So here's the deal. I'm a cheapskate and don't want to pay oober amounts of money on diapers. Someone suggested I start buying diapers now but when I went to go get a box to start out supply I couldn't bring myself to pay that much quite yet. So, I've been thinking a lot about the whole reusable diaper thing. Has anyone tried reusable cloth diapers?
I know my parents used them and hated them, but they've come a along way in twenty years. Thoughts anyone? I'm impressed with the BumGenius ones I've found, but are the non-name-brand ones just as good?
I've heard diaper rash can either be horrible with cloth diapers or make it virtually non-existent.
Most of the brands that I've found have a one-size-fits all feature, so you don't have to buy more as the baby grows. Does that really work? I like the idea of just paying a little more money up front to save hundreds later on. I've also heard of sprayers you attach to the toilet so you can rinse them right off into the toilet. Do they work? How much of a pain will it be to pack around dirty diapers when we go somewhere since we can't throw them away? Will I be doing laundry constantly just to keep up with them?
My thought is we'd use disposables for the first little while, since I've heard babies poop continuously for the first few weeks. Then we'd start on the reusables. Then if we ever had to go anywhere overnight we'd have a small stash of disposables so we didn't have to worry about washing them.
Since I am not a mom yet and never have been I really have no idea how this whole diapering thing works in reality. Ideas? Suggestions? Am I crazy?
9 comments:
We have a friend from our ward in Provo who uses cloth diapers and pretty much swore by them. She got a few other moms into it as well. If you want to "talk" with her about it, I'm sure she'd be more than willing to share her experience, probably through email, but maybe by phone. I think she even has a little powerpoint presentation made up about it she could probably send you. Let me know if you're interested in chatting with her and I'll talk to her and then give you her info. I talked with her about it once and then decided that for me it's not worth the extra laundry and having to rinse them out each time. Yes, diapers are expensive, but I like the disposables myself. And honestly, we budget $50 per kid per month for diapers, wipes, clothes, baby food, etc. Generally we stick pretty close to our budget. We by no means spoil our kids, but they are healthy and have their needs met. The cheapest diapers we've found that we like are the Member's Mark ones from Sam's Club or Luvs, which we buy at Walmart. Sorry for such a long comment. Hopefully some of it was helpful. :)
By all means go for it, and let me know how it goes!
We use disposable just for the convenience of it. Most of my friends out here use cloth and have mixed opinions of it, but most of the opinions are good. They say the laundry is pretty rough, but it is worth it to save money. Some say they are doing disposables next time around, and others are hooked on cloth... haha I'm sure this comment didn't help at all since I really don't know that much about cloth. I'll tell you what I know- the disposables are wonderful to just be able to throw them away, just as long as you don't think about how much each one costs... :) Good luck with your decision! It is an exciting time!
I like disposable as well. In research I have read, you can use as much energy washing diapers all day as it would cost just to buy diapers. I don't think it is worth the work that is just my opinion.
My sister used cloth diapers for a while but found that they didn't fit Henry very well (he's itty bitty). She also thought they were a pain. So I think she used disposable ones now, but I'm not sure. Anyway, that's all I know about them, I would try them out, why not? And if they work, let me know so when we start our family I can just use you as my example, okay? :)
As you will see, like everything you'll find in the baby world, there are mixed opinions. My best advice is do your research but go with your gut on what you think will work for you guys no matter if it's diapers or whatever you are looking into. We've done disposables because I didn't really want to have to wash and clean them out and with me working 3 nights a week, I knew there was no way I could get my husband to wash them out. If you are going to have sitters or someone else watching baby that's something else to keep in mind. Disposables are expensive, we've found the Costco brand to work well and they're cheaper than a lot and still work well. If you sign up on the diaper brand websites (huggies, luvs, pampers, etc.) they will send you free samples and coupons all the time. I've also found this with the "baby websites" like babycenter.com and such, you'll get on baby mailing lists and then you get free samples of diaper rash cream, diapers, formula, parenting tips and the like. As far as diaper rash goes - every baby goes through it, multiple times. Don't stock up too much on tons of diaper cream. I'd say get lots of samples of the different kinds because you'll find one that will work the best for your baby, or I use a couple at once, like A&D with Desitin for better protection. With Carter the diaper cream that helped him the most when he had it bad was Lansinoh brand. You'll find each mom has a curtain diaper cream they swear by or diapers they swear by. Advice is good but you may decided your not such a huge fan of the same brand they are. That's why I highly suggest samples, samples, samples! :) And baby showers are great because people will give you different brands of diapers, soaps, and creams and then you can try them out and no expense to you. Sorry for the long post....you got me on a roll. That's one more thing, in case you haven't found yet, mom's love talking to new parents about what they have discovered as parents. :)
I'm with Bekah - you've got to go with your gut. All I know about cloth diapers is that it's going to represent a lot of money saved, but a big chunk of time to take care of. If you and Chase aren't fully committed, it probably won't work. I wanted to go cloth with my most recent baby, but my husband refused and I was not going to take on full diaper duty by myself! So disposable it is!
I don't think I could handle cloth diapers just because they'd be so much more work. If you're less lazy than me, though, it probably will save you a ton of money. Kayli is going through at least 10 a day right now...it's crazy! :)
You have a lot of great opinions here, but I will add my two cents anyways. I explored the cloth diaper issue, but there was a HUGE upfront cost to get started which we could not afford at the time while trying to gather other baby necessities. I talked to a few moms who said it was very easy for them, they just did a load of diaper laundry every night and took ziploc bags with them on outings to store dirty diapers (yuck!). That alone was enough to turn me away from the idea. A baby was exhausting enough...I needed "me" time at the end of the day, not more laundry and stains to keep up with (you have enough with the constant blowouts no matter what brand diaper you use for the early on stages!!). I actually find that we don't spend a fortune on disposables because I shop coupon deals and really stock up when I find a good deal. If you sign up on all of the diaper websites, you get the coupons and you can usually stack them with store catalinas and other deals. I never pay full price for diapers. We just bought a 4 month (or more) supply for less than $100. You can also get decent deals buying in bulk, online, or just telling your mother in law that you need some!!! :)I would also recommend getting very few newborn sizes and go straight to 1's. The newborn diapers are horrible for absorbency. Good luck with your decisions!
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