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Cloth Diapers

Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 6:34 pm
by snowangel729
So just curious, did any of yall use cloth diapers with your little ones? With my little one on the way, I have been crunching numbers to figure out what it would cost to cloth vs. disposable. Also, can you tell me some of your experiences with which ever you decided to do?

PS- We found out we were having a little boy :)

Re: Cloth Diapers

Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 6:47 pm
by Jackielou
I used cloth for all three of our children. I tried using disposables when we traveled, but they had such bad reactions to them (their poor little bottoms turned bright red and blistered horribly) that I even took cloth on trips.

Now disposables have changed in 40 years so I can't say much about the reaction they might have had with the newer product.

I do think you manage to save by using cloth though. My Mom made me 4 dozen and a friend bought me 2 dozen. You do a great deal of washing to begin with, but gradually I was able to cut down the amount of times in a week I was washing diapers.

Re: Cloth Diapers

Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 6:58 pm
by snowangel729
Yeah I have several friends who cloth and they love it. They say it saves them a ton. My family and DH are not for cloth diapers, however I think they would be most economical currently

Re: Cloth Diapers

Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 7:14 pm
by BeckyO
I used coth diapers for all 4 of my DC. Of course, the paper diapers that were available were not so good. I did use them, with plastic pants, when traveling overnight via train.

I think cloth is more economical than disposable and in some cases may be better for the baby's bottom. But prob a combination would be better, and if Mom can afford it, disposable would be easier on Mom, LOL. But if you go to Disposable only , I would still keep some cloth diapers and plastic pants for emergencies. ie the stash of disposables unexpectedly runs out (sick baby, car troubles, forgetfulness etc) or baby's bum gets very raw.

Re: Cloth Diapers

Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 7:45 pm
by MackerelCat
snowangel729 wrote:We found out we were having a little boy
Congratulations!

We used cloth diapers 25 years ago on our son. Back then it wasn't that common any more, but we were driven by the need to save money and ecological reasons. The town where we were living had just had to pass a huge bond referendum to build a new landfill, so we didn't want to put all the trash associated with disposable diapers in it.

We used prefolded Gerber diapers, although I did come across some flat ones and used those some. The flats take much more folding after laundering, but they dry almost instantly in the dryer. We did it the old fashioned way to start, with diaper pins and vinyl (plastic) pants, but switched to Gerber diaper covers, which held the diapers in place without using pins after DH stabbed his own thumb diapering the baby. We never stabbed the baby, though.

It was actually pretty easy. We had both a washer and dryer and a clothesline, so on a nice breezy day, I could hang the diapers outside in the sunshine. Your covers and plastic pants should be line-dried. You can clothespin them to plastic hangers and hang them up in the bathroom if you don't have any other place to dry them.

Some white vinegar in the diaper pail water and the wash water took care of odors. We washed all his stuff in the same detergent we used for the rest of the family. I'd dump the diaper pail contents into the washer, set it to spin to get all the dirty water out, do a regular hot wash, and a double rinse.

Cloth diapers become more absorbent after they've been washed a few times. Never use fabric softener on them, as it will make them repel liquid instead of soaking it up.

The only time he ever had diaper rash was not from the diapers but from an antibiotic prescribed for an ear infection. Our friends who disposable-diapered their babies tended to be lax about changing them because the diapers could hold so much urine, and their kids always had a roaring case of diaper rash.

One of the great things about cloth diapers is, if you have diaper pins or some of the new Snappy clips to hold the diaper on the baby, you can air out the baby's behind by just putting the diaper on without a cover or plastic pants. Exposure to air is healthy for baby's skin. A diaper without a cover will leak urine, but any poop will probably be contained. We used to put on just the diaper and put DS down on the floor on an old quilt for airing out sessions.

When he was old enough to sleep through the night, we did use a disposable diaper at night. He was a very skinny baby and attempts to double-diaper him for nighttime with cloth diapers left him with a bottom bigger than his head, and he just didn't look that comfortable. :D

Re: Cloth Diapers

Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2015 3:44 pm
by delighted99
We didn't use cloth diapers although I was initially interested. I think the choice we made was the best for our family in the long-run, however. I found that I was really overwhelmed with the stress of being a new parent and far away from extended family. It was really enough for me to keep house for my family and take care of baby. I don't think I would have been able to also wash the cloth diapers.

Which brings another point- we were living in an apartment complex for a significant time period during my baby's life and access to laundry was not easy.

I hope you make the best choice for you and your family.