Diapers, Diapers :Part 1

   I will be exactly 27 weeks in two days and couldn't be more thrilled. I am not the most patient person, but this pregnancy has actually flown by. We just realized that if she comes early like my 1st daughter did, it's possible she'll make her grand appearance in 10 weeks. WOW we need to get busy!
   When expecting a newborn there are many things you have to consider, decisions to make, items to buy, and much more. I have decided to exclusively breast feed as I did my other child but we've also made another BIG decision...

*We are cloth diapering, hopefully from day 1 in the hospital.*

 

If someone would have asked me a year ago if I'd ever cloth diaper I would have probably said no. Only for the fact that I knew nothing about it, didn't realize how easy it was, not to mention how much $$ we could save. I've had several friends and family members give me the "eewww why," "what about poop," "what's the point," and even the "I just can't see you doing this for long." That last comment just makes me want to CD (cloth diaper) even more to prove that we can and will do it. Of course there's more to it than that, so for this post I'm just reviewing our reasons for cloth. Cloth diapering today just isn't what it was years ago.

**This is part 1 in a series of cloth diaper posts :-)

Here's our top 3 reasons and more...

1. The biggest reason for us is that it's cheaper than disposables.

 

- From birth to potty training a family spends (on average) $2500 on diapers and $600 on wipes. This average amount was determined on 2 1/2 years (which is 30 months), so $83/month on diapers & $20/month on wipes. These numbers are not the same for everyone, some may spend a little less and some a bit more.

 

-There are cloth diapers for every price range. But you can cloth diaper a child, birth to newborn, between $200 and $300 total. Yes there are the expensive ones that some pay $25-$50 for, but that's not me at all! The most I've paid so far for 1 diaper is $10.00, but I did buy a cover for $12.75. But you can also get prefolds, which are more old school (but more modern than way back when) that you fold and pin and this is the cheapest way.

 

- You may be thinking, well you still have to wash the diapers so how much does that cost? Let's say you do the diaper wash 3x a week for 2 1/2 years, that's 390 loads. We'll calculate that it is $0.75 per load, which is actually on the high end for some, that brings you to $292.50.

BONUS for us? We'll be living in base housing when the baby is born, which means that we don't have to pay utilities because it's included in our house. I will only be spending money on the diapers and the detergent.

2. Cloth diapers are better for baby & environment

- Disposable diapers have many different chemicals in them. If you have a baby with sensitive skin you may see a lot of rashes, and majority of the time it's actually caused by the chemicals. Yes diapers are made to pull the moisture away from babies skin but sometimes it also pulls away their natural oils, which can lead to over drying on their little bums.

-I have become more "green" in the past few years of living in Italy. I love that they use natural ingredients as much as possible and everything is practically organic (even the wine). Disposable diapers need tons and tons of plastic & trees to be manufactured. And did you know that they actually don't dispose themselves very quickly? They sit for years and years and years, like I'm taking 100's, built up with contamination from the poo and pee that fills them. Disposables are the 3rd largest item in the landfills right behind newspapers and bottles/cans from drinks.

3. I hate leaks & blowouts!!!

-My baby isn't here yet, so obviously I haven't had to deal with the poo yet in cloth. My 1st was in disposables and OMG did she has the nastiest blow outs ALL the time as an infant. I'm talking up her back, out the leg holes, coming through the cloths...get the point? Everyone that I've talked to about cloth says they've had less pee leaks & have had very few blowouts. Fit is very important because it will not catch everything if your fit is off.

4. Cloth diapers have a long life

- For us this isn't really an issue since we don't plan on having any more. Although let me just throw in that I wouldn't mind having a 3rd close to this one but he says no...lol. But back to the topic at hand. You can still buy sized diapers for your child if you prefer, but the most popular are one sized. They have adjustable snaps on the rise & waist and are meant to fit babies 8-35 lbs. As long as you take good care of your cloth diapers, they will last for years.

5. You can resell when you're done or donate

-Disposable diapers are literally money that gets thrown away. You can't donate them or resell them unless of course they're brand new. With cloth diapers you wouldn't believe how well they sell used, which means that you can get some of your initial investment back. Or if you don't want to resell you can always donate to a friend or charity. There is actually an organization that takes used diapers and distributes them to families who want to use cloth but can't afford to.

6. They're adorable

-We're women, love of the cute factor is in our blood! There are so many colors and prints to choose from with cloth diapers. They even have minky fabric ones that are ooo so soft and adorable! And then there's this diaper called a fitted which basically looks like a disposable but it's all cloth, I am in love with the natural fabric ones and think they're darling.

There are other reasons people decide to cloth diaper, but these are the main ones you hear about. Like I said earlier in the post, this is part 1 of a cloth diaper series. Still to come: types of cloth diapers, my stash (so far), some cloth diaper DIY, and maybe more.