Yes, you read that correctly, I am going to use cloth diapers. The idea has intrigued me for some time because of the advances in cloth diapers these days, the cost of disposables, and the environmental impact of throwing all those diapers away. But when I researched it a bit, I got quite overwhelmed by all the choices out there.Then a couple weeks ago, my friend Rebekah (and mother of 4) came up to me at church. "Have I given you my cloth diaper schpiel yet?"
"No, but I'd love to hear it!"
Off she went, showing me the diapers she uses ("The best on the market today.") and going on about how great they are and easy to use. I was convinced. All I needed was a little guidance from a real mom to know what worked in real life.
These are the diapers that Rebekah recommends and that I am going to get:
They are one-size fits all, so you don't have to keep buying more diapers as your baby grows. They have little snaps to adjust the size. And of course they are washable. Rebekah assures me they are as easy to use as disposables. Oh and they come in lot of fun colors!
They cost about $18 a piece and of course you'll need a dozen or two depending on how often you do laundry. But that investment will pay off so quickly! Disposables are expensive. Plus these will last through more than one child. Check out cottonbabies.com if you want to know more. You can also get packages of 3, 6, or 12 and save some money.
BumGenius is my favorite of all the pocket diapers. They don't hold in odors as much as fuzzibunz and happyheinys. Good choice.
ReplyDeleteI'm switching to prefolds with this next baby since you can use regular detergent and you don't have to get the peed on inserts out- which is a pain.
Oh and a HUGE piece of advice that's renewed my love of cloth diapering- Try out the diaper liners. They're flushable. They catch all the poop so you don't have to rinse your diapers. They work REALLY well and I can't imagine going back to rinsing off poop.
A $7 roll has lasted me over a month and it's only halfway gone.
Sorry- you didn't ask for that, but thought I'd throw it out there anyway :)
Way to go! Look at you all earthy and stuff! I'll admit, the idea is intriguing. But I also will admit that I don't know if I could do it! I would tell you to get more then 12. I don't know. 12 doesn't seem like enough. I would think you'd be doing a load nearly everyday. Once you get them you'll have to tell us how you like 'em!
ReplyDeleteGood info! I've strongly considered doing the same. I have to say though that one of my coworkers started with cloth diapers mainly due to environmental concerns and after a month did some more research and found (and I don't have any sources to back this up) that the environmental impact is actually pretty equal when you take into account the water and energy you use in doing so many loads of wash. That being said though, the money savings sure will be nice--those things are expensive!
ReplyDeleteAriana, thanks for the tips! I totally appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteI've heard the same thing as Rachel--the environmental savings are fairly negligible when you account for water, energy, and soap runoff.
ReplyDeleteWith that said, I'll be interested to read about how you feel about the diapers six months into it...keep us posted!
And like Kate, I would DEFINITELY recommend more than 12. Some days, I've gone through at least 12diapers.
I'm probably going to get 24 diapers, but will definitely ask my cloth diapering friends what they think.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it's true that you will be doing more laundry with cloth diapers, but it still seems to me like overall a few more loads of laundry is better than all that trash. And the money savings definitely can't be argued with. I did a quick google search and found this very informative article. (Although it is 10 years old.)
Interesting. Well I have thought of doing cloth diapers too, but not because of the environment or anything good like that, but because there are such cute patterns for retro diaper covers! I'm so vain. Let us know what you think.
ReplyDeleteNow those are very cool and I don't blame you for giving those a try. I so wanted to do cloth diapers with my kids when they were small, but didn't as they never had anything like these - these are fabulous and such a great idea.
ReplyDeleteHave a good day - Kellan
Katrina, just wanted to say that yes I have read The Well Trained Mind. I LOVE that book! It's one of my favorites. I'm glad you commented about it on my blog.
ReplyDeleteI think every parent, homeschooling or not, should read it. I'm glad you got to read it even before your baby's born. I wish I would've read it when Brooklyn was a baby.
You are a brave, brave woman. My mom used cloth diapers when we were kids and I'm still having bad flashbacks of my mom leaning over the toilet dropping the poop in there and then putting them in the bucket to take to the washer. Oh my gosh, the SMELL. (But that was old school style - a cloth diaper, two pins and some plastic overpants.) Good for you for doing what you think is right.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you my friend. I had to wash out many a cloth diaper when my little brother was a baby, and I have two words for you: rubber loves. You are so dang lucky for modern technology like the diaper liners that Ariana suggested. Washing a diaper in the toilet is disgusting, plain and simple.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, good job for helping the environment any way you can! You make up for us slackers.
My issue of parents magazine came today, and it had an article about this: http://www.parents.com/parents/story.jsp?storyid=/templatedata/parents/story/data/1204903765533.xml
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link Rachael. It really does seem that the environmental costs may be similar. But the economical costs are not. I am mostly doing this because it's going to save us money. And a little extra laundry doesn't bother me. But we'll see what I think after I give it a go.
ReplyDeleteHello from UK. My friend used these reusables diapers/nappies for both of her children. And she said it has saved her about £1000+ over the 2 years. She uses disposables if away from home (holidays), but at home and family houses, she used them all the time. You can also get a nappy washing service and it still works out less £'s than disposables. keep blogging I love it!
ReplyDeleteI have thought about reusables but was turned off at thorough descriptions from my parents back in the day. I know they've come along way since then. I'm also scared about being out and about with a yucky diaper. Messes are bad enough when you can throw them away but I'm kind of grossed out by the idea of having to package up a yucky diaper. I'd be really interested to hear the follow up report in a few months!! I would consider it next time around if its workable. Its also of course possible to do a combination. I'd like to hear an insiders report!!
ReplyDeleteThese ones are ridiculously expensive, but sooo cute!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.blueberrydiapers.com/products/pockets/osminky
Hey Katrina! Sorry that I have not checked your blog in forever. I just wanted to say that I am using the Bum Genius with Clara and I love it! I have a few points to make:
ReplyDelete1. If you can change a poopy disposable diaper, you can do cloth. Your hands get just as dirty.
2. If you keep you diapers in a trash bin with a lid, they don't smell. Just be sure to wash every three days at least. I do laundry every other day with 12 diapers. It will be more with a newborn.
3. Consider using reusable wipes. I cut up an old receiving blanket and sewed around the edges to make my own set. There are a zillion recipes for wipe solution on the internet that can be made with stuff you have around the house. I keep the dirty wipes in the diaper and throw it all in the wash at the same time.
Happy cloth diapering!