Here are some of the more common abbreviations:
DSQ: Diaper Service Quality (usually in reference to prefold diapers)
AIO: All-In-One (a diaper that has the waterproof cover attached; most like a "disposable" diaper)
ME or M-E: Mother-Ease (a diaper company/brand)
Pop: Popolino/one-size diaper (made by ME)
Sandy: Sandy/two-size/three-size diaper (also made by ME)
Dipe: short for Diaper
dd: disposable diaper (not to be confused with DD: Darling Daughter)
A&H: Arm & Hammer (brand of detergent and washing soda)
Dr. B's: Doctor Bronner's Castille Soap
NB: new born
Here are some more general abbreviations you might see:
nak: nursing at keyboard
LOL: laughing out loud
Bf: breast-fed or breast-feeding
BB: bulletin board
And here are some links to abbreviation sites:
Besides Diapers and Covers, there are a number of Diapering Accessories you may find useful:
Diapers: This depends on how often you want to do diaper laundry. A newborn can go through 8-12 diapers/day. As children get older, they may need fewer diaper changes but will need more absorbency. You may end up needing to double diaper later, depending on what type of diaper you use. 2-4 dozen diapers per child should work, but I personally prefer 3-4 dozen.
Covers: Well, I once got by with 4 covers. It's much easier to have 6-8 covers in each size, though. They don't need to be washed after every use. You can rotate them and let them air out between changes. Sometimes, rinsing them between uses and air drying works well- depending on the type of cover, it could be dry and ready to use by the next diaper change.
As a general rule, any diaper (cloth or disposable) should be changed about every 2 hours, or better yet, whenever it's wet. A soiled diaper should be changed ASAP.
There are many other sites out there that can give you hard data on the environmental impact of Disposable vs. Cloth diapers. There are some listed in the Diapering Resources/Links page under Cloth Diapering Articles, Books, and Informational Sites. There are quite a few conflicting reports out there. I personally feel that the environment benefits from reducing unnecessary garbage. Plastic-wrapped bundles of chemicals saturated in human waste sitting in a landfill is not my idea of environmental friendliness. Cloth diapers have their drawbacks as well, but fewer, I feel, than "disposable" diapers.
There are also conficting reports on the health benefits/drawbacks of Cloth vs. Disposable diapers. Some say cloth diapers increase the incidence of diaper rash, others say just the opposite. I can tell you that in my personal experience, my kids have had practically no rashes in cloth. (There was a time when my older daughter was in disposables...ick...and to be fair, she didn't have many rashes in those, either.) However, I know that skin needs to breathe to be healthy, which is why I wear cotton undergarments myself. I would want nothing less for my kids. There are also a number of children who are allergic to the materials used in disposable diapers. And, most alarmingly, the absorbent gels used in disposable diapers today have had no long term studies done to verify their safety (that I can find, anyway). Take a look at the article links on the Diapering Resources/Links page to help form your own conclusion.
I really do have something to say here- I just need to do a little more research first!
Okay, have you ever needed to change a diaper in the
middle of the night, reached over for the bag of
disposables, and
Or, how about when you finally make it to the grocery
store, the cart is full of food, the bottom rack of
the cart is loaded down with that big bag of dog food
(or there isn't a bottom rack at all!) and there is
just no place to put that big bag of disp. diapers!
Well, those things have happened to me when we used
disp. diapers. It's a pain. Plus, there is the diaper
garbage to worry about. The darn genie is filled up
again, and you have to take it apart, lug the diapers
out to the garbage pail, and put the genie back
together again. This happens *at least* every 2 days!
I have found it so much easier to just wash diapers
myself. I can wash them whenever I want! I don't have
to wait a whole week for the diaper service to pick
them up, either (or remember to put the dirty diapers
out for them to pick up in the first place). Not to bad mouth
diaper services- they can be lifesavers. I just find it
more convenient to wash my own diapers myself.
I can do a ton of other things around the house while
the machine washes the diapers. It hardly takes any
time at all once it's been worked into the weekly
routine. Diaper laundry is like towel laundry- easy.
This is how I make my wipe solution: I take an old disp.
wipes container (like chubs)and fill it about 1/4 -1/2
full with water that has been both filtered and previously
boiled. (not boiling at the time it gets put into the
container. LOL!) I add about 7 drops of Dr Bronners
Castille Soap, and a teaspoon of baby oil. Then I put
about 15 or so cloth wipes into the container, and let
the solution saturate them. The wipes usually get used
up by the time it's time to wash the diapers in a
couple days. I've heard that if you put too many wipes
in at once, and they stay in the solution for too long,
they may mildew. There are some antifungal wipes
recipes in the links below to avoid this.
Links To Wipe Solution Recipes
Baby Lane Wipe Solution Recipes (scroll down to bottom of page)
Stony Mountain Botanicals
Little Bundles Baby Bum & Body Cleanser
