I am asked this a lot. I have been asked by friends, colleagues, family. If you're in the midst of cloth diapering you realize how popular it is, but if you've never been exposed to someone who does cloth diapering the idea sounds so messy, so time consuming...so hard!
I will start by saying I didn't always think that cloth was the way to go. In fact when a close friend of mine was pregnant with her daughter 4 years ago and wanted to cloth diaper I kind of thought she was nuts. I mean why cloth diaper when there are disposable diapers? Part of my thinking was that because I would never get the option of staying home for a year with my future children, would it be too much work to work and cloth diaper an infant? Even my mother who cloth diapered three babies told me that disposables would just be easier when my time came.
It was always a little thought in the back of my mind though, so I started bookmarking websites and articles, saving them into a folder for safe keeping when my time came to have a baby. When I first got pregnant that's when the real fascination with cloth started. I started lurking on a forum devoted just to cloth diapering. Fast forward to today and I don't regret using cloth at all. In fact the only regret that I have is that I didn't use cloth from day one (or at least day three when we got home from the hospital). Maybe one day if God blesses us with another baby I will be able to buy these for my baby.
There are a lot of reasons why we chose cloth. I say we because Andre has been on board 110% with cloth diapering, and if you ask him will tell you that he prefers cloth over disposables! It started with me really wanting to make this parenting choice, but I always asked him if it was okay, and if he was on board too.
If you ask a lot of people why they chose cloth they will say for the financial savings. It's one of my reasons, but not the number one reason. It's like a bonus.
My number one reason for choosing cloth diapers: It makes me physically ill to think of my child creating literally 1 TON of toxic garbage in her diapering years. To top it off this garbage will sit in a landfill for approximately 500 years! I just can't do it. Now I do use disposables sometimes, but I do make the effort to plop the poop out first, so I'm at least reducing the toxic affect of those few disposable diapers we do use.
My number two reason for choosing cloth diapers: I hate the idea of my daughter sitting in a plastic, chemical laden diaper 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for years! Disposable diapers contain dioxin, which is a known carcinogen. Cloth diapers do not contain (as many) chemicals. I'm fully aware that there are some chemicals used in the bleaching process of some of the fabrics used in cloth diapers, but they are not nearly as bad as the ones used in disposable diapers.
My number three reason for choosing cloth diapers: The potential to save money. Will I save thousands of dollars cloth diapering? Maybe, maybe not. The point is that all the money that I spend on cloth diapers, are being spent on a reusable product. I get to use that one cloth diaper countless times. Then when I'm done with it I can sell it to someone else, recoup some of that money, and it can be used on another child. To me that is money well spent.
I will add that cloth diapering is a choice that my husband and my family because we felt it was the best parenting choice for our daughter. I know that there are many people out there that use disposable diapers. They are making the best parenting choice for their child.
Here are some resources that I used for this blog entry:
http://www.cheerfulcheeks.com/Earth
http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/diaperfacts.php
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Cloth Diaper Myths...Explained
I posted a little while ago that I wanted to do a series on cloth diapering. Since I find myself with a few spare minutes (and more importantly a quiet house) I decided to get started.
We have been cloth diapering Emilie since she was about 5 weeks old now. It started out slowly in the beginning as I only had enough diapers to last us about a day and a half before washing, and was unsure about cloth diapering at night. Then I discovered what types of diapers I liked, and my stash grew, then as we were more and more comfortable with cloth diapering during the day then began the overnight cloth diapering journey. Now unless she's suffering a duperdutyhorrible diaper rash (AKA the Yeast Monster) or in daycare, you will find her in a cloth diaper, or well in her bare bum.
I've found myself thinking about cloth a little more than usual lately as I have a friend that has been cloth diapering her 2 month old now for about a month and a half since she was so encouraged by my own cloth journey, and another friend that is expecting TWINS and is planning on cloth diapering her two little girls. I think it's absolutely great that I have been able to help out my amazing friends get started on something that I hope they will find as rewarding as I have. This is part of the reason that I have decided to do a little series on cloth diapering. It's so overwhelming when you're thinking about cloth diapering (CDing) and starting your research, so this series is aimed more towards those moms (or dads) out there who are kind of on the fence and looking for some more information. For those of you that are hard core disposable users, please don't get your panties in a twist if you read something that rubs you the wrong way, this really isn't a series of articles for you, and it's certainly not meant to make you feel like a bad parent, so please don't go shooting me a cranky comment.
So here we go with the Cloth Diaper Myths. These are all things that I have been told by my own dear family and friends.
Myth #1: "You really don't save that much money cloth diapering!"
I had to start with this one simply because anyone who has done ANY research into cloth diapering, will know that this is just not true. I mean if you ask seasoned cloth diaperers why they started I 100% guarantee that one of their reasons will be to save money. There are a million and one resources out there that will explain how much money you will save by cloth diapering. Most of these resources are even adding in the cost of washing the diapers in to the calculations.
The average disposable diapering parent will spend between $2800-$3500 buying disposable diapers for their baby. This is not including the cost of disposable wipes.
Cloth diaperers will spend somewhere between $400-$800 to cloth diaper their child. This varies according to type of diaper. Whether or not they are using prefolds and covers, or premium organic fitteds, or one-size pockets. This cost is from Birth to Potty Training!!! This is also not including the cost of wipes. But those can be free by cutting up some of the bajillion receiving blankets you receive and using them as cloth wipes.
The cost of cloth diapers also doesn't factor in the resale value of your diapers. You use your diapers for your kids, and then sell them to someone to use for their children. I don't see boxes of used Pampers on Kijiji...just sayin'.
Myth #2: "I just don't have time to cloth diaper!"
I really wish people would rephrase this to "I just don't want to make the time to cloth diaper" because that would be more accurate. At the end of the week I spend about a half hour to forty-five minutes of time spent just on cloth diaper laundry. That's two to three extra loads of laundry and the stuffing of my pocket diapers.
I would like a disposable diaper user to time how long they spend out shopping for diapers.
The bonus is I can spend that half hour a week at home in my jammies!
Myth #3: "Cloth Diapers are just gross! You have to touch POOP!"
Dirty diapers, cloth disposable, whatever, are gross. It's poop people, get over it!
I hate to break it all the disposable diaper users out there. I dare you to check the package of your diapers. There you should find in tiny writing the company telling you to plop and flush your poop! I know you don't, but you should.
Myth #4: "Cloth diapers smell and they leak!"
This one had to come from someone who clearly has never used any type of diaper to diaper an actual baby.
Yes, on wash day when I'm throwing my diapers into the washer they smell. But if I went over to my sisters house on garbage day as she's getting ready to throw out her little sausage of used disposable diapers if you opened that plastic liner, I bet the smell would knock you over. Clean cloth diapers do not smell. Ask me, or any CDer out there, we routinely sniff our clean diapers, they smell like nothing.
As for leaks my sister who uses the premium brand name disposable diapers, has experienced more leaks and blow outs than I have ever had using cloth.
These are just a few of the myths out there regarding cloth diapers, there are more. Here are some links to some references I used for this blog entry:
http://www.diaperpin.com/clothdiapers/article_howtosave.asp
http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/basics.htm
We have been cloth diapering Emilie since she was about 5 weeks old now. It started out slowly in the beginning as I only had enough diapers to last us about a day and a half before washing, and was unsure about cloth diapering at night. Then I discovered what types of diapers I liked, and my stash grew, then as we were more and more comfortable with cloth diapering during the day then began the overnight cloth diapering journey. Now unless she's suffering a duperdutyhorrible diaper rash (AKA the Yeast Monster) or in daycare, you will find her in a cloth diaper, or well in her bare bum.
I've found myself thinking about cloth a little more than usual lately as I have a friend that has been cloth diapering her 2 month old now for about a month and a half since she was so encouraged by my own cloth journey, and another friend that is expecting TWINS and is planning on cloth diapering her two little girls. I think it's absolutely great that I have been able to help out my amazing friends get started on something that I hope they will find as rewarding as I have. This is part of the reason that I have decided to do a little series on cloth diapering. It's so overwhelming when you're thinking about cloth diapering (CDing) and starting your research, so this series is aimed more towards those moms (or dads) out there who are kind of on the fence and looking for some more information. For those of you that are hard core disposable users, please don't get your panties in a twist if you read something that rubs you the wrong way, this really isn't a series of articles for you, and it's certainly not meant to make you feel like a bad parent, so please don't go shooting me a cranky comment.
So here we go with the Cloth Diaper Myths. These are all things that I have been told by my own dear family and friends.
Myth #1: "You really don't save that much money cloth diapering!"
I had to start with this one simply because anyone who has done ANY research into cloth diapering, will know that this is just not true. I mean if you ask seasoned cloth diaperers why they started I 100% guarantee that one of their reasons will be to save money. There are a million and one resources out there that will explain how much money you will save by cloth diapering. Most of these resources are even adding in the cost of washing the diapers in to the calculations.
The average disposable diapering parent will spend between $2800-$3500 buying disposable diapers for their baby. This is not including the cost of disposable wipes.
Cloth diaperers will spend somewhere between $400-$800 to cloth diaper their child. This varies according to type of diaper. Whether or not they are using prefolds and covers, or premium organic fitteds, or one-size pockets. This cost is from Birth to Potty Training!!! This is also not including the cost of wipes. But those can be free by cutting up some of the bajillion receiving blankets you receive and using them as cloth wipes.
The cost of cloth diapers also doesn't factor in the resale value of your diapers. You use your diapers for your kids, and then sell them to someone to use for their children. I don't see boxes of used Pampers on Kijiji...just sayin'.
Myth #2: "I just don't have time to cloth diaper!"
I really wish people would rephrase this to "I just don't want to make the time to cloth diaper" because that would be more accurate. At the end of the week I spend about a half hour to forty-five minutes of time spent just on cloth diaper laundry. That's two to three extra loads of laundry and the stuffing of my pocket diapers.
I would like a disposable diaper user to time how long they spend out shopping for diapers.
The bonus is I can spend that half hour a week at home in my jammies!
Myth #3: "Cloth Diapers are just gross! You have to touch POOP!"
Dirty diapers, cloth disposable, whatever, are gross. It's poop people, get over it!
I hate to break it all the disposable diaper users out there. I dare you to check the package of your diapers. There you should find in tiny writing the company telling you to plop and flush your poop! I know you don't, but you should.
Myth #4: "Cloth diapers smell and they leak!"
This one had to come from someone who clearly has never used any type of diaper to diaper an actual baby.
Yes, on wash day when I'm throwing my diapers into the washer they smell. But if I went over to my sisters house on garbage day as she's getting ready to throw out her little sausage of used disposable diapers if you opened that plastic liner, I bet the smell would knock you over. Clean cloth diapers do not smell. Ask me, or any CDer out there, we routinely sniff our clean diapers, they smell like nothing.
As for leaks my sister who uses the premium brand name disposable diapers, has experienced more leaks and blow outs than I have ever had using cloth.
These are just a few of the myths out there regarding cloth diapers, there are more. Here are some links to some references I used for this blog entry:
http://www.diaperpin.com/clothdiapers/article_howtosave.asp
http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/basics.htm
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