Why people say "cloth didn't work for us"?

acmayn01

I see on de-stashing or for sale posts that people say "cloth diapering didn't work for us" and I'm trying to figure out why. I've already bought a lot of diapers and supplies, and would hate to discover that it didn't "work" for my family. Granted, I'm a soon-to-be FTM, so I'm pretty clueless about the day-to-day business of using cloth.

Why do you think this is? Just people don't like the lifestyle, having to wash, etc? Or something else that I should be considering?

Dr.Loretta

There are a host of reasons, including:

They bought all of one type/brand and that didn't fit their LO

Their child is a preemie and/or had medical issues that made it harder, and they threw in the towel

Recovery from childbirth was a nightmare, and CDing was something they didn't want to throw into the mix

They were actively discouraged by friends/family after they'd already bought a stash

They encountered issues (stink, repelling, etc.) that they weren't able to solve

They had to move somewhere that didn't have a washer/dryer, or had a communal one that didn't allow for CDing

They didn't realize there was a learning curve, and didn't get over the hump (I could regale you with tales of things I did wrong in the beginning)

I don't think you have anything to worry about. It's typically a lot easier than you gear up for. And if it "doesn't work", you can sell them.

MidwestGidget

Cloth is still working great for us, but if I had to hazard a guess or two...

1. spouse was never on board, and this can make diaper changing very hard.

2. Bad luck or poor care or terrible water quality (really hard water, etc.) makes diapers smell or repel too frequently for people to deal with.

3. Tried only one brand of diapers and went all in, only to find that diaper didn't work, and doesn't want to spend that initial set up cost again on a different style of diaper.

acmayn01

Thanks for your thoughts! When I see comments like that, it just makes me paranoid that I won't be able to figure it out or will give in to whatever factor made them make that decision. And my family is already waiting for me to fail, so that doesn't help :-)

hispenguin

This happened to a good friend of mine. She was really excited about CDing when she was pg, and then gave up after I think about a month. For her part of the problem was buying a really cheap, not well reviewed system (kushies) that didn't fit her daughter well and leaked all the time. She was also doing a wet pail system, so I'm sure the mess with that figured into her stopping very quickly as well.

kissntell

hispenguin:

This happened to a good friend of mine. She was really excited about CDing when she was pg, and then gave up after I think about a month. For her part of the problem was buying a really cheap, not well reviewed system (kushies) that didn't fit her daughter well and leaked all the time. She was also doing a wet pail system, so I'm sure the mess with that figured into her stopping very quickly as well.

 I have a friend who quit CDing as well.  Her husband cannot tolerate poop at.all.  He gags just picking up dog poo in the yard.  They tried using Gdiapers, which I think might be more gag inducing than an AIO (more handling of poopy fabric than just putting a diaper in a pail).  It wasn't a battle they wanted to fight, so they quit.

But they tried!  You'll be fine!  CDs are great.

NYGirl02

You can always do a trial if you are nervous.  I think there are far more people that try it and love it, than try it and dislike.  Otherwise, there wouldn't be this board full of poeple who are obsessed (including me!)

tokenhoser

I bought a bunch of diapers that were bought, prepped, and never worn.

I think she just psyched herself out that it would be too hard and never even tried. I can't imagine getting that far in and not giving it a shot, but I guess I don't have much fear of the unknown. For some people, they get how disposables work and just aren't quite willing to learn something new. I didn't know anything, so I learned about cloth and now I have no idea what to do on the rare occasion I use disposables.

funkymonkeyohyeahhh

tokenhoser:

I bought a bunch of diapers that were bought, prepped, and never worn.

I think she just psyched herself out that it would be too hard and never even tried. I can't imagine getting that far in and not giving it a shot, but I guess I don't have much fear of the unknown. For some people, they get how disposables work and just aren't quite willing to learn something new. I didn't know anything, so I learned about cloth and now I have no idea what to do on the rare occasion I use disposables.

Ditto. I just bought some diapers from a new mom that never even tried them for this reason. It's crazy to me that people spend money building a stash and then never give it a shot. It is just a fear of the unknown.

My MIL also has a girl in her church group that quit CDing after not long because she bought an entire stash of one diaper (G diapers) and they didn't work for her, so she wrote cloth off completely. (Btw, for this reason MIL is very skeptical of cloth because "this girl makes her own baby food, so it isn't like she doesn't put effort in to things!" Ha. Mmkay.)