Cloth Diapers .... or Not??

We started cloth diapering at 2 months. We were spending $80-120 a month in disposable diapers. Plus, whatever we were spending on wipes. We spent around 200 (you can do it for cheaper then that) on cloth diapers, plus $45 for a diaper sprayer which I HIGHLY recommend. Using prefold diapers with covers is the most economical way to go. I use a mixture of GroVia and BumGenius diapers, as well as some prefolds and covers for backup. BumGenius are a GREAT nigh time diaper. They are very easy to clean and we haven't noticed a significant jump in our water bill at all. You have to use the right kind of detergent. It can't have additives, enzymes, or chemicals. Good brands are Rockin Green or Country Save. (I buy country save. It costs around $15 for a box, but ours has lasted over 6 months!)
I do a cold rinse, a hot was, and 2 additional cold rinses. We just put the dirty diapers in a dry pail with a waterproof bag and was them every couple of days. We don't notice and stink.

I LOVE cloth diapering. We have never had diaper rash problems. We've also never had a leak or blowout, which we definitely experienced with disposables. We saved a ton of money and it's super EASY. I'd recommend it to anyone! A really great store to find anything you might need in online at www.kellyscloset.com. They have a great information section, that answers many questions for beginning cloth diapering. They have a great rewards program, too!

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I bought my cloth diapers before my oldest was born (she's 7) so I won't comment on brands. What I will say is that flat diapers are very inexpensive, especially if you just want to test the water with cloth and can easily be used as dusters/rags after the fact. If you like cloth you'll enjoy the prefolds and all in ones which are more like disposable diapers.
My diapers have clearly paid for themselves now as I'm using them on child #2. I spent less than $200 on my diapers because I used mostly flat diapers and skipped the expensive all in ones. Basically at an average of $20 a pack of diapers, which might last a week you'll spend at least $80 to $100 per month on disposables. Within 2 months my diapers had paid for themselves and that didn't even include wipes. I just used baby face cloths for wipes.
They are not messy. Get a pail with a lid and just put the diapers in. You may want to rinse the poopy ones in the toilet beforehand, but as long as you're washing every 3 days or so you shouldn't even have to do that. Dump the bucket of diapers in the washing machine. Wash them in hot, let them soak, do a couple of cold rinses or even run them through the wash a couple of times. Then just throw them in the dryer.
My husband swore up and down he wasn't going to change any diapers. He uses the cloth without a problem. I had to show him how but now it's no big deal.
You will save a ton of money even after you figure in the cost of using the washing machine! It takes a little more of your time but every time you go to the store and don't buy a pack of diapers it will be money in your pocket!
Hope that helps.

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Hi! Yahoo and good for you! Yes, I think it's totally worth it.

Suggestions as requested:

1. Bumgenius are my favorite. I tried a few different kinds and they worked OK. These worked great and are really soft.

2. Depends on your diapering tendencies. If you change every time there is a pee and/or use brand name diapers you'll save a ton.

3. Sometimes! If the kiddo had diarrhea you can always use disposable during that time. I really think using the Kushie's disposable liner (looks like toilet paper) makes a huge difference. You just lift out the poo and flush. Really helpful if making the switch from disposables to cloth.

4. I would only ask for help on the pee diapers since it was my decision to switch to cloth. They are really quite simple to use!

Good luck L.!!

T.

p.s.
get a toilet sprayer - worth it's weight in gold!!

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Cloth diapers would be great for the ecological reasons. I'm thinking of possibly switching to them also at some point. However, cost-wise I don't expect to benefit greatly. We buy Sam's Club generic diapers now and spend about $35 per month on them. My bottom line would be less waste.

I might be the only one who has said this, but I hated cloth diapers! It was such a pain and I know they are environmentally friendly, but I would never use them again and decided to just go with the environmentally friendly disposable diepers, which cost a lot more, but they are stress free:)

We just made the switch and I'm really happy so far.

GDiapers- really, really love them (they even carry them at most babies r us stores, but I got mine from their website)

It is more money right up front, I had to spend about $200 to get started but won't have to spend any more until she needs the large size which some babies never grow into before being potty trained.

It's not messy, but not nearly as neat and orderly as disposables. I have two wet bags, one big one hanging near her changing table and a small one for my diaper bag. Every other day I just toss everything including the wet bag in the washer, then dry.

My husband only changes her first thing in the morning, and overnight I still put her in disposables (I love the Target brand too) so he never has to deal with the cloth.

Overall you will save money even if you use disposables for things like we do (longer car trips, overnight...) One thing that really got me was hearing that each diaper takes 500 years to decompose. Check out www.gdiapers.com they have some good videos you can watch. They also make disposable inserts that decompose much faster, but that will end up costing you more.

Good luck, if you switch it might take a week or so to figure out your routine, but once you do it's worth your while!

Hi L.!

I have been cloth diapering my 9 month old daughter for about 4 months. I tried Bum Genius 3.0... worked fine, but did not like the velcro closures and they are a bit on the pricey side.
I ended up ordering pocket diapers with the snaps on ebay. They are one size fits all ( there are snaps to adjust the rise and around their waist). Each diaper came with an insert. They were made in China and quite a bit cheaper than the Bum Genius or some of the other brands out there. I also use a disposable liner which catches most of the poop so the diaper itself stays pretty clean. That way after she poops, i shake the load and the liner into the toilet and flush! The rest of the diaper gets folded up and put in the diaper pail.I bought about 4 nylon laundry bags at the dollar store and a medium size garbage can with a lid. I put a liner in the can, and when I do a load of diapers i throw the nylon liner in too. And i always have an fresh bag to put in the can.

I wash every 2 days usually. I use a dye free fragrance free detergent (and only a very small amount), some Borax laundry booster, and in the fabric softener cup I put plain old white vinegar (neutralizes the urine smell!). I do extra rinse and spin too.

I find that now that she is bigger, I need to add a diaper doubler to absorb all her pee. They make hemp ones that are thin and very absorbent!

I do still have disposables in the house (Target Up & Up brand is great and cheap!) My hubby cant do the snaps on the cloth, but that's ok.

I also use cloth wipes too. I bought about 25 cheap cloth washcloths. I bought a wipe warmer (I think the brand is Prince Lionheart) I roll up the cloths and saturate them in a solution of water, baby oil and a bit of baby soap. That way when I wipe her, I can put the wipe in the diaper and just wahs everything all together, instead of having to separate a cloth diaper and a disposable wipe.

There are a ton of websites out there dedicated to cloth diapering. There are a ton of different types of diapers... you just have to buy a couple and see what you like.

Cottonbabies.com is a good place to start...

Good Luck!

S.

1. Sandy's Diaper by Motherease.com. They are the most absorbent on the market. I highly recommend the bamboo ones.

2. Since I don't use lots of disposables, I can't really quantify. My son's now 1; his first year we bought ~6 96-packs of diapers and 6 packages of wipes (mainly for the diaper bags). I have Green Mountain hemp wipes, plus Kissiluv wipes for messy diapers. The wipes wear like iron and get the kids much more clean.

3. Rubber gloves. If the mess scares you, you can use rice paper liners, and just put the liner and all into the toilet. I can do anything with rubber gloves--and a nice room deodorizer / spray.

4. My husband will do everything . . . he had helped his mom when he was a kid with the baby's diapers. I do most of them, but have him change once he's home and a lot on the weekends. A couple of ideas to help your husband:
- once you've picked out what you like, show him on the web.
- buy one or two of the top couple picks to take a look at and try.

We didn't start using cloth immediately. We usually shifted over when our kids were around 1 month old.

You've already got TONS of great responses. I will say that I spent about $500 on everything I need to diaper a baby until potty trained and that wasn't with the "cheap" option. I did buy the "cute" stuff for the most part and have a variety of diaper brands. It's hard to know what diaper is best because babies are shaped differently and brands fit differently. Plus people's "annoyances" and "conveniences" vary. For me personally I don't want to scrape or spray anything off into a toilet (though I did find out your supposed to do that with disposables too...just nobody does). So I bought the flushable liners to go inside. My hubby doesn't mind them, but I bought the kind that you just put on and take off like a disposable so he doesn't have to do anything different really. Washing is done about every 2-3 days with what I have (25 diapers + "old-fashioned" pre-folds as backups). You use less as a baby gets older. The wash is a little different than with normal clothes, but that may be because I have a front loader that uses less water. I do a pre-wash on cold (no detergent), wash on warm/hot with the recommended detergent (you use a special kind) and then an additional rinse. Sometimes I put them in the dryer, sometime I hang them dry. Overall it's a little more work, but I spend TONS less (and that was the biggest factor for me cause we're on a VERY tight budget now). It's also better for their little bottoms and the environment! Good luck with whatever you choose!

1. We used Happy Heinys one size with my first and now we use prefolds and wool covers with my second. There are lots of online shops out there, many will "rent" you a sampler of diapers to allow you to choose what you like. Then you get your money towards a purchase when you return the sampler. There are so many types of diapers out there. Here is my favorite link explaining all of them: http://www.wildflowerdiapers.com/cloth-diaper-definitions...

2. I SPLURGED on cloth diapers and spent $500 on them which will last through two kids and from newborn to toddlerhood. They estimate that disposables cost approximately $1500 per kid....that means I saved about $2500.

3. They go in the wash machine. If they have urine or newborn breastfed poop, they go straight in. Solid poops or formula poops get shaken off into the toilet and flushed and then they go straight in the washer. Here is a link, you do want to use a particular detergent (nothing natural...too oily) and there are some pros and cons to front loaders (less water, can't soak) and standard top loaders. http://www.wildflowerdiapers.com/cloth-diaper-faq.asp#faq...

4. My husband was not a fan.....he now diapers my sons in all of the types of diapers we use, including flats which are just like the old fashioned kinds with pins. I have even heard him tell his friends that we cloth diaper and that it is environmentally friendly. He's totally on board now.

You ought to try it. If you aren't squeamish about used, you can get great deals on Craigslist...many of them are new as a lot of people don't stick it out. good luck!

By the way, it's nice to know that you aren't putting all of those nasty chemicals on your baby's bum or in the landfills.

You can definitely go crazy on buying cloth. I bought mostly flats and covers (thirsties) i also bought some all in ones/pockets. I love love love Katydidcloth.com!! they are super soft and easy.

I have a site on my other computer that offers 2 weeks of cloth at $50 and you can send it back if you don't like them, or purchase the set. Email me at stephers ____@____.com to remind me to send it to you, if you are interested!

1- I actually love a brand of fitted diapers made locally with Bummis covers. You should check out any local Green or crafting stores to see if you have local WAHM who make cloth diapers - they may be cheaper and easier to buy. Otherwise, I have always really liked BumGenius. My son is very tall and is now outgrowing them, and he wears FuzziBunz regularly. You can buy both on amazon.com

2- I'm not sure you can calculate savings in days or months but more like years. You will spend a lot more on cloth upfront, but then (especially if you buy one-size-fits-all), you won't have to spend money again. The savings are even greater if you use the same diapers for second children! The diapers I buy cost between $15-$25 a diaper, and I go through at least 8 a day, so I probably need to own at least 18 diapers, maybe more. You do have to change cloth diapers more frequently than disposables. However, a pack of disposables costs about $14 and will last a couple of weeks. I think if you do the math, I think you'll find that it will take about 6-8 months before you break even, and everything after that is savings. This assumes that you are a full-time cloth diaperer. I know lots of people who cloth diaper during the day but not at night, or cloth diaper when home but not when going out, etc. This will mitigate the savings, although then you wouldn't have to buy as many cloth, so you'll have to make your own decisions about your approach.

3 - Not really. It's a little messier than disposables, but anyone with a baby gets used to dealing with poop and pee. I keep a covered trash can in the nursery for cloth diapers and toss them in when soiled. I also have a bucket of water for the poopy diapers. Poopy diapers have the solids dumped in the toilet and then soaked in the bucket (we have low-flow toilets, so washing them in the toilet as is traditionally done just isn't possible for us). I wash diapers about every 2-3 days.

4- My husband prefers the cloth diapers because he is very much an environmentalist and he feels good using them. However, he wouldn't touch the prefold diapers. He was intimidated by them. Now that the diapers we use are very easy, either pocketed or fitted with covers, he is completely fine with it. Of course, he isn't home during the day, so I still change the majority of the diapers. ^_~

Good luck!

We use FuzziBunz - very easy to use so my husband and mother-in-law have no problem with them. If you get them used and then sell them when you are done with them you will have spent very little $. I wash about 2x/week. I don't find it stressful at all!

I loved them. I used Fuzzy Bunz. Easy to use. I did pretty much all the diapering, but I didn't mind. But, seriously, it is not much different from paper diapers. Someone once asked me if I would choose to use paper panties if I had the choice. Um. No. I just threw my diapers in a dry pail and washed them every other day. I dumped the messy stuff into the toilet right away. Not difficult. There are tons of diapering forums online that will answer all of your questions and more. And, they are so cute!

I used disposable diapers with my first two (never even crossed my mind to cloth diaper). They are now 3 and 5. Now with my third (11 weeks old), I decided to cloth diaper from the beginning. I have spent about $500 on the diapers up front (bumgenius one-size pockets that started fitting him after he hit about 9 lbs, and are supposed to fit through 35 lbs so hopefully will not have to purchase more). We also have prefolds/covers for back up. I do laundry every other day as a newborn goes through more diapers than an older baby. I believe this will save us about $1500 over the long haul of diapering. And when you feel the softness of a brand new cloth diaper, you'll wonder how your baby could stand to have that scratchy disposable on. Also, my older two had constant diaper rash ... we had to constantly slather them in diaper cream after every diaper change. My third has never even come close to diaper rash with the cloth.

There is a used diaper selling/buying/trading forum at www.diaperswappers.com, but if you choose to purchase used, I would caution you to make sure that you are getting excellent used condition (EUC) diapers ... especially if you purchase a one-size diaper as you will want these to last a long time. A diaper that's already been used for a year will have lots more wear and tear on the elastic, velcro or aplix and diaper lining as opposed to a sized diaper that might only be used for 2 or 3 months. I hope that makes sense.

I've done quite a bit of research myself into cloth diapering, and I would love to answer any other questions you have (night diapering, washing diapers, etc). Just send me a private message, and I'll send you my email address. Good luck!

Hi L.,
I love cloth diapers. If you're talking about pocket diapers my favorites are Fuzzi Bunz and BumGenius. I like the softness of the fleece in FB and the trimness of the BG. FB have snap closures, BG have velcro closures.

It's hard to think of savings in weeks or months. The expense is at one time in the beginning, other than water and detergent usage. There is an online calculator (google "cloth diaper calculator") that will factor in what you spend on cloth diapers with average electricity/water/detergent use and tell you how long it'll take to break even. I'm using the same cloth diapers on a second baby so that's even more savings. One word of caution though: cloth diapers are so cute and can be addicting :) A friend who switched to cloth for her 3rd baby recently made this observation.

Cleaning them isn't a big deal, it's just 2 more loads of laundry a week. I wash a load of diapers every 3 days. Breastfed baby poop doesn't even need to be rinsed off in the toilet, the washing machine takes care of it. Solid baby poop often shakes off the the fleece, paper liners can be used then you toss it poop and all into the toilet. The occasional diaper will need to be rinsed well either in the toilet or with a sprayer attached to the toilet.

My husband has no problem with them. His preference are the pocket diapers or all-in-ones but he'll even use the prefolds with a snappi-clip. He likes that we don't have to budget for diapers every month. My 2 year old found a disposable diaper left over from a friend and wanted to wear it, when my husband changed her out of it he commented that he likes the softness of her cloth diapers better. My sister switched to cloth with her 4th baby, her husband was reluctant. Now even he prefers the cloth.

Best wishes, K.