Wednesday 18 July 2012

To cloth or not to cloth?



Cloth diapers have been on the brain lately. Mostly because my cousin and I have been chatting about it as she contemplates the idea of going the cloth route with her soon to arrive bundle.

Noah has been fully disposable diapered since the day he was born. I never gave two thoughts to the idea of cloth because it just sounded like way too much work and I thought it'd be enough of an adjustment just being a new mommy. With disposables I don't have to even think about it. Diaper gets dirty, diaper gets thrown away, new diaper is put on, done.

As my husband and I begin to talk about the idea of baby number 2 I am considering (and not strongly may I just add) the idea of going the cloth route. I like the concept and the look of cloth, but I'm just not sure I am willing to dive right into it. If it actually does save money that would be great too, although I am not convinced that it does. Just a side note here - yes I realise cloth are better for the environment but that's not a huge selling feature for me (I know, I am horrible... but it's the truth.)

So I am asking for opinions from other mommies. Mommies who have tried cloth but stuck with disposable, mommies who do cloth full time, etc. I want totally honest experiences here. What do/did you like, hate. What kind do you use? I know there are millions of different types out there and I don't even understand how all of them work. My biggest fear is doing the switch and then giving up within a month or two.

Oh, here are my main concerns.

1. I think about the newborn stage where babies are pooping 10+ times a day and the idea of cloth seems overwhelming. I would hate to feel 'annoyed' at my child for dirtying a diaper because it means more laundry for an already tired momma.

2. The idea of having soiled diapers sitting around in some bag in the house until laundry day. Yes, I get you need to wash them every other day or whatever, but still. We have a diaper genie that holds the disposable smell in fantastically, but when we change the bag boy does it reek. I can't image dealing with that smell constantly in his bedroom or our living room.

3. Having to deal with taking a diaper off, putting on another one and then the hassle of having to walk that diaper to the closest washroom to 'expel' what's on it into the toilet. It's just another step on top of a diaper change and doing that several times a day seems like a waste of time to me.

4. Leakage. I have heard some cloth diapers don't work great for big babies who pee lots. Noah can't wear pampers as he leaks with those, but huggies disposables have never failed us.

So please, send your thoughts my way. I really am curious as to your experiences. And please, as you share your thoughts be respectful to both sides. We mommies all just want what's best for our families :)

3 comments:

  1. I personally LOVE cloth. For Thomas we did disposables, which wasn't bad, but I found them so expensive, and I found I got more frustrated having to throw away a fresh diaper that got pooped in 30 seconds after it was put on.
    Cloth seemed really daunting to me, at first, but then i realized just how much money it would save us in the long haul, and the "work" didn't bug me so much. there are lots of helpful things for poopy diapers too. I'd be happy to discuss it with you, if you want :)
    I realize that not everyone will have success with cloth, and it's totally a preference thing. i didn't think i'd like it, but now i love it! :)

    Beth

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  2. by the way - it's totally not for the environment that we chose cloth, it's for our pockets. lol.

    Beth

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  3. We used cloth diapers for Kai. I did not like that they leaked and had to be changed more often and we never used cloth at night. The other main downfall was that clothes do not fit well over top of them. Fortunately he was a summer baby so he just wore a diaper and then a onesie.

    If you do cloth diapers, I highly recommend Flushies. The disposable liner. It's about $7 for a roll and that roll lasts about 2-3 months. Makes it easy to clean.

    With Koen we waited until he was on solids as that made the clean up way easier (just flush the Flushie and throw the diaper in the pail).

    With Nya, we have been meaning to use cloth diapers (I love All-In-Ones by the way) but haven't had the energy to fully commit yet. I will also admit that I love cute little leggings and they do not fit over the diaper. So silly that that is a factor but it is. I guess I could use baby legs (those leg warmers) instead.

    Before committing to a diaper, I would try a few out. I would definitely recommend All-In-Ones though, that way the diaper can't peak out past the cover and get everything wet.

    Our main reason for using them is environmental but I was hoping we would save money as well. I guess we did since we used them with more than one kid and hopefully we use them with Nya to really make it worth it! I just need to fully start doing it...sometime soon. Just tired of the 10-15 poops a day still:)

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