Cloth Diapers V.S Disposable?

Simpsons1991 · February 2015

I've been looking into cloth diapers, ex. Bumgenius, & it's a little overwhelming. There is so many options & I've never dealt with them before.
Has anyone used Cloth diapers? I know they supposedly save money, but are they really worth the hassle that they seem to be?
Thanks in advanced ladies!

jilladelario · February 2015

I've been using CDs for 15 months now. I don't find them much of a hassel at all. We use Alva diapers and I have about 40 of them. I wash them about once a week now that we've started putting her in a disposable at night.

Lalala2326 · February 2015

We use both. They definitely have their pros and cons. Cloth is easiest when exclusively bfing cause the poop can just be thrown in the washing machine. If you have to supplement or when you start solids you will need to clean off at least the majority of it by one of many methods (dunking/swiching, diaper sprayer, spatula, etc...). They are bulkier. Some are trimmer than others, but all are bulkier than disposables. This does limit clothing options some particularly with things likes jeans. We have a couple pairs of adjustable waste jeans that we bought a size up and hemmed for my 26 month old, but her other ones that fit better with disposables are cuter. Leggings usually aren't an issue, and if you like some of the trendier cloth-diaper friendly pants then you probably wouldn't care much on that one.

We prefer disposables at night just as a preference. my daughter is a very heavy night wetter - always has been, so it either meant very bulky night diapers (even with super absorbent liners) or nighttime diaper changes in cloth even after she quit pooping at night. Even in disposables we have to size up at night.

Cloth diapers are much better at containing infant explosive poo. Way better. To the extent that even if we were putting a disposable on her for some reason, we would still often put a cloth diaper cover on for added protection.

Like I said, we use both for different reasons, so I'm pretty impartial. You can always look at trying out a few different kinds (pockets, AIOs, covers/inserts, etc...) and see if you like them. I wouldn't get just a ton until you are sure you want to keep up with it cause it isn't for everyone, but I definitely have been glad we have them. You will likely want newborn disposable diapers with an umbilical cord cutout in the beginning and possibly till your LO grows into the cloth. Not all fit great down to really tiny sizes. not a necessity of course, you can find ones that work, but most people I know that cloth diaper even exclusively used disposables the first week or two at least till the umbilical cord falls off.

jesicabrennan · February 2015

Love my cloth, we're at 30 months of using them. I have the bumgenius AIO Elementals. I don't find them to be a hassle at all, I have 21 and wash them every 3 days or so. I do put him in disposables when we leave the house though because cloth need to be changed more often and I can't be bothered if we're just leaving for 2 hours

Simpsons1991 · February 2015

Thank you ladies, very insightful! I will definitely be trying out different brands & kinds before settling on one type & buying in bulk. That was one of my SO's concerns, that id go crazy buying CDs & change my mind later!
I think I'll also keep some disposables around just incase as well

stahlop · February 2015

I've used them with both my kids. Love them and will be using them again for this one. We use them all the time. When we go out, at night, anytime. I have about 35 diapers. In the beginning we did use disposables, but switched by about two months.

WDDCH · February 2015

I got mine from Sunbaby. They are one-size pocket diapers. They aren't a hassle and I love having them all up on the line to dry.

lilana1011 · February 2015

We use cloth diapers at home & disposables while traveling. Love them. If you look up dirty diaper laundry on YouTube she has a visual series that breaks down cloth by type & pros/cons. Super helpful.

diwersen · February 2015

Sorry for the niave question, but putting dirty diapers in my washer grosses me out. How well do you wash the diapers before putting them in the machine? Do you run an extra cycle before doing your regular laundry?

sschwege · February 2015

DD was NB to potty in them and hopefully DS and this baby will be the same. I love our cloth! I like knowing it is 100% organic cotton on their bottoms! We like them so much we even travel with them if we aren't flying and have access to a washer/dryer.

sschwege · February 2015

diwersen said:
Sorry for the niave question, but putting dirty diapers in my washer grosses me out. How well do you wash the diapers before putting them in the machine? Do you run an extra cycle before doing your regular laundry?

That's a great question, first thing you have to consider is no matter whether you CD or not you will put gross laundry into your machine. Poopy blow-outs on clothes, spit-up, when the child gets older and is throwing up. Parenthood isn't for the faint of heart

So it's going to happen!

If your baby is exclusively BF then you don't even have to put the poop in the potty, breast milk poop is water soluble so it can go straight to the machine. I do a rinse cycle first, then a hot 'super wash' with soap, then two cold water rinses. Then the diapers either go into the dryer or on the clothes line to dry. After you have introduced solids or baby is having formula, poop has to go in the potty. We have a diaper sprayer that is on the side of our potty, just spray diaper into the potty. Then you do the same as above, rinse cycle, hot wash with soap, double rinse.

Diapers and wipes get washed separately, but I don't do anything special to our machine before putting regular clothes in again. I've been doing diaper laundry for 4.5 years now and it's never been a problem

gulimz · February 2015

My mom used cloth diapers with me because she had no choice (in Turkey 1983,there were no such luxuries as disposable) . By the time my brother was born, disposables came about. I'm going to go ahead with my mom's advice and go with disposable and don't make any extra chores for myself then I have too. I'd rather spend the time I would have washing diapers with my baby instead, personally.

WDDCH · February 2015

diwersen said:
Sorry for the niave question, but putting dirty diapers in my washer grosses me out. How well do you wash the diapers before putting them in the machine? Do you run an extra cycle before doing your regular laundry?

That's what a washing machine is for, to clean dirty clothes. I've had kids have diarrhea in their underwear and it gets washed. Cloth is no different. Cloth diaper users do an initial rinse cycle, then wash with soap, then a couple extra rinses depending on preference and machine.

If the diapers come out clean, the machine is clean.

bashfulbird · March 2015

I am looking forward to trying out cloth diapers, from what I have read and reviewed on youtube, it seems like they really aren't any more work than disposable--that is once you get a system going. I like the colorful covers and to be honest , the gel in the disposables always creeped me out with DD.

2gr8pits · March 2015

I used Cd with my son, the laundry is my fave part! When he potty trained I went thru withdrawals! It is so easy! Also, running to the store because I ran out of diapers or have to make a trip with a baby is not always a fun task or on my list of things to do. There are many positives to CD, you always have them on hand, you aren't doing laundry because of leaky disposable diapers, no chemicals exposed to your child's bottom (I mean what makes pee turn into gel?), technically you are supposed to dump the poop from disposables in the toilet not throw away so that is no different, harmful to the environment, potty train earlier, $300 vs $1000s, etc.

As far as deciding what to use, our local CD store, Zoolikins will Skype a class with you, send them an email and ask! It is really simple, I am definitely an advocate!

DaddyMx · March 2015

I plan to do CD; everytime I tell my mom friends they all freak out...I have seen that must of it is because prejudgement and no investigation about it. I already bought a first set of Charlie's Bananas and Gdiapers so once my baby is born I can try the best brand that suits him/her better

sarahtotis · March 2015

I will be using disposable since we will have to use daycare after my short maternity leave. I would consider cloth diapers if I was a SAHM but that's not the case so disposable it is.

CGless · March 2015

I'm using GDiapers. They're a hybrid of the 2 but they're not cheap.

My husband and daycare aren't on board yet and are still using disposables.

Just want to do my part to reduce landfill contribution but no extra laundry more water and work.

bhargrave88 · March 2015

I did a ton of research and started when my DD was over a year old, but I found this www.fluffloveuniversity.com had a whole lot of info.. And several other bl0gs, the oistachio project being one! I've never had any issues, an occasional leak but that was user error by waiting too long, rather than the diapers fault. I use GroVia AIO and hybrid. And just bought a BG freetime (aio) and a few other brands. I'd suggest buying a few brands to see which works best for you

the website above also has a lot of info on "terms" and the different types, like aio, hybrid, fitteds

cosplaymom · March 2015

I like disposables. I hate doing laundry.

diwersen · March 2015

So after reading this post I started a whole new round of Google research. My life now that I can't sleep. I really like the idea of cloth diaper with flushable liner. ...I wonder if I can find a daycare that will be on board. ...I guess that means more research!

stahlop · March 2015

Most daycares should be on board. If they say it's against the law then they're most likely lying because there are only 4 states that have laws against it.
https://diaperwrecker.com/2013/09/cloth-diapers-in-daycare/

As for laundry, it's just one extra load every few days. And depending on what type of diaper you're using, it's not any harder than folding regular laundry. Plus, there are such cute prints out there!

Neese216 · March 2015

Look into pocket diapers and AiO. Day cares might be more receptive to those.

Suzanne237 · March 2015

We use and love morakicloth.com organic all in one diapers. 10 months now. Love them. BG didn't work for us.

Stephaniemariebuck · March 2015

So I don't know much about cloth diapers but now that I am faced with having two kids in diapers I am seriously reconsidering. Pardon my ignorance but what are pocket diapers and AiO? My husband and I both work full time so the little ones will be in daycare. I'm guessing that is a type of cloth diaper? Where would one get those? Online somewhere?

Any info is appreciated!

GirlOnTheBeach · March 2015

Stephaniemariebuck said:
So I don't know much about cloth diapers but now that I am faced with having two kids in diapers I am seriously reconsidering. Pardon my ignorance but what are pocket diapers and AiO? My husband and I both work full time so the little ones will be in daycare. I'm guessing that is a type of cloth diaper? Where would one get those? Online somewhere?

Any info is appreciated!

Pocket diapers have an absorbent pad/liner that you put into a sleeve in the diaper and aio's are All In One's. They have the absorbent pads/liners sewn right in so you don't have to do it with each use. Target sells bum genius aio's and also pocket diapers (online) if you want to check them out.

Here is episode one of a little mini series about all the kinds of cloth diapers:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ipMmpJkB8L4

diwersen · March 2015

For those using cloth, on average, how many do you need to own? Knowing myself I probably would never do more than two washes a week. I can't even wash my own clothes more than once a week! They seem so expensive!

2gr8pits · March 2015

Depends on what age you plan on diapering? A newborn will go thru 12ish diapers/day so that means at least 24-30 if you wash every other day. As they get older they go less, you can get away with less.

I intend to CD this newborn, however with my son we were able to take enough disposables from the hospital that we never bought any. He was in the disposables for about 5 weeks and then he fit in the one size CDs. Today I have about 50 because the prints are so cute! I will be buying 36 newborn CDs from a friend when she is done with them, so that will complete my stash.

tdaniel89 · March 2015

I'm glad you posted about CDing. I'm seriously interested in using CDs but I don't know anyone else who uses them. When I tell people my plan they give me funny looks and say I'll change my mind. I'm a registered nurse and deal with poop at work so I'm not really grossed out by it. I am feeling overwhelmed by all of the options out there. I bought a pack of G diapers and a pack of Charlie Bananas so I could check them out. I haven't been able to find any other brands in stores. The options online are endless but I don't know where to start!

diwersen · March 2015

I see bumgenius getting good reviews but then there are so many options...4.0, freetime, element... Stocking up on something you end up not liking is a very expensive thought but trial and error once baby arrives sounds exhausting.

lafsalot · March 2015

CD's are trial with each kid... We started out with prefolds and covers with our daughter during the first couple months. When she fit into out one size pockets, we started using those. After 9 months, I had to start adding additional layers to our diapers to absorb enough. I haven't bought an AIO, but have a friend who swears by them as much more absorbent than pockets. I have expensive diapers and cheap diapers and most of my favorites are the sun baby and Kawaii which are less expensive. See if you local baby store have CD classes, there are independent consultants floating around. Look for a local CD store and see if you can touch and feel the different kind of diapers... Then once you have an idea, check out the online stores, Kelly's Closet is a reputable source online, they have a FB page that is very helpful when gathering info. Then if you really want to save money Amazon and eBay have sources for the less expensive diapers... If you are ordering on eBay, you may way 30 days to get diapers. Some of the cheap sets delaminate really quickly... Others hold up really well. Make sure you get enought wet bags for day trips or daycare, they are so much better than plastic bags for your diapers and if you get cute ones they are handy throughout a kids life, wet clothes, swim suits, etc... There used to be a CD group on the bump too. I haven't looked for a while because we have it down after 16 months. We are ready to start potty training, which is a huge benefit to CD's, kids are easier to train. The was routine depends on the baby, how many diapers you have and you, I can wash once a week now, in the beginning I washed every other day. Good luck!

jesicabrennan · March 2015

diwersen said:
For those using cloth, on average, how many do you need to own? Knowing myself I probably would never do more than two washes a week. I can't even wash my own clothes more than once a week! They seem so expensive!

I have 21 and it lasts me about 3-4 days before I have to do laundry BUT I use a disposable when we go on outings away from home and I use a disposable at night. There's nothing that says you have to be all one or all the other, you can definitely do a combo. In the beginning (he's 2.5 now) it was much more frequent changes but I managed with 18 doing laundry every other day. Honestly if you hate laundry or don't think you'll do it then cloth diapering might not be for you. It's definitely not everyone's cup of tea!

abmommy15 · March 2015

I haven't personally used them but plan to go with bumgenius elemental. I have quite a few friends that went this way and they all say it was worth it and not nearly as hard as people assume. One of my friends used the same 36 bum genius diapers for all 3 of her kids and they are still in great shape so if that happens the cost savings can really add up!

littlebirdymum · March 2015

I've been using cloth diapers for 20 months with my son now. They are soooo easy!! As long as you have a washing machine in your apartment.

I use soft bums as they grow with the child, unlike Gdiapers which you will need to buy in a variety of sizes.

They also dry much quicker so I just dry them over a radiator or in the garden.

He NEVER gets diaper rash, its good for the environment and it saves soooooo much money.

Another plus is they are much quicker to potty train as they know when they have done a wee/poo.

We only use disposables overnight (more absorbent) and for travelling (convenience).

GirlOnTheBeach · March 2015

We have decided to cloth diaper. I've already started making cute cloth wipes for the baby. I nanny and have used cloth and disposable on kids and the cloth diapers just seem so much more soft! Plus, we are hoping to save money in the long run by cloth diapering. The environmental impact is great too!

Cloth Diapers V.S Disposable?

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