I'm considering making the switch to cloth diapers with Baby #2 in October. Never thought I'd even consider it, but our good friends Darius & Janet do it with multiple little ones (and she's not up to her elbows in stinky diapers), Ryan & Erin are planning on doing it, and Andrew & Lindsey are considering it as well.
At first, the idea popped in to my head when my friend Erin wanted to make the switch with Emma. I had no idea that the cost savings were so significant until she mentioned it. Then I did the math for myself. Clare is 21 months old. If we spend roughly (sometimes more) $30/month on disposable diapers for her, that means that in her short lifetime we've spent $630 on her diapers alone! And when it costs 1/3 of that to outfit multiple babies (heck, they're washable and re-usable) in cloth, it just seems to make sense.
But what about the convenience of disposable? According to Janet, after making the switch herself, once you get the hang of cloth there's really not that much of a difference. The key is to persevere during the transition time.
Then a blog that I love, SimpleMom, has done the past week on Cloth Diapering 101 to dispel the fears that some of us may have when considering switching to cloth and to offer practical advice and tips. You should check out her series on cloth diapering if you have any questions, because it's pretty comprehensive (at least for me who doesn't know anything) but at the same time not overwhelming. You should also visit because she's doing a giveaway with some fantastic cloth diaper supplies from FuzziBunz, BottomBumpers, and Swaddlebees. Check it out!
Like I said, I'm still in the considering phase...we'll see where we end up going with this.
8 comments:
Carrie, We are using ones called Bumgenius and really like them. They are super simple and haven't leaked (even with Jack being so small) and they are adjustable so you don't have to buy new ones as he grows. We're doing a little of both right now because people have given us diapers and with everything that was going on, but so far, so good! Check those out too! love you!
Good for you! The one thing is make sure to take into consideration the cost of a diaper service or the increaes use of water if you wash them yourselves. Just a thought!
hey good luck making the decision....they can be pricy to get started getting the diapers....and then washing them you want to make sure you do correctly to avoid infections and such....I have a lot of printed research and let me know what you decide as I have all of my supplies that I ended up not continuing with Emma....I have the basic chinese pre-folds...but already washed 3-4 times so fluffy and ready to use...plus snappis and covers and doublers too!! probably going to sell...
I love cloth diapers! Some of my nanny families use them, some don't. I'm a fan. :) They have diaper services though. Not sure if you planned to use that or wash yourself. Just saying - I'm a fan. :)
Thanks for the input, ladies. Erin, I'll think about buying your supplies...
As far as water use goes, Kris, it's actually something that SimpleMom addresses in her series on cloth diapering. She (and other ladies who commented or contributed) said that really it doesn't significantly increase their water bill and it's still a huge savings.
Darius & Janet have an amazing system for washing that they've developed, so if we do it, we'd probably follow their way of doing things.
the one thing I did notice in the short time I did it...was my laundry amounts increased even more and I already feel like I am ALWAYS doing it! Good luck making the decision, really wanted to because the savings are great...maybe I will revisit again one day...I also got frustrated becuase a lot of my girls outfits wouldnt fit correctly with those nice and padded bums....and becuase my girls were so petite getting bigger sizes didn't work. My friend loves the fact that she barely ever has diaper rash with cloth diapers though!!
Carrie Berrie!!! :)
Sorry I've been so slow on the uptake here!!! :) Congratulations on BABY BOY HERRING!!! :) Claire is getting so big, and beautiful. She looks just like you, though I can see a lot of Tom in her too! I love my nursing cover... I use it ALL THE TIME! I get a lot of compliments on it, and people who know me say it fits my personality! I love it. Thank you! (I was hoping to send out thank you cards sooner, but I'm still waiting for my birth announcements to be done... !! OK, I love you and am thinking of you all the time, I just never write!
Love,
jewels
PS... my frined Nina is using cloth when her boy is born... due in a week!
We're using bumgenius as well. They're great! For the 2 months or so we've been using it Clare hasn't had a single poo blowout! She used to have them every other day or so! We haven't really noticed much of a change in the water bills. I actually find that Clare does better with diaper rash when she's in her bumgenius diapers too. She uses the organic cotton ones. They're super pricey, but with my math they'll be worth it after 10 months. She was on COSTCO diapers before and those were around $40 a month.
As Amelia said they're adjustible too, so you don't have to keep buying new diapers or covers to keep up with the kid. The velcro makes them just like using disposables, so there wasn't much to learn.
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