If you would've asked me even a couple of months ago what I thought about cloth diapering,my response might have been something like this:
"I tried it when my oldest was a baby and it's just not for me"
Or
"We have 3 boys in diapers-are you kidding me?? I'd be doing laundry all the time"
Or
"Ewww! I am really grossed out by poo-no thank you!"
Well things changed when I realized I was..well,not as crunchy as I thought I could be.
Being who I am I thought
"Hey,I can do that!".
So here we are nearly three weeks into cloth diapering and I actually
like it!
It made me realize that there are myths and misunderstandings about cloth diapering;I used to feel the way most people do about it,so let's try to debunk some of those misconceptions.......
*Let's start with my personal favorite and why I didn't cloth diaper for so long
"Eww,I hate poop and I'll have to get all nasty to clean them!"
Okay,first of all having babies you will eventually have to touch
something covered in poop-that is unless you gave birth to a baby who doesn't poop.
Secondly,it doesn't
have to be done the way your mother or grandmother did it.
Some parent's get ridiculously lucky and have a child who produces a more solid poo;I happen to be a parent of children who poop like there's an
explosive packed behind it.
We made it all of about 3 days before we ordered an amazing contraption:
A Diaper Sprayer!
It makes clean-up simple and quick.
If it happens to be an exceptionally messy diaper,you can pair the sprayer with a handy pair of rubber gloves!
*Another thought that sat in the back of my mind
"They can't possibly contain very much and they will leak unless I change them constantly!"
So far we have only experienced 2 leaks and they were both because we'd gone too long between changes.
When our boys were in disposables they leaked a lot of the time-especially at night and we'd need to wash their bedding 4-5 times per week because of this.
Blow-outs were always bad in the disposables and their clothes were constantly getting soiled.
As far as changing your baby,well it needs done when they are wet....we actually go through
less diaper changes in a day than we did with disposables.
*Yet another one that turned me off from cloth
"Ugh,I don't want to fold and pin them and then use those ugly old pull on plastic pants!"
OK,this one I need take time and word
very carefully.....
Some people still use the 'old fashioned' style flats and prefolds;some even use diaper pins still.
My mother used the p.p.p (pins,prefolds and pants) combo and it worked for her.
For whatever reason this just doesn't settle with me-maybe it's the leftover lazy streak from when I was a kid....
There are so many options for cloth diapering now-so many that it's
completely overwhelming when you first start out.
There are snaps,velcro (aplix) and also options that tie and some use a rubber gripper instead of pins.
You don't have to go with covers,but if you do they have a selection of waterproof pants that are actually very attractive.
You can buy pocket style or all-in-ones and they look like regular diapers-but come in a variety of cute colors and prints.
(
"Hi,my name is Denee and I am an addict" - you've been warned it can become
quite addicting when you see sales and new products!)
*Another one-my second worse fear!
"I'll be doing so much laundry my head will start spinning!"
Well,if you have a decent size stash,the diapers won't be so bad.
I have 3 boys wearing them;I do a load every day out of habit,but I
could go down to every two days.
On average they soil 15 diapers per day between the three of them;so one load of laundry every other day isn't that bad at all.
One thing I need to touch on is that like I mentioned before,we always had to wash bedding and extra clothing because the disposables couldn't withstand the floods and bombs that my boys produced.
I was doing MORE laundry as a side affect of using disposables.
*This one I was never convinced of
"Cloth diapers are just more expensive all around"
Well,that depends.
There are so many ways to approach this;first I'll tell you the ways in which you'll be spending money on cloth diapers:
1) The diapers.
Whichever type you choose will influence the amount you put into it.
The average is about $15 each (some are much more and some are less) and for a decent stash for one baby you'll want around 20 diapers.
This is of course based on someone who isn't just
drawn purchasing more...and more.
2) Liners and a diaper sprayer
The liners are optional;we use them because they make cleanup easier most of the time.
We may eventually stop using them since they aren't completely necessary.
Liners are about $7-8 for a roll of 100-but we hand wash and reuse them if they are just wet.
A diaper sprayer runs you about $40-again,some are more or less.
You can construct your own for around $17.
3)Detergent
You do need to purchase a laundry detergent that is cloth diaper friendly.
I have found one I really like-it is $13 and will last me probably about 6 weeks.
Now you CAN make your own (I'm not brave enough yet) for about $22 and it will last you over a year.
This is a handy diaper calculator which tells about how much I might save using cloth for my boys.
Note,you can try it yourself specific to your needs by clicking the link at the bottom of the post!
*This is for 3 children and I have more than 50 cloth diapers,but the others were free ones.I used the 'covers' section and just filled in how much I spent per diaper and how many I purchased.
Obviously every family is different and so this won't be accurate for everyone.
Now that I've listed the things to need to put money into,I'm going to go over the benefits of cloth diapering.
Lets start with financial advantages:
1)
No more $$ on disposables!
I like this because I was having to buy 3 different sizes every two weeks;with the cloth I purchased mostly one size and it fits all three!
Even the generic/low end brands of disposables cost an average of 17 cents per diaper (of course this depends on the amount of diapers which varies by diaper size).
And you are just throwing those diapers away!
With Cloth,you can use them for many babies to come or resell them for around 50-80% of your money back (obviously depending on how worn they are).
2)
Other ways
A) We aren't using HALF the trash bags we were when we diapered with disposables;hubby is grateful because now he only takes out the garbage 2 times in a week where before it was almost every day!)
B) Although we are needing to wash the diapers regularly,we no longer wash big heavy loads of bedding and extra changes of clothing!
C) Less leaks and explosions mean less bathing for stinky babies! Not that baths aren't needed,but there were times they'd just had a bath the night before and then needed one the next morning.
Now, there are also other advantages to cloth
1.No rashes.
Of course with any diaper you need to change them often and there are always exceptions,but the cloth fabric is so soft and wicks away the moisture really well.
2.No worrying about when you'll need to pick up more diapers from the store!
3.Back to that amazingly soft fabric.Babies love softness and cloth diapers are very soft!
4.It's so much better on the environment! Plastic/paper diapers sit and stink in a landfill for longer than we even know before they degrade.Yuck!
5.Cloth diapers are awfully cute! I can't wait for next summer to let the boys just run around outside in them!
6.They cushion and protect at least one part of a wobbly baby's body!
7.They are fun to buy and waiting for fluffy mail is exciting!
8.There are toxins in disposables that we don't know the long term affects of yet.
For more information visit:
http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/diaperfacts.php
For the diaper calculator:
http://www.diaperpin.com/calculator/calculator.asp
If you would like to try cloth diapers,I HIGHLY recommend this site for great deals,free shipping on orders over $49 and an excellent rewards program!
Click here to visit Kelly's Closet
