Cloth diapers vs. disposable

mrs_massie · December 2014

So this will be my first baby, but I've nanny'd for many years and have had 20 or so younger cousins that I have changed diapers for. I've never met anyone who uses or tried to use cloth diapers. Everyone just buys the disposable ones. Now that I'm pregnant I've really wanted to consider cloth diapers (anywhere to save money right!), but I know nothing about how to use them, how to buy etc... I've tried to look up information on brands and how to clean them and what not, but all of the sites make them seem so confusing. Different brands fit different ways, then you have to buy inserts...I wish someone could just tell me in plain English what brand is the best (in their opinion), how to maintain them, how to clean them?

OR

Is it just better to use disposable?

musictchr25 · December 2014

The brands are going to be dependent on the build of your baby too. Some of the diapers have smaller leg openings, which won't be good for chubbier babies, and vice versa - the bigger leg openings won't be good for skinnier babies. Also, the AIO options may not work for you if you have a heavy wetter, and you may need to do a pocket insert instead.

The best option is to buy 2 of a bunch of different brands to start out with, figure out which ones you prefer and end up working best for your cleaning methods and your baby and then you can actually sell the ones that you don't end up liking as much. Used cloth diapers are actually really easy to sell, especially if you take care of them in terms of the cleaning methods and do everything that is recommended by the brand.

This is a great site with a lot of information: Kelly's Closet

delujm0 · December 2014

Don't know if this will apply to you but I've read that some daycare centers won't deal with cloth diapers. So if you're planning to use a daycare center you may have to use disposable at least during the day.

crashski13 · December 2014

There are a few sites that let you do a trial once baby comes. I agree different kinds work well for different babies. We have a mixture of pockets (the insert ones) some bum genius and a few "China cheapies" as well as a ton of WAHM made fitteds. We love them all for different times. Also lots of daycare say they won't CD...but unless it's written in their policy they have to. Don't let that deter your decision. We just brought in a note from the doctor saying that he needed to be in cloth for medical reasons and had to send in a pack of disposables just in case he went through all his cloth in one day. I second the links the lashes have posted.

Ladymouse · December 2014

One of the biggest cloth diaper sellers does a newborn sample pack. I'd recommend that. The newborn phase did NOT last long with us (10 days) so aside from the sample pack, we did disposables for those few days.

-When my son does change sizes, it's overnight. Suddenly, the 18 month shirts go from being loose to not actually going on, or suddenly the size 2 disposable diapers go from being moderately large to not properly fastening. With one size cloth diapers, that's not so worrisome.

-We never avoid diaper changes for the sake of saving money, as is tempting to do in disposables (FIL did this with his kids - money was tight). Costs nothing to add one more diaper to the load.

-Cloth diapers do not give my son a rash. He got a rash almost every time he had to wear a disposable until he was about 9 months (whether the diaper was wet/dirty or not.)

-While the diapers are showing signs of wear, I can still use them for baby 2. $800 for 2 years of diapers so far, and they are still going.

I DO use disposables while traveling - trying to keep up with diaper laundry while out is a pain. And about 3-4 times, I've had to use a disposable while waiting for a load of laundry (DS went through an average of 18 diapers a day when he was little, and with 36 diapers, we weren't always quick enough.)

The laundry can get overwhelming (4-5 loads of non-diaper laundry plus 3-4 loads of diapers a week.) But I find that trash gets overwhelming about as often, and that's without disposables in the mix.

musictchr25 · December 2014

Ladymouse said:

.....

The laundry can get overwhelming (4-5 loads of non-diaper laundry plus 3-4 loads of diapers a week.) But I find that trash gets overwhelming about as often, and that's without disposables in the mix.

You seriously are doing 4-5 loads of laundry a week not including diapers? I do that a month for two of us. Either we have way too many clothes, or you have a lot of people in your household!

Maybe it's just me though....

Sugarbean17 · December 2014

Grovia.com has a bunch of info and they two different styles of diapers but they grow with your baby which is awesome. It's what we are going to use this time around. (We used disposables for our other two but it's so expensive and I hate the idea of so much waste going into the landfills.) They have videos and stuff of how to take care of the diapers and they have these little "sheets" you set over the pad of the diaper that you just lift the poops off and toss so not as much spraying into toilets. Also mama natural has a video...

https://youtu.be/9YxIvhjkC7g

Sugarbean17 · December 2014

Also... there is this from grovia
https://gro-via.us1.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=5a3943c9b929f529f651dd5fd&id=13ae3426ed

It gives you tips in your email about cloth diapering.

IsadoraB · December 2014

We are planning on using primarily cloth diapers, although we will start out with disposables for the newborn sizes for a week or two until the cord falls off. We are fortunate that a few of our friends have used cloth and are done having kids so they will be passing their diapers on to us. I've also bought a few different kinds for myself and set up a registry on Cotton Babies. My mother will be helping with child care when I go back to work (she is insisting - she doesn't want her only grandbaby going to daycare) and she used cloth diapers with me so that shouldn't be a problem. She'll actually love it because when I was a baby my mom didn't have a washing machine - she washed all of my diapers BY HAND. (ew!)

Cloth diapers can save you a lot of money in the long run (especially if you will be using them on future kids) but they aren't for everyone. They can be more work, and don't work for all babies. I say buy a few types of diapers and give it a shot. Do lots of research (Kelly's Closet is an excellent resource) and visit the cloth diapering board here on the bump.

musictchr25 · December 2014

PenguinMG said:

Ladymouse said:

.....

The laundry can get overwhelming (4-5 loads of non-diaper laundry plus 3-4 loads of diapers a week.) But I find that trash gets overwhelming about as often, and that's without disposables in the mix.

You seriously are doing 4-5 loads of laundry a week not including diapers? I do that a month for two of us. Either we have way too many clothes, or you have a lot of people in your household!

Maybe it's just me though....
---quote box fail--- Between towels, sheets, and clothes, I probably do 3-4 loads a week for just DH and I. I could see a baby easily adding one more.

I guess not separating by color and washing everything in cold water together makes a big difference then. I only end up with two loads - one with all clothes, and the other with towels and sheets. It also helps that DH wears a suit every day, so that's a little less clothing that I have to wash.

taboullio84 · December 2014

I use mother ease onesize and prefolds with wool covers

Plus side of cloth you can sell then when you are finished. Make some of your money back.

mamahawk12 · December 2014

There is a pretty decent learning curve in the world of cloth diapers... what works for you, what works for baby, etc. I have several friends who CD and they love it, but it takes a bit to get into a good groove. It can also be pretty costly up front, and by doing the math it really only becomes cost effective after your first child, and that's assuming you're doing all of your own laundering and not using a diaper service ($$$.) It's also important to note that a lot of daycare centers don't allow cloth diapers, so that's important to ask if you are seriously considering CD'ing.

I think it comes down to the person - it's really not for me, but some people love it. We've never had any issues with disposable diapers and there really is a diaper for everyone, from the penny pinchers to those wanting an all natural option.

mfeits87 · December 2014

I joined a FB group call fluff love and CD science. I am a FTM as well and we are going cloth! The group is very, very informative and has files on all things cloth. The admins answer questions you have too. I am basically lurking and following peoples posts for now to get as much info as possible. There is also a group for buying, selling, and trading!

VanessaE19 · December 2014

musictchr25 said:

Ladymouse said:

.....

The laundry can get overwhelming (4-5 loads of non-diaper laundry plus 3-4 loads of diapers a week.) But I find that trash gets overwhelming about as often, and that's without disposables in the mix.

You seriously are doing 4-5 loads of laundry a week not including diapers? I do that a month for two of us. Either we have way too many clothes, or you have a lot of people in your household!

Maybe it's just me though....

I do 4-5 loads a week for just me and my husband. My husband is in the military so PT's are getting washed, uniforms, and civilian clothes. Then my work clothes and gym clothes, as well as just lounging around clothes. I think it definitely depends on what you're doing on a daily basis I'm sure it's different for every household!

TeacherMama7 · December 2014

I have heard and read that Bum Genius 4.0 is pretty much recommended as one that works well for a lot of babies and a lot of moms like it.

I want to CD too, so I think I will start out with some of those.

ceejay1315 · December 2014

I DO use disposables while traveling - trying to keep up with diaper laundry while out is a pain. And about 3-4 times, I've had to use a disposable while waiting for a load of laundry (DS went through an average of 18 diapers a day when he was little, and with 36 diapers, we weren't always quick enough.)

Wowow... 18 diapers per day. Thanks for that info. I have been trying to find a range of numbers for diaper usage per day so I can start buying a few different brands (I hate dropping a ton of money at one time... little by little). My SIL just picked up a huge batch off of a Facebook post for $100. I think it had like 24 diapers in it of a few different brands, inserts, wet bags, etc. I felt really lucky because the ones I had book marked on etsy were like 12 diapers for $250!

enjoylife · December 2014

I have cloth diapered both my boys and will CD #3 as well. There is some trial and error with finding the right ones that fit, wash routines, but that's kind of par for the course when you embark on parenting in general. There is a Bump CLoth Diaper board here too which is a great resource for trouble shooting and giving recommendations. I want to say there is a YouTube series that walks you through all the different styles of diapers, we had a local CD store that did the same thing so I never watch the series but I see it recommended by the cd board. It was neat because DH could finally see them up close and touch them and be more accepting of them rather than just some "idea" I wanted to try out. Cost savings is huge, especially if you have more than one but our diapers paid for themselves within about 5-6 months. I agree CD trials are a good way of getting your feet wet without full on commitment. <<br>> I only know 1 person IRL who used cloth before I had kids, and most of my friends thought I was cooks/crunchy (I'm neither) it's just not super common where we live. That being said I have never had problems with our babysitters using our diapers nor when I had my boys in daycare for about 6 months, every place we interviewed were accepting of using the diapers and we didn't need to go the medical reason route. I'm not anti disposable, we use them for travel, but it's nice to just run laundry rather than run to the store when running out of diapers.

eburgmama · December 2014

I think you've got some good advice here. The reason no one can tell you what brand to get is that different brands work best for different situations. I didn't start cding ds until she was 9 months. I slowly built my stash and took time to see what worked best for us. I ended up with a lot of different brands and types and really loved them all equally for different situations.

ohiodoxiemama08 · December 2014

Like PPs have said--different options work best for individual families.

We started out with disposables because I was a little scared of cloth. However, around 8 weeks we switched when I heard a bunch of ladies on my DD's BMB raving abou them. DH wasn't certain at first but once we got the hang of it now he's a big fan.

For us it's a money saving issue as well as a natural parenting issue. I invested about $450 in supplies but I have saved so much overall. I probably do diaper laundry about 2-3 times a week. I will say that as DD is getting older she is wetting heavier and we have had some rash issues, but not many.

There's tons of blogs and websites out there devoted to cloth. Also, ask around--maybe one of your friends cloth diapers and you just don't know. A girl I know IRL who also happened to be on DD's BMB taught me tons.

sarahmackie · December 2014

For anyone wanting to save money that can work a sewing machine...

https://www.sewastraightline.com/2010/04/making-fitted-diaper.html?m=1

matiekae · December 2014

Those videos on the cloth diapering board are quite amazing. Definitely check them out

jcprn · December 2014

DH and I want to CD so I'm doing some ongoing research but I found a few YouTube videos very helpful going over all of the different kinds. This woman has 7 videos that are very informative if you have a small chunk of time. I'm a big nerd so I watched everything through the first time, then took notes through a second viewing, then priced out the options on separate web sites.

Cloth Diapering 101 (part 1 of 7):

https://youtu.be/gVo6SMebcX8

Hope that helps!

Ana0927 · December 2014

delujm0 said:

Don't know if this will apply to you but I've read that some daycare centers won't deal with cloth diapers. So if you're planning to use a daycare center you may have to use disposable at least during the day.

This my kids have gone to two different home daycares and they will not allow cloth diapers.

Octobr9bride · December 2014

I tried to go with prefolds for the newborn and early phase but DS reacted horribly and got a terrible rash. We used bum genius pocket diapers and were very successful. I have 24 total and they're perfect for us.

tinybugsmom · December 2014

We will be doing cloth only from birth. I have latex and plastic allergies. Even organic disposables give me rashes from changing (nephews). So cloth only for us.

I have been reading different groups to gather info on it... we have settled on prefolds, flats, and covers.

Daycare it just depends. Some won't. But in the groups I have joined many daycares are now accepting cloth as long as you use pockets or AIOs with aplix (velcro) and set them up for the daycare with a wet bag so they don't have to do any thing extra. If they say no, take a pocket ot AIO diaper in to show them. Most think of prefolds and pins and covers, which is extra work for them. But the pockets and AIO diapers look like and are put on like disposables now.

Kiki119 · December 2014

DH and I really wanted to use cloth diapers due to enviormental reason.. but after thinking longer and we will need to have our LO in day care after FMLA is over, I think disposble diapers will be better for us...

we both work full time and I am the primary person who does the laundry.. I don't know how I can keep up the laundry with my full time job and the new born...

dkleid · December 2014

I have not read all of the response but I wanted to say this. My newphew is in cloth diapers and he is very prone to diaper rash. When hes not in cloth it is a lot better (yet my sister still insists on putting him in them). There is only certain types of diaper rash cream he can use with the cloth diapers. Cleaning them is not the easiest thing. and like one PP said which I did catch a LOT of day cares do not take cloth diapers.

Cloth diapers vs. disposable

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