Continuing the Cloth Diaper thread

hsjwmom · Dec 15, 2006

This discussion is really "interesting" to me

I had never even considered cloth diapers. My experience with them when I was young pretty much made me hate them. My mom had me use them at night until I was 6 (then the bedwetting alarm fixed me

) I still remember staying with a childless couple when my parents went to Canada to take care of my grandma. I struggled to put that stinkin diaper on myself and ended up needing help. Ugh. What I would have given for a GoodNight pullup!

I know this is TOTALLY off topic, but why did each of you choose cloth? I only know 1 person who CDs and I've only seen her a couple of times at storytime.

UlrikeDG · Dec 15, 2006

I started using cloth in 1998 because I lost my job (my bank got bought by another bank). I kept using them because I liked them. The last time I used a disposable diaper was in 2002, when we went on vacation, and I didn't want to mess with hauling the cloth ones, and the smell was so horrible I couldn't wait to get home. Cloth diapers are totally different from what our parents had to use with us.

Shaunam · Dec 15, 2006

Well first of all, they are nothing like what you wore. You can still buy that kind of course, but now there are so many options and you can almost certainly find something that works for you. They are cheaper. Sometimes the start-up cost can be daunting, but it really is cheaper in the end. I do it for health reasons. If you look up the chemicals in disposables, it's actually really scary. I do it for environmental reasons. And because it's CUTE:

didymama · Dec 15, 2006

i started because i was working PT and DH lost his job. i wasn't willing to shell out paychecks for sposies so we went cloth. it started with money, but after research it is now a health and environmental thing. and i hated running out to get sposies. and it so much more fun!

skipspin · Dec 15, 2006

I'm trying cloth with this baby, at least for at home- hopefully most of the time even if I am out. There are a few reasons: 1- They're cute. Dumb reason, but so true. I guess it's like buying a new car seat that's pretty, some people could just care less, but I like the nice ones! 2- Hopefully they will save me money, for sure if I use them for two kids or more.

I never even thought about cloth for DD. All I knew were the prefolds available at the store. You know, the ones that everyone uses for burp cloths. Also, my mom used them for me and had a diaper service and I don't know of any diaper services. I happened upon a site more recently and saw how cute and easy the diapers are, how easy the care is (machine wash and dry) and how I could save some money, so I am giving it a try.

wendytthomas · Dec 15, 2006

We used them because they were better on the environment and on the wallet. Not to mention better on Piper's bum. And more comfortable. It's like the difference between a paper pad and a lunapanty or lunapad. The luna products are so much more comfortable for me rather than a paper pad.

Wendy

RubysGirl · Dec 15, 2006

I'm a cloth drop out, but tath's only because we have washing machine issues. Use just a few ml's of soap and the diaps still stink after the first wash yet it still takes six or more rinses to get all the soap out. Not worth it for us, though I'd love to be using cloth again.

Shaunam · Dec 15, 2006

UlrikeDG said:
I started using cloth in 1998 because I lost my job (my bank got bought by another bank). I kept using them because I liked them. The last time I used a disposable diaper was in 2002, when we went on vacation, and I didn't want to mess with hauling the cloth ones, and the smell was so horrible I couldn't wait to get home. Cloth diapers are totally different from what our parents had to use with us.

Oh yes, I forgot about the smell. You don't notice it when you use disposables, but once you aren't around them all the time, you can smell a peed-in one a mile away. Oh, and disposables are leakier, at least for us. That breastfed poop just oozes out everywhere, but cloth keeps it in most of the time. When DS was little, almost every poopy diaper leaked (and we're talking 5 or 6 a day!), but with cloth, we've only had 2 poopy leaks. They probably leak pee about the same amount.

LuvBug · Dec 15, 2006

My mom used cloth on us, I even remember using all in one diapers with velcro on my brother(4.5 years younger than me) and then keeping those diapers for our dolls when he outgrew them. An all in one diaper is like a disposable only made from 'plastic' on the outside and cloth on the inside.
I wanted to use cloth for DS from the beginning but didnt know a lot about it or thought that I had the time for it. Then he ended up needing them. He has issues with most synthetics and disposables were no different. I google cloth diapers and started into a whole new world of options! It is wonderful and they are SO easy to use. The best diapers for someone who wants to use cloth but likes the convenience of disposables are all in one diapers. Its been a while now so I am not sure what is available, but the most 'sposie' like diaper when he was using cloth were Very Baby all in ones.
If I ever had a baby, even if s/he was fine with disposables, I would choose cloth because it has so many more advantages.
Im currently selling my and my sister's diapers because I know they wouldnt keep long enough before I have another child, if I decide to do so(Im pretty certain I only want this one, Im comfortable with the only child thing).
Here is a link to my for sale, not to buy anything, but to see what was available when he was in diapers(hes been potty trained almost a year) http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=6&uid=4646603&
It really is cool what is out there. Ignore my stains and holes

lol!

Lea_Ontario · Dec 15, 2006

- it's cheaper
- it's healthier
- it's cheaper
- it's MUCH cuter
- it's cheaper
- it's better for the environment
- it's cheaper
- I just like it

ccjones · Dec 15, 2006

I didn't CD my son simply because I work full-time and travel a few weeks of the month for my job, and I assumed (maybe wrongly) that CDing would be too time-consuming and a hassle trying to wash dirty diapers, and I can't even imagine DH trying to put a CD on while I was away for work. Plus, I'm not sure if daycare centers or in-house daycare providers want to deal with a child that is CDed!

I am curious, though. Would you say that most of the children that are CDed have SAHMs? I only ask because I take my son to MyGym twice a week just to give him a break from daycare, and it allows me to step out of "career-woman" mode and into "mommy" mode in the middle of the day, which is a treat for me! Anyway, most of the other moms there are SAHMs (and I'm pretty sure they think I'm a horrible mother because my son is in daycare...) and several of them CD. I don't know any moms who work full-time outside the house and CD.

So, that is the reason for my inquiry! I apologize if I've high-jacked your thread, Milcah.

stayinhomewithmy6 · Dec 15, 2006

This is all very interesting to me because I tried cloth with my 1st, and only used them for about a week! Of course, I had the regular old pre-fold ones with the plastic pants from Walmart and they were such a hassle. And I was going according to my mom's instructions of soaking (and soaking and soaking in bleach, which I have banned from my house anyway), washing, and rinsing, that she used more than 20 years ago, and it was just too much for me to deal with! About 7 or 8 years ago I worked at a very environmentally friendly daycare center and we used cloth on the babies and toddlers and had a diaper service. It was very easy, and at the time, I didn't mind the prefolds & plastic pants, but when it came time to use them on my own baby, I just couldn't do it! I have now been introduced to the world of NICE cloth diapers by one of my previous daycare moms. She has a 3 month old who has been in Fuzzi Bunz since birth. She bought them used on ebay and is planning on selling them on ebay once she's done with them. The resale value is really incredible! So, now I'm planning on using Fuzzi Bunz with my next baby (babies?) Does anyone have experience with these particular diapies? Or are there others you like better? Thanks for all the great info!

RubysGirl · Dec 15, 2006

LOL, not cheaper for me and I'm not even a hyena. I'd switch up a bit so I have virtually enough to pick just prefolds, just flats, or just ME OS, and some fb's to boot. Of course it actually costs me more to wash than it does to buy huggies, but again, that's my washer issues and not the fault of the diapers.

UlrikeDG · Dec 15, 2006

Shaunam said:
Oh yes, I forgot about the smell. You don't notice it when you use disposables, but once you aren't around them all the time, you can smell a peed-in one a mile away.

I couldn't stand the smell of the unused ones! Of course, I was also 3 weeks pregnant and didn't know it yet, but still... It was bad.

Shaunam · Dec 15, 2006

ccjones said:
I am curious, though. Would you say that most of the children that are CDed have SAHMs?

IME, sahms are more likely to cd. But that doesn't mean wohms can't cd. It's really not as time-consuming as people think. All you need is a system that works for you, enough diapers to wash every 3 days or so, and you'll only be spending 15 minutes every third day on diaper laundry. 5 minutes to toss them in the wash, add soap, manually set the machine to do an extra rinse (unless you can program your machine to do this for you), then toss them in the dryer. An extra 10 minutes if you fold them. 30 extra seconds if you just toss them on the bedroom floor.

Of course, the wash/dry time is like over an hour, but it's not like you have to baby-sit the machines. And most daycares will do cloth no problem if you use aio's or pre-stuffed pockets. Some will try to tell you it's against the health code or whatever, but most likely they just don't know what they are talking about.

I have a friend who is a sahm, except that 3 days a week, she has to take both her kids (infant and a 2 year old) an hour away to a deaf school (the younger one is deaf). She has to wash every day because both are in diapers and her washer can't hold 2 day worth for both kids. I imagine it can get tiring and repetitive to do that every night, especially on the nights that she's just driven an hour to the school, spent 6 hours there, and driven an hour back, but she loves cloth and it's worth it to her.

I don't blame anyone for not wanting to do cloth. I think there are lots of valid reasons to decide against it. But I do think it's worth it to at least give it a shot. You may love it, you may hate it. But at least you wouldn't be left wondering, ya know? You can always resell the diapers you bought and you wouldn't be out much money.

super_grape · Dec 15, 2006

My Mom was a single parent with a full time job and she did CD with me.
She did use a diaper service at one point but I think that was when I was a newborn. I come from a long line of crunchy Moms, it's taken me a few years but I'm finally starting to follow in their footsteps

.

hsjwmom · Dec 15, 2006

Colleen, Hijack away! I'm really interested in this! It is WAYYYY different from when I was little! I also remember my mom rinsing my sister's poopy diapers in the toilet before washing them and being soooo grossed out! Of course having a newborn and toddler both having diaper blowouts tends to cure any tendancies to grossout!

LuvBug · Dec 15, 2006

RubysGirl said:
LOL, not cheaper for me and I'm not even a hyena. I'd switch up a bit so I have virtually enough to pick just prefolds, just flats, or just ME OS, and some fb's to boot. Of course it actually costs me more to wash than it does to buy huggies, but again, that's my washer issues and not the fault of the diapers.

whoa whoa, slow down with the terminology

lol!

hsjwmom · Dec 15, 2006

Yeah, I am totally not understanding half of what's being said!

LuvBug · Dec 15, 2006

ccjones said:
I am curious, though. Would you say that most of the children that are CDed have SAHMs?

I would say the majority I knew were stay at home moms or work at home moms, but a good bit were also work away from home moms who either left their child with a spouse or family member(close friend), took them to work with them, or sent them to daycare. I do know there are daycares that will take cloth diapered children though.

For me cloth diapering wasnt any extra work, once you get in the swing of it. I would throw them in the wash as I was getting ready for bed, then into the dryer right before I went to bed and by morning they would be dry. I would only do a wash every few days and had a front loading washer that held a lot, so it was only ever one load at a time.

Continuing the Cloth Diaper thread

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