I would like to start of by saying I hate laundry.
Doing laundry, to me, is a pain in the butt. My clothes and my children’s clothes go through a cycle; they are worn, and thrown into a pile. After pile is adequately stacked and there are no more clothes to be thrown into said pile, they are sniffed. If they pass the sniff test they are worn again until all clothes are able to fail the sniff test. Then they are eventually washed.
So when I decided to switch from regular disposable diapers to reusable diapers I researched reusable diapers until I was convinced it was what I needed to do, not necessarily wanted, but needed. I will not say it is for everyone, but I would say it is for most everyone; so here are my real pros and cons of cloth diapering.
Pros:
- They are stinking cute! I’m not super fashionable, but I have to say they look awesome. I love seeing my daughter run around the house in her adorable Charlie Banana diapers. They are fun, and colorful and sometimes that is all it takes to be worth it.
- They don’t break the bank. The initial investment can be tough but the savings is unreal. If you start out cloth diapering you can save upwards to two thousand dollars, not only that but four thousand if you have another child and they can use their siblings hand me downs.
- Environmentally friendly. You would be saving the land a lot of grief by using reusables, they are the ultimate on not making an impact on the earth while disposable diapers represent 50% of the waste in a single household! On a pack of disposable diapers it instructs you to throw out fecal products. Let’s be for real, when was the last time you took one of those throw away diapers and shook out the dooky? More then likely, like I would myself, it would get quickly wadded then thrown in the trashcan. With reusables you have to empty out the poop, so you can wash them.
- No chemicals! Your baby’s skin is sensitive, and I know how that feels. My skin is very sensitive and using certain cleaning brands or even brand new clothes cause my hands and knees to itch. With this in mind remember children’s skin can be easily irritated. Often, I hear a mother discussing what is their favorite disposable diaper brand and which ones cause their child to break out. You can skip all that discomfort with a cloth diaper.
Cons:
- You have to wash them. This mean you need to have a place to store them before hand. I would suggest a cute laundry bag or even a bucket you can put under the sink. (I use the latter.) Washing them takes time and you do have to use a specific soap for cloth diapers (if you want to keep the warrantee valid.) Not only is it good for the warrantee, but it keeps them smelling nice and clean. I use Rockin’ Green Classic Rock Bare Naked Babies detergent and buy it from Amazon. This means you need to have a supply on hand and never run out since you can’t just find the stuff at a Walmart.
This is the detergent. You can get it from Amazon.com or Diapers.com
- Not dryer friendly. Or at least I wouldn’t suggest it. They tend to shrink the inserts and wear and tear on the diapers. We hang up ours in the bathroom on the shower rod and such for drying and it takes a day for them to dry. Not super fun.
- The poop. Yes there is poop and you will have to dump it in the toilet, like you are supposed to anyhow, (As mentioned above) This really wasn’t as bad as I thought but it can be frustrating with the more challenging sticky type of fecal matter. A little advice, if you can roll the diaper or fold the sides to where the fecal matter can stick to itself and be easier to dump. I know poop can be gross but as a parent it is one of those things you have to think about, a lot.
- When out and about having a poopy diaper! This isn’t actually a major issue if you are prepared. Empty it as usual in the toilet (if there is any poop.) They make very nice zip bags to put a dirty diaper in but if you are like me, keep some plastic bags from the store rolled up in your purse or diaper bag and just tie it up in that.
Well, that is my small list of pos and cons to help you decide on what type of diapering works for you. On the bright side if cloth diapering isn’t for you and you did purchase some they hold their retail value well and people are often looking to buy them. Also, some people find it more practical to do half in half. Have reusables for home and disposables for the babysitter and public outings.
I have enjoyed cloth diapering and will continue to do so. My main motivator for doing this is the ridiculous amount of money it saves. Plus my kid looks so cute. I will say with my youngest, he is 7 weeks, I haven’t switched from disposables yet since he has to be changed at least 15 diapers a day. As soon as my last box of pampers runs out, we buy the big ones if we buy them, I will be ordering him his own Charlie Banana diapers.
For more facts on diapering go here!
http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/diaperfacts.php
Here is link to the cloth diapers I use!
whatsbreastforyou 