Buying Diapers

One of the main things I have been contemplating since I got pregnant is cloth diapering.  After doing a lot of research, Jordan and I decided that we want to give it a try.  Most people I mention this to laugh in my face, and I can kind of see why.  Originally I thought cloth diapering would be really inconvenient and a lot of extra work.  But after doing some research, I am convinced that cloth diapering is not as hard as I thought, and that cloth diapers today are just as easy to work with as disposables.  So I have come here to share some of the cloth diapering wisdom I have gathered from research and blogs.

Cost Effectiveness:

I originally looked into cloth diapering because disposables are expensive.   A lot of websites have their own costs listed for what diapers cost, but I wanted something accurate and non-biased so I did the math for myself.  Babies go through several diapers a day, normally around 8-12.  Newborns often use more than this, as they normally get changed at least every 2 hours.  Say you are in the middle and use about 10 diapers a day.  At Target, a pack of 92 diapers costs $30.00.  For around 9 days worth of diapers, you are spending $30, and each diaper costs about 32 cents each.  This adds up to at least $90.00 a month, and that is not including wipes, diaper genie refills, and all the trash bags you use.  You can save some money buy buying in bulk quantities and hitting the store with coupons, but overall it is still very expensive.  Most websites that I have looked at estimate that people normally spend about $2000 on diapers by the time their kids are potty trained.  That is a LOT of money that is literally getting thrown away.  

On the other hand, you can buy cloth diapers when your baby is born, and use the same cloth diapers until they are potty trained.  And there are such a wide range of cloth diapers available, that you can really spend as little or as much money as you want to on them.  On average, most people spend between $150 and $300 down on cloth diapers, and then they are basically done. So far I think Jordan and I have spent around $200 on diapering supplies.  Our collection is not yet complete, but so far we have a bunch of soft washcloths to use for wipes, 6 GroVia diapers with shells, 4 extra inserts for the shells, and 6 Thirsties diaper shells.  We also now have two PixieFluff pocket diapers that my Aunt Lori gave us at the shower.  We still need to purchase some prefolds for the Thristies and possibly some more GroVias, but I think our grand total will be below $300.  Yes, some additional money does get spent on detergent and washing the diapers, but this water and electricity usage is pretty minimal.   I know we will probably use disposables some, mainly when Cora is a newborn and then when we travel, but I still think we will save a ton by trying to stick to a cloth diapering plan.

Other Reasons to Cloth Diaper
Saving money is not the only advantage to using cloth diapers.  Every website I have looked at says that cloth diapering is actually better for your baby's skin than using disposables.  Disposables are full of chemicals and other things to help wick away moisture, while cloth diapers use natural materials that wick away but still allow children to feel that they are wet.  This leads to more frequent diaper changes, which obviously helps to cut down on diaper rash and keeps kids from wearing a dirty diaper for an extended period of time.  Without all the added chemicals, cloth diapers also are a much more natural option to have against a babies skin, and allows their bottoms to breathe a little bit better.  We aren't allowed to use diapers on adults at the hospital because studies have shown that it causes increased skin breakdown.   Adults can go a while without realizing they need to be changed, and an hour or two of sitting in a soggy diaper is not good on the skin.  We use giant cloth pads on the beds because this is better for their skin and it is really easy to tell when they are wet or need to be changed.

Most moms that cloth diaper also claim that they have much less blowouts than they did with using disposables.  I don't know if this is because they get their babies changed faster or if the cloth diapers hold it in better, but I am all for having to only change a diaper instead of doing a bath and changing an entire poop-covered outfit.

This ability to easily tell when they need a diaper change also leads to kids potty training sooner.  Children that cloth diaper generally potty train quicker and easier than the ones that use disposables.  It makes sense, as I think I would be much more likely to use a toilet if I could easily feel a mess in my pants instead of having it sink down to the bottom of a disposable diaper.  

 What Happens to the Poop?        
A lot of people that I tell I am cloth diapering to immediately ask me what happens to the poop.  Well, breast milk poo is completely water soluble and technically does not even need to be rinsed before being thrown in the washing machine.  However, I will probably still rinse the poop diapers off with a sprayer that we have installed in the bathroom beside Cora's room.  When babies get older and start eating solids then you can shake a lot of the poop out and give it a quick rinse.  From there it can go to a wet bag, a diaper pail, or straight into the washer.  After cleaning up 100 to 400 pound adults at work for the past 4 years, it takes a lot to gross me out, and I don't think baby poo will be an issue with either me or Jordan.  Our  diapers can be washed and dried, and they don't need to be folded or hung up, just thrown back in the diaper drawer when they come out.

Cloth Diaper Resources:
There are a TON of online resources to cloth diapering, so if cloth diapering intrigues you or you still have more questions, here are a few links from websites/blogs.  There are several different types of cloth diapers available, and these websites are a great way to learn about all the options.

http://allaboutclothdiapers.com/
http://www.diaperpin.com/clothdiapers/cloth_diapering.asp
http://www.clothdiaperblog.com/
http://www.diaperjunction.com/

 Fuzzibunz and Bumgenius are probably the most popular cloth diapers, but after a lot of online research and playing with the options at the store Jordan and I opted for GroVias as our main system.  Finding somewhere that actually stocks cloth diapers was hard to do, but the Doula that taught our birthing class told us that the Women's Wellness Center in Chapel Hill sells them.  And man, that place is awesome!  It is a birthing center run by midwives (the largest in the state), and they also have a baby boutique that sells a lot of hard to find and natural/organic supplies.  We were actually able to see the different types of diapers and feel the material they were made out of.  They also had a knowledgeable staff, which is not something you will find at Babies R Us or Target (they know nothing about cloth diapering and don't stock any in-store other than Gerber pre-folds which make much better burp/cleaning cloths than they do diapers).  We also got some Thirsties, which have great reviews and are slightly cheaper than some of the other cloth diaper options.

Links to GroVia and Thirsties websites:

http://www.thirstiesbaby.com/

http://gro-via.com/

Women's Wellness Center:  http://www.ncbirthcenter.com/

Our Cloth Diaper Purchases:

The GroVia Collection

They velcro shut at the top, so taking it on and off is just like a disposable.  The white buttons are how you can adjust the size of the diaper, so that the diaper can grow with your baby.  This diaper is completely unsnapped, so it is as large as it goes.

Snapped to the smallest fit, for newborns and small babies :)

The diaper taken apart.  The shell and the insert.  We ended up picking these over pocket diapers because the insert to GroVias snaps into place.  If the shell doesn't get dirty, then you can just unsnap the insert and snap a fresh one in it's place. With pocket diapers, you normally have to wash the diaper and the insert every time.  Not really a big deal, but we figure we might as well cut down on laundry where we can. Plus, snapping the inserts is quicker than tucking.  

The snaps

Snapped into place and ready for action

The Thirsties covers are the ones to the left in the photo, and the one to the right is one of the ones my Aunt Lori got us at the shower.  She got two really cute ones that are PixieFluff brand.  They also adjust sizes to grow with your baby and are super soft, I can't wait to try them out!

The inside of the PixieFluff diaper.  These diapers are pocket diapers, which means there is an insert that you tuck into a pocket in the diaper that absorbs and wicks moisture away from the baby.  In this picture I have the insert pulled halfway out so you can see where it tucks in.  Most Fuzzibunz and Bumgenius diapers are pocket style like this.

Bunny demonstrating the excellent fit and cuteness.   How could you not want to use cloth diapers?