Tonight I write about diapers because it's something I knew very little about a year ago (though I had changed disposable diapers for girls and a boy as a nanny), and it's what's going on in my life.
I am inclined to cloth diaper. At least I was when I registered for baby gifts. Now that we're five months in and my once-supportive husband wishes we were using disposable diapers exclusively, I have asked myself, why do I persist?
There is thrift - a disposable diaper costs between $.20-30 each. A cloth diaper would pay for itself after about 72 uses (at $18/.25). There are newborn sized cloth diapers, that go from 5-10 lbs, and then the bigger sizes that go from about 8-35 lbs. I determined to use disposables for the newborn baby Max. Then, I received five cloth diapers as shower gifts, and found a Groupon to buy two one more diapers plus six used Play All Day hemp/cotton inserts at a baby boutique.
There is the environmental benefits, illustrated in the following table from The Internet (credit: AppleCheeks cloth diapers). If it's true, there is a clear environmental benefit to cloth diapering. I did read an article, that I can't find now, that said our personal efforts at recycling/reducing consumption are a drop in the bucket (like 1%) compared to industrial pollution, but I am not deterred, just discouraged. Though it is for this reason that Tom thinks cloth is not worth the while:
The prices to be paid besides just the cloth diapers - water, electricity, detergent, and time. Our water is included in our rather high HOA fee, so in a financial rather than environmental decision, I wash the cloth diapers every-other day, on Hot-Cold with an extra rinse. I use ECOS detergent, a very small amount, which I bought on sale at Natural Grocer after reading this extensive chart. You can't use detergents with enzymes for diapers because it erodes the waterproofing.
These are my seven diapers:
GroVia AI2 - hybrid diapers, shell and snap inserts sold separately. Inserts are poly-backed hemp/cotton (hemp and bamboo are best for absorption) with a fleece cover. I have three shells and four inserts. I also use the hemp inserts sometimes. These GroVias seem like the "coolest" system to me, but Max seems to smell the most pee-y after wearing these. If they leak, it's usually out the leg, but the part between the crotch is most similar to a disposable diaper (not super-wide). At about $17 per diaper and $17 per two inserts, they are a bit above average cost. Made in China.
BumGenius 4.0 - pocket diaper, it comes with two microfiber inserts you have to stuff inside. Microfiber absorbs quickly but can't hold as much as hemp. I usually put a hemp/cotton insert with a smaller microfiber in the fleece pocket. These are about seven inches wide at the crotch, and Tom thinks Max hates it. I don't think Max hates it, but it doesn't seem easy to learn to walk in these (which he hasn't started doing). I have one. China. About $18.
BumGenius Freetime All-in-one - "AI1" diaper. This particular diaper has two long flaps out each end that stack on top of each other, they're fleece on microfiber. It doesn't seem super-absorbant, but the advantage is if you have a babysitter, or husband who doesn't have the patience for cloth diapers, they are very easy to assemble (flip the flaps over each other and velcro). I have two. China. About $20. 5/25/15 update - The strip of velcro is not sewn as the top of the diaper, but as the diaper shifts with wear, the strip of velcro becomes the top of the diaper, making a kind-of sharp edge against the fat, beautiful baby belly. So I'm now down on Freetime for that reason.
AMP Diapers - pocket diaper. I stuff a hemp/cotton insert. Wide in the crotch, gusseted at the leg-holes for extra absorbency. I have one, $13 new, but only sold at a baby boutique (not on Amazon or Target). Made in Canada.
It is possible to get hugely into cloth diapering, and I stumbled across a brand made in the US or Canada (last summer) that sells out every week on Tuesday when they release their new stock. I'm not hugely into cloth diapering. From this enthusiastic crowd there are great resources for parents interested in cloth diapers, but I did find it overwhelming to sift through all the info. I'm trying to condense my one little experience here.
Even now, I don't use cloth diapers at night, and I only use them at our home. If we're at my in-laws or parents' house, we use disposables exclusively.
Disposable diapers - Pampers Swaddlers were great for Newborn through Size 2 having tried Huggies, Seventh Generation, and Babyganics in the newborn size. We're using Pampers Dry Time Size 2 lately and though maybe they're not as good as Swaddlers (they're slightly cheaper), they get the job done. I try to purchase them as Amazon open box, or at Target with remainder baby shower gift cards. Our next box is Pamper's Cruisers in Size 3, but we haven't broken them open yet. 3/26/15 update - Cruisers are working great, he kept peeing out Swaddlers Size 3 at night, but Cruisers in Size 3 are getting the job done.
I did read Somewhere that even if a person doesn't cloth diaper, it's still a huge environmental boon to flush poo whenever possible out of a disposable diaper. It also keeps a diaper bin from smelling for quite a while longer.
Disposable diaper bin - I have a Diaper Dekor Plus bin. It takes special sold-for-itself plastic bags. I spent a lot of time trying to decide on this from reading reviews, and I've generally been happy with it. As long as I change it once a week, the smell does not overpower. Dekor sells cotton bags that can transform it to a cloth diaper bin, but I keep it for disposable.
I use a wet bag for the diapers. I don't rinse them (besides wiping/dropping the poo in the toilet), and then turn the bag inside out in the wash and wash it too. The bag brand I have is Planet Wise, but a wet bag without cotton on it would probably be more simple. When I anticipate Max going #2, I use Real Nappies Diaper Liners, which fold into the diaper and make it easier if they do catch the poo.
I can see a benefit of owning all the same type of diaper, but my cousin Anduin said to try different kinds and be willing to use different kinds. Of the four brands I have, I can't say one is much better than the others. Any of them can be layered for extra absorbency, though the layer next to the baby's skin should be fleece (or raw silk, I read). There are services where you can rent diapers and try them out for a month. That's an option for someone toying with the idea of cloth diapering, but I imagine most moms want to have things ready and waiting when their baby arrives. There are also cloth diaper services where you don't have to own or clean the diapers at all, depending on your city.
I don't know what we'll do long-term, if we will try Elimination Communication, if I would still cloth diaper if we have two kids. I would need more diapers to do two kids at once, but for now seven is enough (I just ordered the shell below, though, because it is cute).
I am inclined to cloth diaper. At least I was when I registered for baby gifts. Now that we're five months in and my once-supportive husband wishes we were using disposable diapers exclusively, I have asked myself, why do I persist?
There is thrift - a disposable diaper costs between $.20-30 each. A cloth diaper would pay for itself after about 72 uses (at $18/.25). There are newborn sized cloth diapers, that go from 5-10 lbs, and then the bigger sizes that go from about 8-35 lbs. I determined to use disposables for the newborn baby Max. Then, I received five cloth diapers as shower gifts, and found a Groupon to buy two one more diapers plus six used Play All Day hemp/cotton inserts at a baby boutique.
There is the environmental benefits, illustrated in the following table from The Internet (credit: AppleCheeks cloth diapers). If it's true, there is a clear environmental benefit to cloth diapering. I did read an article, that I can't find now, that said our personal efforts at recycling/reducing consumption are a drop in the bucket (like 1%) compared to industrial pollution, but I am not deterred, just discouraged. Though it is for this reason that Tom thinks cloth is not worth the while:
The prices to be paid besides just the cloth diapers - water, electricity, detergent, and time. Our water is included in our rather high HOA fee, so in a financial rather than environmental decision, I wash the cloth diapers every-other day, on Hot-Cold with an extra rinse. I use ECOS detergent, a very small amount, which I bought on sale at Natural Grocer after reading this extensive chart. You can't use detergents with enzymes for diapers because it erodes the waterproofing.
These are my seven diapers:
GroVia AI2 - hybrid diapers, shell and snap inserts sold separately. Inserts are poly-backed hemp/cotton (hemp and bamboo are best for absorption) with a fleece cover. I have three shells and four inserts. I also use the hemp inserts sometimes. These GroVias seem like the "coolest" system to me, but Max seems to smell the most pee-y after wearing these. If they leak, it's usually out the leg, but the part between the crotch is most similar to a disposable diaper (not super-wide). At about $17 per diaper and $17 per two inserts, they are a bit above average cost. Made in China.
BumGenius 4.0 - pocket diaper, it comes with two microfiber inserts you have to stuff inside. Microfiber absorbs quickly but can't hold as much as hemp. I usually put a hemp/cotton insert with a smaller microfiber in the fleece pocket. These are about seven inches wide at the crotch, and Tom thinks Max hates it. I don't think Max hates it, but it doesn't seem easy to learn to walk in these (which he hasn't started doing). I have one. China. About $18.
BumGenius Freetime All-in-one - "AI1" diaper. This particular diaper has two long flaps out each end that stack on top of each other, they're fleece on microfiber. It doesn't seem super-absorbant, but the advantage is if you have a babysitter, or husband who doesn't have the patience for cloth diapers, they are very easy to assemble (flip the flaps over each other and velcro). I have two. China. About $20. 5/25/15 update - The strip of velcro is not sewn as the top of the diaper, but as the diaper shifts with wear, the strip of velcro becomes the top of the diaper, making a kind-of sharp edge against the fat, beautiful baby belly. So I'm now down on Freetime for that reason.
AMP Diapers - pocket diaper. I stuff a hemp/cotton insert. Wide in the crotch, gusseted at the leg-holes for extra absorbency. I have one, $13 new, but only sold at a baby boutique (not on Amazon or Target). Made in Canada.
It is possible to get hugely into cloth diapering, and I stumbled across a brand made in the US or Canada (last summer) that sells out every week on Tuesday when they release their new stock. I'm not hugely into cloth diapering. From this enthusiastic crowd there are great resources for parents interested in cloth diapers, but I did find it overwhelming to sift through all the info. I'm trying to condense my one little experience here.
Even now, I don't use cloth diapers at night, and I only use them at our home. If we're at my in-laws or parents' house, we use disposables exclusively.
Disposable diapers - Pampers Swaddlers were great for Newborn through Size 2 having tried Huggies, Seventh Generation, and Babyganics in the newborn size. We're using Pampers Dry Time Size 2 lately and though maybe they're not as good as Swaddlers (they're slightly cheaper), they get the job done. I try to purchase them as Amazon open box, or at Target with remainder baby shower gift cards. Our next box is Pamper's Cruisers in Size 3, but we haven't broken them open yet. 3/26/15 update - Cruisers are working great, he kept peeing out Swaddlers Size 3 at night, but Cruisers in Size 3 are getting the job done.
I did read Somewhere that even if a person doesn't cloth diaper, it's still a huge environmental boon to flush poo whenever possible out of a disposable diaper. It also keeps a diaper bin from smelling for quite a while longer.
Disposable diaper bin - I have a Diaper Dekor Plus bin. It takes special sold-for-itself plastic bags. I spent a lot of time trying to decide on this from reading reviews, and I've generally been happy with it. As long as I change it once a week, the smell does not overpower. Dekor sells cotton bags that can transform it to a cloth diaper bin, but I keep it for disposable.
I use a wet bag for the diapers. I don't rinse them (besides wiping/dropping the poo in the toilet), and then turn the bag inside out in the wash and wash it too. The bag brand I have is Planet Wise, but a wet bag without cotton on it would probably be more simple. When I anticipate Max going #2, I use Real Nappies Diaper Liners, which fold into the diaper and make it easier if they do catch the poo.
I can see a benefit of owning all the same type of diaper, but my cousin Anduin said to try different kinds and be willing to use different kinds. Of the four brands I have, I can't say one is much better than the others. Any of them can be layered for extra absorbency, though the layer next to the baby's skin should be fleece (or raw silk, I read). There are services where you can rent diapers and try them out for a month. That's an option for someone toying with the idea of cloth diapering, but I imagine most moms want to have things ready and waiting when their baby arrives. There are also cloth diaper services where you don't have to own or clean the diapers at all, depending on your city.
I don't know what we'll do long-term, if we will try Elimination Communication, if I would still cloth diaper if we have two kids. I would need more diapers to do two kids at once, but for now seven is enough (I just ordered the shell below, though, because it is cute).
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