(This is Owen modeling his cloth diaper and his new favorite trick - sucking on his hand)So, we figured since we had gotten into the natural child birth thing, we should go ahead and take the next hippie step to cloth diapering. Actually, it was mostly motivated by the thought of saving money, and some curiosity b/c everyone that does cloth diapering claims to LOVE IT. Weird, I know.
We made an investment of about $200 to get all the cloth stuff we would need (8 all-in-ones, 18 prefolds, 3 covers and 2 Snappis), and we figured that I would need to stick to it for at least 4 months to break even. We've got a month under our belt, and while I feel like we've got the hang of it, I am no where near LOVING IT. It really hasn't been too big of an adjustment. The extra load of laundry every third day is easy, but the smell of the diapers grosses me out. (and we're not even to the serious stuff yet!) It bothers me that some of the diapers are already stained...if I use them on our next kid, will they feel abused for wearing used diapers?! I see the bills for the shrink adding up... (any suggestions on stain removal other cloth diapering moms?)
On the positive side, I think the all-in-ones are really cute. It does feel good to not have to buy diapers, and our trash can is a lot lighter too. Like I said, though, I don't love it yet. So we'll see how things progress.
10 comments:
Hey Cat,
To get the stains out of the white part, try leaving them in the sun. I used diaper service-type diapers (are those pre-folds?--I've forgotten), and for the stained ones, I'd put them on a drying rack in the sun for a few hours and they'd be white again.
As for the smell, do you have some deo-disks (http://www.cottonbabies.com/product_info.php?products_id=145)? Those, to me, were the best way to keep the smell down in the diaper pail.
~Lynette
do you have to rinse them in the toilet? this is why i won't do it. ~christine
Thanks for the input, Lynette! I didn't know you were a cloth diaper-er. I'll have to try the sun thing...and the pail smell doesn't bother me as much as what my laundry room smells like during the first wash cycle. I've started lighting a candle!
I haven't had to do any toilet rinsing yet. I think as long as they're nursing, you can wash it all in the washing machine. Supposedly there's a sprayer that attaches to your toilet when they get older that keeps you from having to do any actual dunking in the toilet...I'll let you know when I get there. :)
A whole post on diapers, stains, and stink...man, I guess I am an official mom.
Gross. :)
I think the nursing poop must be worst than toddler poop about staining, b/c we haven't had any stains yet. I do use some odor spray, but other than that the poop hasn't been all that bad. Of course he only goes once a day and sometimes it's in the potty. Hope you end up loving it!
PS I got instructions for the silhouettes I made at designspongeonline.com.
ok I know I'm sooo NOT a mom, BUT a friend of mine And I were just talking about this yesterday! SUPPOSEDLY vinager and bleach Maybe helps! Idk...it might be worth doing some research on! :) ~salle
It took me at least a month or more to get used to the switch from disposables to cloth. But now, I'm in the category of "love it." I have never worried about the stains - I figured that's what they are there for :-)
Careful, I heard that mixing vinegar and bleach releases toxic fumes. Actually, now that I'm thinking of it, bleach is toxic in and of itself. But maybe the two together emit especially toxic fumes. ~christine
Update: The sun works!!! I laid out the diapers this morning, and by the afternoon, all the stains were gone. Sweet. I've also ordered some spray stuff that cuts down on the odor (supposedly), so hopefully that will solve all my cloth diapering issues. Thanks for the input!
I am so glad to read about someone else trying this! I saw Christi's post and had some encouragement from some friends here. I am still debating. Buying a box of $38 diapers is enough to make me want to switch though! Does he still sleep as long? That is my biggest thing. I don't want from him to be super wet and sleep less. And do you still have disposables to take out with you or do you still take your cloth?
Love you friend!
stephanie
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