Chloe wears cloth diapers. I love using them because it saves us TONS of money and I feel that it is environmentally-responsible. The downside is that cloth diapers are much bulkier than slim disposables. Chloe is tall for her age already (7 mos.) so with the bulky diapers she is squished in her 12 mos. pants! Sigh. This weekend I'm off again on a shopping spree for pants and pajamas for our ever-growing girl.I won't use this post as a soapbox for my pro-cloth leanings because I know they aren't for everyone. I'm curious though - what do you bloggers use on your babies' tushies? Am I the only one using cloth?
13 comments:
Alicia,
I have been reading about cloth diapers...i am a bit grossed out by some of the things i have read, but, things have changed a lot since my mom had us dumking my little brother and sister's diapers in the toilet! BLAH!!!
What are the cons do you think? I get the pros, but i was curious what the cons are from a current user. Also, if i use them, I would use them at home after they are a little older, but definitely pack disposables for church or visits to peoples homes. What do you think?
Shyla,
There are tons of pros to cloth diapers - the biggest one for us is the money factor. I really wouldn't say there are any significant cons. It takes some getting used to of course. When I first pinned a diaper on Chloe it took me FOREVER and I was terrified of sticking her. (I've never stuck her but my thumbs have been frequent pin victims.) Once I got my system down (transferring to diaper pail, washing, etc.) it wasn't a big deal. I admit does take a little bit longer than normal disposable diapering but it's worth the time to me. This may sound gross but I use cloth even when we are out and about. I just bring along a plastic bag to put the soiled diaper in to take home for cleaning. I felt the same way as you as far as the nursery goes. Once I brought Chloe into the nursery and she needed changing. I told the worker, "Let me do this, I don't want you to have to deal with a cloth diaper." She promptly said, "And what do you think I did with all my babies?" She actually seemed pleased to be able to change a cloth diaper! Another time I changed Chloe in the nursery and put the plastic bag in her little diaper bag cubbie. This was at a church we were visiting (we're still searching for a church home here in Ohio) and when we left and were on the road home I realized I had forgotten the plastic bag! Someone did not have a pleasant experience opening that bag .. .
I'm trying to decide as well...I like the idea of using cloth for the same reasons you mentioned, Al, but then there's the nastiness of cleanup (and it's probably mostly my pregnancy induced hyper gag reflex talking here) I'm not sure I could handle the chore of diaper soaking! SO. Any suggestions for trying it out without making a the somewhat significant initial investment?
Good question Jenny. I would suggest picking up a dozen diapers, pins and diaper covers at walmart. It would cost you about $25. I thankfully got all my diapers and supplies at my baby shower! Yes, the clean-up is gross at first. Now I'm used to it though and I just think of poop as any other solid coming in contact with my hands. AND I wash my hands very thoroughly and often. There are gadgets out there to make clean-up less gross. Like a toilet duck (plastic thing that attaches to the inside of your toilet where you put the diaper and then flush to get the poopy off). Let me know if you have more questions!
Toilet Duck? This I have to hear more about. Where on earth do you pick up one of those? And, do you use the WalMart diapers? I have this friend who uses "specialty" diapers she found online that are all in ones with fleece liners and all sorts of bells and whistles. Are the WalMart prefolds absorbent enough? Do you have to buy liners at a different place? (I'm sure I have about a million more questions...)
Hey all,
Just thought I'd weigh in on the cloth diaper debate, since I'm a recent convert. I wanted to use cloth with Ian but Ryan wasn't so keen on the idea, but we finally switched over with Calvin just here in the last month. I must say that I use the ones from online with all the "bells and whistles" because Ryan specifically wanted it to not be terribly time consuming for me. They are much pricier at the get go but if you consider still how much you are saving from not using disposables, in my mind it's worth it. I use BumGenius! which is a one size pocket diaper. It works great for our boys and is more economical than say, Fuzzi Bunz or Happy Heiny's (aren't these names a hoot, who comes up with these things anyway) because you don't have to buy a bunch of diapers in all the different sizes. I also bought a bummis tote bag for in the diaper bag when we have a dirty diaper while out and about. That's been really nice too.
Oh, another reason I liked the BumGenius! is that they have a stay dry inside lining, so that although the insert is sometimes soaked, Calvin skin isn't up against at all. That was a huge plus to me. Also, I just use the dry pail method...check out cottonbabies.com for more info on how that all works.
The only con (that's really not one) is that I have to be more aware to change Calvin's diaper more often than with disposables. I often would forget for quite long period of time and he would never leak; however, that's not the case with cloth but it's good because it's much better for them to be as clean and dry as often as possible. So I'm actually thankful for that "con."
Alicia really is the cloth diaper queen since I chose the no pins and such route, but I'm thankful for her input into our decision. Way to lead the way Alicia! =)
Tricia
Wow, Tricia! I knew you were thinking about switching to cloth but didn't know you converted! Way to go! Sounds like your cloth diapering is way more "modern" than my way. I would LOVE to use the all-in-ones (aios) but they are way too pricey for us right now. Does the aio have built in velcro or snaps? Dry pail method? We do wet pail (1/2 water and 1 cup bleach). That diaper bag sounds awesome! I'll have to check that out though I don't know if I'm willing to give up my slick black diaper bag. :)
I agree, I love the fact that Chloe's bottom is getting changed regularly. I've also read that cloth-diapered-babies are easier to potty train because they can identify what it means to be wet.
Rock on Tricia,
Alicia
Jenny,
Here's the diaper duck link:
http://store.yahoo.com/naturalbaby/914500-diaperduck.html
Prefolds are totally best in my mind. As far as I know Wal-Mart carries both pre-folds and the regular kind. I also got mine online but I don't think there's much difference between online and Wal-mart as long as they are both 100% cotton. You can get as fancy (and pricey) as you want with online diapers. There are chinese, unbleached cotton, and hemp varities.
When it comes to diaper wraps/covers the possibilities are even more vast and varied. Tricia uses all-in-one diapers and I use diapers with vinyl pants (the old-fashioned way and by far the ultra-cheapest). Once you start doing a little online research you'll see how much there is to choose from!
Alicia
Tricia,
So how do you wash those? The insert comes out and both parts get rinsed and go in the machine? I couldn't find anything on that site about dry pail method for some reason...one last question. Can you put them in the dryer?
Al,
That diaper duck thing looks like an amazing little invention!! Much better than hand-dunking for sure.
Alicia,
The diapers have stretchy tabs and velcro so it is kinda the convenience of disposable without the other cons. It was a bit difficult to swallow the immediate priciness, but long term (we hope to have lots of kids if the Lord allows) we thought the benefits would outweigh the initial "investment" as it was.
I know what you're saying about the slick black diaper bag. I wouldn't trade mine either. The tote bag is just a smaller bag that I throw into my real diaper bag to hold the dirty diapers.
Jenny,
Congratulations on your marriage and new baby on the way!! That is so exciting!
Sorry about the confusion with the website. What I do is remove the insert right after I change the diaper then put it all in a diaper pail (when the diapers are dirty I shake the contents it in the toilet first - I know that sounds disgusting but it's really not that bad, at least for me). Then when I wash them I run it through two cycles on warm or hot with just a little bit of detergent and sometimes baking soda. They've always come out super clean with no problems. If they have any stains a few minutes of soaking up the rays in our sun room seems to clear them right up. I put the inserts in the dryer but line dry the covers. I just wash them at night so that way they are dry by morning, so it works out pretty good. I found this method on Cotton Babies in the "How-to" section under "Diaper FAQ". Of course, there are a bazillion different varieties of ways to clean your diapers I'm sure, since there that many different kinds of diapers as well. This has worked good for us and is fairly simple to do.
I have used cloth part-time with Sam, but I hope to use them a lot more (full-time or nearly so) with this next one. I've bought a few different brands online (mostly the pocket dipes)--Fuzzi Bunz, a couple Happy Heinys, some Wonderoos, and a couple Snap-EZ and some that used to be called Pail Pals (I think the name is different now, though) from thediaperpail.com. It's been interesting to see how different ones fit Sam better than others. Tricia, I hadn't heard of BumGenius before--will have to check those out! I was considering going with all Fuzzi Bunz for the next baby, but we will see. The price is definitely a consideration, but I like the idea of saving $$ in the long run and not throwing it away like I do while using disposables, and also not putting all that trash into yet another landfill. I found a lot of info at www.diaperpin.com; they have some helpful forums there, as well, where I got a lot of my questions answered.
Jenny: I don't actually use that diaper duck thing. I've only heard about it. It's really not that gross to just use your hands. You have to get used to it though. :)
Tricia: Those all-in-ones sound fabulous! Maybe we can get some for our next bambino. As it is we are super poor right now so buying a pack of vinyl pants from wal-mart for $5 is the way we have to go. I agree, the initial investment is totally worth the long run savings!
Carrie: So glad to hear you are using cloth too! I know, it's much easier on the conscience to know we aren't filling up landfills to the sky. Did you know that it takes hundreds of years for disposables to biodegrade?
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