I've assembled the crib, change table, playpen, stroller and we have a car seat ready to go. The baby's room is painted and decorated, we've been through the lamaze/getting ready for baby classes and last night we went on our hospital tour. Pretty good right?
Almost... One roadblock stands in our way.
We haven't decided on diapers yet.
I'm a cloth diaper fanboy, while Crystal wants whatever is easiest. The idea of having to clean poop out of a diaper before you put it in the bucket was not something Crystal found appealing. She'd rather just fold it up and toss it in the garbage. Much easier.
A couple weeks ago we hung out with friends who are very "green" and they gave us a quick demo on the cloth diapers they use. It looks so easy! They even have a water-gun that attaches to the toilet so you don't have to touch the poop! That night Crystal left thinking cloth was an option. #winning
We took a trip over to Serenity in the south end of Barrie to take a look at cloth diaper options, and I think we left more confused than we entered. So many different options! Do we want bamboo, stay dry or organic? Do we want an all-in-one or linered? Do we want Bum Genius, FuzziBuns or Mother-Eaze? Snaps or Velcro? It was overwhelming.
Crystal looked up cloth diapers on Kijiji, but the idea of someone else's diapers is kinda weird to me. Would you buy someone else's used underwear? So we're still trying to figure out what to do, but I think Crystal is leaning towards the cloth.
They are cheaper (especially if you have more than one kid).
They are better for the environment.
They work better than disposables. (Don't believe me? Read THIS)
Seems like a no-brainer to me.
So let's hear from you, have you used cloth? What do you recommend?
They do have cloth diapers with disposable liners. Sill more environmentally friendly than the other option, but less gross and less work.
ReplyDeleteWe love our cloth diapers!! and I have about 4 different types! Tell Crystal to call me and we can chat or better yet why don't you both come over for a visit and check them out:) Pam Lane..
ReplyDeleteMy mom used cloth diapers and had a service that would come and bring clean ones and take away the dirty ones. I don't know if that kind of thing still exists. In terms of all your different options, just try something out. Like anything, there are always options and you just kind of have to guess.
ReplyDeleteI have 3 little ones. For the first one we used cloth and I was fairly happy with that option. We certainly never had diaper rash to deal with. However as she got a little older and we were out moreoften they became more of a pain to use. Bringing home a bunch if wet stinky diapers was not the greatest - especially in the summer. For my next two - since we were out so much, I used disposables The first however we used a diaper service instead of washing our own and I wouldn't say it was really cheaper. You just have to look for diapers on sale. But it is no doubt better for the environment to go cloth.
ReplyDeleteMy youngest was allergic to disposables so I had no choice but to use cloth. I was able to use the disposable, flushable liners on her and that was what caught the "stuff" (especially a nursed baby - won't go there, you will find out for yourself!)
ReplyDeleteBest word of advice from my doctor - slather unscented Vaseline all over the bottom at every diaper change. It protected the tender bottom from rashes and everything wiped right off. Forget the creams/lotions/potions. This is natural and doesn't cause any reactions. Enjoy!
I'm with Crystal on this one. I considered doing cloth when I had my son (Dec 09) but the idea of cleaning poop out of the diapers and a smelly bedroom...ew! I did a bit of research and found that they were only slightly cheaper than disposables and we are out a lot so I wanted to use disposables for that reason anyway. (Diaper bag filled with dirty diapers is revolting to me lol)
ReplyDeleteI look forward to hearing your decision and how it goes! (I have a feeling you'll go for cloth....)
We have used cloth and found them to be great. We also have a "water gun" of sorts on the toilette (I plumbed a kitchen sprayer to the shutoff. Works great) and after a quick rinse they go in to a bucket with a lid to await laundry time. No odour either provided you don't stick your face in the bucket! We only use disposables on outings and for overnights. We found that too much moving around in bed can lead to diaper failure with the cloth. Go for them!
ReplyDeleteI am a single mom of almost 4 (donor) and I have used cloth for each of them. I highly recommend the inserts for extra obsorbtion as well as the flushable liners for ease of cleaning. Initially I did the liquid cleaner in the pail...now I just put them in a pail and wash at night. Mine have all been velcro, I would definitely recommend something that is easy like that. That all being said, I think there is a place for disposables and I use them away from home and now with my 4th I plan to use them over night. Either way you will find what works for you, enjoy your soon to be new addition :)
ReplyDeleteWe have 8 children and have exclusively cloth diapered the last 3. There is alot of misinformation and misconceptions out there :)
ReplyDeleteWe are simple; prefolds, pins and handmade wool covers.
You do NOT have to rinse out breastmilk poop! Once in water, it naturally seperates. Seriously. As long as your baby stays off of formula, you can toss the diapers in the wash, no rinsing!
We have a bucket with a swinging lid in the laundry room that is filled with cold water and a cup of vinegar. Once it is full, you dump the whole thing into the washer, spin the water out, then wash. We use a tiny amount of detergent and some vinegar. It is very simple and only smells when it is being spun out :)
I use cloth diapers and wouldn't use anything else. I teach in a college and have a detour to make every morning to drop my boy to our French daycare and my husband commute 2 hours driving a day so we don't have a lots of time to spare but with the bumgenus all in one organic cotton, all you have to do is to wash them then dry them (and with summer, it's very green to put them on the line to dry) and no need to fold or assembly. Use vinegar, Calgon water soften and a soft detergent (Green) And it's easy as a pie and you feel good about it and you know your baby isn't in some chemical diapers. ;). Martine
ReplyDeleteHey Martine, (or anyone else who sends a child to daycare)
ReplyDeleteDo daycares accept cloth diapers? I heard that some daycares require disposables.
Throw the poopy diaper in the trash! You wouldn't recycle your own toilet paper, would you? Poo stinks. Son't be so cheap! Put the poop in the trash and let mother nature worry about recyling it!
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