why i cloth
If you've known me for any period of time you know that my family uses cloth diapers instead of disposables. My mother used cloth for me and her mother used cloth for her. I had always kind of considered doing cloth but didn't know the first thing about it. I just assumed I would need some kind of foldable cloth, pins, and an ugly pair of waterproof plastic bloomers [hardly adorable, very affordable].
I promise that baby poop is washable, especially if the baby is exclusively breastfed. If you're squeamish you can get a diaper sprayer that will wash the yuck right into the toilet before you put it into your washer [this actually comes in handy when baby starts solids]. I try to consider how the products I use affect the environment, so cloth appealed to me much more than creating more non-recyclable garbage, especially when I considered how long it would take for each diaper to break down... 500 years.
Now, let's talk savings.
Let's assume that your newborn goes through 12 diapers in a 24 hour period. That's 360 diapers for the first thirty days. Maybe baby goes down to 10 diapers a day for months two through six, then 8 diapers daily for months seven through twelve. That's 3,300 diapers in the first year alone.
Now I'm not here to judge (okay, maybe I judge you a little bit for being so frivolous and wasteful). Do you know what my husband does? He's a teacher. I work part-time from home. I don't have to tell you that we're B-R-O-K-E. Choosing cloth isn't just about saving the planet. It's about putting food on the table (even if it's Hamburger Helper).
There is a cloth diaper to fit every budget and lifestyle. We chose prefolds and covers. A prefold diaper is a rectangular piece of layered fabric, usually cotton, that has an extra absorbent pad sewn in. Covers are shaped like disposable diapers but they're made of waterproof fabric and can have snaps or velcro closures. Covers can be wiped clean and reused between wet diapers.
A pack of ten prefolds costs about $15 but you could find them for less if you wait for a sale (or your baby shower... people LOVE gifting these as burp cloths). Baby goes through an average of ten diapers a day and we wash every other day. Thirty diapers are enough to get us through two days of diapering, or more if we get lazy. So that's $45 for the absorbent component. Covers can get a cloth-diapering mama in trouble. If you're trying to save money, DO NOT look at the prints. New covers cost about $10 on average, but used covers can go for much less and work just as well. Eight covers keep us comfortable... we use two or three a day and can keep two in the diaper bag.
Who am I kidding, I'm breastfeeding. I won't be seeing a movie in theaters until my kid's at least a year old.
For me, the decision to cloth was finalized when I discovered that disposable diaper companies aren't required to list the ingredients they use, but many of the more eco-conscious brands proclaim that their diapers are "CHLORINE FREE" or "FRAGRANCE FREE" or some other kind of free. Most of the diaper companies will list what's in a wipe, but diaper ingredients are hard to find. The only two brands I could find that did provide a list of ingredients were The Honest Company. and Seventh Generation, which portray themselves as more eco-friendly brands. But what's more eco-friendly... a conglomeration of plastics, chemicals, and plant materials that have to be sourced, processed, and transformed into a single-use poop catcher, or a piece of fabric that can be washed and reused hundreds of times?
I love using cloth on my kid. They're soft on his bum and so so so cute. I feel good about keeping trash out of the landfill and I feel REALLY good about keeping money in our bank account.
"But what do you do with the... poo?"Did you know that you're supposed to get rid of the poo in a disposable before you put it in the garbage? Seriously! Human waste is NOT allowed in a landfill, and most diaper packages will tell you to dispose of the poo in a toilet before tossing the diaper in the trash. Just think of all the nastiness leaching into our water supply from landfills...
I promise that baby poop is washable, especially if the baby is exclusively breastfed. If you're squeamish you can get a diaper sprayer that will wash the yuck right into the toilet before you put it into your washer [this actually comes in handy when baby starts solids]. I try to consider how the products I use affect the environment, so cloth appealed to me much more than creating more non-recyclable garbage, especially when I considered how long it would take for each diaper to break down... 500 years.Now, let's talk savings.
Let's assume that your newborn goes through 12 diapers in a 24 hour period. That's 360 diapers for the first thirty days. Maybe baby goes down to 10 diapers a day for months two through six, then 8 diapers daily for months seven through twelve. That's 3,300 diapers in the first year alone.
(12 x 30) + [(10 x 30)5] + [(8 x 30)6] = 3,300 ONE-TIME POOP CATCHERSSay each diaper costs $.20 and you'll have spent $660 to diaper one child for the first year of his life. I know exactly ZERO potty-trained one year olds, so just go ahead and double that number to allow for outlier poo-nami days and an additional year until potty-training.
$1,320You know what else $1,320 could buy you? A cruise. A laptop. 264 overpriced pumpkin spice lattes. The first year of college textbooks. And that's just for one kid... if you have three children you're gonna throw away almost $4,000. You are literally taking a bag of money and tossing it in a landfill.
Now I'm not here to judge (okay, maybe I judge you a little bit for being so frivolous and wasteful). Do you know what my husband does? He's a teacher. I work part-time from home. I don't have to tell you that we're B-R-O-K-E. Choosing cloth isn't just about saving the planet. It's about putting food on the table (even if it's Hamburger Helper).
There is a cloth diaper to fit every budget and lifestyle. We chose prefolds and covers. A prefold diaper is a rectangular piece of layered fabric, usually cotton, that has an extra absorbent pad sewn in. Covers are shaped like disposable diapers but they're made of waterproof fabric and can have snaps or velcro closures. Covers can be wiped clean and reused between wet diapers.
A pack of ten prefolds costs about $15 but you could find them for less if you wait for a sale (or your baby shower... people LOVE gifting these as burp cloths). Baby goes through an average of ten diapers a day and we wash every other day. Thirty diapers are enough to get us through two days of diapering, or more if we get lazy. So that's $45 for the absorbent component. Covers can get a cloth-diapering mama in trouble. If you're trying to save money, DO NOT look at the prints. New covers cost about $10 on average, but used covers can go for much less and work just as well. Eight covers keep us comfortable... we use two or three a day and can keep two in the diaper bag.
$45 + $80 = $125$125 to diaper one child through potty-training. Oh, wait. Those diapers are still good for kids two, three, and four. Even if you add in the additional cost of doing three small loads of laundry each week (around $1.50 per load, wash and dry, for $234 a year), you're still saving money. Cloth diapering means we get to take a family vacation. It means we don't have to worry as much about bills. We can splurge on dinner a few times a month, or maybe see movie.
Who am I kidding, I'm breastfeeding. I won't be seeing a movie in theaters until my kid's at least a year old.
For me, the decision to cloth was finalized when I discovered that disposable diaper companies aren't required to list the ingredients they use, but many of the more eco-conscious brands proclaim that their diapers are "CHLORINE FREE" or "FRAGRANCE FREE" or some other kind of free. Most of the diaper companies will list what's in a wipe, but diaper ingredients are hard to find. The only two brands I could find that did provide a list of ingredients were The Honest Company. and Seventh Generation, which portray themselves as more eco-friendly brands. But what's more eco-friendly... a conglomeration of plastics, chemicals, and plant materials that have to be sourced, processed, and transformed into a single-use poop catcher, or a piece of fabric that can be washed and reused hundreds of times?
I love using cloth on my kid. They're soft on his bum and so so so cute. I feel good about keeping trash out of the landfill and I feel REALLY good about keeping money in our bank account.
I'm gonna drink so many overpriced pumpkin spice lattes this fall.
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