Cloth Diapers Convenience and Cost Effectiveness

J.,
I just had a baby the end of June and we have used cloth diapers her whole life, with the exception of the pack of disposable diapers the hospital gave us. We LOVE cloth diapers. I think it is one of the best choices I have made ever! We use prefolds with Thirstie diaper covers, and snappis and then we also have some BumGenius. The prefolds and covers are a little cheaper. My husband prefers the BumGenius because they are so easy and convinent. I prefer the prefolds and covers because you dont have to wash the covers every time. Either way they both work great. I dont know where you are located. But pinstripesandpolkadots.com is a great website and the business is based out of Bloomington. There are lots of great websites out there though. We do a load of cloth diapers about every other day, we have about 25 prefolds, 6 thirstie covers, and 7 BumGenius. Lately we have been able to go two days in between because her pooping has been less frequent. I have yet to have to change an outfit due to a diaper explosion! She also has had no diaper rash! Hope this helps! Good luck!

I tried cloth with a service for my first. It was ok, but I found the cloth cumbersome. My mom had paid for a year for the service, so I switched to disposable diapers delivered for the rest of the paid term! That was awesome! I used Huggies for the rest of his time and for the other two.

I used Gerber cloth diapers and pins from Target. Wash in bleach, soap and hot water, then put vinegar in first rinse, and do a second plain rinse. If it doesn't work out, at least you haven't spent a fortune.

We have 4 children, and we switched to cloth diapers with our 4th! I was always kind of scared of trying cloth--everyone I talked to said how hard they were. Fortunately one of my friends uses cloth, and convinced me to give it a try. Its really not bad! The technology :) has really improved. I did a trial program through http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/cdcm.html
I got to try a variety of cloth diapers for 30 days, and returned whatever I didn't like. If I didn't like any of it, I could return it all.
I have a sprayer on my toilet that helps me clean the diapers off, and just wash the diapers myself in our washing machine. I honestly wish that I would have tried it right from the start with our first baby. There is a huge cost savings, and they say that baby's potty train sooner with cloth. Its not for everyone, but I'd say its worth a try.

J.,

Modern cloth diapers can be just as convenient as disposables. I cloth diaper and do not use pins, plastic pants and do not toliet dunk. You can get more convenient diapers if you do not use a service. For newborns, I love the Thirsties All-in-one diapers in an extra-small. After the newborn stage, alot of people like a one-size diaper like the BumGenius 3.0 for economical reasons. Both of these diapers go on like disposables. Once soiled you wash, dry and reuse. If you plan to exclusively breastfeed, then washing diapers is easy those first six months. Put in washer, cold rinse, hot wash and dry. When more formed poo comes along they make great flushable liners you lift right out of the diaper and flush. No need to toilet dunk.

If you are in the Chicago area you have Be Bye Baby. In the Burbs you have Green Bebe and Love Bugs. In the LaSalle area is Heiny King. Central, IL has PinStripes and PolkaDots. Closer to St. Louis you can visit Cotton Babies or Momma's Milk Boutique. Lots of small independent cloth diaper shops have popped up in the last 3 years. There are more shops you can check out the retailers on brands that you are interested in and probably find somebody within a reasonable distance to you where you can get more information.

I am having my first baby in September too and want to use cloth diapers but don't know much about them. I am probably too late in getting this info to you, but I am attending a "Cloth Diapering 101" Session at Cygnus Lactation in Mundelein today, in order to get more information. Here is the info:

Cloth Diapering 101
Tuesday, July 22nd 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Cygnus Lactation Services
Mundelein, IL

Want to learn about modern cloth diapering? Well, this is the workshop for you. We will show you lots of different options for lots of different family scenarios. Whether you're the mom that is looking to seriously save money on diapers or a busy mom that wants something easy for husbands and caretakers. This class is free and space is limited.

Please call Ann from Love Bugs Co at ###-###-#### or Jeanne from Cygnus Lactation at ###-###-####

The deadline to enroll was yesterday, but if you have the time to check it out today, I am SURE there is still room. Just give them a call, but I bet it would be safe too to stop by.

I think your final decision will be based on what your motivations are to cloth diaper. If it is for environmental reasons, you have to look at the impact of all the fuel used by the cloth diaper services in order to transport the diapers back and forth. Also, the detergents they use may be harmful to the environment. Cost-wise, they CAN be cheaper than disposables; however, I have friends who get great deals at Costco or other wholesale stores where the price is virtually the same as using a service.

Absolutely washing your own diapers is a bigger hassle than disposable, so they can't win out on that argument at all, but for my friends who have cloth diapered from the beginning, they don't know the difference anyway and many of them have come up with convenient routines that haven't burdened their lives.

Money-wise, cloth diapering and washing at home will save you money over disposable hands down, there are so many to choose from at various price points, the problem is trying to find what works for you. And since I am in your same boat as a first-time mom, I have no idea what will work for me until the kid comes! It is a big investment upfront compared to disposables, but think of it as like ripping off a band-aid. Big pain in the beginning, but better than a slow bleed if you get what I mean.

Now in terms of what is good for your child, I have read cloth diapered babies get fewer diaper rashes and potty train earlier. Some may disagree with me, but anyone who leaves their baby in a diaper for too long will get diaper rash, be it from cloth or disposable, sometimes is just can't be avoided.

For me, we have decided cloth diapering and washing at home is the way to go, and while I can't speak from actual experience, I am going to try my hardest to make it work. My problem will be just to find what brands work and working out a cleaning routine. For me I think it will be a little easier since I plan to stay home, but I have friends who work full time and still cloth diaper successfully.

So anyways, good luck to you! Don't know if I've been helpful since I don't have real experience, but if you do happen to stop by the cloth diapering session, I'll be there to say "hello" :)

DO IT! Go with Mother-ease One Size Diapers. You don't have to buy multiple sizes as they grow. They are NOT a pain to wash if you buy a toilet sprayer ($30). Use a dry pail. Use vinegar/baking soda/1/3 amount of regular detergent to wash. Don't go with a service - it will cost you the same as buying disposables. You can reuse the cloth dipes if you have another child (up to 4 kids!). Pre-rinse in cold. Don't do disposables at all. The chemicals they use to "absorb" are the same ones they used in the tampons linked to toxic shock syndrome in the 80's. They have also been suspected to cause infertility, particularly in boys. Your newborn will have a bubble but the first few months but who cares? He/She will still be cute as a button! To save money on buying new, go to www.diaperswappers.com/forums to find mamas selling their unwanted/used diapers for a fraction of the cost. This is also good for trying out types if you're not sure what you'd like to go with. If you're freaked out about buying used, wash them with borax a few times, sun them, and/or wash them with a couple of tablespoons of bleach, then rinse, rinse, rinse! If you have any questions feel free to contact me :) I'm happy to help.
K.

hi - we went to cloth when our daughter was 3 months old and feel so good about doing it. We attended a 'session' at By Be Baby that talked about the environmental effect of diapers.. ex: they take 3-5 yrs to dispose in direct sunlight (imagine how long underground,), the feces is not treated and goes into the ground - vs. going into the toilet and going through a system, the petroleum and plastic products used to make the diaper vs. cotton.. we were sold. We use a diaper service called Bottoms Up - bottomsup.com - they bring and take away the diapers each week, you can check their site for costs, we bought a variety of plastic covers to wear over the diapers and NEVER have a blow out on her clothes (as long as the cloth is tucked into the liner :).. it's amazing. When out, you will need to carry around a sack or some sort (they have a variety to choose from or you can use a plastic shopping bag) to hold your dirty cloth diapers in until you can dump them at home - but it's really not that bad. Your baby's getting a cotton diaper and you're helping the environment. - Oh, do a search on diaper swappers, it's a community web group w/ great advice - good luck!

Hi J.,

I used cloth diapers on all three of my kids, right from the start - you can do it! I think the most difficult thing about cloth diapering is picking out what to use - you can look at hundreds of different cloth diapering sites on the internet, and it easily gets overwhelming!

If you are thinking about using cloth diapers, I highly recommend attending a cloth diapering workshop near your home. I run a small cloth diaper business in Crystal Lake (called Sunflower Babies), and I hold free workshops monthly and by appointment. If you are not close to Crystal Lake, By Be Baby holds workshops in Chicago, and Love Bugs holds workshops, too. I think there is a store called Green Bebe in the Aurora or Naperville area, but I do not know if they hold workshops...you'd have to check.

Going to a workshop is wonderful - you get to see and feel all of the different diapering systems and can talk to moms that have actually used all of the products! It's really not a big deal to wash diapers, either - washing a couple of loads of laundry is no more difficult than having to run to the store when you run out of disposable diapers, and having to haul the extra bags of "dirty disposable diaper" trash out to the curb each week! :-)

By the way, I just used traditional-style cloth diapers with velcro diaper covers - no pins or anything! I supplemented those diapers with a few pocket diapers (Happy Heinys) and a few all-in-one diapers (Bumkins) for times when I wanted something super-fast and easy. Cloth diapering, overall, was a simple and economical choice for our family!

Good luck in your cloth diapering adventure, and most importantly, congratulations on your pregnancy, and best wishes for a happy healthy new baby!

Warmly,
J.
Sunflower Babies Cloth Diapers
www.sunflowerbabies.com

Hey J.! Congrats. We'll have kids 2 years apart. My dd was born Sept 30, 2006. :) Great time to have a baby.

Cloth is wonderful. It is a much cheaper way of doing things and they DO NOT blow out!!! Whenever we used disposibles, we spent forever trying to clean off her clothes. The cloth absorbs it so much faster than disposible so it doesn't go up the back. We use prefolds and Motherease airflow covers (wonderful - my husband even sings their praises to everyone). We wash them ourselves, and for awhile now, I have only had to do 1 large load every 5 days. We have 33 prefolds and 5 motherease onesize dipes for at night. When dd was littler I did a load every 2-4 days...it just kept getting longer as she got older and wet less...or nursed less. ;)

We rinsed off the bfed poop in the laundry sink and left the CPFs to dry until laundry day. If you are doing it often, you can just stick them in a pail of water...we used to do that when it was every 2-3 days. As she got into solids, we use a spatula (dedicated for this only) that we keep next to the toliet to scrap off what we can and then finish in the laundry sink. I know of others that throw the bfed poop diapers right in with the pee dipes in the wash and just do a starter rinse for the laundry to get it out.

If you have any questions, let me know. It is SO much cheaper to do your own laundry than a service...otherwise it costs about the same as getting sposies. Here's also some cheaper prefolds that I have received great reviews about. http://hyenacart.com/onestore.php?vid=1761&category=6 The bamboo prefolds from this mamma are by far cheaper than the chinese prefolds that I got from ebay and was told that they are as good if not better. For that small of a price, it can't hurt to try it. I've spent less than $100 in cloth diapers since my daughter was born 2 years ago. You can do it cheaply.

Take care and congrats!
H.

After using sposies on my first, I tried cloth with my second. I tried a couple different kinds but liked BumGenius best. The extra laundry really is not a big deal and I haven't had any leaking problems with these (unlike some other cloth diapers I tried). I still used disposable when we went out because I didn't want to tote dirty diapers around and I have a bad habit of forgetting things in the diaper bag and that would NOT be pleasant.

I would like to continue cloth, the only thing is that my now 4 month old really really really likes playing with his toes and when I put the cloth diaper on, it restricts his movement in the middle of his body quite a bit and he isn't really able to get to his toes as well. He seems happier when he can get to his feet. I still use them sometimes and figure any amount of cloth that I use is helping the environment and our costs because that is one more disposable that is not in a landfill or that we didn't have to buy.

Hi J.,
After using disposables, g-diapers and cloth diapers I can confidently say that cloth are the best. We wash our own so they're inexpensive. I've heard that using a service costs just as much as disposables. We did hook up a little sprayer to our toilet so we can just spray off the poo, but that wasn't necessary when she was breastfeeding exclusively, it can all go in the washer then. They're not great for travel so that's when we use disposables. The worst part is emptying the pail into the washer, I make my poor husband do that. It sure does smell bad. We got our diapers, snappys and covers at Be Bye Baby, we use the 7thGen wipes, though we did use the cloth wipes early on and they worked just fine too. We like the Bummis Super Whisper wrap, no matter how messy the poo gets it never leaks. I know you're getting a ton of responses! Hope this helps and good luck!

S.

Cloth diapers have definitely saved us some money, but only because we're laundering them ourselves. We did use mainly disposables in the first couple of months, then we switched to cotton pre-folds with Bummi Super Whisper Wraps. I've found cloth diapers are just as easy to use as disposables. We do about one small load of diapers each day. The only time we use disposables now is when we're out for a more than a few hours, or traveling.

Hi J. -- I've recently switched from disposables to the Bum Genius one-size cloth diapers for my 10-month-old (another Sept. baby!) and it has been great. I bought one at first to try it out and then bought six more. Since I only have seven, I do one load of diapers a day after I put my daughter down for the night. At first I thought I might buy more so I don't have to wash so often, but I think I like it better than having dirty diapers sit around for days. I also like that I don't have a diaper pail full of disposables stinking up my daughter's room anymore. So far the extra load of laundry is really no big deal. I prefer doing my own wash to having a service because that way I know she's using her own diapers.

The Bum Genius diapers cost about $18 each, so my investment so far is less than $150. I would recommend buying one or two at first to see if you like it. You could even try a few different brands to see which fit best. I'm not sure how well the BGs fit on a newborn, but they are adjustable and are designed to fit baby from birth to potty training. They have snaps that let you make the diaper smaller or larger depending on the size of you child. And they have velcro tabs to secure the diaper around the baby's middle so they work a lot like disposables. So far they fit my daughter great and we haven't had any trouble with leaking. I like that since they are adjustable I can use them on my next child right from birth -- seems very economical as long as they hold up that long!

The two negatives I can think of are (1) the BGs are a bit bulkier than disposables so they make some of her pants quite tight and (2) shaking the solid poop off into the toilet can be a yucky job.

If you only buy a few initially you could try them when your baby is small and if they don't work out at first you could always try again when baby gets a little bigger.
Good luck!

I used disposable on my first child and then switched to cloth when my daughter was 4 weeks old. I really regret that I didn't do cloth for both the whole time. The least expensive way to use cloth (and the easiest IMO) for the first 12 weeks or so is to use prefolds and velcro covers. You can get everything that you need for a newborn for $125. I think that is still cheaper than disposables and then you have the dipes to use as doublers, inserts for pocket diapers, etc.. then use them on the next baby. And when you are all done having kids, you can either sell them or use them as the best rags ever! My mom is still using the prefolds that she used on four kids more than 40 years ago!

When you're changing 20 diapers a day in the first few months, you'll be glad you didn't pay much nor hurt the environment!
We use Bottoms Up, the only service in Chicago, and are pretty happy -- they come once a week (only one delivery day per region, no weekend calls) and do drop off/pick up to our 3rd floor back porch. about $17/week for 80!

Hi J.:
There are many options for cloth diapers. I have a 17 month old. I have used cloth since he was born. I now supplement with environmentally friendlier diapers than the norm is. I think it's been worth it, but it is work. I am certain we have saved A LOT of money by using cloth. It's been through my labor (my husband won't do poopy diapers) that we've saved. If you look at the many options for cloth diapers, you will see that some are made more and more easy for moms. I use the FuzziBunz (sp?). They are easy to use. I added a liner (which I was told about by a friend) that allows you to take out the dirtiest part of the diaper and dump it in the toilet. Otherwise, I have to drop as much as I can or rinse before putting them in the washer. There are also "G-diapers". They are even more user friendly. I would check out their website.
I encourage you to use cloth. They are better for the baby and for the environment and they're cheaper! Good luck.

I met a women who has a small business called PandaDiaper.com that offers easy & affordable cloth diapers. Check out the website and give her a call if interested.

Cloth diapers are always best as they breathe. Disposibles are a convience thing that breed diaper rash. Cloth can be rinsed in a clean toilet, squeezed and left in diaper pail for pickup and you get them back spotless and hygienic. As long as you rinse those poops down the potty, babys room stays clean and sanitized.

Hi J.,

I tried the same thing with my first. Of course with being a new mom you want everything to be perfect. I tried it mostly becuse we didn't have much money. I think it lasted a month or so because the inconvenience of it was not worth all the efforts. It's so much nicer to change a diaper and put it in the trash never to see it again. The smells at times are unbearable. However, the diapers make wonderful dusting cloths and I still use them. Everyone is different though. May I suggest if you are going to try it, the first one is the best to try it with. When there are more children about the house there's less time for the washing and cleaning.

We just switched to cloth, I have a 19 month old and a 4 month old and honestly, I really wish I had started right away. I can't believe how easy it has been, it's really not that big of a deal. They actually have cloth diapers that are like disposables too. Since I started late, I don't have much advice for a newborn but I really wish someone had told me to give it a try 19 months ago! Sure you have extra laundry but they're actually easy to clean especially if your machine has a cycle with an extra rinse plus you end up finding your own system that works. I am hosting a cloth diaper demo class in my home in Lakeview, it's taught by the owner of Love Bugs (www.lovebugsco.com) it's free, let me know if you're interested!

I am reading this email almost 2 years late but for future babies I have the solution! I am starting a cloth diaper delivery service early July 2010 for Rockford, IL & surrounding communities. After diapering 8 children and using a service, washing my own cloth, & using disposables, I can tell you that a service is the way to go! You can learn a lot by reading my website. Cloth is so much better for your baby & for our planet. For those who don't want the hassle of washing them, you can't beat the convenience of soft clean diapers being delivered right to your door!

C. B.
Baby Bear Diaper Service, LLC
www.babybeardiaperservice.com

I have a good friend who swears by cloth diapers (I've only ever used disposable). She says her kids have NEVER had diaper rash, and since she's been able to use them on 2 kids, it has saved her a ton of money. The only issues she has had: 1) Travelling -- it's difficult to keep up on the washing when they're on vacation. They tried it once with their first, then opted for chlorine free disposable diapers on other trips. 2) The daycare they went to initially didn't want to do cloth diapers. But, after a quick education and providing her own diaper pail to the daycare, they were willing to do cloth. Congrats on your first baby!

I love my cloth diapers! I've been using Bum Genius One Size since day four. We tried some disposables we were given as a gift and hated them after the first poop shot up her back (something I've heard happens a lot w/ disposables). The one size diapers fit until the baby is 36 lbs, so we shouldn't ever to have to buy any more. It cost us under $500 for 24 diapers, a lg diaper pail bag and two small dirty diaper bags. You can also just use a regular trash can for the diaper pail which saves money. Laundry just doesn't seem to be an issue. We did it every other day at first and now our baby is 8 months, we do it every 3 days. I feel it's worth it for the money and planet saving factors.
Good luck & congrats!

The first 4 months could equal 1200 diapers!!! That's an awful lot of stuff to put in a landfill. It's also a lot of exposure to toxic chemicals and plastics when your baby is sooo tiny.
We use cloth and love it! In the early days prefolds and Thirsties covers are super easy to care for and not much of a hassle at all. Depending on how many you buy, it may just be one extra load of laundry twice a week.
I have used all different types on my daughter and all had their ups and downs.
Prefolds and Thirsties covers=super cheap and easy. Small learning curve on how to use them...but a little thing called a Snappi fastener is awesome (and only about $2)!

Bumgenius (or similar)=more expensive, but easy enough for your mother in law. The velcro does wear out over time and they are slightly more labor intensive to wash. I have a few for sitters.

Cotton or bamboo fitteds=My favorites.Depending on brand $$ varies. Super easy to care for, many come in "one size fits all" so you'll never have to buy more (and you could use for future children too). Natural fibers against your baby's skin is always a good thing.

I would recommend trying a couple things before buying a whole bunch of anything.
www.lesliesboutique.com
www.nickisdiapers.com
are good places to shop and have a large variety. lots of stores also have tester packages.

As far as saving money, there is no doubt that you will save thousands of dollars. Disposable diapers are hugely expensive when you consider how many you will go through.
My water bill has not changed since I had my daughter...washing my own diapers has not impacted our water usage in any measurable way.
Please feel free to message me with any questions. I am a huge advocate of cloth diapers and I would love to answer any questions for you.
And good for you for doing such a wonderful thing for your baby, and for our planet.

J., we've used prefolds and covers for both kids and wash them ourselves. Not quite as convenient as disposable or a diaper service, but you get used to it. For the second baby we haven't had to buy any supplies. We use disposable for travel. Most people like velcro covers but we prefer a snappi and Dappi nylon pullups (cheap, so you can get a bunch). You can go maybe a year (depending on the size of your baby) on about $125.

I've used both and prefer cloth. I wash my own and once you hget a routine it's really no big deal. I actually find it quite satisfying to pull a load of fluffy clean-smelling dipes out of the dryer. It is DEFINATELY a money saver esp. if you can share w/ a friend or sibling. I shared our small (newborn-13 lbs) dipes w/ my sister (we have babies 3 months apart) and are now using them for my second child. I will send them back to her when her 2nd is born in Sept. When she's done we'll sell them and split the $. We each have our own stash of larger dipes. You can buy them used to save $, also can re-sell used ones for 60-90% of their orig. value. So even if you invest some up front you can recoup your costs partially.

There's a calculator that helps you estimate your "break even" point, dependikng on how much you spend initially. For me, my break even point was about 5 months of use.

I suggest getting 1-2 diapers of each type you're seriously considering. Try them out a few times and buy a stash of what you like best. See my prev posts on this topic for what I use personally. Good luck!!