We took the plunge...we switched to cloth diapers.
I know, I know, why in the world would we want to do that!!?? And believe me, when we first talked about it, I was not on board. But, the answer is pretty simple. Every time I threw a diaper in the garbage, I felt like I was throwing money away. It was like putting 3 dollars in the trash on a daily basis. And we are noticing that Brady has inherited my sensitive skin.
I know there is a big debate about if the water and electricity used is counter productive to using cloth diapers. During research we found out that using cloth adds one, sometimes two, loads of laundry per week. Doing an extra load of laundry a week is only a few cents of the monthly utility spenditure. Although this started out as a money saving venture, it definitely feels good knowing that we aren't adding more garbage to the landfills.
I did a lot of research on the different types of cloth diapers that are available and how much it would cost us. It isn't just folding a piece of cloth, pinning it on and throwing on some rubber pants anymore. It is so much easier!! There is a wealth of information available and it can be a bit confusing to sort though. Thankfully there is a local company (Toasty Baby) that was able to come to the house and give a demonstration. This allowed us to be able to feel the diapers and see how they work in person. This also gave us the ability to have some of our questions answered. After doing cost comparisons on the options we were thinking of using, Prefolds vs. Pocket vs. All in One. I was thinking we would go with prefolds because they are the least expensive to start out with. But you have to buy more as your child grows. The cost of three sizes of prefolds was pretty equal to the supply of pocket diapers. While searching for the best deal and asking some advice on types people were using, we found out about the Soft Bums system. This system is a cover with inserts that snap into place. Giving you the ease of an all in one with the ability to re-use the cover like a prefold system. These are made by a WAHM (work at home mom) in Minnesota. We also bought a couple of pocket diapers to add to our supply. So here is what our supply looks like:
-SoftBums inserts and doublers-- Each SoftBums comes with 3 inserts and a doubler. This is only a few of our inserts.
-8 SoftBums covers--6 are pictured. Brady was wearing the yellow one and the other white was soiled when he poo'ed this morning.
-Cloth Wipes--To save money and help Bradys skin we won't be using regular wipes. I re-purposed some receiving blankets that had lost their shape and used flannel from my fabric stash. I use a spray I made, along with the cloth and everything goes in the wet bag. Nothing goes in the garbage!!
-2 BumGenius 3.0 pocket diapers--These are very convenient for night time, long drives and people who aren't comfortable using cloth diapers.
Not pictured:
-Diaper Sprayer--Used to spray the poo off the dipe. No swishing in the toilet! You don't even have to touch the poo! -Wet Bags--Used for storing dirty diapers until washing. I ordered these from Esty.com and they haven't arrived yet.
I've had a couple questions about the cost. The cost can vary widely based on what type of diaper you choose. I won't go into details about our total cost, but it will be a few months before we break even. This is because: We bought a large supple to start. We bought the diaper sprayer, which isn't a necessity. The wet-bags I ordered are a bit expensive. But I didn't like the basic one that is available and chose to special order from a WAHM. That being said, we will also be able to use all of these supplies with future children. You can't say that with disposable!
There was definitely a bit of a learning curve to get past to begin with. Right now the BumGenius are definitely faster to get on. But I'm sure with more practice we'll get faster with the SoftBums.
And lastly, a picture of our chunky-monkey sporting his cloth : )
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