Cloth diapers have made a HUGE comeback in the past decade. Not only have they gained in popularity, they are also more user-friendly and there is a wide variety of styles, brands, and features to choose from – no more pins or plastic pants!
Having seven kids, we have changed many diapers! And currently, we have 3 kids still in diapers. I’ve considered cloth diapers a time or two, but we have only ever used disposable.
These are my thoughts surrounding our reasons for using disposable diapers:
- Cloth diapers terrify me; I’m scared of the unknown! Having never used cloth diapers, I don’t know what to expect; I’m afraid to shell out a bunch of money up front for the diapers and then end up regretting my decision.
- Cloth diapers seem time consuming. It’s hard enough for me to keep up with our regular laundry, let alone add cloth diapers to the mix (and we usually have at least 2 in diapers at any given time).
- Aren’t cloth diapers a hassle? Diaper changes seems much more involved (especially #2), and how do you deal with cloth diapers when you are on the go?
- I’m sure cloth diapers are cheaper than disposable, especially if you use them with multiple children. I didn’t consider using cloth until baby #4 and I felt to get our money’s worth we’d have to keep having babies and that wasn’t likely (and wouldn’t you know, we’ve had 3 more babies since then). Plus, I’m a pretty thrifty shopper, and feel I don’t pay too much for disposables – for our twins’ first 15 months, we spent $325 on diapers – that was for 2 babies for 15 months!
- My older kids are at an age where they can help with diaper changes, and I feel disposables are just easier for them to use.
- When using cloth diapers, what do you do with the poop? Do you flush it? Trash it? What if it’s all smushed into the diaper? It just seems kind of gross. I’d rather just wrap it up in a disposable, throw it away, and be done with it.
- Are you really able to get the cloth diapers completely clean? Don’t they get stained? Even after washing them, it would seem weird to me to reuse a diaper that has already been pooped and peed in.
- My husband would never go for it! If I want my husband to help with diaper-changing-duties, cloth diapers are out of the question. And with 3 in diapers, I NEED all the help I can get.
I’m sure these are probably all misconceived notions; please feel free to shine some light on the subject for me!
Do you use cloth or disposable diapers? What are your reasons for using the kind you do?
I use disposable diapers too, pretty much for the same reasons you do. 🙂 I also share a washing machine with our landlady and barely get enough time on it to get our regular laundry done, let alone cloth diapers. However, my mom used cloth diapers and my sister uses them now so I definitely see the benefits. I saw this blog post recently about cloth diapering myths: http://www.beautythroughimperfection.com/2013/09/02/cloth-diapering-myths-debunked
Thanks for the comments Hannah! Having to share a washer is definitely, in my opinion, a good enough reason to use disposable!
Thanks for sharing the other post; it’s nice to see both sides.
I’ve been using cloth diapers for 9 months(my first baby!) and I hope that this can clear a few things up…
1. They are more time consuming than disposables. You have to wash them, that takes more time than throwing them out. I use pocket diapers and All-in-ones, for the convenience. They act/look VERY similar to disposables, only you wash them.
2.Poop: When liquidy(think before solids) you can just throw them in the wash like normal. When solid you scrape it into the toilet, or soak them in a bucket. I know a lot of women that have a big 5 gallon bucket that they put water into and the soiled diapers and just wait until the washday to take them out so they don’t have to scrape. We scrape, but it really doesn’t take that much time(like a minute). You wash the diapers seperately from your clothes. If you use cloth wipes you wash them with the diapers. I have a ‘stash’ of 22 diapers, I do laundry every 2-3 days for them.
3. On the go: Bring a wetbag. It’s a special bag for cloth diapers($8-20 depending on brands) that keeps the wetness in and the smell. We also have one for homeuse in between washdays.
4. Cost: I bought my cloth diapers secondhand in like-new condition(and won 3 in a giveaway!). I paid $200 for all my cloth diapers($7-12 per diaper vs. $15-20 new), wetbags, cloth wipes, and reusable swim diaper. It does save money, especially when you use them for more than one kid. I know there are programs for those that are unsure, like a lending type thing that you may want to look into.
5.Stains: sometimes they stain. All Free+Clear gets it out for me. I know many sun-dry their diapers and the sun naturally bleaches them white again. But, the stains don’t stick.
6.Getting the husband/kids on-board: My husband was unenthusiastic at first, we did this to save money. It was the make/breaking point of me staying home. Because of the type of diapers we chose, he finds them easy to use. I think to get him on-board you’d have to pick a simpler cloth diaper than pre-folds(think pins with wetpants), like the pocket diapers or All-in-ones. My mom was in disbelief when I said I wanted to cloth diaper, and thought it would never last. But, when I showed her the diapers she was excited. She quickly caught on to how to use them, and understands now why I like them.
They are cute and save money! =) I hope this all helps.
Hannah J
dreamingofperfect.weebly.com
Btw, I have a giveaway going on at my blog for a pair of kid’s slippers(NB-5 y. olds). You can enter here if you want: http://dreamingofperfect.weebly.com/1/post/2013/09/slippers-that-dont-fall-off-a-giveaway.html
Hannah – thanks so much for sharing all this info on cloth diapers! It’s definitely helped me to understand it better. I never realized there were programs where you can try them out; that’s awesome! Sounds like cloth diapers has been a wonderful option for you family!
This this Sarah! 🙂 It made me giggle because I am right there with you. I wish I wanted to cloth diaper but I feel as thought I just don’t have it in me. I feel the same way, I should have started sooner, I’m not going to start with my (likely) last baby. I feel badly for the impact I have on the environment though. That’s what weighs on my mind. How do you get your diapers. $325 isn’t much to spend! I have two in diapers and we spend $70+ a month.
That was supposed to say “This is me, Sarah!” (Not This this Sarah!) 🙂
I spent less than $200 so far for my 1 15 month old. It’s a combo of sales, coupons, and stocking up at the lowest price. I also did a few diaper studies, so I received about 5 weeks of diapers during those research studies. I follow moneysavingmom.com to find the best deals!
I’m completely with you on not using cloth–I HATE doing laundry, and struggle to keep up with our family’s laundry as it is.
Sanz – I just don’t know if I have it in me either even though I’d love to use them; I’m afraid it would be one of those things that I was all gung-ho about and then it ends up just being a big fail! For spending so little on diapers, I stocked up on deals at BRU on Black Friday (I actually like the BRU brand) and coupons and deals through Amazon; unfortunately, Amazon doesn’t put out their baby coupons in magazines anymore – I used a ton of those! Nowadays I just buy Luvs at our local wholesale store (3 boxes each month), much cheaper than Pampers and Huggies.
I agree with you completely. My brother-in-law and his wife had their first baby 16 months before my husband and I had our first (who is now almost 14). They used cloth with pins. Quite frankly, it looked horrible. They eventually gave up. So, when we had our first, I never even considered cloth. Now, fast forward several years to (I think) our baby #5 (out of six) and I begin reading about all the new (to me) cloth diapers with liners and velcro sides, etc. They sounded pretty easy to use, but, like you, I wasn’t willing to put that much money into something we would probably only use for a few months. I appreciate your transparency here, Sarah! 🙂
Thanks for commenting Meghan! I remember my aunt using cloth diapers on my cousin with the pins. I was probably about 12 and I would go over to her house and be her little helper and I was always afraid I would poke the baby (or myself) with the pins!
Cloth diapers sure have come a long way!
I’m with you on this! I am a disposable user also! I tried cloth for about a month and decided that disposable are for me! For 3 main reasons: 1.My husband is the same way as yours. 2. I also can’t seem to keep up with laundry. 3.PURE CONVENIENCE!!! I like rolling them up and throwing them out!
Thanks for sharing! Your experience makes me feel better about NOT trying it out!
Disposable….for all the reasons you mentioned! I have never had a desire to use cloth. I have 2 friends who do, and I really don’t see where it saves them that much money. I think of my time as valuable and I don’t have much of it 😉 Plus….I’m kind of just lazy. I would probably buy MORE cloth so I didn’t have to wash them.
Ha! Love that – “I would probably buy MORE cloth so I didn’t have to wash them.” I would probably end up doing the same thing!
I use cloth diapers for my daughter, and for the most part, it hasn’t been as difficult (or disgusting) as I expected. They really aren’t that much of a hassle in my opinion. Poop (so far for us) hasn’t been that difficult to get out of the diaper. She has solid poops now, and it’s easy simply to flush it down the toilet. Here’s a blog post too that I came across for helping to deal with poopy cloth diapers (http://oneorganicmama.blogspot.com/2013/04/keeping-poop-out-of-your-diapers.html.) I haven’t tried it yet, but I would like to for our next baby when I have to deal with newborn poop again.
I carry a wetbag when we go out. I admit though that when we take overnight trips I buy a package of disposables. I haven’t wanted to deal with washing diapers at someone else’s house or having to find a laundromat.
My husband wanted to cloth diaper before I did. In fact, I was deadset against it when he first brought it up . . . but I gradually changed my mind. 🙂
Buying disposables for overnight trips is a great idea! And I think that’s great that cloth diapering was your husband’s idea; if my husband wanting us to try, I definitely would.
Thanks for sharing Melinda!
We use cloth, I thought many of the same things you mentioned before we started using cloth, but we didn’t really have a choice for financial reasons. And what do you know? I ended up LOVING cloth. I way prefer them to ‘sposies now, and I even had 2 in cloth for awhile 😉
I wrote a post about cloth diapering ‘myths’ earlier this week, that answered a few of your questions if you want to read it 🙂
http://www.beautythroughimperfection.com/2013/09/02/cloth-diapering-myths-debunked/
Thanks for sharing about your post Paula; it definitely helps with some of the “myths” I’m holding on to.
I used disposables for the first 4 months of my baby’s life. I felt the SAME way you did (minus the laundry, we only had laundry for me and my hubby, so it’s not too bad). I told my husband I wanted to try cloth diapers but I was nervous about the research needed to make a final decision and he helped my black & white mind think grey and we tried it. We spent $300 on a new stash of BumGenius 4.0 one size diapers and I love them. I’m going to be doing a series soon on my blog about it, because of these concerns that many mommies have. My son also has sensitive skin, so disposable diapers and all the of stuff in them really irritates his skin. We saw a lot of his skin problems in his area go away after we switched to cloth. That’s reason enough for us 🙂 But like everything, and every parenting style too, it’s not for everyone.
Blessings,
Nicole
Nicole – It’s sounds like cloth has been a great decision for you family. The health factor is something that I’ve wondered about, but haven’t done any research into it, especially since we have been very fortunate and none of our kids have had any skin issue with disposables.
I look forward to reading your series about cloth diapering; come by and link it up! 😉
And welcome back to the blogging world; I’ve often thought about you and how you are doing!
I was totally game to try cloth diapers with #3, but then we found out it was twins, then we had two baby showers and received over 1600 disposable diapers, so we’re going with that for now. 🙂
Can’t say no to disposable diapers when they are FREE! Especially with two babies!!!
Love your perspective as always, Sarah! I completely agree with hjurgelis and all of the comments she made. She explained it all very well. My husband was very anti-cloth at first but agreed to let me buy a few to “try.” I loved it and made it easy on him. Since I keep the diapers stuffed all the time, it’s not hard for him or for a teen-age baby sitter to change diapers at all. They function in the same way as a disposable–just close the velcro tabs and you’re good to go! And now, 4 years later, he loves that we use cloth. But I still don’t expect him to dump the poop in the potty. 😉
Thank you Gabby! And yes, I agree, she gave a great explanation!
I would probably have to do the same as you to get my husband on bored – make it as easy for him as possible!
Thanks for your comments!!
Disposable diaper user here too! Although I wish I could say my girls are potty trained, they aren’t so I am still buying diapers. There were many times I thought about trying cloth diapers but stuck with disposables for many of the reasons you listed. I think I would have saved some money, especially cloth diapering two at once, but the convenience of diapers you can just throw away (and a husband who will change diapers) kept me with disposables!
Hey Sheila! My guys aren’t potty trained either, and show no interest at all; I probably won’t start “trying” until they turn 3 (unless they decide they want to before that). All my other kids weren’t potty trained until about 3. I can’t wait to only have one in diapers again though!
We almost always have 3 in diapers. I am now expecting my 8th and my oldest is still 8! So, I have many of the same reasons you do for not using cloth diapers… I just don’t have the time or energy to!
I spend about $80/month for my two youngest and $60/month for my special needs 6-year-old daughter for diapers.. it’s crazy! But, I don’t see using cloth as an option for me! I will likely have 4 in diapers when #8 comes next May, since I will still have my 6-year-old, a 2-year-old, and a barely 1-year-old. Ahhhh!!! lol
Great post!
Wow Clarissa! You are busy busy! You truly are an inspiration; I’ve admired all you do ever since “meeting” you when the crew year started! I didn’t realize you were expecting again! Congrats!!!
We use cloth. My husband suggested it when I was pregnant with our first, and I thought he was crazy, LOL. Then I had good friends using cloth when I was pregnant with our second, and I warmed up to the idea. We have used cloth for four years now with our youngest three boys.
Cloth is super easy and not scary like I thought when my husband first suggested it. We use pocket diapers, so it’s basically an all inclusive diaper and just as easy as a disposable.
When a diaper is poopy we just dunk it in the toilet. We don’t “scrape” as another person commented.
On the go we have wet bags specifically for diapers. They contain all the mess including the smell.
The only hard thing for me is that other people don’t always know how to use them, so we put our boys in disposables when they are in the church nursery and places like that.
My biggest reason for loving cloth is that it doesn’t contain any chemicals. We *try* to keep our house natural and chemical free as much as possible.
It’s great to see a disposable mother out there in the blog world! It seems everyone uses cloth these days, which is great for the environment. Cloth is certainly more affordable…unless you are a thrifty shopper. I know some ladies who can get them for pennies with Walgreens and Amazon mom and such. I don’t have the brain power for that! That said, I am SO thankful that all of our daycare kids use disposables. When you have a LOT of little ones, disposable is awesome. We’re not tied to the old days gone by where women had no choice but to have everyone in cloth. Yay for technology! For my own, I used cloth just when home and awake. For trips outside or when they slept, it was disposable all the way. I actually just bought the old fashioned diapers my mother used, none of that fancy stuff was needed for us. And, we didn’t keep up with it. My first daughter got diaper rashes really bad. I never realized that it may have been because of cloth diapers, so she suffered. When my second daughter started getting rashes, I stopped using cloth. And, wouldn’t you know it, fewer rashes. Third daughter in three years, I didn’t even try cloth with her! Then, we had a big 8 year gap between children. By then, cloth had made a huge comeback. I spent the $$ and got her some super cute diapers. First thing I learned was that newborn breastfed poop belongs in a disposable. Seriously. Then, the diaper rashes started up again! So, on to disposables again. But, still lots of rashes. We finally discovered chlorine free diapers, and that was the winner! No rashes. Bottom line, do what works. Always do what works.
I totally agree with you! I’ve had 8 kids in diapers–maybe only a year more to go? I tried cloth diapers for about 2 diaper changes in that time. 🙂 Disposable is the only way for me!
–Gena
P.S. Thanks for linking up today!
Just a little background – my oldest is almost 5, 2nd is almost 3, and 3rd is 7 weeks old. With my first I used cloth diapers until she was 2 and her brother arrived. Baby #2 had a colostomy for the first 6 months of life, so I sold the cloth diapers I’d bought for him and just used disposables because I didn’t need one more thing to deal with. BEST DECISION EVER! I can say, after using all different kinds of cloth diapers that your reservations & hesitations are right on. It’s a huge pain and a hassle compared with disposables! I have a front loader washing machine and no, they never really got clean…so the diaper pail always REEKED of ammonia. I’m sure it works just fine for some people, but if you have reservations, I don’t think it’s worth the investment. Prefolds are fine and would probably last through multiple children, but the all in ones/ pocket diapers would likely not last through multiple kids, especially not the one-size ones. Additionally, cloth diaperers are famous for constantly trying new kinds and changing stashes (I was totally guilty!)…I can’t tell you how many kinds we tried, how much money I wasted trying to find the right ones, and how much time I wasted researching them. I love that my biggest dilemma now is – do I want to get Pampers or the store brand? So much easier, quicker, and more time + mental energy to invest in parenting and training my blessings instead of obsessing over their diapers. 🙂
I use both. I’m diapering kids 9 and 10 right now, and have always been a “use what works for now” kinda mom. With child 1, I had diaper service for the first few months. That was awesome; it was like the tooth fairy! You put the icky ones out, and they magically become clean, fresh ones for only $11 bucks a week (okay, so that kid will be 22 soon). With kid 2, we used disposables, as I wasn’t going to wash cloth dipes in a rental laundry room. But by the time #5 came along, not only was I *using* cloth diapers, I was even sewing them myself, lol.
We currently use a mix of cloth and disposable. And I don’t feel guilty about it. Disposables work great for going out, and for my super soaker at night time. Cloth works great the rest of the time.
I talked about my dipe stash here, if you’re interested: http://grtlyblesd.blogspot.com/2013/08/cloth-diaper-stash.html
It’s not as hard as you would think. Really.
Can I feature you at Babies and Beyond this week? I’m guessing featuring a host probably isn’t cool, lol. Your thoughts on diapers do make me smile though because I get asked the same questions all the time. I’m assuming someone has already set you straight as far as how awesome cloth diapers really are, so I won’t give you my ten cents except to say that we currently use cloth and disposables. Our 2 year old can’t wear cloth (breaks my heart and my budget), so I really do know how much easier disposable can be. My biggest reason for cloth is actually the environmental reasons. I’m not really a green-hippie-momma or anything but just the thought of all those diapers sitting around in landfills forever breaks my heart. Disposable diapers aren’t biodegradable so they last forever. Your parents dirty diapers are sitting around in a hole in the ground somewhere. So weird…
Katherine – you crack me up! I knew you’d want to feature me! 😉 The thought of my parents diapers still hanging around…….. I think I’m going to call my grandma and see if she used cloth!
The environment thing gets to me too; I recently saw a picture of a huge pile of diapers (I think it was how many one baby uses) and it really hit me! I’ll have to see if I can find it and show you.
Why can’t Rooster wear cloth?
Great post! I am also a disposable diaper user for my 21 month old daughter. We briefly considered cloth diapers, but were scared off by the cleaning the poop in the toilet thing. Ew! That being said, I give people who cloth diaper so much credit because it certainly is less time consuming! I am all about every family doing what works best for them!
Becky @ mysweetmoose.blogspot.com
You’ve summed up many of my reflections on using disposable diapers. We’re considering a third child, but I can’t really decide if the investment would be worth it as it will probably be our last! Even if I thought it’d be worth it, I’m sure the hubby would be less than thrilled to make the switch. Disposable it is! 🙂
I have always used disposables; since I send my daughter to daycare, cloth was never a viable option for me (the daycare doesn’t do cloth). That said, I might suggest buying a couple of All-in-ones and trying them out if/when the urge strikes you. I’ve never liked the idea of disposables, which is why I bought a couple if the AIOs before my daughter was born, and whenever I’ve noticed any redness or irritation in her diaper area, I will use them on occasion at home. That way, you could see if anything about them appeals to you more than you might have thought and just go from there!
I made the switch with baby #3, and I have already save TONS of money and time. (Yes, you read that right… TIME.) I bought Kawaii Baby cloth diapers (which are AMAZING and INEXPENSIVE), and we started using them when Chris was three days old (basically when he ran out of the “free” diapers we got at the hospital), and he hasn’t worn a disposable since. I’m honestly “scared” to put a disposable on him because I had so many “blowout” issues with my other two in disposables and haven’t had a single one with my cloth diapers.
Defecation can be a bit gross, but I normally just shake the “loose” parts into the toilet and flush, and then the rest just goes into the washer. I’ve never had an issue with washing them.
I also use baby washcloths (because after three kids, I have quite a collection) as wipes, so we’re totally “green” in the diaper changing department (even though that wasn’t really my goal).
When I found out I was pregnant my mom offered to pay for a cloth diaper service. This didn’t end up working out so I decided to see what was out there for “green” alternatives. She has done a lot of reading on chemicals and harmful things in products that we as adults use on a daily basis, and brought my attention to a web site called skin deep. We went on it together and started typing in brands of diapers to see how they got rated and what kind of harmful things were lurking in them. I was shocked at what I found. Considering that these items are being used on a baby, something with skin that has never been exposed to anything but amniotic fluid, it made me sick to my stomach. Even the brands offering unscented products, eco friendly products, and hypo-allergenic products, didn’t rate well. They replaced one chemical with another. So I started doing research on all the different brands of cloth diapers.
I have never used a disposable diaper. I decided to dive in head first and not give myself the option of an alternative. The Diapers I use are called G-pants, and they are a step up from all the other diapers I have seen. The initial cost was a bit, (about 500$ to get us to 15 pounds, or roughly 6 months old depending on the baby) but I had my parents help us out with the “starter pack”. They have two options when buying the liners for the inside of the diaper. A flushable, eco friendly liner, and a washable hemp liner. The flushable liner is made of all naturally occurring products that “gel” much like the disposable diaper. Only difference is that if this were to tear open and get on the babies skin, it wont cause them to have a skin reaction. These sit inside a plastic clip in liner inside the cloth outer shell. So most of the time you never get the outer shell wet or messy. You simply rinse off the plastic clip in liner.
To answer the question about the poop getting into the cloth part of the diaper and what to do with it? I had the exact same worries at first so I started out by buying the flushable liners. I soon discovered the cloth diaper liner. Its a thin piece of cloth like paper that you lay on top of the cloth diaper. This “catches” the poop so you can pull that off and flush it, leaving behind minimal stains, if any, and just a wet cloth liner.
As for when your out and about, I bring along a spare cloth liner as well as some flushables. I also have a wet-dry bag on hand. So anything that is just simply wet goes into the bag. If I use the flushable liner and there are no convenient bathrooms around, I carry a roll of dog poop bags (made of a compost friendly plastic) and just throw the diaper in the garbage.
Not knowing any differently, I find this system very easy to use and I hardly spend any money on diapers. I always keep a pack of the flushable liners on hand for when we go on trips, or have someone babysit as it is just easier for them. At most i spend 16$ a month, the cost of the flushable liners.
I hope that this can help convince at least one mom to make the switch over to cloth. The last thing we need is more disposable diapers sitting in our landfills. And more importantly, the last thing our babies need is harmful chemicals sitting against their ever delicate skin. If it’s money you are concerned about, you can find almost everything you need on craigslist. But once you have your main diaper set up, you will save a ton of money in the long run.
Wow Jen! Thanks so much for taking the time to share this. You’ve offered some great information and food for thought!