Anyone else thinking of cloth diapering?

everydayk · January 2012

I have been toying with the idea of CDing since I can't stand the thought of throwing away hundreds upon hundreds of diapers each year. Anyone else thinking/already CD'ing?

I was on the CD board and got so overwhelmed! I don't even know where to start.

mellosweetie · January 2012

I moved in with my brother and sister-in-law when they had their first child so I could help out and they were all about the cloth diapers, for 2 days. I never saw them come out again. The waste is aweful but having to constantly wash them was just as bad. And they seemed to leak if I remember right.

Twizzle · January 2012

Absolutely! We use CD with DS, except when he's at daycare, and love it! I still have all my newborn diapers although I might want to buy more! There are a lot of new ones out there that look awesome. It is kind of overwhelming at first but it gets easy really quickly. I have always liked pockets the best although for the newborn stage we mostly used fitteds with covers. I would recommend seeing if you have a store in your area that sells them and go in and look at them. If not, you could try a starter package from one of the online sites.

Twizzle · January 2012

mellosweetie:
I moved in with my brother and sister-in-law when they had their first child so I could help out and they were all about the cloth diapers, for 2 days. I never saw them come out again. The waste is aweful but having to constantly wash them was just as bad. And they seemed to leak if I remember right.

I actually think that disposables are worse for leak/blowouts. The washing is really not a big deal--you have extra laundry with a baby anyway, it's just one more load every couple of days. If the washing is an issue you can always get a diaper service.

mellosweetie · January 2012

Aside from less waste, do you find these to be cheaper than disposable?

nanabanana06 · January 2012

I exclusively CD my DD and will with the new one. I CDed from the day we came home from the hospital. It's so much fun. I really really like it. I actually had so many moms from DD's daycare and my old work curious about CDing that I had to do monthly CD workshops from my home. For the new baby in the beginning we do mostly prefolds and covers, a few fitteds, and for my FI a few newborn all in ones.

There are soooo many kinds out there that in the beginning it can be realy overwhelming. Everyone ends up finding their own brands that they love. Like for me I love my Bumgenious pockets and all in ones, other don't. If you would like any help you can always PM me. I'm full of information on this!

vic8504 · January 2012

I am pretty sure I am going to go the CD route. This is my first but my sister used them with my nephew from birth to 3 when he was finally potty trained. She had bought 24 diapers so ends up being around $450, bumGenius $18 a diaper. She would use disposable when they went out, or on vacation. No only will there be less trash but you end up saving a lot of money as well.

nanabanana06 · January 2012

mellosweetie:
Aside from less waste, do you find these to be cheaper than disposable?

I do. For the entire time DD has been in diapers I've spent less than 500$. It's loads more than sposies.

AlleyCatNH · January 2012

I think we'll do a combination of cloth and disposable. Cloth for when we're out home and disposable for when we're out and about. A friend of mine is big into cloth diapers and said she can get me some deals. She bought used ones online though, which I just can't see myself doing. I think cloth diapers are so adorable though, and they don't end up in a landfill.

CourtneySue · January 2012

We love our CD. Bum Genius 4.0 a night are the best!! When we travel we always have leaks with sposies. We use flips & spent about $325 so far

onesandtwos · January 2012

mellosweetie:
Aside from less waste, do you find these to be cheaper than disposable?

For a while, we were pretty convinced that we'd go the cloth route. But after doing our research and trying to determine which cloth diapers had the fewest cases of blowouts, diaper rash, staining, etc., we realized that we'd end up spending about the same amount of money over the years if we just go disposable.

We liked the Bum Genius cloth diapers the best, but when you figure that you have to buy 12-18 diapers at almost $20 each (maybe more, depending on how many your baby goes through a day), the inserts, the sprayer, special cleaning products, wet bags, and the like, you really only end up saving maybe a couple hundred dollars.

I think I'm willing to spend the extra $200 so I don't have to scrub poop out of cotton dipes with my fingernails. (Although, if you're planning on having more than one baby eventually, and you save all your cloth diapering essentials, you'll save more in the long run.)

Twizzle · January 2012

mellosweetie:
Aside from less waste, do you find these to be cheaper than disposable?

Yes, much cheaper. I'm not sure exactly how much I have spent on CDs but I would guess about $600-800 (not all at once), and DS is 3 years old. Plus I can reuse most of the diapers for our new baby.

Had I been using disposables for this entire time, I would have probably spent about $2500. This is just based on an estimate of $66/month that I found online.

https://www.realdiaperassociation.org/diaperfacts.php

nanabanana06 · January 2012

onesandtwos:
mellosweetie:
Aside from less waste, do you find these to be cheaper than disposable?

For a while, we were pretty convinced that we'd go the cloth route. But after doing our research and trying to determine which cloth diapers had the fewest cases of blowouts, diaper rash, staining, etc., we realized that we'd end up spending about the same amount of money over the years if we just go disposable.

We liked the Bum Genius cloth diapers the best, but when you figure that you have to buy 12-18 diapers at almost $20 each (maybe more, depending on how many your baby goes through a day), the inserts, the sprayer, special cleaning products, wet bags, and the like, you really only end up saving maybe a couple hundred dollars.
I think I'm willing to spend the extra $200 so I don't have to scrub poop out of cotton dipes with my fingernails. (Although, if you're planning on having more than one baby eventually, and you save all your cloth diapering essentials, you'll save more in the long run.)

Oh my dear lord. I have never once had to scrub poop out and get some under my fingernails. Hell I barely touch the poop. When they are little before solids the poo is water soluble so you just throw it in the wash. When they get older I just shake out the poo in the toilet. It's like the least gross thing ever. I honestly don't see how it's not way cheaper.

I have a stash that is going on 50 diapers strong. I spent maybe 300-400$ on her dipes and then an extra 100$ for her pail, liners, wetbags, ect. You do the math on even getting target sposies it's like almost 100$ a month. I think the average cost of sposies for the entire time they are in diapers is like 2500$. It's cheaper. For my new baby all I have to do is get some new newborn dipes and replace the cheap chinese pockets with good all in ones. I'm probably only going to spend another 200-300$. So for 2 kids diapering them for under a grand is awesome.

Twizzle · January 2012

onesandtwos:
I think I'm willing to spend the extra $200 so I don't have to scrub poop out of cotton dipes with my fingernails. (Although, if you're planning on having more than one baby eventually, and you save all your cloth diapering essentials, you'll save more in the long run.)

Never have I used my fingernails to scrub poop out. A diaper sprayer costs about $40 and works really well. Not to mention that flushing the poop down right away means you don't have to worry about the smell.

LoveLo2010 · January 2012

I wanted to CD as well but my DH isnt all on board. We finally found some common ground with the gDiapers. Does any one have any experience with these? They have a disposable insert that is completely bio degradable, flush-able or compost able. Its really the only system he is for but I would love more info if any one had some ideas.

nanabanana06 · January 2012

LoveLo2010:
I wanted to CD as well but my DH isnt all on board. We finally found some common ground with the gDiapers. Does any one have any experience with these? They have a disposable insert that is completely bio degradable, flush-able or compost able. Its really the only system he is for but I would love more info if any one had some ideas.

Why does every first time mother that wants to CD go right to the gDiapers? They are terrible. If you wanted to look into a hybrid system look into Flip diapers. They are better.

onesandtwos · January 2012

Twizzle:
Never have I used my fingernails to scrub poop out. A diaper sprayer costs about $40 and works really well. Not to mention that flushing the poop down right away means you don't have to worry about the smell.

That makes me feel a lot better about the CD option! Big Smile Does the diaper sprayer get everything out, or is there still "residue" that sticks until you wash them?

yvdukana · January 2012

We're hoping to CD. I've done tons of research before and while TTC, and from all I've read and videos I've watched on YouTube, I am very interested. I guess we'll make our decision once baby gets here.

MWAJ · January 2012

we used cloth and disposable with my son.

they were great the first 6 months. they prevented blowouts. you can throw them straight in the wash (while EBF). and they are cute. the only bad side to cloth the first 6 months is that they grow so fast and the one size diapers don't work with newborns. it can be expensive upfront.

i would recommend the jillians drawer trial.

punkrockabye · January 2012

We will be for sure. DH is just as on board with it as I am, and we decided to CD long before we were trying to get pregnant. We'll most likely start with prefolds.

Twizzle · January 2012

onesandtwos:
Twizzle:
Never have I used my fingernails to scrub poop out. A diaper sprayer costs about $40 and works really well. Not to mention that flushing the poop down right away means you don't have to worry about the smell.

That makes me feel a lot better about the CD option! Does the diaper sprayer get everything out, or is there still "residue" that sticks until you wash them?

I guess it depends on how aggressive you get with the sprayer and also what your kid has been eating, and how long the poop has been sitting. It's better to rinse asap but that's not always an option if you are away from home. I like to try to get as much off as possible with the sprayer, there is usually a little bit of discoloration left but that all gets off in the wash. For washing you always do a prewash cycle first, so that gets everything the sprayer didn't get and then you do a full wash cycle.

I know it can sound gross that there is poop going through your washer, but whether you CD or not there is going to be some poop that gets into the wash, from blowouts or whatever.

Tash13 · January 2012

We exclusively CD'd our DS (except when traveling) and loved it. I can't wait to do it again. We purchased a mixture of kinds to see what we liked and I ended up loving the prefolds and covers the most. I can't wait to buy some more cute covers (even though we still have ours from DS) and hoping it's a girl so I can get some of the cute feminine ones. We had far fewer blowouts than we did with disposables and never had a diaper rash, whereas my nephew (same age as my DS) had a blowout almost everyday and had horrible diaper rash with disposables.

The extra laundry only added up to one load a day or everyother day. Not a lot when you think about it. The amount of water you use in the washing machine is the same amount your LO will use when s/he starts using the restroom. Again, not a lot, especially compared to the amount of waste when throwing away 10-12 diapers per 24 hours (newborn) that don't decompose. I think you should definitely look into it.

onesandtwos · January 2012

Ambsies:
As far as the cost goes, here is a cost breakdown: https://www.diaperdecisions.com/pages/cost_of_cloth_diapers.php

That is an incredibly helpful link! Thanks for sharing!

Tash13 · January 2012

Oh, and once DS graduated to more mature bowel movements we used the inserts over the prefold. It's almost like toilet paper so it makes it easier to just drop the poop in the toilet without ever having to come into contact with it. I have never had to scrape poop from anything, ever (thank god).

lovebug33 · January 2012

I want to, but I went to the CD part of the boards and it just seemed like too much. Maybe I can figure it out over the summer when I have more time. I'll have to use disposables for the day care, so I don't know!

everydayk · January 2012

Ambsies:
everydayk:
I was on the CD board and got so overwhelmed! I don't even know where to start.
I promise, this will be my last response!
But I thought these CD info sites would be helpful to you, OP, and anyone else who might be thinking of CDing:
https://www.kellyscloset.com/Cloth-Diaper-Information_ep_34-1.html
https://thebabystandard.blogspot.com/2009/08/cloth-diapering-not-just-for-crunchy.html
https://www.theecofriendlyfamily.com/2010/07/ive-never-looked-back.html

This is wonderful! Thank you so much... I feel way better now

mfin · January 2012

We are going to try the cloth route. Had you asked me a year ago if I would cloth diaper my future children, I would have said "not a chance!" In my mind, I was picturing the olddddd cloth diapers that had to be pinned on the baby. I couldn't have been more wrong!

I babysit for a friend of mine a couple of days a week (their DD is around 6 months old now) and they CD. It really has changed the way I look at cloth.

FraggleChic · January 2012

I already started my stash.

Mrs_Bennett · January 2012

We've been cloth diapering DS since he was just a few months old, and we love it!! Yes, it was a big chunk of money at first, but we've saved sooooooo much $$$ by not having to buy disposables all the time! (We do use disposables when we're out for a long time, out of town, etc)

The cloth diapers are not nearly as gross as I thought they would be--you really do not have to touch any more poo than you will when you're changing the baby anyway! (Yes, you will get poo on yourself at times, but it's not that bad when it's your kid. Seriously.)

Cloth diapers are about two/three extra loads of laundry a week for us, and they couldn't be easier to use! DS has NEVER had a blowout in a cloth diaper, but he's had quite a few in sposies (and he's not even in disposables that often!). I also think that the cloth is better for his bottom--he very rarely has diaper rash. I get nervous about disposables when I think about them--what kinds of chemicals are in that gel, and do I really want it against my kid's genitals 24/7??? Ugh.

I will admit that some kinds of cloth diapers leak.....but so do some brands of disposables! You just have to test out a few different brands and see what you like, and what fits your child best. Good luck!

AprilAngie · January 2012

I tried cloth diapers with my last child, and seriously - it is work. I breastfeed. Now expecting # 4 - I;m not going to even attempt to cloth diaper. the washing is already so much with 3 kids + a baby and two adults. I think I will use the disposable. I ended up selling all my clothe ones online as it was such a waste- at first they are a huge investment, but in the end I think when you have more than one child it is financially a better choice for your wallet and the environment.

Nikko Blue · January 2012

We are interested in CDing. I've been trying to research as much as possible. I didn't know about the trial from Jillian's Drawers. That will definitely be helpful in choosing a brand.

mrsSabobo · January 2012

I have a son who is still using his one size cloth diapers. Since my husband was not on board when I presented the idea, I tried to keep it as simple as possible;

We bought 25 one size bumgenious diapers - what this means is that they are designed in such a way that they will accomodate to your child's size as he grows. Our little Jojo is almost 18 months and still growing srong. We choose the Velcro kind and haven't had one issue with them. If they have leaked is because of user error and how you position them or stuff them. This happened 3 or 4 times at the beginning, but never again.

When he was younger, we used to do laundry every other day - and granted our washing machine is energy/water efficient - and our water bill or electric bill never went up more that 10 bucks each way. Now we do laundry every 3-4 days...

When we go out we do use disposables (target brand), unless is a trip to the food store (5 mins away) in which we don't even bother to change him into disposable.

I hope this helps - we invested about 325$ back then for the whole thing, and after 5-6 months they paid for themselves. if you consider that a bag of 200-some diapers is about 40 more of less.

thanks!, and hope this helps.

I wanted to add that a target 13-gallon waste basket, 2 waterproof bags for the diapers and a diaper sprayer have been indispensable in this journey. But it pays off.

JonesClan · January 2012

I didn't realize how much either option cost... My Nieveness has gotten the best of me. Dont they make something like Gladware? cheaper then cloth but not so expensive you cant through it away when things get nuclear? I am so buying some fabric and making my own...

delaneykai · January 2012

While not 100% sure, we are also planning on cloth diapering. These 2 links have been really helpful in doing research:

https://www.younghouselove.com/2010/08/the-much-requested-cloth-diaper-post/

https://blogs.babycenter.com/life_and_home/diaper-tins-out-wet-bags-in/

(Sorry they're not clicky, I'm on a Mac.) )

ChibiMommy · January 2012

We have cd'd since DS was 3 months old. I love it and would never go back. We started with pockets but DS has super fat legs and prefolds with covers worked best for us. As he got bigger, he moved too much during changes so we switched to BestBottoms with aplix and I wish we had done these all along. I have a serger so I'm going to make some nb sized inserts and buy a few more bb covers for our addition.

MoFree · January 2012

We are planning to use CDs for environmental and health reasons. Plus some of the designs are irresistibly cute. My DH is grossed out by the idea of his child wearing something an unknown child has pooed in, so we will probably get everything new.

everydayk · January 2012

mrsSabobo:
I have a son who is still using his one size cloth diapers. Since my husband was not on board when I presented the idea, I tried to keep it as simple as possible;
We bought 25 one size bumgenious diapers - what this means is that they are designed in such a way that they will accomodate to your child's size as he grows. Our little Jojo is almost 18 months and still growing srong. We choose the Velcro kind and haven't had one issue with them. If they have leaked is because of user error and how you position them or stuff them. This happened 3 or 4 times at the beginning, but never again.
When he was younger, we used to do laundry every other day - and granted our washing machine is energy/water efficient - and our water bill or electric bill never went up more that 10 bucks each way. Now we do laundry every 3-4 days...
When we go out we do use disposables (target brand), unless is a trip to the food store (5 mins away) in which we don't even bother to change him into disposable.
I hope this helps - we invested about 325$ back then for the whole thing, and after 5-6 months they paid for themselves. if you consider that a bag of 200-some diapers is about 40 more of less.
thanks!, and hope this helps.
I wanted to add that a target 13-gallon waste basket, 2 waterproof bags for the diapers and a diaper sprayer have been indispensable in this journey. But it pays off.

Were you able to use the one-size on DS as a newboard or were they too big?

Thank you for the info!

Zoey1309 · January 2012

Would it be easier to keep a changing table/wet bag in the bathroom for cleaning diapers than in baby?s room?

MrsBlindLove · January 2012

We are definitely cloth diapering. Everything about it makes sense to me and DH. I can't wait to get started buying my stash. If you have a local store in the area you can go and ask questions that's a great place to start. I loved being able to touch everything and talk to her. The store I went to even does a trail run for two weeks were you get to try out all the different diapers for $40! You should check and see if you have a store in your area that does something similar.

MrsT0522 · January 2012

I want to CD but my husband isn't 100% on board yet.

We also have a store in town that does a trial program. $19.95 plus a refundable deposit of $120 (that turns into store credit with 10% off if you buy your diapers from them) and they give you a bunch of every type of CD, free detergent, a wet bag, etc.

It is nice to go into a store and feel everything, play with them, and get an idea on how they work.

LoveLo2010 · January 2012

Nana_Osaki06:
LoveLo2010:
I wanted to CD as well but my DH isnt all on board. We finally found some common ground with the gDiapers. Does any one have any experience with these? They have a disposable insert that is completely bio degradable, flush-able or compost able. Its really the only system he is for but I would love more info if any one had some ideas.
Why does every first time mother that wants to CD go right to the gDiapers? They are terrible. If you wanted to look into a hybrid system look into Flip diapers. They are better.

This is kind of a long thread so if you or any one gets back to this would you mind explaining why they are bad? Like I said I am still researching so I would like all the information that I could get. I will look into flip, thank you

Want a personalized experience?

Anyone else thinking of cloth diapering?

Re: Anyone else thinking of cloth diapering?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards