Reddit reviews [Original 5-pack] Snappi Cloth Diaper Fasteners - Replaces Diaper Pins - Use with Cloth Prefolds and Cloth Flats

So first off, ignore the "good for the environment" arguments. They've been mostly debunked.

My wife and I switched to cloth diapers because they're cheaper. There's an initial buy-in, but that should be enough to last you a while. We even travel with cloth diapers, we just have a small wet bag in our diaper bag (instead of plastic bags) and a large one at home.

Changing diapers isn't too much more difficult with cloth diapers than disposables. Laundry has become pretty frequent, but with babies that's going to happen anyway. We do a load of diapers every 2 to 3 days, pre-rinsing in cold water, washing hot, using Rockin' Green as detergent. No folding, it all just gets dumped into a bin next to the changing table.

As for the diapers themselves, we've been using Bummis pre-folds with various brands of diaper covers, but we plan on switching to BumGenius when our son is big enough to fit them (his legs are too skinny). No safety pins either, we use Snappis.

As for the kid's reaction, as soon as we switched to cloth, his diaper rash went away. There have been a few leg leaks, but my son has chicken-wing-skinny legs so there's not much we can do about that (every brand of disposables we tried leaked as well).

One piece of advice before you decide: if you already have daycare lined up (if daycare is even a thing for your family) check to see whether they're ok with cloth diapers. Some will only deal with disposables, for obvious reasons.

Hi! So I was in the same pickle as you, really wanted to do cloth but with the washer/dryer situation I was worried it would end up costing us even more. So I investigating the most effective way to hand wash. I use a mobile hand washer with prefold diapers. The AIOs will not work with my method for several reasons but I don't like AIOs anyways, namely because you have to wash both parts every single time you use them. Prefolds + cover, you can reuse the covers a few times before washing. Plus, prefolds are much cheaper, softer, and I think the sizing lasts longer. You can also fold them many different ways to find the best (read: cleanest) fit because every baby is different!

I have 27 prefolds and 7 covers, I believe. This is just enough so that I don't completely run out of diapers by the time the clean ones finish drying on the rack, if I'm leaving the washing til the last minute (usually like every 1.5 - 2 days, but it's better to wash them every day). It takes 10 minutes of plunging in a 5-gallon bucket and maybe another 5-10 minutes of wringing out with cold water. I find it to be kind of meditative and if you get into the plunging it is a good work out, too.

After I bought the plunger I realized I'd need a better detergent solution, too, because I need roughly a cap's worth of detergent each time I do this, which is at least 5 times/week, plus our regular laundry. This is another reason AIOs won't work. The laundry soap I made contains Borax, which will mess with the elasticity of the diapers (the prefold covers, too, but that's okay because I usually just wash those with a bar of laundry soap, Felsnaptha, soak in cold, and throw them in the dryer during our weekly/ twice weekly wash of clothes). Very very cheap to make, 20 cents/gallon.

Oh yeah, and I just throw the prefold diapers in the washer & dryer with the rest of the laundry whenever we do that, whether or not they're dirty (actually, if they're dirty, I still give them a quick wash/rinse anyway, I don't want them yucking up our clothes). They take up almost no room and it keeps them softer.

Washer
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003SQ7I5S/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Diapers:
4 packs of these -
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003AJXY1U/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i07?ie=UTF8&psc=1
1 of these (super deluxe, was a gift, sooooo soft) -
http://www.amazon.com/BabyKicks-Pack-Prefold-Diaper-Small/dp/B001NAAQPU/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1376071041&sr=1-1&keywords=baby+kicks+diapers
7 of these -
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003AJXY1U/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i07?ie=UTF8&psc=1
1 pack snappis
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004YWKWJO/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Detergent recipe - http://theurbanfarmingguys.com/diy-laundry-soap-20-cents-a-gallon
Products -
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000R4LONQ/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0029XNTEU/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0063KXEIG/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I was gifted a bunch of pocket diapers and all in ones from my registry when I had a shower, but when it came time to actually diaper a newborn, they looked HUGE and uncomfortable.

I also didn't start cloth diapering until baby was a month old. That was just for my sanity.

I ordered a bunch of wraps and used store-bought Gerber diapers with a Snappi fastener. It took a few tries to figure out what folds worked best when she was bigger, but for the first few weeks I just folded the diaper in thirds and put it in the wrap.

Once baby was bigger and ready for daycare, I switched to the all in ones and I haven't looked back.

I have 15 diapers total now that I cycle through and that works for us (3-4 diapers used a day, washing every 2-3 days). I also use disposables at night or when traveling.

I think some of this depends on your situation...are you cramped for space, low on cash, looking for ways to keep your life as uncluttered as possible?

That's kind of my wheelhouse. So from that perspective:

• Good convertible carseat. The bucket seats (the ones with the click-off base and carry handle) have to be upgraded at a certain point. I lucked out with my first kid. She was almost 2 before she hit 20 pounds. But My 3rd kid outgrew it at like 6 months. Lesson learned, just use the convertible. It reclines more for an infant and then stays rear-facing usually up to about 30-40 pounds (when your child is about 3 years old - the new recommendation for turning them forward facing). The cost of two seats is worth it if you have 2 vehicles and will regularly be trading off driving duties (like one spouse dropping at daycare, and the other spouse picking up). It's smarter to do two seats - so that you don't risk installing the seat incorrectly b/c of the constant shuffling.
  
  
• Sleeping space: The most basic IKEA crib is perfect. It's cheap, easy to move, a mattress can be raised and lowered, and it's fairly small, so might fit through doorways. Baby has no idea how much her crib costs. Room sharing is much easier this way, too (for parents not interested in bed sharing).
  
  
• The most basic style of flannel receiving blankets. Mostly b/c these can double as many other things. Obviously, you have traditional uses like swaddling and keeping baby warm. But I have used them as: barrier between baby and floor for diaper changes, or the grocery cart, an emergency diaper, emergency towel, emergency 'soak up whatever that gross liquid is', burp rags, nursing cover, I've soaked them in water to help cool baby down on a hot day or during a fever. (And maybe less important, but a good old fashioned style baby pin or new fashioned style pin - in case you do need to wrap up an emergency diaper...You might never need it, but I've used pins for plenty of things that aren't diapers, too.)
  
  
• All the onesies. Don't go crazy with cute outfits. There will be plenty of time for them, but when they're really small - onesies are easy to carry, easier to wash, and easier to keep track of. And when they inevitably get destroyed b/c babies are disgusting you won't feel bad leaving it in the garbage can of the Target bathroom. Get socks. And I also like the footie and footless "body suit" onesies...also called creepers, sometimes? They're just an easy all in one piece of clothing.
  
  
• Even if you're not sure about the specifics, a pack of pacifiers, a pack of bottles and a basic handheld breastpump. I know a lot of insurers started doing the bigger electric pumps, but it's a hassle if it's not something you're definitely using...and hard to pass on (creating waste) once you've used it. The manual is good for helping to pump the non-feeding breast, or just to relieve basic engorgement (this was my primary use for my last baby) or a single skipped feeding. It's also good for stimulating to help the milk come down if you're not sure if baby is triggering the letdown reflex.
  
  
• Don't buy a ton of tiny newborn diapers. Sizes 2 & 3 tend to be the more common long-term use. So if you're going to stock up on a size - do the larger ones.
  
  
• A basic carrier. Even for a newborn, this helps to be hands free. And it's pretty easy to use without help. You can find these used online or baby consignment shops if you don't want to pay full price. And if you decide you want a more expensive variety, you at least have an idea of what other features you'd wish you had or would be nice in a carrier if you have some experience with one.
  
  
• Hold off on buying a stroller...they're not that easy to use, and if you aren't going to be walking long distances on smooth pavement, they aren't ideal. You can't really use them at the grocery store, they're too big for restaurants. The carrier ends up doing some of this work for you.
  
  
• Thermometer, gas drops, diaper cream (like desitin), olive oil for skin care.
  
  Those are my go-to basics.

I currently have a 14 month old. & we have been using either of these for overnights since about 4 months old.

We use either the clotheez fitted workhorse diapers or the sustainablebabyish overnight diapers

Both with a cover of some kind (we love thristies or rumparooz covers). The workhorse diapers usually come with snaps. But we have a few without & just use snappi’s with them.

The work horse diapers work great for us. But if I know he has had extra water during the day or he nursed a ton he will absolutely get a sustainablebabyish diaper. They are a little more bulkier. The sustainablebabyish diapers also have multiple options as to stuffing with so you can add or take away bulk as needed.


Just for reference during the day we do pockets.

Hooray! I love cloth diapers. So this is my opinion/advice:

Newborn (up to 10-12 lbs): Save money, go basic. Get like 30 prefolds newborn to small size, I liked bamboo because they were super soft and stretched a bit, but 100% cottons good too. Then 4 covers, my favorite is Mini Blueberry cover. Plus a few snappies. This will get you through the first 1-3 months depending on baby's birth size.

From there: I love Bumgenius. They work, they wash nicely, and my daughter likes them (she's 2 and actually tells me). I think 12-15 can get through a day or two of diapers, so that's laundry every day to day and a half. I love freetimes and would do the bulk of these diapers as those, plus 2-3 pocket diapers with some medium sized prefolds. The pockets are nice because when baby starts sleeping longer at night (still peeing a lot) the extra layers is necessary.

Other things: Cloth diaper friendly butt paste (I use CJs butter, fine for little dryness, if you have a bad rash on your hands, get serious with hardcore stuff and just use disposable diapers) a bajillion little wash cloths, and two bags to collect dirty diapers in (2 because one will be in the wash/dryer for 3 hours each day), plus a little waterproof bag with a zipper for when you're out of the house.

That's all I can think of - let me know if you have any specific questions!

We used cloth diapers and if you get the snappi things using cloth is easier than using pull-up disposables.
We'd still use some disposables when we went out here and there, but instead of using thousands of them we used dozens.

Flour Sack Towels x3 = $60

snappis x1 = $15

Dappi Plastic Pants x 3 = $15

For under $100, a full stash that will last you quite some time, washing every other day. You'll only need to replace the covers, which are sized. You can always get nicer covers the next time around, since you'll have the extra money you are saving from sposies.

https://www.amazon.com/Original-5-pack-Snappi-Diaper-Fasteners/dp/B004YWKWJO