My Ins And Outs Of Cloth Diapers
Cloth diapers today have come a long way from your grandma’s generation of pins and rubber pants. Modern day cloth diapers are not only cute and fashionable but are built to last; they feature convenient button snaps or Velcro, elastic waists and sewn in or removable inserts. The reasons I chose to switch to cloth diapers for my kids include my family’s cost savings benefits, my kid’s health benefits and the cute stylish designs options they offer. Cloth diapers fit perfectly with our natural parenting style and the benefits outweigh the negatives.
The biggest factor for me was the cost of cloth diapers. They range from about $5-$20 per diaper new, at first glance that could seem expensive, but that one diaper will be used multiple times and could be sold or passed on to siblings. A typical family will spend around $600 on cloth diapers and diaper accessories for one child compared to an average of $1500 on disposable diapers. Once I factored that amount, the savings for us was huge especially since I had 2 boys in diapers at the same time. The only other cost associated with cloth diapers is washing and drying them. Some may notice a slight increase in their water and electric usage but I have not noticed a great increase on my bill.
I’ve always heard how cloth diapers can be inconvenient, especially while being out and about with your baby. Yes this is true, you shouldn’t just roll up your dirty cloth diaper and throw it away but you can roll it up (wipes and all) and throw it in a wetbag to bring it home and deal with it later. Another great benefit of cloth is the fact that we haven’t had any poop-splosions. I know everyone dreads having to deal with them especially while being out. The tight elastic around the back and legs keeps all those messes contained. Since I’m talking about poop, yes you need to rinse solid poop out of diapers before you wash them. Yes this adds an extra step to diaper changes, but did you know it is recommended to dump poop out of a disposable diaper also?
The worst feeling I’ve had as a mom is being helpless when my daughter (who only used disposables) would have a diaper rash; I’m allergic to diaper cream so that was not an option in our house. Since using cloth diapers on my boys, they have never had a rash. If you have a baby with sensitive skin, (like my youngest) you may want to add a stay dry fleece liner, since not all cloth diapers have a moisture blocking layer and could irritate them.
This is probably the most impractical reason why I chose cloth diapers for my family but it was the most convincing one (other than cost) for me at first. A cloth diaper is so cute, not only do they come in many different prints and colors but that fluffy diapered butt is so cute on a baby. That fluffy butt is cute but it does make it harder to fit in slimmer fitting pants. I am so happy we decided to cloth diaper our boys and the pros for us really do outweigh the cons.
