Since I’ve started chronicling my foray into cloth diapers, many people have asked me what made me decide to go cloth. I know lots of people wrestle with the cloth vs. disposables issue, so I thought I’d explain why I chose to switch.

While I’d like to say that the environmentalist in me could no longer bear to fill up landfills with hundreds of diapers, the environment wasn’t the biggest factor in my decision. After the fiasco last year with the Pampers Dry Max causing severe diaper rash, I began to research the effects of the chemicals that are in most disposable diapers. While I couldn’t find any definitive research that showed the chemicals to have long-term negative consequences, I did find loads of research suggesting uncertainty about the effects. I also found advice from doctors that recommend limiting your child’s exposure to the chemicals in general. Plus, we do know (as evidenced by the Pampers debacle), that the chemicals can cause potentially serious short-term effects, in the form of diaper rash. 

So, the biggest reason I switched to cloth was to reduce the chemicals next to my son’s little tushie. The second (and almost equally important) reason was cost. I calculated the cost of cloth diapers versus disposables, and based on the varieties that I use/used, I will break even on cloth diapers after 11 months. My son will easily use them that long, but the real savings comes by using them with future children. Our family’s diaper budget will be virtually $0 with a second child. Considering that I spent easily $50/month on diapers with disposables, cloth will allow us to save a lot of money down the road. If you can afford to make the initial investment in cloth diapers, they will easily pay for themselves within 4-12 months (depending on the type you choose).

Though the environment wasn’t the main reason I made the switch, it was an important consideration. I’ve tried to gradually “green” my lifestyle over the past few years, and I felt that I couldn’t consider myself a true conservationist while using disposables. I read that the average baby goes through over 7,000 disposable diapers before being potty-trained, which equals about 1 ton of diaper garbage per child per year. Since cloth diapers have fewer chemicals, are cheaper, and are more environmentally-friendly, it made my decision to switch an easy one. I only wish I had done it sooner before sinking hundreds of dollars into disposables for the first 8 months of my son’s life!

So, that was my journey to cloth. Of course, the choice is highly personal, so I’m always interested in why other people choose cloth or disposables. Which did you choose? What was the biggest reason for your choice?

I’ve gotten a lot of questions about how my foray into cloth diapering is going. In short, it’s going very well! I’m using bumGenius Elemental diapers, and they rarely leak. I’ve gotten the hang of laundry and even cleaning out poopy diapers. All in all, though there is an initial learning curve, cloth diapers are not nearly as difficult (and scary!) as I originally thought!

I do need some more advice from the cloth diaper experts out there. I had bought a Fuzzibunz hanging diaper bag. It was so cute, and I was so excited to start using it! However, the people who designed the Fuzzibunz bag must have had a lapse in judgment because they put a zipper along the bottom of the bag…and the diapers leak through the zipper! Ugh! What a pain… So, I returned the Fuzzibunz bag and I’m back to square one in my search for a diaper pail/wet bag for the cloth diapers. Any recommendations? I have a Kushies travel wet bag, which is ok, but truthfully, even that one leaks sooner than plastic grocery bags do. Have you had good (or bad) experiences with any particular wet bag? Which ones are the best and most leak-proof?

I think I’m starting to get the hang of this cloth diapering thing! Last week, I reported getting lots of leaks with the cloth diapers. I tried to strip the diapers of any repellent natural oils by soaking them in boiling water and dish soap (thanks for the suggestion, Mimi!). I think it did help because the diapers have been less leak-prone. The pocket diapers still leak more than the all-in-one diapers (the pockets seem to have a 2-hour expiration while the AIOs can last 3 hours), so once the diaper trial is over, I’m planning to stock up on bumGenius all-in-ones. They’ve been our favorite kind. We may even splurge on a couple bumGenius Elemental all-in-one diapers, which are organic and one-size (which means a baby should be able to wear them from birth through potty training). Though we haven’t tested the Elementals, I’ve heard great things about them.

I still have a few questions/concerns:

I notice a distinct odor when Pudge is wearing the diapers. It’s not a terrible odor, but it’s still an odor. Is there a way to get the smell out of the diapers while a baby is wearing them? It seems like the diaper starts to smell right after he pees (which is usually about 30 seconds after I put the diaper on). I don’t notice a similar smell with disposables.

1. What is the best detergent to enhance absorbency?
2. I think I will need to use hemp doublers most of the time. Can I wash hemp doublers with bumGenius all-in-one diapers (and maybe Elementals) in the wash or do they have to be washed separately?

Thanks again for all the help and advice! I’m very exciting about cloth diapering!

I’ve taken the plunge! I’ve joined the ranks of cloth diapering moms (thanks to the immensely helpful advice from all you veteran CD moms)! Well, at least I’m hoping to join the ranks. Last week, I ordered the cloth diaper trial from Jillian’s Drawers (thanks to Beth and Meredith for the recommendation!), and I began using the trial diapers on Sunday.

The Jillian’s Drawers trial is a great program for parents who are hesitant about cloth diapering: you pay $10 (plus a $135 deposit) for the trial and you get nine different types of brand new cloth diapers sent to you. You can wash them, use them, and fully test them out for 21 days. At the end, you can send them all back and get your $135 deposit back or choose to keep some or all (and pay for the ones you keep). For only $10, it’s a great deal! The only slightly negative aspect of the program is that you don’t get to pick the diapers to try – there are a set nine that come as part of the program. Still, overall, great program!

Having said all that, so far, cloth diapering is not the ideal system I was hoping for. The prewashing is quite a pain in the rear, but the most frustrating part was that almost all of the diapers leaked! I know most CD moms say they never experience leaks, but the diapers leaked on Pudge almost every time we used them—ugh! ALL of the pocket-style diapers leaked in under an hour of use. The GroVia all-in-two also leaked. The best-performing diaper has been the bumGenius all-in-one, but I had minor leaks with that one, too. How discouraging!

I’m not giving up yet, though. I’ll chalk the leaks up to user error for now, and I’m enlisting the help of my friend and cloth diapering expert, Laura (who conveniently lives 10 yards away from me), to help me make sure I’m using the diapers properly. I’m hoping the issue is not that I need to put the diapers on more tightly—Pudge has thunder thighs, and I’m already tightening the cloth diapers WAY more than I ever do with disposables. Any tighter and I worry I will hurt him.

Here are some of my other initial reactions to cloth diapers:

• I can’t speak to the absorbency of the Kissaluvs fitted diaper with the Thirsties cover because I couldn’t bring myself to use them! I put them on my son, and they were SO bulky—he doesn’t even own pants large enough to fit over them! So, I’m not even bothering with them.
• I was planning on using disposable wipes initially (mostly because I still have a few unopened mega boxes left to use), but I’ve realized that that will be very difficult. Since the wipes aren’t flushable, once I scrape out the poop into the toilet, I have to either throw the poopy wipes into the trashcan (which would make the bathroom smell quickly) or put them into the Diaper Genie (which I don’t plan to continue using once I get a cloth diaper pail).
• I still haven’t tried the cloth diapers overnight, so I’ll let you know how that goes once we try it.

All in all, cloth isn’t so hard, but the leaks are driving me crazy! I suppose there’s just a learning curve, so hopefully by the end of the 21-day trial, I’ll be a pro.

Thanks to all the cloth diapering moms out there who provided such helpful information yesterday! I’m going to start looking around for the best prices on cloth diapers. I’ll keep you posted about how this new adventure goes!