Cloth Diapers or disposable?!

granolamom

Sun, Feb 13 2011, 5:40 pm

I loved using cloth diapers, especially with newborns. so soft, so squishy, so cute. and if you are breastfeeding, its really not much work at all once you get the hang of it. diapers go right into the wash, just rinse in the machine and then wash on a long hot cycle. not a big deal at all.
I was washing diapers every other day (because I told my dh I would) but if you get enough diapers you could wash less frequently.

I didnt vote because my reason for choosing cloth was the fun-factor. figured I was spending most of my day changing diapers, might as well enjoy it!

skazm

Sun, Feb 13 2011, 5:45 pm

fun? serious? why is it fun?

OK, this bshaa tova will be my first, but I BH have helped my sister with her 5 so I have some diaper changing experience... how is it fun?!?! I mean, ok, the fuzzibuns name is really funny but other than that...

well I already told my husband - if you want them, you're washing them Tongue Out

granolamom

Sun, Feb 13 2011, 6:01 pm

its fun just like picking out cute outfits and accessories for babies is fun. its also fun buying them (or making them in my case).

how to use them....

I prefer fitteds and wool covers. but here's a quick rundown on the different systems and remember you can mix and match.

you've got the absorbent diaper and then a waterproof cover. this can be sewn together as one diaper and used like a disposable. called all-in-ones or all-in-twos if it comes apart for quicker drying. pro-easy to use con-more expensive, need lots of them and ime not great for newborns

or you can get the two parts separately. the absorbent part is either a flat diaper, a prefold, or a fitted. some people like the flats for quickest drying. prefolds and flats last longer than fitteds, you can fold them one way for small babies and another way as baby grows. fitteds, imo, are cutest and I like the elastic around the legs for containing runny bf poo.

you want a cover so the diaper doesnt get everything wet, most covers are made of PUL, a waterproof fabric. wool also has waterproof properties but requires handwashing and lanolizing so not the simplest option.

oh yeah, you can also get pockets, which are a PUL cover with a pocket that you can stuff with anything absorbent, a prefold, washcloth or special made insert. benefit is that you use it like a disposable but you can control level of absorbancy for overnight or less bulk, depending on your baby's need.

hth!

dee's mommy

Sun, Feb 13 2011, 6:36 pm

I've been using prefolds for three years, and am very satisfied. Other types of diapers are more similar to disposables in design, so that makes it easier.

The truth is, once you are used to it, and get into your routine (this won't take long.) it's not hard. Laundering them is just another load of laundry. I use a washing machine, not a scrub board. (Now, sometimes I do use disposables on a trip or something. It isn't all or nothing.)

In the long run, it will save you a lot money in diapers. I spent a total of a few hundred dollars in diapers in three years. (I only replaced once or twice usually due to going up in size.) In the same amount of time it will cost thousands of dollars in diapers for disposables. (I have posted on this a lot, so if you want to click on my profile, you will find my posts on this topic.) I will just sum up by saying that in the first four months of my daughter's life, we used disposables, and spent over three hundred dollars in diapers alone. After we switched, we spent approximately the same amount on cloth diapers and accessories for approximately the same amount that lasted us almost three years.

We bought our diapers, and wash them ourselves, but perhaps you may be interested in looking into a diaper service. Try it out for a month or two and see how you like it.

Don't be afraid of the laundry. Even if you use disposables, you WILL be spending a lot of time in the laundry room anyway. This is only one more load.

SaraFR

Sun, Feb 13 2011, 6:40 pm

I use cloth diapers and I would NOT want to go back to disposables. They are not difficult at all, perhaps a slight learning curve. For the record, I use mostly prefolds and covers. I also taught myself to knit and you can easily make adorable woolen soakers (although this is totally optional). You change a diaper like changing a diaper (not much more work) and washing a breastfed baby's diapers is simply tossing them in the wash, cold rinse cycle and wash them on hot with detergent. I bought my diapers cheaper and I got 4 dozen so I wouldn't have to do laundry every day. I will try to vote but I am not doing it only for ecological reasons. I also do it for health reasons (not to mention I don't forget to buy diapers erev shabbos and get stuck).

-Sara

Kayza

Sun, Feb 13 2011, 7:27 pm

skazm wrote:

1. my husband wants to be ecologically kind to the earth by not filling the landfills

That depends on how you are cleaning them. Certainly not if you are using a diaper service.

Quote:

2. it's supposed to be cheaper in the not-so-long run

I suggest you look at pricing. You can spend a lot on disposables, but you don't have to - about $9.00 per week, without having to leave the baby in wet diapers. (That's without intensive shopping around, for brand names.) From what I have seen of diaper pricing, while it does cost a bit more than cloth diapers, it's not that much more, once you factor in the cost of the diapers and covers as well as the additional laundry. If you have to go to a laundromat, then you are not saving anything.

gp2.0

Sun, Feb 13 2011, 7:35 pm

As a compromise, you can start off with cloth diapers, and if you find you dislike it, you can use disposables.

(Although maybe you should start off with disposables, in those exhausting first few months, and move on to cloth diapers once you've settled into the role of mom a bit more comfortably...)

You can purchase disposables for a fraction of the original price on amazon.com, if you buy in bulk, sign up for amazon mom, subscribe and save, and add a few coupons.

spring13

Sun, Feb 13 2011, 8:21 pm

I don't have my own laundry machines, so I'm using disposables for now, but someday when we have our own place, I really want to try cloth.

my reasons for being interested involve the environment, the $ savings (the fact that you can reuse them for more than 1 kid makes a big difference), and the fact that I'm just sick of throwing things out all the time. I use tupperware instead of ziplocs as much as possible, I use cloth shopping bags, its all related. I learned about modern cloth diapers sort of by accident when I was pregnant, and was just really intrigued - I can't totally explain why.

plus, cloth diapers are really cute. like, REALLY cute.

if/when I do go for CDs, I think I'd do prefolds and covers for the newborn stage, then switch to pockets or AI2s for the long run.

there's a frum woman in Baltimore who has a cloth diaper store (both a real store and online), so if you want to support a frum family if/when you decide what to get, check out http://softandcozybaby.com/. She has info about the different types of CDs on her website.

Marion

Sun, Feb 13 2011, 10:07 pm

My 2 cents worth...pocket diapers, or prefolds with covers. All-in-ones take forever to dry (hang to dry).

That said:
Cloth was not on my radar for DS#1. He was in diapers for 3.5 years (42 months). 42 x $25 is $1050...on garbage.

I inherited fitteds and covers when DS#2 was born. The daycare he started at used them no problem, but the 2nd daycare refused. 22 months of disposable diapering (for daycare only): 22 x $20 is $440.

$1050 + $440 = $1490

Since those first inherited diapers I've spent $618 on cloth diapers (all for DS#3 so far): 16 small FuzziBunz, 13 BumGenius medium AIO, 6 gDiapers (large), 16 medium FuzziBunz, 6 one-size Haute Pockets (and inserts), 2 Thirsties wraps (medium), and assorted wetbags (2 oversized, 5 large, 2 mini). I've also spent about $50 on supplies (flat diapers and fabric to make my own fitteds and inserts for the gDiapers). Grand total: $668. All the diapers I bought are 2nd hand. All the diapers I bought will EASILY survive at least 2 more kids (B"EH, whenever they arrive). And honestly, I didn't HAVE to buy that many. Cloth diaper shopping is simply addictive!

But yeah, go with the pockets. They wash easily and they dry very, very quickly. The daycare loves the AIOs but they take much longer to dry and it's a source of stress for me (will they be dry by the time I need them?). The pockets dry overnight, even inside, even in the winter.

Oh, and for the record: I have NOT noticed an increase in my water bill for the extra 2 loads of laundry a week.

Kayza

Sun, Feb 13 2011, 10:33 pm

Marion wrote:

That said:
Cloth was not on my radar for DS#1. He was in diapers for 3.5 years (42 months). 42 x $25 is $1050...on garbage.

I inherited fitteds and covers when DS#2 was born. The daycare he started at used them no problem, but the 2nd daycare refused. 22 months of disposable diapering (for daycare only): 22 x $20 is $440.

$1050 + $440 = $1490

Fr anyone who is reading this, there is absolutely no reason to spend this much on disposables. You can if you want to, but it does not take a lot of effort to spend, literally, less than half of that.

Marion

Sun, Feb 13 2011, 11:25 pm

Quick search on Amazon:
Huggies/Pampers/Luvs - size 4; 140 count box. Between $30-$40 ON SALE. 140 count box/7 diapers/day is 20 days; you need 1.5 boxes/month. $45-$60.
Subscribe & save discount is 15% ($6.25-$9)
Amazon Mom discount (15%) ($6.25-9).
Combined discount (30%) means it costs you $32.50-$48. ON SALE.

(Regular prices on these items were between $39 and $47/box...$58.50-$70.50/month. $41-$49.50, after a 30% discount.)

I think you need to check your math if you think disposables are cheaper than cloth.

Marion

Sun, Feb 13 2011, 11:35 pm

Kayza wrote:

Marion wrote:

Note, that's for 64 months worth of diapers, for two children. That's $23/month. You can spend less than that? I'm impressed.

RachelEve14

Sun, Feb 13 2011, 11:47 pm

Yes, I used cloth since my twins were about 10 months old. At first I had all medium diapers and Rivka wore disposable the first couple of months. When Avraham Tzvi was born I got a stash of newborns & smalls. All my older diapers had heavy use for 4 kids (5 years or so), the newer ones were used for about 5 months. All will last B'Ezrat H' for another baby. I'd say cloth has been wellllll worth it.

rovacat

Mon, Feb 14 2011, 12:39 am

excuse my ignorance. I don't know anything about cloth diapers, but what do you do with the actual poop? I can't imagine putting all of that into my washing machine. do you take whatever big pieces you can out of the diaper and throw into the toilet? then the rest you throw into the machine? I'd be afraid of it stuffing up my machine. sorry for the details.