I thought that since I gave this big long speech about how I love cloth diapers about a month before our daughter was born that perhaps I should update on how it is going in real life.
I will not lie: disposable diapers are easier. But let me tell you this. Cloth diaps are about a thousand times less disgusting. How can this be, you ask. Be forewarned--this answer is not for the faint of heart.
Imagine a bag full of disposable diapers. Imagine that you are a normal human and the bag is pretty full. Imagine that it is garbage day. If you have not ever emptied the diaper pail of a heaving bag of disposables, you cannot imagine the stench you are in for. It is just inhumane. And why wouldn't it be? There's probably a couple dozen diaps in there after all.
Cloth diapers are different for a couple of reasons. We use these flushable liners that allow us to flush the solid stuff away--ingenious if you ask me. So all that ends up in the pail is wetness. And you can buy as many diapers as you want, but with the 24 that we have, there is no week-long build up, because after a day and a half, not only is the pail pretty full, we are nearly out of clean diapers! Yes, it is stinky, but it's nothing in comparison. And I said that they are less easy than disposables, but not by much.
Oh--and there's also the blowout situation. I can't tell you how many times a disposable dipaer let me down with our son. Is there any worse laundry-related endeavor than scrubbing out the poo-poos? My answer will always be NO WAY! We have had zero poopy blowouts with cloth diapers, and the wet leaks have been minimal.
So if you are expecting a baby and have been considering cloth, absolutely go for it, friend! It feels so good to wash diapers and know that at least these won't be sitting in a landfill (or festering in the diaper pail till trash day). It feels even better not to thump that big stinky bag out to the curb!
Showing posts with label cloth diapering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cloth diapering. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Monday, September 1, 2008
Cloth Diaper Shout-Out
If I would have known that cloth diapers were so easy and absorbent, I would have used them with our son as well as our any-minute-now daughter. We ordered 48 diapers and 15 covers from monkeytoediapers.com and have been trying out the bigger size on our son at night. At night! He wakes up in the morning with dry clothes. I am totally amazed, and sad that we used disposables for his babyhood.
So, you ask, what makes cloth diapers so easy? They are just as hard to figure out as disposables are, for one. (I had never changed a diaper of any kind before he was born!) And the little covers (we have Thirsties) are so stinking cute--they just go on right over the diaper. And when they're wet, you just toss the whole thing right into your wet bag (I made 2 out of a vinyl shower curtain--one curtain is enough to make like 10!), which you can then toss right into the washer when it's time.
That's all well and good, you say, but what about poopy diapers? Oh, let me tell you! I was so grossed out about the prospect of soaking poopy diapers in our (solitary) toilet that I did not think very hard about cloth diapering before. But they sell these little liners that are flushable and biodegradable--you just lift out the mess and flush it away. Even if you have to toss it, it's better than tossing a disposable diaper into a landfill where it will stay for hundreds of years. I am SO pleased with cloth diapering so far... now if this baby would just come on out and meet us...
But what about the cost, you wonder. I think of it like this: we would be spending between $40 and $60 a month on disposables anyhow. We purchased 24 of each size of diaper, plus covers and these little non-pin diaper hooks called Snappis, and our bill was around $330. (I figure if you have many more than that, the urgency to get them to the washing machine dissipates and then you've got a really big, smelly mess to deal with.) Diapers and cute covers to last a baby's entire diaperhood pay for themselves in 6 months. That is amazing. This should be part of childbirth class!
So, you ask, what makes cloth diapers so easy? They are just as hard to figure out as disposables are, for one. (I had never changed a diaper of any kind before he was born!) And the little covers (we have Thirsties) are so stinking cute--they just go on right over the diaper. And when they're wet, you just toss the whole thing right into your wet bag (I made 2 out of a vinyl shower curtain--one curtain is enough to make like 10!), which you can then toss right into the washer when it's time.
That's all well and good, you say, but what about poopy diapers? Oh, let me tell you! I was so grossed out about the prospect of soaking poopy diapers in our (solitary) toilet that I did not think very hard about cloth diapering before. But they sell these little liners that are flushable and biodegradable--you just lift out the mess and flush it away. Even if you have to toss it, it's better than tossing a disposable diaper into a landfill where it will stay for hundreds of years. I am SO pleased with cloth diapering so far... now if this baby would just come on out and meet us...
But what about the cost, you wonder. I think of it like this: we would be spending between $40 and $60 a month on disposables anyhow. We purchased 24 of each size of diaper, plus covers and these little non-pin diaper hooks called Snappis, and our bill was around $330. (I figure if you have many more than that, the urgency to get them to the washing machine dissipates and then you've got a really big, smelly mess to deal with.) Diapers and cute covers to last a baby's entire diaperhood pay for themselves in 6 months. That is amazing. This should be part of childbirth class!
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