Cloth Diapering

First of all...yes, I do cloth diaper...I'm currently on my second cloth diapered child...and no, I don't find it to be a difficult thing to do. I'm sure there are moms that don't enjoy it, but I really do enjoy it! Truly! It's addictive! And I've read many accounts from moms online at all the many many websites on cloth diapering that feel the same way, so I'm not the only nutcase...hehe.

The biggest reason why I decided to cloth diaper was the cost. We were forking out entirely too much every other week or so on disposables. Even though it does cost quite a bit to get a supply of diapers in the beginning (anywhere from a $200-$500, depending on how much you buy and where you buy them), it saves you SO much money in the long run, especially if you have more children. Disposables seem cheap, but check out these cost comparisons:

Cost Comparison in the Great Debate: Cloth Diapers vs. Disposables
Cost Comparison: Cloth vs. Disposable Diapers
Cloth versus Disposables: Facts & Figures - which really is better?'
Cloth Diaper Savings Calculator

In the long run, you save a LOT by doing cloth!

The second reason I decided to do cloth was the environmental reasons. I know that disposables are bad for our environment and figured it was one small way I could personally do something to help the Earth and set a good example for my children. Plus, I had read a lot that told me about all the toxins in cloth diapers that are potentially harmful. For some eye-opening info on the risks and environmental factors of disposable diapers, check out these links:

The Great Debate
Cloth vs Disposable Diapers
The Diaper Drama
 

Now, you're probably thinking about the hassle of washing all those poopy diapers, right? Actually, I don't really find it to be all that much of a hassle. I have about 2 dozen diapers and only have to wash diapers about every 3 days or so (for an older baby/toddler...for newborns you're washing everyday but its a short period of time like this). I've not noticed a significant change in our electric bill, and since I don't do a wet pail, I don't have a gross, heavy bucket of poops to lug to the laundry room every few days. There are lots of different ways to do cloth, and just doing a search online for "cloth diapering" will bring you TONS of sites with all kinds of info. When I was researching this topic for myself, I read as much as I could and just tried the methods that sounded good to me. I knew I didn't want to have to deal with a bucket of messy poopy water soaked diapers, and the dunking in the toilet method I only did once and learned I HATED that idea! So I went with the dry pail that I had read so many moms do. Now I do have to get any solid poops out of her diaper before putting the poopy diaper in my poopy pail (I have 2 diaper pails, one for poop, one for pee), and that sometimes can be gross...but ya gotta deal with poop no matter how you do diapers, that's just being a mom!

Anyway, here's some links to sites that explain the ins & outs of cloth diapering:

Cloth diapers also come in sizes like newborn / small / medium / large, and one-size, which has a bunch of snaps to fit infants from newborn through 30lbs or so.

I have a variety of all the above, since they all have their uses at different times. The all-in-ones (aios) are especially useful when out and about town, and fit nicely in diaper bags.

PUL (poly urethane laminate) Covers only need to be washed maybe weekly, or if they get poop on them. Otherwise, just rinse under running water and hang dry to use again. You can put them in the drier but it shortens their life span, as it does for diapers too. I do it anyway though because I hate having to hang all those diapers and covers...very time and space consuming!

My suggestion for buying diapers is to buy them used at one of the many online auctions out there. Here's some that I know of:

Mother-ease (These are my favorite of the manufactured dipes I've tried.)
Bummis
Bumkins
Kushies (I didn't care for these, but many like them)

You can buy all but Motherease diapers on just about any cloth diaper website, since they sell them to online stores. But there's also a lot of WAHM's (work at home moms) that also make & sell their own diapers...Many of which are even better and way cuter than the manufactured kind! There's HUNDREDS of sites on the net that sell cloth diapers, so just start surfin!

To go along with your cloth diapers, you'll want cloth wipes (and believe me, you'll never go back to disposable after you use these! They grab poop way better and they smell wonderful!) You can use baby washcloths, regular washcloths, or do what I did and cut up old receiving blankets & stitch around the edges so they don't fray. Then you can use a wipes recipe, such as:

Or just use plain water. Either wet the wipes ahead of time and store in an old disposable wipe box or just keep a squirt bottle of water on hand to spray them fresh each time.

What I suggest is do your own research...read all you can, and then just buy a dozen or so diapers, preferably of a variety of different styles and brands...and just see what you like! Not every baby nor every mommy like the same kind of diapers.

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