Living greener

Anybody else trying to use cloth diapers? We've done pretty darn well with cloth after 2 things - we accepted that we need a disposable for nights - cloth wasn't enough to get him through the night, and it was a little harder to do during the first 4 months, but it's gotten really easy now that he's eating a lot of solids.

If you're thinking about it but running into obstacles, try and figure out what you can do to use them as often as possible, and live with an alternative when you can't - don't give it up completely over 1 or 2 obstacles.

Tags: cloth, diapers

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Permalink Reply by calgonmom on July 11, 2008 at 5:10pm: I've tried them and had to give up - just couldn't keep up with the laundry. best of luck to you!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by lucy's mom rocks. on July 30, 2008 at 12:00am: we use cloth...and love it!! we too couldn't get through the night without a disposable and I tried everything from pocket diapers to fitteds...with a diaper cover WITH a soaker...I was considering g diapers for night time...my familiy's store has access to them at cost from our natural food and product distributor. I have never tried a particular diaper brand because I have always made them...I make AIOs, pockets, fitteds, and covers...i wish i would have started cloth sooner with my daughter....it's definitely not as hard and inconvenient as everyone thinks.....we also have a diaper sprayer that attaches to the toilet so we can sprayer off poopy diapers...i have a phobia of sticking the diaper in the toilet...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Tracy! on July 30, 2008 at 12:39pm: I had promised myself I'd use clothe diapers but well, shit happens. Literally. When breast feeding Paige poo'ed like, every ten minutes so I stopped and switched to disposables and I never turned back out of laziness/it just works.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Chiara on August 4, 2008 at 6:37am: I used cloth for my daughter and it was a great experience. we used fuzzibuns for the covers and had a diaper service wash the inserts. She was potty trained at just over 2 years with no struggles or battles. She still wears diapers at night however. Overall so much easier than what people think and much cheaper/easier than disposable.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Eibhleann's Mommy on September 29, 2008 at 3:26pm: I haven't tried cloth diapers. I have friends who did all the research and tried them and it just doesn't seem like something I can do. I have found quite a few disposable brands that are environmentally-friendly, chlorine free, fragrance free, latex free, etc. Our local grocery store carries several brands. So far, my favorites are Seventh Generation, but there's another brand they just started carrying that look good and I want to try them. I forgot what they're called, but I'll write again after I try them out.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mary Ann on October 1, 2008 at 9:16pm: We use FuzziBunz and buy them at www.nickisdiapers.com. I like the FuzziBunz brand because they use snaps -- rather than velcro -- to hold everything in place. We were having an issue with the diapers getting too soggy overnight (we stuff them with two liners for nighttime), but since we moved up to the next size diaper, it's not as much of a problem. Our daughter is in daycare two days/week, and her teacher doesn't mind dealing with the cloth diapers at all. She just wraps up the soiled ones and drops them in our tote bag; we wash them at home. The only real challenge has been when we travel. When we went to a family reunion for a weekend, we used disposables because we wouldn't have access to a washing machine and didn't want to haul around bags of dirty diapers all weekend. The funny thing was we had a hard time putting them on the the first time -- we couldn't figure out which way was front and which way was back! Duh.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by LarryG on December 23, 2008 at 9:58pm: We made the decision to switch to cloth diapers a while ago, and it has saved me a fortune. Being a dad, I honestly wasn't to keen at the beginning, but I soon became a fan. There are many different tools and devices you can use to make working with them easy. My personal favorites are Fuzzi Bunz and Bummis diapers. One of the other things I have found incredibly helpful is the sprayer that connects directly to your toilet for cleaning out soiled diapers. Good luck, I promise they will pay for themselves many times over.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jennifer on December 24, 2008 at 9:26am: I considered using them when I was pregnant with my girls, but since I was about to become a brand new mother to not one but two babies, I finally decided that this was going to be enough of a challenge, without making it more so :-p We are considering having another soon, though, and assuming it'll only be one this time (:-p), I'm seriously considering it... I know the diaper bills wouldn't be as much with just one, as it was with two, but still... and, while my primary motivating factor would probably be the money, it would make me feel better, not throwing so many diapers away....

Anyway, I'm bookmarking this discussion since it looks like there are some great resources and tips here :-); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kathy on March 4, 2009 at 10:29am: Jennifer,
If you are still considering cloth diapering, check out my website, www.balterbaby.com/diapering/index.htm. We have a couple of different styles to choose from and even a few on sale. The cost savings is hefty, anywhere from $700-$1000 a year. There is a new one size diaper out that I carry that will save on the cost of cloth too! Check it out if you are interested.

Kathy
www.balterbaby.com; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Anne on February 16, 2009 at 1:56pm: We've used cloth diapers since his stump fell off. We got some hand-me-down Fuzzi Buns from our godsons' mom. Honestly, they're not my favorite, but free is free. We also bought some BumGenius 3.0 and Happy Heinys (both one size) and LOVE them. Initially, I liked the BumGenius better. My son is a heavy wetter and I found they didn't leak as much, but as time goes on, I find the tiny velcro tabs are starting to curl up so I'm worried the velcro won't last. The Happy Heinys have very strong velcro so the only real complaint I have about them is they tend to stick to EVERYTHING in the wash.

Also, if you're going to go the cloth diaper route and don't have a diaper service, I highly recommend getting a diaper sprayer that attaches to your toilet. It's just like the sprayer you have on your kitchen faucet and you don't have to dunk the diaper, you just spray the solids into the toilet and flush.

I also use cloth menstrual pads so I just throw them in with the cloth diapers in the wash. No biggie.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kathy on March 4, 2009 at 10:30am: Anne,

If your in the neighborhood for more cloth diapers, check out my website at www.balterbaby.com. I carry Happy Heinys!

Thanks,

Kathy
www.balterbaby.com; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by evjolin on February 19, 2009 at 4:17pm: Check out http://www.diaperpin.com/home.asp and http://www.diaperjungle.com/ Both are excellent resources for the cloth diapering, which can be incredibly overwhelming for a starter. Also, these two stores are great: http://thegoodmama.com/ and http://www.comfybummy.com/ The latter has more resources.

Lastly: If you are truly concerned about the environment, consider practicing Elimination Communication. Some call it "Diaper Free Baby" but it doesn't have to mean that....without getting crazy about it, you can do EC as much or as little as you want, and your kids are out of diaper MUCH sooner, which means less waste if you use disposables and less water/utility use if use cloth. Google it....it works!! I have friends' whose 6 month old babies were potty trained.; ▶ Reply to This