Baby Stuff: Why We Chose to Cloth Diaper

As most of you may have noticed - either on Facebook or here on the blog - we have decided to cloth diaper our little Sprout!  :)

For a lot of people this seems like a pretty crazy choice.  The older generation remembers using cloth diapers and doesn't understand why anyone would want to deal with the hassle when disposables are so much easier.  Our generation just thinks it is pretty gross (honestly, this was the hardest thing for me to get past).

Well, to the older generation: Things have gotten much easier.  Modern cloth diapers can now be just as simple to use as disposables.  You can still do things the old-fashioned way...but you certainly don't have to - not with the unlimited options out there!  

To everyone: Yes, you still have to deal with poo.  But let's face it - you have to deal with poo when you use disposables too (I'll get to more of that later...).

The biggest reason we chose to use cloth over disposables is the cost savings!  If you look up the cost comparison of disposables vs. cloth, you will see the same trend over and over.  Disposables cost anywhere from about $1400 (off-brand) to $2500 (the more expensive natural or organic brands) over 2.5 years.  Depending on the type of cloth diapers you use, the cost is significantly lower!  On average, for the more modern, nicer, name-brand cloth diapers you can probably get a complete stash for somewhere between $500 and $800 at retail cost.  

However, I have learned that you don't ever have to cloth diaper at retail price.  Here are some quick ways:

1. There are plenty of reputable places to get used diapers (not as gross as it sounds since you can "strip" them for sanitary purposes).  
2. There are always sales and package deals going on which brings in cost savings by the dozen.  
3. You can always register for cloth diapers online and Target has at least one modern brand in stores that I'm aware of.  
4. Depending on your preferences, there are "China cheapies" that sell for much less than name brand diapers.  I have heard some good things and some not so good things about these...not sure where I stand on the issue yet.
5. If you are diligent, you can WIN some!  Our budget is super tight now so giveaways have been an awesome opportunity.  In fact, we have at least half of what we need and, to this day, I've only spent $10!  And we still have plenty of time to gather more.  :)

And here is the kicker - after one baby - you can either REUSE your diapers for your next baby making the cost $0 or you can SELL them and get some of your money back!!  You cannot do either of those things with disposables so it is just money gone.  Child number 2 or 3 or 6 will cost just as much as child 1 (though, to be fair, you may have to replace or repair a few a long the way).

The cost savings was a no-brainer for us.  Both of us actually.  After showing Hubby a couple of different charts, he was convinced.  I mean, who doesn't love to save money??  And then when I started winning them, even though he thinks my giveaway tendencies are crazy, he liked the cost savings even more.

These are all the diapers I have accumulated thus far.  I have 12 to date and I've only paid for two of them:

The two light color solids on the top left are the ones I purchased at $5 a piece because a store was going out of business.  Confession time?  I bought these last August I think - 6 months before Sprout even existed.  haha.  I was, and still am, obsessed with getting our stash for as cheap as possible.  ;)

And here's some of the other cloth diaper accessories I have won...meaning no money spent:

Aren't those Diaper Dawgs the cutest??  These might have been the first things Hubby was actually excited about.  haha.  He talks about them every time the subject of cloth diapering comes up.

He was also excited when I got this diaper...which is my personal favorite.  Cutest print EVER!

We also try to be as chemical-free as we can be (yes, affordability factors into this).  Especially when it comes to our baby.  And it isn't hard to discover, after a little research, that cloth diapers are much safer for Baby Girl than disposables would be.  Not going to get into that here though...so take some time and research yourself if you are interested!  :)

And there is always the cuteness factor - they are so stinkin' adorable!!

So what about the poo??  As I mentioned, this was the hardest factor for me to get past.  Who wants to clean those??  Seriously??  

Well, I decided before doing too much research, that I couldn't justify the cost of disposables just because I didn't want the hassle of cleaning poopy diapers.  But then I started looking into it.  Why isn't it all that bad?

1. Exclusively breast-fed babies (hopefully ours will be) have water-soluble poo.  That means all you have to do is throw the diaper in the washing machine!  You don't even have to rinse!  I think I probably will...just because...but the point is - you don't have to!
2. If you look at an package of disposable diapers, you are supposed to rinse any solid waste out before putting them in the trash.  Just like cloth.  I know most people don't (in fact, I'm not sure I've heard of anyone doing this) but the idea is that the process of getting rid of poo is supposed to be the same - rinse the poo down the toilet.
3. They make wonderful inventions to help with the poo disposal process: diaper sprayers, spray pals, Diaper Dawgs, etc.  After the diaper is off the baby - you never have to touch the poo again.  The Diaper Dawgs (which Hubby is super excited about) enable you to hold the diaper, the diaper sprayer sprays all the poo into the toilet, and the Spray Pal enables you to contain even more of that mess.  The only thing we don't have yet is the Spray Pal.  And I really, really want one.  ;)  I did see a DIY hack recently that showed you how to make one out of a milk carton...but not sure if it would work quite the same way...
4. Cloth diapers contain poo explosions better than disposables.  If you've ever had a baby or watched a baby for an extended period of time - you know that the poo doesn't stay where it should (aka in the diaper).  So if disposables have more explosions, that means washing poo out of more clothes.  Again, you still have to deal with poo.
5. Cloth diapers have the potential to help potty-train faster since the child is better able to tell when they are soiled.  This means less time dealing with diaper changes...and, yep, poo!

I know this isn't for everyone.  But I do think it is the best choice for our family.  I'm still a little intimidated since I haven't actually had the chance to really use cloth diapers.  But since I know we are making the best choice for us, I know we can do it!  Hubby isn't even all that grossed out.  A diaper is a diaper to him in the end.  I will keep you posted on my cloth diaper journey.  Feel free to send me any questions you might have - if I can't answer them I'll find someone who can!  :)

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Why did you decide to cloth diaper??  Or if you aren't, why not?

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