So you may have noticed but I am trying the cloth diapering thing again. I wonder how many of you do cloth diapering too, and why? I would love to hear your feedback as to what you like and the reasoning behind it.
Me? I started when Emma was little because nothing would hold in the breastfeed poo. (Michael had that problem too, but I was too busy with other things to worry about it). But with Emma I figured if I’m going to be washing poo off of clothing I might as well wash diapers and keep her cute outfits clean. So I switched then. It wasn’t hard as my sister-in-law did cloth diapers and loaned me all she had. So really it cost me very little (a few covers because I liked the prefolds with Bummis covers, they dried quickly and the urine smell was only in her crotch area and not on her waist). I didn’t have to pre-wash the poo off because the breastfeed poo dissolves in water just put it in the diaper bag and then wash day throw it all into the washer. And interestingly enough (I know I didn’t think it would be this way) with the diaper bag there was no smell in the house, it was actually better than disposables because we would put disposables in the bathroom trash can. And nicely my leaky poo problem was solved!
But then Emma graduated to solid foods and I just couldn’t stand the thought of dunking diapers in the toilet to get them clean to then put them in the diaper bag. So I switched back to g diapers, flush it away and I was done! But the cost was up there with disposables.
So what prompted the switch back you ask? Two things. First the economy. I have been looking at our budget and knowing that there are numerous ways we can cut to make things less tight. To start we went down to one car, (it is amazing how much a car costs even after it is paid for!) then switch to line drying clothes (ok so I still machine dry the underwear, don’t feel like airing them out for all the neighbors to see. ;) he he), then the switch to all store brand products, and then cloth diapers. If you really look at the numbers it is amazing how much you can save, and for me it was even better as I was getting all my cloth diapers for free! (Thanks again Nancy!) The second thing that really sealed the deal was the discovery that they have these wonderful paper liners for cloth diapers. You buy a pack of 100 liners for $7.50 (I happened to get mine free again, love being the youngest!) and you just put the paper liner inside the diaper. It lets the urine go through but the poo stays on the liner. When you change the diaper pull out the liner and flush it away, you are left with urine and some poo stain, just put the used diaper in the bag and wash at washing time and you are good! I love it!
Now I know there are those out there that are purest and say the paper is too rough against the baby’s skin. Me? I’m fine with that, really I would be using disposables/ g diapers if it weren’t for the cost. So anyways I hope this may have helped someone who was interested about cloth but really didn’t know. I am still learning as I go, so any advice anyone has I would love it.
I wonder what my great-great grandmother would think of me? Would she think I’m crazy still doing cloth when I have the blessing of technology that gives disposables? Or would she be proud of how economical I am being?
3 comments:
Yes, your great-great grandma would think you were crazy for still using cloth ... but at the same time would admire your determination to save money even when it's more difficult.
I can't fathom the thought of the extra work of cloth diapers. I already have enough laundry and chores with four kids, so cloth diapers would just put me over my limit, I think. And since we don't have any to inherit, starting would be much more expensive.
Our kids have leaked with some disposables, but never with Huggies. My sister had to use a different brand with each child since they were built differently, but we've found Huggies the only ones not to leak for us. And I'll pay a little more to not increase my laundry loads!
I'm all about store brands for everything else, though. Did you know name-brand places actually make the store brands? I met someone who did the purchasing for a local store, and he could tell you who made exactly which store products.
I finally made our blog private and couldn't find an e-mail for you. If you'd still like an invite e-mail me: Kimberlyrfitch at gmail dot com
That's cool that you can do cloth diapers. I babysit a boy in the ward once a month when his mom goes to the temple and I gag everytime I have to change him. For some reason the SMELL is awful (even wet ones) but I barely notice it with normal ones :) My friend Tara (this boy's mother) does cloth diapers because she hated the idea of her kids' diapers and waste becoming part of a landfill... whatever floats your boat. But your way is much cheaper and it might even help Emma pottytrain faster because I'd think a kid would be more aware of being wet when they are wearing cloth ones.
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