First Timer with a Question - CD vs DD

AggieBeth06

Have any of you tried cloth diapers but ended up switching to disposables?

There's lots of great info about why to choose CD, but I'd love to hear the opposing side. I'm really interested in going the CD route, but I want to hear if the cost savings are really there and if dealing with the cleaning/laundry/poop business is really not that much more inconvenient than with disposables.

TIA!

Halo79RN

I've done both.  

CD was fun.. fun styles, expensive start up, but cheap overall (my utility bills didn't really go up). it just added a load of laundry every other day.  not bad b/c I usually did one load a day anyway.  convenient with 2 under 2yrs of age.  tricky to get the right detergent for dd's sensitive skin.  

DD I used when they were newborns and on vacations and sometimes when having a crazy, busy week... also kept on hand for stomach bugs. with dd I went back and forth a lot b/c of the detergent issue.  she had sensitive skin so even DD caused a problem . she could only wear pampers  ... until I figured out the right wash for her. then she wore CD

 

reasons to not CD???  if you're in an area with drought issues.  if you frequently have to reserve water (watering your yard is limited by the city) you may want to use DD.  if dc goes to a daycare that will not allow CDs.  great daycare trumps CDs in my book. 

overall, I had fun with the CD shopping.  made cute customs for special occasions. fun. you can resell them when done (diaperswappers.com) many people buy used , boil and or strip them and use the used ones.  I probably got back 3/4 of what I spend buying CDs.  so overall much cheaper. (dh preferred I buy new ... so I did... but the CDs dd outgrew, moved on to ds... and there was a long time they both fit in the same dipes, so they just all went in one storage area and they wore whatever I pulled out).    I would do it again if we had a 3rd. 

hikerbeth

The cost savings really is there.  I have spent $700 or so on CD (and I didn't go totally cheap. . . got some more expensive pockets and AIO's) and diapered DD for 3 years and am on year 1 with DS.

I use disposibles for travel and cases where it's just too much to bring cloth (ie: camping).

I only do diaper laundry every 3 days or so.

cokt

I did cloth with DS from birth until he was potty trained at 2. I probably spent a total of $500 on cloth diapers. I can't imagine buying 2 years of disposables for cheaper than that. When he was little I did diaper laundry twice a week, and once he was older I did it once a week. I used disposables anytime we spent the night away from home. I found that he had leaks and blow outs anytime he was in disposables as a newborn, so I definitely preferred cloth. With the new baby I plan on doing the same thing and I don't expect to need to buy any new diapers. Although I probably won't be able to resist a few new ones in cute colors :-) So getting 2 kids through diapers for that cheap is a huge savings over disposables.

hikerbeth

cokt:

I did cloth with DS from birth until he was potty trained at 2. I probably spent a total of $500 on cloth diapers. I can't imagine buying 2 years of disposables for cheaper than that. When he was little I did diaper laundry twice a week, and once he was older I did it once a week. I used disposables anytime we spent the night away from home. I found that he had leaks and blow outs anytime he was in disposables as a newborn, so I definitely preferred cloth. With the new baby I plan on doing the same thing and I don't expect to need to buy any new diapers. Although I probably won't be able to resist a few new ones in cute colors :-) So getting 2 kids through diapers for that cheap is a huge savings over disposables.

I will say I had to buy a few new things for DS (not just for the cuteness factor, but actually for fit) because he has a much different body shape than DD and different preferences.  He just could not handle simple prefolds. . . he had to have something with a fleece liner.