having second thoughts on cloth diapering

BrendaLou1969

Ok, for YEARS I've been planning on cloth diapering my kids.  Well, i'm in my third tri., and I'm starting to have second thoughts.  I'm having a c-section so hubby and I bought some disposables to use during my recovery and they are just too cute and tiny and trim.  I then compare them to my cloth diaper stash and I wonder what in the world am I setting myself up for. 

Can I really do this?  Will the poop just gross me out beyond belief and I give up before I really start?  I want to cloth diaper for financial and environmental reasons and honestly some of the diapers are just TOO CUTE for words, but then again I have the poop factor.  My husbands comment to my ranting was "well, they must make disposable diapers for a reason" ugh!  Big help.  However, I will say he is fine either way cloth or disposable.  I actually think he is leaning more towards cloth now that he saw the price tag of disposables.

  I'm just really nervous.  I'm wondering if my front loading washing machine will make the process a whole lot tougher....(as I ramble).  Sorry, maybe it is just the hormones talking.

Any words of encouragement?

MWoodside

It's suuuuper easy.  I swear.

Plus you aren't really touching the poop.  I BF so before I began solids I just tossed poop diapers in the pail & washed.  Now I plop it in the toilet.  I feel lilke you'd touch just as much, if not more, poop using disposables due to all the blowouts.

I can't speak to a front loading machine b/c I don't have one, but I know plenty of people successfully CD with one so it can't be that big of a deal.

Edit:  One more thing.  I didn't see you mention the health benefits of CDing in your post.  Google 'chemicals in disposable diapers'.  If that doesn't make you want to CD I don't know what will.

Mrs.B6302007

I have a FL machine and it's fine.  I just have to adjust the amount of detergent to less (I use RnG) and put everything through an extra rinse.  To me, figuring out the right detergent to load size combo was the hardest part.  I use a little less than a tbsp for a full load.  My "full loads" are when my 13 gallon trash can that I use for diapers is 3/4 full which is every other day.

 You can do this!  Chemical-free fluffy bums are adorable and worth a little extra laundry.  =-)

lilwildthing

MWoodside:

Edit:  One more thing.  I didn't see you mention the health benefits of CDing in your post.  Google 'chemicals in disposable diapers'.  If that doesn't make you want to CD I don't know what will.

 

This!  I never considered CDing to begin with.  Not because of any preconceived ideas, it just never occured to me.  Then a friend of a friend starting talking to me about it.  The more I learned, the more nervous I became about the chemicals I was putting against my son's skin.  I made the switch to cloth when he was ten months, and I'm so glad!  It is easier than I initially thought it would be, and I'll never go back!

Dr.Loretta

Most people have more poo explosions with disposables than CDs. So if you're that concerned about the poop factor, you're safer going with CDs.

MermaidNM

They do make sposies for a reason:  travelling long distances without a washer. (Although some of the hard core girls here will disagree)  Other than that, CD are the way to go. 

 You get used to the extra fluff on the bum and learn to love it.  Washing, even with my front loader, is no problem and much more rewarding than washing regular laundry.  We did sposies at first and eased ourself into CDs, but now we are full time.  Two things that really helped me:  It is not all or nothing.  If you think it will be easier to use sposies for a trip out or at night, do it.  If you are anything like me, soon you will find that you love your CDs so much, you don't want to use sposies if you can help it.  Second, it is all about doing what is best for your family and your LO.  It is your call what is best.  Tell everyone else to shove it.

momofmanyinthemitten

DH, LO, and I LOVE our CDs. LO cries in sposies, we can't stand the smell, and she always has major blowouts in them. We have none of these problems with CDs.

Temp206787500007404

It's really easy...and we didn't even start in the "easy" EBF or EFF age where you can just wash the poo.  Cleaning them is super easy.  I think if I was just starting, I would probably use disposables during the meconium stage, but otherwise, I would go straight to cloth diapers.  You're not giving yourself enough credit...it's really easy.  And it makes laundry really fun!

And FWIW, poo explosions can happen in either cloth or disposables...the difference is that it is usually better contained in cloth.  Although my DD is notorious for the up the back explosions and I find they are equally bad in her disposables (she wore the kind that had elastic in the back) or her cloth diapers.  Poo is poo, regardless of what kind of diaper it's in...you're still going to have to wipe it off your kid...disposables don't magically absorb it.

wearenutts

I just started CD and love it. I never considered it before because I didn't know how easy it would be. I thought of the prefolds and pins and just didn't want to deal with it.

I was really tired of having blowouts and getting poo everywhere. We had at least one a week (and believe me we tried every diaper brand out there). I spent more time cleaning poo off her clothes, washing sheets or cleaning the couch then I do with poo in cloth diapers, and I was tired of spending money.

I wish I would have started from day one. 6 months is not to late to start is it? lol.

pixy_stix

Read your disposable diaper package.  You're supposed to dispose of the poop before tossing it in the garbage.  Otherwise you're polluting the landfill and water.  So you're going to be dealing with it one way or another if you want to be responsible.

Or you could be like the millions of other people out there that can't even disposable diaper correctly.

LJM0521

I put a disposable on DS2 yesterday, and he had a MAJOR poop explosion.  All the way up his back, covered his clothes, even in his hair.  He has never had a poop explosion in his cloth diapers.  If you are concerned about touching poop, cloth is definitely the way to go   DS1 wore disposables until he was 2 and I cannot tell you how many explosions we had. 

Using cloth has been so much easier than I thought it would be.  I will never go back to disposables! 

yodasmistress

I was really nervous about it before I started.  I too was afraid of poop.  To the point that I procrastinated even getting my stash together until after DS was born. And then once he was born and we were having regular poop-splosions on a semi-regular basis and that helps ya get over your fear real fast!.  My son poops with rocket force and we do still have occasional poop seepage even in cloth but it is no where near as bad as sposies.  And since that first fluffy bum he has never been in a sposie.  It's so much easier than I ever thought it would be!

jlewis121186

honestly, we did paper diapers until little lady was 9lbs, then as soon as they arrived in the mail, they were washed dried and on her butt!  we CD our son who is 2.5years old and the new little one, same size diapers since we used one sizers and they hold pee in better than her paper diapers did!  she would wake up screaming with her clothes wet at night with paper diapers...

 

i now have a stash of 62 pocket one sizers that I got on ebay from the most reasonable seller with the best product...it only cost me $280 for all 62 and they are super cute

these are my newest ones

jlewis121186

ugh, pads are nasty, lol.  i love this new brand we have started using, they are shaped right, very absorbent, and soft!  i will never go back to paper diapers...

BlindysWife

jlewis121186:

honestly, we did paper diapers until little lady was 9lbs, then as soon as they arrived in the mail, they were washed dried and on her butt!  we CD our son who is 2.5years old and the new little one, same size diapers since we used one sizers and they hold pee in better than her paper diapers did!  she would wake up screaming with her clothes wet at night with paper diapers...

i now have a stash of 62 pocket one sizers that I got on ebay from the most reasonable seller with the best product...it only cost me $280 for all 62 and they are super cute

 

Oh my gosh, what is the seller? Those are adorable and I need some more dipes...!!