Cloth Diapers
Have you ever considered using cloth diapers?
If you’re like most families, the answer is no. Cloth diapering may seem like a foreign concept, but just because it’s different doesn’t mean it might not be a good fit for you.
We have used clothes diapers for the last 4.5 years, and I can honestly say I enjoyed doing it. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t look forward to a poopie diaper anymore than most parents, but I wouldn’t have changed our choice to use cloth.
Why don’t most people consider using cloth? My hypothesis includes two things:
Very few families use cloth so it’s not something most of us even think about
Since it’s less common, most people have an inaccurate view of cloth diapering
It makes sense! But let’s be honest folks, poop is poop. (Ha!) Using cloth diapers really isn’t that much more “gross” than using disposables. Plus, there are so many more options now than there used to be to help dispose of said poop in easy and clean ways.
Are there drawbacks to using cloth? Of course! Are there drawbacks to using disposables? Yes! If you take a few minutes to look into cloth diapers, you might be surprised that you’re not turned off from it and want to learn more. So take a quick peek with me into the world of cloth diapers and learn some very practical reasons why we enjoyed our cloth journey:
#1: Far fewer chemicals resting directly my kids’ skin 24/7 for the first 2+ years of their lives
Did you know “diaper manufacturers are not required to test their products or materials for a variety of chemicals to ensure safety”? It’s a little scary but true. Diaper manufacturers also don’t have to list all of their ingredients on the box. Again, crazy but true. There are still a lot of great options for disposable diapers, you just have to do you research and usually be willing to pay a little more.
We ultimately chose cloth diapers because we felt it gave us the most control over limiting the toxins our kiddos were exposed to at a very young age.
#2: Far fewer diaper rashes with cloth than disposables
You might be thinking, “how does she know that if she’s always used cloth?” Well, my son is currently 2.5 years old and we just officially stopped using cloth. Not because we didn’t like it, but because many of the cloth diapers we had were second hand (don’t be grossed out, they were from my sister and had been stripped well before we started using them) and some of them were close to 10 years old. The elastic at that point wasn’t holding up as well and we noticed they would leak more because of it. We decided to get rid of the ones that had lost their elasticity and were left with less cloth diapers than we needed, unless we wanted to wash them every two days. And I didn’t. Because our son is getting close to potty training and he will be our last child, it didn’t make sense financially for us to buy new cloth diapers, so we moved on to disposables.
I should take a step back and note that our kids hardly had diaper rashes. When they did, they would always resolve within a couple of days. Since we switched to disposables about six weeks ago we have noticed that our son has much more frequent skin irritations and they take longer to resolve, even though we are using the same diaper cream as before. The materials used in disposables can irritate the skin and we are seeing firsthand how this is true. So if you have a child with sensitive skin or one that has frequent diaper rashes, cloth may be the best option for you!
#3 Without a doubt, it will save you a lot money, especially if you use them with multiple children.
There are lost of different estimates on how much using cloth diapers will save you. But at minimum, you can count on saving $1,000 and anywhere from 43%-85% of the price of disposables. If you are like me and are able to find a family member or friends who used cloth for a short period of time and are willing so sell or give you their supply, the amount you save is far greater. I don’t know about you, but this is frugal mama has a hard time walking away from savings like that.
#4 Cloth diaper baby bums are cuter than disposable diaper baby bums.
This point is not debatable.
There is a lot more about cloth diapers that I could share, but I’ll stick to the basics for now.
I’ve had the honor of talking with several new moms about cloth diapers and if you’d like more information or tips and tricks from a mom who’s been there, done that - hit me up!