When having a baby there are tons of decisions that you get to make. Some are big, like what to name your little one and others, like what color to paint the nursery, aren't quite as huge. Zac and I are lucky enough that we are on the same page when it comes to all of the important things. Of course there are things that we see differently but none of which are big enough to impact our parenting or how we will raise Zane.
There were a few things that Zac and I had not decided on until after we already knew that we were expecting a little one. Some of these things weren't anything that we had even thought about. One of these choices was whether to use cloth or disposable diapers. For most people, this isn't a decision that needs to be made. Disposable diapers are mainstream and considered much more convenient than the cloth diaper alternative. When you register for baby items at stores the welcome bags always include samples of disposable diapers. The "Congratulations" bag from our doctor even included a few. It would seem to be a no brainer. Still Zac and I wanted to take a look at our options.
After weighing the pros and cons of cloth and disposable Zac and I opted to go the cloth diaper route. There have been some mixed reactions to our choice. We've gotten some raised eyebrows and less than supportive "Have fun with that!" comments but mostly we've sparked some interest in others who want to know a little more. Several curious friends and family members have inquired about our cloth diapering decision so I thought that I would put together this post to fill everyone in on our reasons. We are in no way experts on the topic (we haven't even started doing it yet) but from what we've discovered so far we think we've made the right choice.
Cost:
Cost was the number one factor that led to our decision to cloth diaper. Babies go through a ton of diapers in the first two to three years of life. On average a newborn will go through 10 diapers a day while toddlers average 6 diapers a day. Over the span of two years, a baby can use close to 5,000 diapers (check out the math here)! That is an incredible amount. Unless you receive several packs as gifts, you'll likely have diapers on your shopping list pretty regularly. According to the Baby Cost Calculator Tool on Baby Center (found here) if Zane is in diapers until the age of three (I really hope we can get him potty trained before then) we can anticipate to spend around $4,000 on disposable diapers and wipes. I don't know about you but I can think of a bunch of things I'd like to spend $4,000 on and diapers and wipes aren't on that list. Alternatively, being able to reuse cloth diapers and wipes will save us a drastic amount of money over time.
Modern cloth diapers can range anywhere from $7 to $20 per diaper. (Less modern options can be found with a smaller price tag.) Obviously, when compared to the individual cost of a disposable diaper this seems incredibly expensive. As you will need to get a stock pile of diapers ready for your little one, the initial investment is more significant than that of disposable diapers, and can seem a bit intimidating. Setting aside money over time, buying in bulk, finding deals, and using coupon codes can definitely lessen the financial burden. There are websites and groups where you can buy,sell, and trade used diapers which can save you a bundle. Also cloth diapers are available for purchase on Amazon.com and at serveral baby super stores so you can register for these necessary items just as you could for disposable options.
Zac and I are sure that our stash is now complete. Between newborn sized diapers and one sized diapers that should go from newborn to potty training as well as washcloths that we'll be using as wipes, our stash is worth $500. Thanks to amazing friends and family who have given us cloth diapers, covers, and wipes as gifts, finding deals online, and using coupon codes, Zac and I have only spent $230. (We've ordered from www.kellyscloset.com three times and received a free diaper with each of our orders thanks to coupon codes.) You can certainly get a cloth diaper stash ready for less than what we spent. We chose to get extra diapers in different styles from different brands to see what will work best for our Zane but this isn't necessary. Still the $500 price tag of our stash which will last from birth to toddlerhood for not just Zane but future kiddos as well, seems a lot better than the $4000 we'd spend on the disposable options for just one baby.
Material:
One thing that we love about cloth diapers is that we are able to know exactly what we're putting on Zane's bottom. Cloth diapers come in cotton, microfiber, fleece, hemp, etc.
Looking at what goes into making disposable diapers absorbant definitely made us more comfortable with our decision to cloth diaper. Byproducts called dioxins come from chemicals used to bleach diapers. They can cause skin irritation and over time have a negative impact on the immune and nervous systems. Exposure to these types of byproducts might be the reason that babies in disposable diapers tend to have more instances of diaper rash than those that are cloth diapered. Other chemicals and gel used to absorb wetness and prevent leaks have been linked with Toxic Shock Syndrome. (Read more about disposable diaper materials here.)
Not all diapers are made the same, though. Seventh Generation and The Honest Company are among the few diapering suppliers that are chemical free. They are however, more expensive than other disposable diapers that aren't quite so conscious. This of course brings us back to the issue of cost.
We also thought about what we would prefer to wear as adults. Granted neither of us remember what diaper wearing feels like but given the choice now we would much rather have a soft cloth diaper on our booty than a diaper made of plastic and other non natural fibers filled with gels and crystals. Our little man is going to be in a diaper for at least 23 hours a day and we think he'd be more comfortable in cloth than disposable.
Waste Reduction:
Another factor we considered was the amount of waste production that comes along with using disposable diapers and wipes. We aren't the most green couple you'll meet but when looking over the number of diapers that babies go through before they are potty trained, we were a little disturbed at the thought that we'd be responsible for sending all of those plastic made diapers to a landfill. Being able to wash and reuse cloth diapers would make far less of an impact on the environment (not to mention take up a lot less space in our garbage). Sure it would increase the amount of laundry that we have to do and energy that we use to wash and dry cloth diapers but this impact is almost nothing compared to that made from disposable diapers. During the warmer months we can save energy by hanging the diapers out to dry. (Sunning the diapers even helps to remove any staining that might occur.)
Cuteness:
The final (and least important) reason for choosing cloth diapers over disposable is because of how cute they are! Okay so this is entirely my reasoning and has nothing to do with Zac. But seriously, cloth diapers are cute. It's sickening how excited I've gotten looking at, ordering, and receiving cloth diapers and covers. The prints and the colors...I love it all. Yes I realize that Zane will be taking care of business in these bad boys and I'll probably find them less exciting once I start changing them but for now I find them all quite adorable.
After we made the final decision that cloth diapering was the way we wanted to go, I started looking into what we would need. It's a little intimidating to begin cloth diapering when there is a whole lingo that goes along with it and you have no idea what you're doing. As I was looking on websites to order diapers I felt lost and confused and realized that I would need a little education before I made any purchases. I definitely needed some insight into what was necessary to get when beginning to cloth diaper, what things we didn't need, and opinions about what styles and brands were better than others. (After doing some research I came to realize that style and brand are less important than fit and function.)
Looking at cloth diapering videos on youtube (a new obsession of mine) I was very happy to stumble upon NaturallyThriftyMom (check out the channel here). Brittany is a young mom of two who has been cloth diapering both of her boys since the day they were born. She has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to cloth diapering. I was very grateful to have found her Cloth Diapering 101 series of videos that answered questions that I didn't even know that I had yet. In these videos, she goes over things that are important to know if you're a cloth diaper beginner including styles, cost, how many you'll need, and even gives information about using cloth wipes.
In addition to the Cloth Diapering 101 series, you can also find several other videos on NaturallyThriftyMom that deal with cloth diapering including Q&As, how to care for and clean cloth diapers, reviews, and her experiences with cloth diapering as her boys reach different ages. (I also found her pregnancy vlogs fun to watch.) If you too are beginning to cloth diaper, are thinking about cloth diapering, or are just interested in learning more, you should check out NaturallyThriftyMom's Cloth Diapering 101 videos. Below is the introduction to the series. You will be able to find the subsequent videos from there.
Check out tomorrow's post to see what our cloth diapering stash looks like.
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