Should I bother?

Mrs. Bella

Hi there,

I've never posted here before, but we have recently decided that I will most likely stay home with the baby for the first 5 or 6 months and go back to working at that point (and baby would presumably go to daycare).  I was planning on using disposables prior to this decision, but now I'm wondering if maybe it's worth trying CDs during the time I'm home.

I should probably add that any future kids we have will probably be a few years down the road and I will most likely be working full-time then, with the kid(s) in daycare, so I'm not very likely to use CDs with future babies.

[Poll]

Thanks in advance!

flyer23

I do think it's worth it... if your goal is to save money, you can easily CD for 5-6 months for less than the cost of disposables, as long as you don't go nuts with what you buy. If your goal is to be more "green," every diaper that doesn't go into a landfill is better than a diaper that does! If your goal is to reduce your child's chemical exposure, same deal, every hour spent in cloth is an hour less that s/he is exposed to the chemicals in disposables.

But... are you sure that your daycare won't do cloth? It's worth asking, if you haven't already.

Dr.Loretta

I take it you already know that your daycare won't do cloth? Some do. And even if they don't, you can CD in the evenings and on weekends.

Mrs. Bella

Clarification regarding daycare: I was laid off before I knew I was pregnant, so when I do go back to working, I will be looking for a different job, and we will most likely be selling the house and moving to a different area (closer to husband's work & our families).

So in short, I have no idea where we'll live, where I'll work, or where my son will go to daycare!  And the daycare at my husband's workplace (which we might end up using) is only now being built.  So... I'll keep in mind that some apparently allow it, but I really can't know that or count on it until we get there!

pixy_stix

::scratches head::

So your cd decision is based on hypothetical daycare?

I'd say do it and find daycare that will use cds.  They're becoming more mainstream every day.

Mrs. Bella

pixy_stix:

::scratches head::

So your cd decision is based on hypothetical daycare?

I'd say do it and find daycare that will use cds.  They're becoming more mainstream every day.

I haven't made a decision yet, which is why I'm asking the question.  And hypotheticals is all we have to go on with our current situation, as I tried to clarify.  All I had to go on prior to posting here is the CD section in "Baby Bargains," which states that most daycares do not allow CDs because of health code regulations or something along that line.

ETA: Also, the logic behind stopping CDs when I go back to work is that I work in a stressful field with long work days, so I think I may be more inclined to spend my evenings and weekends catching up with my baby whom I haven't seen all week, rather than in the laundry room.  Maybe I'll get flamed for not understanding the true ins and outs of CDing, but I'm just trying to envision the situation as realistically as I can.  I realize I won't really know what it's like til I get there.

pixy_stix

1.  Most states now have provisions in their health code that allow cds.  In fact, Connecticut allows cloth diapers in daycares.  If one tells you it's against code, they're straight up lying to you, and I wouldn't use them anyway.

2.  The laundry isn't all that much.  One extra load every other day.  You'll get much more than that with just baby laundry.

StephanieDM

Ditto everything pixy said.

a.bartholomew

If you really think you won't use them in 5-6 months then in my opinion, no it is not worth it.  Newborns typically need an extra small size just for the first 1-2 months and then you move up a size so typically, a newborn stash is a whole seperate stash from a baby stash.

 

That being said, just a thought from another DC (soon to be-in two weeks) momma, we found one DC that said no but it was crappy anyway.  The one we went with will just fold up the diaper and put it in the wetbag we send.  Every other DC we looked at basically said the same thing.  My guess is you would find a DC that was willing to work with you more often than not.  Good luck!  I highly recommend you just go for it and find a DC that will.

monona9

I put yes because I feel that most people that have the smallest desire to use cloth diapers will probably end up loving it! You could CD on the weekends too. The pros outweight the cons really. You could also sell them if you don't end up using or liking them.

Also from what I've read on here a lot of working mamas have good luck with DC using their CDs. To be honest I wouldn't want my DD at a DC that refused to use them, especially because DD has sensitive skin and we use CD for her health.

kar5162

Lots of daycares take CDs now.  Also, baby sleeps 10.5-12 hours a night usually so that gives you lots of time to throw an extra load of laundry in every few days.  We used disposables when I was working 10 hours a day + going to school a few nights a week, but since I graduated we've been back in cloth and very happy about it.

MWoodside

Mrs. Bella:

pixy_stix:

::scratches head::

So your cd decision is based on hypothetical daycare?

I'd say do it and find daycare that will use cds.  They're becoming more mainstream every day.

ETA: Also, the logic behind stopping CDs when I go back to work is that I work in a stressful field with long work days, so I think I may be more inclined to spend my evenings and weekends catching up with my baby whom I haven't seen all week, rather than in the laundry room.  Maybe I'll get flamed for not understanding the true ins and outs of CDing, but I'm just trying to envision the situation as realistically as I can.  I realize I won't really know what it's like til I get there.

Babies go to sleep pretty early.  At least mine does.  I work FT & don't feel I miss out on any time whatsoever with my child b/c we CD.  I take 2-3 min & throw in a diaper load once every other day.  I would estimate that laundry takes about 15 min including matching up all the inserts every other day.  As another poster stated you spend more time doing/folding baby laundry than diapers. 

jCamsquared

I said yes, because I'd be willing to bet that you will end up loving it so much that you'll base your DC choice around CDing, rather than the other way around.

Mrs. Bella

Thanks for the helpful feedback!  I'll have to look into it.