So a few people have asked me to blog about how I feel about cloth diapers, now that we've been at it since July or so. (August? I can't really remember the exact date.) We did the math and it would appear that we broke even and the diapers began paying for themselves about 2 months in. Our initial investment of $200 has really served us well, and for someone on a budget, saving up to invest in a cloth diapering system seems to be a great idea.
Now for the rest of the poop.
I love that we never run out of diapers, and I'm impressed with how tough the diapers are. We're using FuzziBunz, and they're pretty simple and straightforward. I also have two BumGenius diapers and I will say that while FuzziBunz were recommended to me, I wish I'd done even more research and asked moms who had multiple kids, because I feel like BumGenius are the superior diaper at this point. The FB's are really taking the wear and tear great, but the BG are definitely easier to stuff and allow a lot more movement for the kiddies. They're both bulky, so no real comparison there. The BGs have great buttons, and I've had a few issues with the FB buttons where it looked like they were actually going to come off the diaper. They never have, but they feel less than secure every so often.
We didn't have a dryer for the first month and a half of cloth diapering, and that was a big pain, but I actually think it worked better, as the sun bleached out the smells a little better. Living in Texas, we hung everything out all summer long and the clothes actually dried faster in the sun than they did in the dryer, it being 112 degrees for most of the season.
Once we got our dryer, several people I ran across gave me a great piece of advice and said, "Just wash them with your regular clothes. You won't have any smells, you won't have to wait to wash them and you'll keep up with your laundry."
All true. I've also found that even poopy diapers (once the majority of the poop is flushed) can be thrown right in without issue. I WILL say that using a rag with Old English and then throwing that in the wash with your cloth diapers will cause some problems. Ugh.
Here are the pros and cons: (These are stricly from a user's perspective. I have no real care for whether or not it's "green," as both methods have their own merits in that department.)
PROS:
They pay for themselves within a couple of months.
Fewer diaper rashes
You never run out (so long as you DO the laundry and keep track of your numbers)
Cute colors
Fits kids from birth to 3
Unisex, if you so choose
Last for years
No issues with staining at all. (Well, if you don't count the Old English diaper) Every diaper insert and liner we have is bright and white, and smells don't stick aound once they've been washed.)
CONS:
Bulky. Very, very bulky. If they're NOT bulky, you can soak through them pretty quick. The bulk is due to the fact that you need to use two liners at a time to keep from having to change the child every hour. I've found that they're so bulky that I have to go up in clothing size to make sure that Claire's pants and onesies fit.
You really can't slack off on laundry
Smells. You can do a diaper pail situation, but I haven't really found anything other than super-prompt washing that helps. This may be because I have two in diapers right now and have more diapers sitting? I'm not sure. Andrew and I keep the dirty diapers in the laundry room (HUGE open room, not a small space) and we just aren't happy with the smell issue. I'm going to try a more dedicated bag for just the diapers, but at this point I'm just not thrilled with the situation.
Ease of movement is a little lessened. Because of the bulkiness, it seems like Claire is staying immobile longer.
Gotta carry them home. Yes, there are wet bags and ways to carry them, but you still need to carry your poopy diapers home.
Because of the bulk, they take up a TON of space in the diaper bag. With two kids, one of whom is potty-training, I end up taking four diapers for an outing, and need a second bag to carry the diapers. Just plain annoying. Who wants to carry a giant diaper bag? I truly can't imagine being a working mom and having to schlep all these diapers around!
It's just not as convenient as disposables. True, it's less expensive in the long run, but with the number of kids around here, trying to keep up with the cloth diapers is just a lot of work! If I had one or two it might even be easier, but I've found that having a third kid was a game-changer on just about everything we do, and it seems to ring true with diapering as well. The laundry is already overwhelming, and addding diapers to the load doesn't make it any better.
SO...I don't know. At this point, there are merits to both side. I'm pretty much split down the middle as far as whether cloth diapering is for us or not. As we have several kids and plan on having several more, it was something I felt I needed to try, at the very least. Will it stick? I'm not sure. Disposables are definitely my preferred diaper, but admitting it makes me feel like I'm unwilling to go the extra mile to do what's becoming a popular choice now. I think that the bottom line is this. Kids are a ton of work. Cloth diapers are more work. Anything I can do to streamline my work and cut down on steps is the way I lean. Cloth diapers add more steps to my already-crammed day, so you tell me. What's a girl to do?
4 comments:
I think all you have said is true, but at the same time, since when has the "popular" choice been the right one? I love the IDEA of cloth diapers, but when I've had more than one in a diaper at a time, the convienance factor really outweighs the rest. But... I think probably using both could really work too, I mean, think about when Molly is totally potty trained (and WELL) and all you have is Claire at age 18 mo or something, not needing diapers that often, then it may be a lot less work, you know? I think I may try it with Ben since it's just him, and not that many diapers to change. I think it may need to be flexible with your phase in life, just like everything becomes flexible when you have 3, right!? :) I have a lot of friends that use disposables early on when the infant is little and using many diapers a day, then they switch over. all a personal choice I guess! I don't think it's bad to use disposables though, especially when you're traveling and such--every Mom who only had cloth diapers has told me they would've been dying to have disposables! ;) I think like you said, why give yourself more unnecessary work?
I think you're very brave for even trying. I knew it would be a lot of work but if you want to save money then work it is! Since the diapers have already paid for themselves I'd recommend you use them whenever it is convenient but when you travel then use the disposables. You're an awesome Mom!
We've been cloth diapering for about 6 weeks with g diapers with the cloth inserts instead of the disposable inserts. It hasn't helped baby D's rash, but we've got way more problems than a normal baby. Thanks for blogging about this, it is nice to know someone else who is doing this! And oh yeah, we use a Diaper champ with a regular trash bag in it with baking soda sprinkled in the pail itself and in the bag... Works great! What detergent do you use??
Chasity
We've been cloth diapering for about 6 weeks with g diapers with the cloth inserts instead of the disposable inserts. It hasn't helped baby D's rash, but we've got way more problems than a normal baby. Thanks for blogging about this, it is nice to know someone else who is doing this! And oh yeah, we use a Diaper champ with a regular trash bag in it with baking soda sprinkled in the pail itself and in the bag... Works great! What detergent do you use??
Chasity
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