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Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Cloth Diapers: Good For Baby AND The Environment

So to begin let me say the one word that everyone thinks of when some one says these words... 
Ewwwww!


But really it is not as bad as you think! I am a SAHM (Stay At Home Mom) and I cloth diaper! So yes, when my mom first told me that I should cloth diaper my first thought was that above...Ewww...but in all reality it is not that bad. Every diaper, whether it is cloth or disposable, is gross because that is where the baby pees and poops and the parent is the one that has to change it. The big difference between the two, one you wash and re-use the other you just toss. 


First Issue: Budget
Now I know that there are a lot of moms out there who are on a budget and will look at the price of the cloth diapers and say that buying disposables is cheaper. Well they are not. I met a woman, when I had gone to my obgyn for a check up, that said she spent over $600 on disposable in the first 6 months of her child's life, $600!!! That also included her using the ones from her baby shower. My LO (little one) is now seven months old and all together I have spent $120 dollars on cloth diapers. No that cost does not include the laundry but one extra load is really not that big of a deal when you think about it (especially since I do everyone's laundry once a week to begin with). 


 Next Issue: Leaks

Every diaper leaks!!! If you keep a baby in a disposable too long not only does the leak include pee and/or poop but it includes the gels that are in the diaper. Yes I have had points where my LO's diaper has leaked right through, normally when this happens it is at night and it is my fault because I decide that I am too tired to change her and then I deal with the consequences of having to wash my sheets. Poop leaks too, however I can say that I have not had a bad "poop" leak with my cloth diapers (my LO was in disposable when she first came home from the hospital because the cloth diapers I had bought were too big) but I have had with the disposables where the poop goes right up her back and all over me, her clothes, or anything else she may be touching.




Another Issue: Rashes 
Yes I have had people tell me that babies can get bad rashes from cloth diapers because of yeast and such. I have not had a bad rash since I have been using my cloth diapers. However when my LO was in a disposable she had such a bad rash I cried (she is my only child) because I felt so bad knowing that she was in pain from it.




The BIGGEST Issue: POOP 
Now I know this is the BIGGEST issue for a lot of people. "I can't deal with the poop" is the thing I hear the most. Yes when it comes to a disposable it may seem easier to just wrap it up and toss it. For me it is easier to just rinse it and stick in in a bucket. So when you think about it, you have to do two things with a disposable, wrap it up and toss it, and with the cloth I have to rinse it and put it in the bucket. So it is just about the same work.

Now I know that cloth diapering is not for everyone, some can do it and some cannot. I'm not knocking people for using disposable diapers, to each its own. I just want people to know that cloth diapering is not as hard or gross as it may seem.


Today in the world, cloth diapering is not the fold and pin: 
For people who consider cloth diapering, it is not the old fashion fold and pin. The diapers that I use are the Flip Hybrid System and Sunbaby diapers. Both of these diapers have snaps, and three different settings, small, medium, and large.










The Flip diapers use a disposable insert, Microfiber insert, or cotton insert. When the baby had done it's business you simply take out the insert and put in a new one, if the outside, also called a "shell", does not have anything on it. The shell is simply the fabric for the out side and then the PUL which is the water proof material. Personally with these I use the Gerber prefolds as inserts as well and they work just as good. Sunbaby diapers are what are called pocket diapers because the diaper if the outside like the Flips but it has a soft material sewn attached, and there is a "pocket" where you insert the insert. With the Sunbaby diapers I have to use the inserts that come with them because they are sized according to the diaper, where as the Flip inserts fold into size.


Personally I love the Flip diapers!! I do like the Sunbaby diapers and they have come in handy however I would still choose the Flip diapers over them.




Here is more information for both the Flip
and here is for the Sunbaby diapers. There are so many different kinds of ways and diapers to use, I hope that this was able to help some people with their decision to cloth diaper and that I have given them and idea at what they may like to try :)  
Link

6 comments:

Ms D said...

I have never heard of those! Those are absolutely ADORABLE! Thanks for sharing :)

Mommie To A Beautiful Baby Girl said...

Youre Welcome!!! When my mom told me about it I knew nothing about them and had to do a lot of looking around on the internet. There are so many differnt kinds and brands, my next blog about cloth diapering will be the different types and brands so that someone who is looking can have it broken down for them so they wont go through the same confusion I did!

Bonnie Squires (@bonnie67) said...

hi

Very interesting but I don't
have any more babies. But I'll
pass this on to my friends.
These cloth diapers i never heard
of either.

Mommie To A Beautiful Baby Girl said...

Thank you! I just did another blog on the classification of cloth diapers so please pass that along as well. I hope it helps!

Unknown said...

Speaking from a male perspective, I can see where there may be gross factor and men going, "Okay, that's mommy's job". LOL.. But they're not that bad in my experiences!

What I've found is that the right insert will make or break the cloth diaper experience. It's the difference between cleaning up a mess that has spread out all over the place or just washing the insert and cover out.

I found an article at "The Helpful Housewife" I believe. She suggests hand-washing them and/or running them through the washing machine, then drying them in the sun for natural disinfection/bleaching. As a bit of a frugal spender, this excites me because it saves money AND it helps the environment!

I guess the trick is to wash them often by hand so that the yucky stuff does not set in, no? =o)

Mommie To A Beautiful Baby Girl said...

You can wash them by hand if you like, or like me just rinse them very well in the sink, then I hang them to dry (so wet doesnt pile upon wet) and then place them in a bucket until I am ready to do laundry. And yes sunning them is a natural bleach and really does take the stains out if you have any :)

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