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Hawaii Babies
Talk to me about disposables vs. CDs
So DH and I are open to the idea of trying CDs on the little dude when he arrives. It's not set in stone and we only have a few different ones (I think 5?) to try and were thinking of doing disposables for the first few weeks to get our bearings on this whole "infant" thing first 
However, many people have been doling out their opinions on CDs -- that they're terrible, there's no point, we won't last more than a week using them, it's such a crazy idea, etc. To be honest, it's getting downright... discouraging (and a little annoying; a part of me really wants to stick it out just to prove them wrong).
So tell me about diapering: Do you CD? Why or why not? Do you find it easier than disposables? What are the benefits and drawbacks to both? Anything else you want to add??
Thanks in advance!
I should also add, though, we live in an apt in NYC and we don't have a washer/dryer in unit. There's a laundry room in the basement that we can use 24 hours a day -- but I'm not sure how cost-effective it'll be for us. As for the "effort" part, it's really not a huge deal. It's an elevator ride downstairs. Additionally, we do have a Costco in Manhattan that's very easy for us to get to with a car (for 'sposies if we go that route and they sell our preferred brand). So as I said, we're still toying with the idea but at least want to give it a chance...
cai(o)&cullen+ahk
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Re: Talk to me about disposables vs. CDs
We did it and loved it. I recommend it, especially while BFing. Honestly, though, once the solids started at 6 months, the poop got INSANE and I couldn't deal with all the diaper spraying, the liners that sometimes worked and sometimes didn't, and all the stewey messes. My CDing slowly tapered and I quit entirely around 12 months. Every baby is different, but mine pooped constantly and it was not always predictable, so after trying to "time" the poops with disposables and never guessing right, I stopped. I do hope to resume once he's more predictable and/or we start potty training, though.
When A was born, I waited a few weeks to start CDing, but honestly, it was really easy in the beginning when he was tiny and all we had to deal with was pee and BF poop. You go through so many diapers then, too. Everything just went into the bag and then into the laundry every few days. If we have another, I will be CDing from day one and definitely continuing until solids! :-) I really liked prefolds in the early days, but also used BumGeniuses and preferred those once he got squirmy.
Living on an island, I really like knowing I reduced our throw-aways, and I do think it was cost-effective for us and healthier for baby. Not knowing how much your laundry costs, what types of CDs you plan to use and considering that diapers are decently priced at Costco, I don't know if it'll save you money, but it might be worth a try if you prefer it for other reasons. I think you also have to consider whether or not your DCP will use them when you think about the long-term practicality. It was easy for me since I'm mostly a SAHM, but I might've considered otherwise if I was working and had less time to keep up the laundry. You have to wash frequently or your diapers can go to shreds -- trust me on that ! ;-) Let us know what you decide!
First of all, DO NOT listen to anyone who tells you how hard it will be/how useless it is/etc. who has not actually CDed a baby in the past five years. CDing has come a looooong way since our parents generation, even in the past 10 years. It is not a valid argument to compare CDing now to CDing then. Just recently I showed one my son's dipes to a few relatives of mine who had previously made comments about how stupid it was for me to CD. Once they saw the actual dipe and saw me change DS's diaper with them, they started talking about how cool they were, and "if I had those years ago, I wouldn't have minded it!"
That said, we also bought about 5-6 cloth diapers before Henry was born to just try them out. We actually did not use them until about 2 months, since we had so many disposable diapers given to us as gifts that we used up first. Then we tried it on a very limited basis.....I'm talking I'd use the 5-6 I had one day, then back to 'sposies until I got to wash them and redid that cycle every few days.
But then I really started to like them. I actually enjoyed washing them (true, I get a weird pleasure out of washing them, drying them, and re-stuffing my pockets and lining them up by color, I know it sounds strange, but I'm not the first one to ever say that, either!). I really enjoyed putting them on my kid....they looked nicer and felt nicer. I loved that I had a lot less trash to take out on the days that we used them. And I loooooved paying less for 'sposies once we started to use CDs, too.
So I bought more of my favorite brands. And more. And more. Now I've got about 30 (you do not need that many, I just got a little addicted for a while there....it happens!) And I LOVE them! We do still use 'sposies at daycare (we did a month-long trial of cloth with them, they were not fans. I think they're just so used to disposables), so I compromised on that. Besides, I'm off for the summer now, so he only goes to daycare for a few hours in the morning twice a week. And we do use a nighttime disposable at night (I have yet to find a diaper, cloth or disposable, besides Huggies Overnights that will hold my kids mess all night long, and even they only work about 80% of the time). But now a pack of disposables lasts literally 10 times as long as it did when I was using them exclusively.
I would never pressure anyone to CD if they weren't into it. If you want to try it, but then it doesn't work out for you, no worries. Everyone's situation is different. Partly you have to make the decision based on your circumstances. It's a very personal choice. I understand the reasons that people do both. Personally, I think it's kind also of a personality thing. CDing suits my slightly OCD personality. The main reason I do it (in order) are: 1. Money (I hate buying all those disposables, and then also paying more for extra trash pickup). 2. Cuteness (they are so darn cute! And soft. And colorful) 3. Less chemicals on LO's most delicate areas (some of you may remember I had a very TMI story a while back about a nasty rash I had received postpartum from wearing pads so much. Once I read about what's in those pads that caused it, and also what's in 'sposies, I had to re-think a few of my previous beliefs), and 4. The impact on the environment (I'm all about being green, but it's honestly the least important reason for me, personally. It's cool and all, but not the main reason I do it).
Everyone has their favorite brand and types, so it's usually recommended to try out a few different ones first. For example, I adore FuzziBunz....they are by far my favorite diaper. But I know others have had trouble with fit, it just depends on your LO. However, I do recommend checking out their website (www.fuzzibunz.com). They have a good FAQ page about myths surrounding CDing that may help if you're looking for arguments for detractors.
Decide what's best for you and your family, but I just wanted to share our experience. HTH and good luck!
We CD and are happy with our decision. That said, you really have to weight the pros and cons for your lifestyle and situation. With coin laundry, it could be done, but keep in mind that most wash cycles for CDs include two times through the wash (one cold water and one hot water with detergent) and then drying (which for ours takes two times on our "towel setting"...our W/D were bought in 2008 but I think due to our high humidity here our dipes don't dry the first time in the dryer). Some people do line dry and if that's an option it would save you money.
We started CDing when Libby was 6 days old and only used sposies when travelling during her first year. We never had a leak or blow out in our CDs (we use PFs with Thirsties Covers) but we did in sposies (we tried Pampers and Huggies). Around 12 months we battled some severe diaper rash and used sposies exclusively for about 2.5 months until to finally cleared up. I hated buying sposies (we pay $20 for 70 Huggies Pure and Natural) and the costs added up. Not too mention the garbage and waste! So as soon as we could get back to CDs we did. That said, we did give up our nighttime CD because it was what was causing the rash. So we use one sposie/day now and just for her overnight dipe. So 70 last us a LONG time!
We wash every other day (we use cloth wipes, at home, too) and our routine is one time though on cold and then one time through on hot with a little detergent. Then into the dryer (we hang the diaper pail liner and her diaper covers to air dry). At 17 months, she only uses 6-7 CDs/day and her one sposie. We go through a cover once a day too (due to poops). Anyway, we are happy that we chose CDs and we're all set now for baby #2.
A lot of CD retailers offer "trials" where you can get a sampling of different diapers to try out for 30 days before you decide if it's for you. It can also help you decide which system you like. For example, we tried Fuzzi Bunz, but they never fit Libby right and we had leaks. We LOVE our Indian Cotton Prefolds (OsoCozy Brand) and Thirsties Covers (Duos, mainly, but we did use XS and S when she was a newborn). We have 4 Thirsties Duo Diapers with additional hemp doublers that we used for overnight from age 2-12 months (never leaked)! Now, we use them during the day, if need be, since we use a sposie at night.
TTC/PG Blog | Mommy Blog
+1 to everything the other girls have already said. we CD, and I love it. we did use sposies for a little less than a month after we left the hospital, but then transitioned over to CD'ing full-time. once E started sleeping longer at night and getting leaks, we used sposies for about 2 months overnight until I figured out a nighttime solution that works for us, and we've been back to CDing full-time ever since. MH and even my dad are very comfortable using prefolds (PF) and covers - in fact, my dad (who watches E during the day while we're at work) prefers the PFs over our pockets! we started out with 2 doz infant-sized PFs and 4 thirsties duo covers. when we moved up in size, i got 1 doz PFs, 3 thirsties duo covers in the size up, and a few different kinds of pockets. I love Fuzzibunz and BumGenius (BG) Elementals for how trim they are, and we use BG AIOs stuffed with an extra hemp doubler for overnight. we never leak in CDs (except overnight, before we started using the BG AIOs), and i can count the number of blowouts we've had on one hand. OTOH, 2 different types of Pampers leaked every.single.day, and i found the smell of some of them nauseating. We finally did find some sposies that work for us (Huggies), and we use them when we travel, and i always have 1-2 in the diaper bag as backup (even though I pack CDs when we're out for the day too).
we CD because of the cost savings, b/c I want to minimize the chemicals that come in contact with E's super, super, infuriatingly, sensitive skin, and b/c of environmental reasons. i love that we're not throwing away a huge trash bag of diapers every week, and that we have everything we need for baby #2. that said, if we had to do coin laundry, I may think twice - not b/c of the effort, but b/c of the cost. I'd definitely do some math and figure out the difference. you can get sposies for a very reasonable price on amazon through subscribe and save, and you definitely need to go with whatever works best for your family.
ditto what everyone else said! we've been CDing since she was a newborn, basically after the meconium was gone (I was worried about staining though I've heard that sometimes it doesn't stain). I got a variety of diapers... prefolds, AIOs, pockets, fitteds....to see what I would like. I was pretty sure I'd like PFs and AIOs, so that's what I got the most of. luckily I was right...but I have heard that often it depends on the preferences of the parents, the size/shape of the baby (for fit), etc. so you shouldn't invest in a ton of one particular type of diaper before baby is born...that's why those diaper trial packages are great
we CD for all of the reasons that lelekay stated above
I agree that if you line dry, that can save you a lot! wash cycles vary and actually if you follow the advice here, you don't have to do a cold pre-rinse... when I read that you can skip that step, I was happy to be using less water... I eliminated the cold pre-rinse and we haven't had any issues with our diapers. We do put the diapers through an extra rinse after the wash cycle though (not sure if that's an extra charge w/coin laundry?). for drying diapers....keep in mind that prefolds dry faster than any other type of CD and AIOs take the longest (however, AIOs that have a flap insert dry faster, as do AI2s). our PFs are nearly dry after 50 min on high and then the other diapers are dry enough from that point that i can lay them flat to dry.
if I were in your shoes, I'd probably do a CD trial package b/c then you don't have much to lose and you can figure out which type(s) of diapers you like. and don't worry about what others say!!
Jaime & Brent
Oahu, Hawaii | Sept. 9, 2005
My Food Blog - Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats
Thanks everyone for the advice. We're still on the fence, but I think we may do the trial packs and see what happens.
Our laundry room has card machines, so that makes it a little easier than scrounging for quarters... but a 2nd rinse cycle is $0.25 more.
Lots to think about, but again, thanks for all the info!
Hi there! I'm going to provide a different perspective. I was hell-bent on CDing before H was born. We bought a bunch of PFs, diaper covers and accessories. I would say I had a moderate case of the baby blues after H was born, in addition to recovering from a c-section. I just did not feel up to doing CD laundry in the beginning so we used sposies. Once I felt confident enough, we started with the CDs, but it just didn't work out for us. Personally, I found it difficult to manage the laundry, staining/sunning, and frequent changes. We have a stacked washer/dryer in our townhouse, but I think being able to hang our diapers to dry in the sun would have been a huge help (our HOA doesn't allow clotheslines/line drying in our lanais) with the stains and our electric bill! In retrospect, I wish I hadn't bought so many diapers up front. I've packed them away and might try again with future LOs. HTH and best of luck!
we also live in a townhome and aren't allowed to hang out laundry outside but I just wanted to say that stains aren't a big deal... sure they aren't very visually appealing but otherwise they don't matter. they don't affect diaper function and only affect resale value....but, if you're able to sun them before you sell them then you're ok. we had tons of stains on our diapers while we were using them but once we were done w/a particular size of PF, i just sunned them all at once (we have a little private courtyard where i could lay them on the ground - i've also heard your car dashboard works well too) and got most of the stains out. no point in having to sun them...use them and get them stained again and have to sun them again!
Jaime & Brent
Oahu, Hawaii | Sept. 9, 2005
My Food Blog - Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats