Cloth Diapers – I Have Questions
Calling all cloth diapering Mommies! I’m toying with the idea of cloth diapering and I’msearching for brutal honesty on the subject. I am in deep need of your cloth diapering insights, wisdom, expertise, opinions, judgments, and so forth.
I had a cloth diapered tush when I was a wee one. My Mom made the decision based on economics. At the time, she didn’t have money to buy diapers every week so she bought some of the old fashioned fold and pin diapers, and slapped them on my bottom. It saved her a ton of money and she said I never had a diaper rash once she made the switch. Evidently, she wasn’t incredibly impressed by the experience because she went back to disposables for little brothers.
When we had Moanna, we talked about cloth diapering. We wanted to save money, and we didn’t feel good about filling the local landfill with all of that extra garbage. At the time we had no idea that it was such a trendy thing to do; it was simply something we were interested in based on our beliefs. Ultimately, we ended up going the disposable route with Moanna. We were new to this whole parenting thing, and we were among the very first of our friends to have kids so we didn’t have other parents to talk to about their experiences in the cloth diapering world. Plus, we lived with my family at the time which meant a household of seven. The idea of adding more laundry to the mix made things feel even more crowded than necessary.
Here we are again. Baby number two, Deuce, is about to join our family and we’re sitting on the cloth diaper fence again. This time, I’m more into the idea of clothing it up than Steve is. Last time, Steve was all about saving the planet, but now that he knows all that goes into baby raisin’ he’s less enthusiastic about the whole ordeal. Still open, just less excited.
While we’re sitting up here on this fence, these are points the of interest that we’ve been researching and hashing out…
The economics of it all…
We like the idea of cloth diapering because the investment is allegidly less than buying and throwing away diapers every week. However, during my research I’ve found that these cloth diapers are mad expensive and it’s quite hard to find a good deal on them. Back in the day, you could spend like twenty bucks on some cloth diapers and some safety pins and be done with it. Today a single diaper can cost that much. I am very cheap, frugal if you will, and spending $15 to $20 or more per diaper is not what I call frugal. If we’re cloth diapering to save money, then we seriously need to be saving money. Shaving off a few pennies here and there isn’t enough. I have questions… How do you cloth diaper without draining the bank account? Financially speaking, where is the best place to buy cloth diapers? How do you feel about used diapers? How much have you spent on cloth diapers? How much money have you saved by going cloth?
The stress of it all…
I’m not going to lie. The idea of adding another load of laundry to my chore list is not at all appealing. The idea of toting around dirty diapers while we’re out running errands or on other adventures also not appealing. If we cloth diaper, I’m thinking we’d only do it at home (at least at first). While we’re out and about or traveling, we’ll probably go with disposables. Finding ways to wash cloth diapers on our family vacation to Hawaii doesn’t sound like paradise to me. I have questions… What is it REALLY like handling and washing diapers? Do you cloth diaper full time or part time? How do you handle the cloth diapers when you’re away from home? Do you still cloth up your baby’s bum when you’re traveling?
The commitment of it all…
I had no idea there were so many different styles and brands of cloth diapers. You’ve got the super old fashion diapers, the semi old fashion diapers, the liners, the Velcro, the inserts, the covers, the fabrics, the snaps, the loops. It’s all quite overwhelming. I like the idea of the prefold old fashion diapers because they are MUCH cheaper, but they are a bit intimidating and look like they might leak. It’s not like you want to commit to a diaper system and spend a ton of money these things to find out that you hate them and wish you went with something else. I have questions… What type of cloth diapers do you use? What brand do you use? What is the truth behind the old fashion and less expensive diaper?
The greenness of it all…
I hate clutter. I hate adding to the clutter of the world. I prefer to have a few nice things instead of a bunch of things. We recycle. We would love to have our own garden and eat purely organic, but that’s not really a possibility for us at this moment in time. Being green takes a bit of extra commitment, and I’m not so good with commitment (see the above paragraph). I have questions… How much of your decision to go cloth was about being green, granola, hippy, crunchy, eco-friendly? How green is it really if we take into consideration all of the extra laundry?
The what’s best for Deuce of it all…
My hiney is proof that cloth diapers are better for baby butts. Nice gentle fabrics are much better for babies than the crap that goes into a disposable diaper. No one really knows what that stuff is, and I’m sure the truth isn’t pretty. It’s a constant work in progress for us to eliminate the crap in our home. By crap I mean chemicals, sketchy medications that we don’t need and so on. It would make sense that we wouldn’t want to put these things directly on our baby’s behind. I know this is where your tough love is going to come in. Someone is going to say, you know cloth much safer and healthier for your family than disposable, so why are you even questioning it? Cloth diapering is a big responsibility to take on, and even when we know something is good for us if it adds to our daily stress and requires us to be more active and responsible for our well being then it’s hard to swallow that truth. We’re all guilty of this in some way. I have questions… How much better is cloth than disposable for my baby – REALLY? Why did you decide to go cloth – HONESTLY? What are the harsh truths of cloth diapering – FOR SERIOUS?
I have more questions…
If you tried cloth and hated it, why did you go back to disposable?
What have I forgotten to take into consideration in my cloth diaper deliberation?
Do you use baby wipes?
How often do you have leaks or worse because of cloth diapers?
Aren’t the pins and snappy things choking hazards?
Do you have any other advice on the subject you’d like to share?
If I use cloth diapers does that mean I’ll also end up wearing Birkenstocks? Because, that is not at all something I ever want to find in my closet.
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Whew! This comment is going to be LONG! Actually, I was toying with the idea of writing a blog post about cloth diapering. Since you asked, I may go ahead an write that post and link back to it here.
I’ll be back soon(ish)!
Sweet!
hey-confession, i’m not a cloth diaper mommy. but, i thought i’d say something. i know you said you never got diaper rash, but i do have a friend whose daughter got terrible diaper rash (think bleeding, raw, it was AWFUL). she was using cloth diapers but never used any creams for the rash b/c the creams apparently can ruin the cloth diapers. so, just a heads up there. good luck with the decision making!
Ouch! Poor baby! That sounds miserable. I’ll keep that in mind
I do cloth diaper, and you certainly can use creams with cloth diapers. Zinc oxide creams (like desitin) are waterproof, so they’re not a good idea with cloth diapers, since they’ll make them waterproof not absorbent. But, you can use other kids of creams, or you can use a liner (what I do) between the cream-on-butt and the diaper, and wash it separately.
Liners! I’ve heard of these… what are they and why should I use them?
On the flip side of what Anika said, both my boys (and soon to be daughter for that matter) are exclusively disposable and I’m not sure we’ve ever had a diaper rash between the two. IF we did, it was so mild I’ve completely forgotten about it.
In the end, you’ll go with whatever feels right to you. I’m just saying, diaper rash may or may not be a factor. Some babies may be more prone to it no matter what covers their butt.
This is true.
I may have had a lucky bum when it came to diaper rashes. Moanna didn’t get bad rashes from the disposables. A few flare ups that we calmed down with some cream and fresh air, but nothing serious.
Diaper rashes, cutting teeth and ear aches break my heart. The poor little ones seem so miserable when they hit.
Are you ready for my novel?
How do you cloth diaper without draining the bank account? Financially speaking, where is the best place to buy cloth diapers? How do you feel about used diapers? How much have you spent on cloth diapers? How much money have you saved by going cloth?
Ok, so if numbers totally speak to you, this is a great link to a cost comparison for different diapering systems.(http://www.diaperdecisions.com/pages/cost_of_cloth_diapers.php) I think it was well done, however they don’t show a cost comparison for one size diapers, only sized. Sized means you are buying a whole set of diapers for each size your child wears from birth to potty training. One size are a whole lot more economical, therefore the savings would be even greater than this cost comparison shows. I considered buying used, but decided against it because of the risk that someone didn’t properly care for the diapers. If they used the wrong diaper creams the diapers may not absorb. Bad news. It could be a great way to save though- and you could probably check the absorbency with water if you were buying from someone local. We bought ours online because they were running a deal. They weren’t the cheapest diapers, but some of the most reputable. I want these suckers to last, so I decided spending a little more to get quality would be worth it. We currently have 12 diapers that we spent $160 on. If we do decide to buy more, I’d maybe buy 3 at most. We’d spend more than that for 3 months of disposables. Add in the laundering costs and it is still a big cost savings over the life of the diapers.
What is it REALLY like handling and washing diapers? Do you cloth diaper full time or part time? How do you handle the cloth diapers when you’re away from home? Do you still cloth up your baby’s bum when you’re traveling?
Poop is still poop. Its gross. Using a cloth diaper doesn’t change that. Wet diapers are a breeze- straight from wet bum to wet bag. Poopy ones are a little trickier (except when breastfeeding- no rinsing necessary!), but I must say we haven’t had a single blow out since we started using cloth. We are still planning on getting a diaper sprayer (so add $40 to your overall total cost) but until we do I just scoop/wipe out as much as I can into a toilet with wipes or toilet paper. Definitely not a glamorous job, but it works. Washing is easy. I have a load in right now. If I have super soiled diapers I do a pre soak, then wash in hot water with my homemade detergent. My inserts go in the dryer but the rest of the diaper is hung dry. I basically just lay them around my house to dry, since we live in an apartment with no outdoor clothesline. I could buy a drying rack, but I’m lazy. Once the diaper is dry I stuff the liners in them, fold them up (not necessary, I’m just crazy) and they are ready to go. We use cloth unless we are staying somewhere overnight. I looked at buying wet bags, but another expense was not appealing to me. I found a cheap plastic lined bag in the tool section of WalMart by accident. It was $2. I use that for my ‘out and about’ wet bag.
What type of cloth diapers do you use? What brand do you use? What is the truth behind the old fashion and less expensive diaper?
We use Bumgenius 4.0 pocket diapers with snaps. For me the decision was a cost vs convenience one. Sure, I could get much cheaper ‘old school’ cloth diapers, but convenience is still a factor for me. You just have to decide how much you are willing to spend for convenience. I knew cloth would only work for me if it was still pretty easy. The diapers we chose work just like disposables, and I like that. The older style probably works great- but I’m guessing there is more of a learning curve in getting a good fit, and there are more pieces to keep track of. For me that was not worth it. Some people swear by them.
How much of your decision to go cloth was about being green, granola, hippy, crunchy, eco-friendly? How green is it really if we take into consideration all of the extra laundry?
I think green is great, but I’m not usually willing to pay extra for it. For me, the green factor makes me feel all warm and fuzzy about using cloth, but it was totally a financial decision.
How much better is cloth than disposable for my baby – REALLY? Why did you decide to go cloth – HONESTLY? What are the harsh truths of cloth diapering – FOR SERIOUS?
Charly doesn’t notice a difference-cloth or disposable-that I can tell. She isn’t prone to rashes, but has had one recently. From what the Dr. said it seems to be eczema (and was all over her body, but worse under her diaper). I used disposables for about a week before we found out it was eczema so that I could use creams (said creams actually seemed to make it worse, though). I tried a recommendation of using Lanolin as a diaper cream, but that has caused some leaking, which I’m working on fixing. They have cloth safe kinds you can buy, I just didn’t have any yet. The harsh truth? It is more effort. Duh. I wouldn’t do it if I worked, but I stay at home and the extra laundry aint no thang. The reality for me is that the cost savings totally trumps the little bit of extra effort. All the other stuff (being green, feeling good about cloth next to baby’s bottom) are just bonuses.
Do you use baby wipes?
Yep- although I’m just starting to use cloth ones made out of cut up t shirts. Once you make the switch to cloth diapers, cloth wipes just make sense. I’ll still buy disposable wipes for out and about, and for other messes.
How often do you have leaks or worse because of cloth diapers?
Recently had a few leaks due to user error (the lanolin thing) but no poopy blow outs! Before my lanolin error, no leaks at all!
Do you have any other advice on the subject you’d like to share?
Buy a few and see if it works for you. One size diapers are probably too big for the first few months anyway, so you’d still need some disposables (or sized diapers) so you don’t have to make your decision and spend a heap right away.
If I use cloth diapers does that mean I’ll also end up wearing Birkenstocks? Because, that is not at all something I ever want to find in my closet.
Amen.
Hope that helps! I’m still figuring things out as I go, so if my opinions change or I discover something I’ll be sure to blog about it or let you know.
i hope charly gets better! both my boys have had really bad eczema, although bub has outgrown it we have to expect drake to keep it for at least until he’s bub’s age. admittedly, neither of them ever had it under their diaper. effectively everywhere but the bum and the face (mostly). diaper creams never worked for it, we rotate between vaseline, almond oil and eczema lotion (well, we usually go for a cheap brand, so it’s not technically not made for eczema, but it’s been working so far). is she doing any better?
Thanks Holli! Huge help! The cost comparison is awesome!
I wouldn’t have thought about the fact that the diapers may have issues from improper use if bought used. I’m guessing it’s OK to buy the covers used since they’re not the absorbent part?
If you are going the prefold/covers way, yes. If you go with pocket diapers, the fleece lining on the diaper itself is what touches their little bums and will repel liquids if it isn’t cared for right, which means the liquid never makes it to the absorbent insert.
wow that looks even worse when nothing is bold. Uh, I totally understand if you don’t want to read that whole thing. Sorry.
The post is up! http://bit.ly/kzXs5M
Thanks Robyn! The post had great information and encouragement
I’ll be happy to change a poopy disposable diaper but not a cloth diaper with the rinsing, storing for laundry, stink, etc. Been there done that. And the cloth diapers need changing every time they pee because they are not as absorbent; unless that has changed. My girls always had bad diaper rash because you need to put on rubber pants and that holds the moisture in. Consider the cost of the laundering of the cloth diapers. Have no clue as to what they cost today. And as to travel; I would suggest if you go cloth you use disposable for when you leave home. IS MY AGE SHOWING?
Makes total sense that dealing with cloth diapers is not at all appealing to you since you didn’t have much of a choice when Mom was little. I’d probably want to take advantage of the luxury of disposables too.
I also didn’t know it was trendy, just wanted to help save the planet and my mom did it with all 7 of us. Also we. are. poor. very poor. so cloth diapering was kind of a must.
I also searched the web for affordable diapers, I did not want to spend $400 on cloth diapering! I ended up trying gdiapers. I thought I could make my own “gcloth” since theirs was so pricey. I failed miserably and was so discouraged. The baby was constantly leaking out and it was just a mess. Fortunately I wasn’t ready to give up on cloth diapering all together.
Cottonbabies.com came out with a new diaper Econobums. They were affordable. I spent under $100 for the whole thing. I love them! I also love that they have a money back guarantee and different size prefolds. Ivy never gets a diaper rash, and never leaks out. We use disposables at night, because we don’t change her diaper unless it is soiled. And we use disposables when we go out like to church and stuff. I also have enough disposables on hand for the days that I run out of diapers and don’t want to do laundry! So I guess I’m not die hard cloth.
Laundry: I have a paint bucket in the bathroom with water and oxyclean. I rinse the diaper in the toilet and then dump it in the bucket. When it is time to do laundry I dump out the water in the toilet. Run a prewash cycle to get all the nasty water and leftover pee and poop out and then run a regular cycle with soap.
I love my cloth diapers. And would recommended them.
Good Luck! (sorry for any typos and such baby on my lap.
Ivy is so sweet!
You are so brave for trying to make your own diapers! I would have failed worse than you. I don’t own a sewing machine, so thankfully I can’t entertain that idea.
I’ll have to look into this Econobums business. Sounds like it may be a good option.
Having a toddler in my house means I can’t write as long of a post as I’d like, and I can’t read all the posts like I want to. But, since in skimming the comments I haven’t noticed this mentioned, I thought I’d say that you don’t have to buy the $15-20 diapers. I cloth diapered Nathan with prefolds and flats ($1-2 each). You have to use diaper covers with these ($10-15 each), but you can reuse covers, so while I had 24-36 prefolds/flats, I have 6 covers. If baby pees, you can just reuse the cover. If he poops, and some gets on the cover, you put it in the wash and get a fresh one. I also didn’t use diaper pins, I used a snappi, which is way easier and you won’t prick yourself. (My mother-in-law has a terrible story of when my hubby was a baby, and he was crying and crying and crying at church, and she couldn’t calm him down, and finally went to wait in the car, only to find that the diaper pin was going through his skin, and that’s why he was so upset. Poor kid. That’s not possible with a snappi.)
Your poor husband and his poor mom! I bet she felt terrible. I’ve heard great things about these snappi contraptions.
Well…having been one of Grandma’s babies that had constant diaper rash…explains my general disposition…LOL!! I, too, thought I’d be a green mommy 30 years ago before people knew what being green meant. It lasted like…three days. Nic’s butt was cherry red and I had piles of stinky diapers. They got washed once and made into baby puke rags. I bought Pampers. Nic’s bottom healed. We were much happier. If you can come up with a brilliant way to re-cycle poopy diapers, go for it. Otherwise, set out that extra half bag of garbage every week and hope some rocket scientist figures out how to turn them into a renewable energy source. They sure are potent enough to light up something!
Do you really remember your cloth diapered butt?
let’s just say with age and spine problems and sneezing…I’m reminded!
Many people have already given you lots of good advice about cloth but I just wanted to say that we just started using cloth with our newborn, started when he was about 3ish weeks old with All in ones (bum genius) sized diapers. We LOVE them. They can be pricey because of the convenience and quality of them. We got ours on sale for $10 each. Then we’ll switch to one sized diapers which can be pricey as well but they last the length of you using diapers. We have Bumgenius one sizes and Kawaii one sizes which are a lot more economical..like $6-7 per dipe. There are TONS of different types of diapers! This is where I started learning so I wanted to share it with you http://www.twoweekwait.com/preg/community/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=171557
Also some of the ladies on that forum have SO much knowledge and answer any questions
Oh and we use cloth at home and sposies when we are out and about. I love the cloth but Im not into carrying dirty dipes around with me
This is great Chantell! Thanks… If we go cloth, I’m 99% sure we’ll use sposies (I’ve never heard that term before – cute) for away from home unless it’s a super quick trip
My favorites so far are envibums! They are super easy to use and though pricey at first will last from 7 lbs to 35lbs. I have really loved cloth diapering to be honest, I wish I had just started with all in ones though as opposed to prefolds and covers, but live and learn. If I was working outside the home I may not be as in love, but as it is I don’t mind the extra laundry. Also, I don’t rinse out poo over the toilet or anything, I just dump in the washer and run a rinse cycle, newborn poo, at least breastfed baby poo (the only kind i have experience with) just vanishes in soap and warm water. I was told that by another mom and am so thankful, because rinsing by hand first would be way more work, when we get to soild food i will use the diaper sprayer most likely. Oh and I use Grandma El’s diaper rash cream and love it, i have never heard of it ruining cloth diapers? Here is a link to envibum, they are an awesome company started by a SAHM and each diaper you buy they give 2$ to a different charity
http://www.envibum.com/