope you've been able to browse around and see all the cloth options by now?

I think my favorites would be fuzzi bunz's, kissaluvs, and motherease.

I use the xxl fuzzi bunz for my bedwetters here and they are a huge savings and are very nice. I know a lady with whom blesses me with wholesale prices on these usualy pricy diapers.

I never cared for those snappis btw...they are very sharp and it takes a bit to get used to using them... and if not put on just so they can be harmful.

Pins were much easier and more affordable to use and the pins have the safty covers.

I"m sure each of us has had different approahces though but for anyone startign out I wanted to voice my concern with the snappies and share my experiences in the hopes it helps.

Love and Blessings,

Christena

[jka]

Well I will definetly use cloth ones and we are praying about having a baby. Actually we are kinda hoping that is the reason why I feel so sick haha. But at any rate although I was raised in a real liberal home, my father said that using disposable nappies (diapers sorry I still cannot say that word it is unnatural to me LOL) was just laziness and that cloth were so much cheaper and healthier for the baby.

Katy-Anne