Cloth diapers with twins? Advice please.

[fryjack2]

I'm thinking of switching from Pampers to gdiapers or bumgenius. Mostly because I can't stand the way the diapers smell. Can anyone give some feedback on these questions:

-I dont want to spend a ton more time on laundry and stuffing diapers etc. How many hours a week do you?

-Is the washing and drying process really as tedious as I've been reading (in a thread from the archives). I wash everything in cold unless its gross and needs disinfecting, if that tells you how much I know about different cycles, etc. We have front loading HE Samsung w&d.

-If i go with gdiapers with the flushable insert, its just as pricey as disposables. Does the liner that collects poop work well?

-I read a thread from the archives that listed a bunch of MM Moms brand choice and it seems like bumgenius 4.0 is the favored brand. What do you not like about them?

-My boys are preemies, 8.5 months old, and weight less than 20 pounds each. Should I just wait until they are in a size large to buy some?

What else should I think about prior to switching? Thanks!

[Saudade]

I don't have twins. I also ruined my CD stash so I've been using disposable since October (sad).

I have BG Freetimes. I hate stuffing the 4.0s because I could never get it right with DS's huuuge butt. I sold the ones I had and bought more Freetimes.

I wash(ed) twice a week. Did a cold prewash. Then I did the regular wash with an extra rinse. I set the washer to hot/cold. I have no idea if any of this is right but it worked. I then hung the the diapers on an indoor drying rack. I washed at night and they were dry by mid-morning. NBD.

I am the laziest launderer ever and I really found the CD laundry to not bother me and not be a huge inconvenience.

gDiapers seem like a waste. I don't know the point of them. You're not saving money, you're not saving the environment? It also seems like more work.

[CloudBee]

Another popular brand are FuzziBunz. I have half BumGenius diapers and half FuzziBunz.

I've heard terrible things about the flushable GDiapers inserts. They easily clog toilets.

Have you looked at "Flips"? They are made by BumGenius, a bit less expensive, and you can splurge on disposable inserts if you want that option from time to time. With their reusable inserts, you can re-use the cover that the insert snaps in to. It doesn't have to be washed as often as the inserts. www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=13174164

[fryjack2]

I havent looked into Flips, but will add them to the list. Thanks!

[holly116]

I think your boys are at a great size for typical one size diapers. They'll most likely fit without having to snap down at all which helps cut down on bulk from folded over inserts.

I don't have twins, but I do have two in cloth. I do laundry with a cold rinse, warm soak, hot extra long wash, extra rinse about every other day with two dryer cycles and I'm also lazy. 99% of the time I'm stuffing a diaper right before I'm changing one and its NBD.

I did the trial with Jillian's Drawers when DD was almost a year old and I was pregnant with DS. I couldn't handle the smell of the diaper genie while pregnant. I ended up liking the Smartipants brand the best and surprisingly they were on the cheaper side. After trying lots of brands and overall getting suckered into deals etc, my everyday stash is just Smartipants with a thirties hemp doubler for daytime, and bum genius with both inserts and a joey bumz premium hemp doubler for overnight. I have 25 Smartipants and I think a dozen bum genius. I have a full wet bag far before I run out of diapers which helps with the laziness .

[Deleted]

erniebuffalo also cloth diapers twins. She's over on the April 2012 bmb here (the only bmb here that's active).

[justjen]

We also have BG Freetimes because we were too lazy to stuff They've been great so far, but she's only 4.5 months, so we don't have a *ton* of experience with them.

I would say we have one of the more complicated wash routines, since we can't add extra rinse cycles to a wash. Thus, we do a short wash, a long wash, another short wash, and an extra spin. Even with all that, the wash isn't bad at all -- all we have to do is remember to hit the button after one cycle ends. It's still just "dump diapers into washing machine, wash, hang to dry."

You can do it

[pugz]

yeah gdiapers are crap, cross them off the list.

I like our BG 4.0s however some kids react poorly to the suedecloth material. Some have it from day one, some don't develop it til later. So I don't recommend buying only that type of diaper.

I haven't tried fuzzibunz mostly because I've heard pretty lackluster things about them.

Our stash is a mix of pockets (BG 4.0s and blueberries), prefolds (greenmountaindiapers), and fitteds (goodmama, twinkietush). I like having a variety.

A diaper trial would be a good place for you to start! The laundry really is no big deal. I do laundry every 3rd day.

[Brie]

I spend maybe an hour a week stuffing diapers? We do laundry every other day.

Washing and drying is NBD. The hardest part is just figuring out what settings to use. It's just punching a different button for me. I have a front loader and I use the "Whitest Whites" cycle and push the "Auto Soak" option. Easy peasy.

Never tried gDiapers but also haven't heard great things.

BG4.0s are our favorites. We sold all our FuzziBunz and now have BGs and Rumparooz as our daycare diapers (we use fitteds at night, mostly because I like the cute factor). I honestly can't think of anything I don't like about them.

If you are looking for a super cheap option, I have one Kawaii diaper and really like it a lot, too. They're really cheap but very absorbent.

C has been wearing BG4.0s since he was probably 11 lbs. They fit him great.

[froggy76]

I love BG 4.0 and have de-stashed pretty much everything else. The only complication is that I bought hemp inserts to replace the inserts they came with, so that is an added expense.

Honestly, for twins, I would want to simplify as much as possible and stick to one type of diaper, at least during the day. If you do a diaper trial, you can see what all the different types are like and test them out on your twins. Then, you can decide what to buy.

The laundry is NBD. Spraying poop is gross, but otherwise I love CDing. I don't mind stuffing pockets, but others prefer to simplify even more by using AIOs. Keep in mind that you'll also need accessories like a diaper sprayer, wet bags, and cloth wipes (I highly recommend using cloth wipes if you CD.)

The Cloth Diapering board on The Bump is actually really helpful when you're getting started.

[pamela]

-I dont want to spend a ton more time on laundry and stuffing diapers etc. How many hours a week do you? At that stage I would wash 2x-3x a week. Depends on stash size, but enough to have a full load of diapers so they agitate against each other. Stuffing I do after DS has gone to bed.

-Is the washing and drying process really as tedious as I've been reading (in a thread from the archives). It's not tedious, but depending on your water, there could be some trial and error. My washer can be programmed with certain settings so I run a rinse cycle (10 mintues) then go back in and set the program I saved as a favorite, it runs then diapers are ready for dryer.

-If i go with gdiapers with the flushable insert, its just as pricey as disposables. Does the liner that collects poop work well? I haven't use disposible liners, but I've used fleece and it's hit or miss as to where they poop, what it's consistency is, etc as to how helpful it is. I would really advice against disposable inserts because you really aren't gaining anything over disposable diapers.

-I read a thread from the archives that listed a bunch of MM Moms brand choice and it seems like bumgenius 4.0 is the favored brand. What do you not like about them? GDiapers seem to have a funny fit on a lot of babies. BG seem to fit most pretty well after about 12lbs.

-My boys are preemies, 8.5 months old, and weight less than 20 pounds each. Should I just wait until they are in a size large to buy some? You should be good on one-size diapers at this point.

What else should I think about prior to switching? There is some trial and error, like just about anything baby related. What works for one baby, may not work for yours. Also one thing I've learned and had to teach day care is that you have to pay attention when putting on a CD and make sure it is tight. The chemical absorbancy in disposibles means they don't have to be on as tight to avoid leaks. With cloth, there has to be some pressure to get the pee to absorb through the part that touches the baby's skin to the absorbant pad.

[MadamePresident]

I use Flips. They have disposable inserts. Then they also come with they "stay dry" inserts which is the suede cloth and the organic cotton. I have 3 baskets. One for covers, one for stay dry inserts and one for the organic cotton inserts. When I change a diaper, I just grab a new insert and reuse the cover unless it gets dirty. No stuffing.

Laundry is wash once in cold (cold water saves money). Wash once in hot water with detergent (normal wash). Finally rinse again to make sure all the detergent is gone.

[everam01]

I CD our twins, starting from when they were a few weeks old.

Our stash consists of almost all BG 4.0s with some Kawaii Baby. All are one-size diapers and at 27 & 28 lbs they are fully unsnapped at the bottom and have a 3-snap gap at the closure.

I have about 25-30 diapers and wash daily with Nellie's detergent - a quick cold/cold wash without detergent, then a hot/cold with detergent and an extra rinse. I never hang dry and the diapers have held up.

I'm a plop & toilet-swisher so I can't give advice on liners. I use one occasionally if I need CD unfriendly diaper cream, but usually I just use a disposable instead in that situation.

The only negative is that sometimes the diapers repel, but that's just from use and I have to do an extra cleaning with a vinegar rinse. Also if you buy velcro diapers they start to pill over time and don't hold up. I ended up sending off the velcro BG to be converted to snaps instead.

[drloretta]

-Not much. I'd do a load every 2-3 days. Mostly pushing another button on the way to or from doing something else. Stuffing was done in a 5 minute session when everything was dry

-I never found washing or drying tedious. Cold rinse, no detergent. Hot wash/cold rinse cycle, detergent. Additional cold rinse. Some people throw everything in the dryer, I put anything with PUL on a line to dry

-Liners suck IMO

-I was fine with BG4.0s. But I've never tried anything more recent than that

-Why not just get one-sized CDs? They're big enough for that

I'd find out if you have hard water or any other issues that can make you more picky about detergents. And I'd look into buying used to save some cash