While the idea of using cloth diapers briefly crossed my mind with my oldest, I didn’t know anyone who did so I had this archaic idea that cloth diapering was still this production involving large pins and stinky diaper pails. Recently however, I saw a cloth diaper that a friend uses for her daughter and I was amazed at the ease and portability the diapers offered. As a result I asked Victoria Savo of Diaper Parties by Victoria to write a guest post about cloth diapers. I found it very interesting and dispelled many of the myths that I held about cloth diapering.
Thanks Victoria!
Cloth diapers. When most hear those two words, they think of one thing, prefolds and plastic pants from back in the day. Oh yes, prefolds still exist, but now they’re paired with breathable covers made with PUL (polyurethane laminate), wool or fleece, but cloth diapers have come further than that and I am here to introduce to you the modern reusable cloth diaper! Most think that cloth diapers are a hassle, stinky and hard to use, but in reality, they are the easiest, healthiest and cheapest way to diaper your little one. I’m here to dispel some common cloth diaper myths…
Cloth diapers will give your baby diaper rash.
Actually, they will give baby less or eradicate diaper rash completely from your little ones bottom. Cloth diapers are breathable, which, in turn, creates more air circulation around your little ones tush, which makes them drier, which creates less diaper rash. Baby is actually susceptible to MORE diaper rash when in disposables because they contain plastic and will retain more moisture than cloth. If baby has really sensitive skin, cloth diapers will really help with diaper rash, especially since cloth diapers wick moisture away from baby’s bottom.
Cloth diapers are so much smellier than disposables.
They are actually LESS smelly! With disposables, you end up throwing diapers into a Diaper Genie or trash can and you don’t empty that can until it gets full, which can take 3 or more days to do. This causes stink (especially when baby starts solids!). With cloth diapers, if you wash every other day, you will encounter minimal to no stink. Afraid your poopy diapers will stink? They really won’t, if you invest in a diaper sprayer, just spray the poo off in your toilet and then put in your diaper pail, the diapers won’t smell like poopy because the poopy is all gone. Since we have switched to cloth, we have had zero stink issues, with disposables, my sons room used to stink horribly, now the only time we have smell issues is if I let the diapers go more than 3 days in between washing.
Cloth diapers are expensive!
Well, the up front cost of cloth can be expensive, but in the end you can save yourself up to $2500 with just using them for one baby! That’s a lot of money to save! I spent roughly $500 on diapers, but they will last my son until he is potty trained and I’ll be able to use them for his sibling when we decide to have another baby! You can spend as little as $200 and as much as $600 or $700 on cloth, and in the end you’ll be saving A LOT of money, even with the water and electricity used to wash them! Add cloth wipes to the mix and you can save even more!
Cloth diapers are hard to wash
Cloth is super easy to clean. If your little one is exclusively breastfed, you can wash their diapers without spraying them out since breastfed poo is water soluble. If they are on solids or formula fed, you have to spray them out, but that takes about 3 minutes and they’re wash ready. Cloth diapers are probably my easiest wash load of all, I just dump them into the washer, do a cold rinse, then a hot wash/cold rinse with a teensy bit of detergent with an additional rinse and then throw them in the dryer! If it’s nice out, I’ll line dry them! Easy peasy and with my hanging diaper pail, I don’t have to touch a single dirty diaper, I just dump them in and wash the diaper bag with them!
Cloth diapering is hard/time consuming
I spend the same amount of time cloth diapering my son as I did using disposables! With the new cloth diapers out there today, you will see that they go on just as easy as disposables and for some you don’t even need to pin them to baby! If you go with a pocket or all-in-one system, you will be using a diaper that works just like a disposable! Cloth diapers are so easy to use that even my daycare uses them on my son!
Cloth diapers are bulky
Yes, sometimes they can be, but if you factor in the bulk of a full disposable diaper, the difference isn’t that bad. To fight the sometimes bulk of my little guys’ diapers, I just buy pants one size up, and most of the time I don’t even notice a bulk difference!
In the end, cloth diapers can save you a lot of cash, which these days can be a huge financial help! Not only will you be saving money, you will also be saving the environment and your baby from sitting in chemicals like Dioxin (a carcinogenic chemical outlawed in many countries), Tributyl-tin (a toxic substance known to cause hormonal problems), and Sodium {olyacrylate, a type of super absorbent polymer (SAP), which becomes a gel-like substance when wet. There have also been studies that link disposable diapers and the chemicals in them to low sperm count in boys, early puberty in children, and asthma and other health problems.
My company Diaper Parties by Victoria is here to help you make the best decision as to what diapers are right for your family and your wallet. We offer everything from prefolds and covers, to pocket diapers that work like disposables, to hybrid diapering systems that let you choose between cloth or disposable, biodegradable, and chemical-free inserts. I offer parties, one-on-one consultations, and many other services that let you touch and feel cloth diapers in person so that you can make an informed decision. You can reach me through e-mail at victorias@diaperparties.com or on my phone (570) 579-9937. I would be more than happy to answer any and all of your questions regarding cloth diapers and diaper parties. You can also check out my blog FluffNewbie.blogspot.com and Diaper Partied by Victoria on Facebook!
Interested in learning more? Then please come and join us for a cloth diaper workshop this Saturday, October 16th at 2 PM at GreenBeing in Scranton! Hope to see you there!
We are currently cloth diapering our youngest child and we LOVE it! Although we had hopes of cloth diapering our older two children, I must admit that the preconceived notions and fears kept us at bay. However my husband decided to order a few diapers just to "try" and we have never looked back! Our youngest daughter is now 17 months old and has been in cloth since she was 2 weeks old. Our main reason for the switch was a combination of the health benefits as well as the environmental. In the age of "green living" cloth diapering is not only a nod of recognition to the old adage, "grandma knows best" but also to the future of our children. More cloth diapering means less landfill waste…which is ALWAYS a positive thing! Our intitial investment was minimal becasue we were able to purchase diapers that were clearance priced and they have lasted the last 17 months and will surely be ready to use if we are blessed with another child. Cloth diapering has been easy, inexpensive, environmentally friendly, and kind to my baby's skin….In retrospect I only wish that I started using cloth with my first child! So to all you mom's on the fence, jump in and try it. I have never regretted the decision for a second! I would be amiss if I didn't mention the adorable patterns that cloth diapers do in fact come in…much much much cuter than disposable! You can purchase anything from plain white to zebra stripe…the patterns are limitless! As a former disposable diaper Mom I have to say cloth diapering was one of THE best parenting decisions we have ever made!
We used cloth all-in-one diapers for our daughter and loved them! So easy to use, even my clueless husband had no problems. We wish we could still use them. Unfortunately, although they say birth to potty training, they only mean that for your average size kid. They wouldn't stay on her little body, when she was born (she was pre-term). We had to wait to use them until she started using a size 1 diaper. Now she's 19 mo. old and wearing 4T clothing, so they definitely don't fit. I think they stopped fitting when she left the 24 mo size, which if your kid follows the sizes with his/her age is right around potty training time, so is no problem. Potty training is next on our agenda! At an average of $20 a week in organic disposables, I miss the cloth, but am looking forward to underpants.
I use cloth diapers and so did my mom when I was a kid. They are super easy and much less wasteful. I use Thirsties diaper covers which have a velcro fastener instead of using pins. The baby's father even changes the diapers no problem LOL. I would never use regular disposable diapers. Not only are they less healthy (think of putting plastics and chemicals next to your babies skin all day) but they don't fill up landfills and contribute to global warming.
Anyone who is not near Scranton can check out diaperparties.com to get information and in house demonstrations on cloth diapers or e-mail me at theresia@diaperparties.com for more info.