Are Cloth Diapers Better? Should I even think about starting this journey?
This is the question that so many parents start asking themselves once they start researching about cloth diapering.
We know that it makes sense in the long run, but is it truly worth it and if so, what are the real pros and cons of doing cloth diapering. What am I getting myself into?
Let me share with you what my experience has been so far. I have been cloth diapering since my baby was 1-2 month old and she is now 12.5 months, still doing it successfully.
There are some great benefits of doing cloth diapering, which I will mention at least 5 below. However, let's be real here, there are some things (5 of which I will share) that it is not necessarily fun and it is important to be aware before you make the commitment.
Pros of cloth diapering:
You save money - For most people, this is the number one Pro that they will put on their list, especially if they are planing to have more than 1 kid. According to realdiapers.org, if the average cost of a month's worth of disposables is around $62.50 dlls and a baby uses around 2500 - 3000 diapers a year, that means that by the time a baby leaves diapers you have spent around $1,500 dlls. My first batch of cloth diapers cost me about $350 and she still uses it at 12.5 months old.
Environmentally conscious - This is the reason number two for most parents, including myself of course. We are in the times of an alarming accelerated Global Warming, so we have to be extremely conscious on what we consume. Over 92% of all single-use diapers end up in a landfill and is estimated that a disposable diaper takes about 250-500 years, long after your children, grandchildren and great, great, great grandchildren will be gone.
They grow with your baby - Very straight forward. The new generation of cloth diapers are build with snaps that you can adjust to ensure your baby has the best fit diaper and avoid leaks. I personally find this convenient, as I mentioned before my baby is 1 year old and still uses them. If you would like to see how some of these diapers look like, you can go to this link where I share my personal experience on choosing some of them.
Diaper cute patterns - You will not get tired to see how your baby looks stinking cute on those sweet cloth diapers patterns! There is a huge variety of patterns to choose from depending on what brand you use. I personally, during warm weather leave her on shirt and diapers, no shorts needed!
Helps with EC and potty training - If you are a parent that is planning to do EC (Elimination Communication), I believe cloth diapers is the way to go. According to the research of author Christine Gross-loh on her book: The Diaper-Free Baby: The Natural Toilet Training Alternative, she states that babies have a natural tendency to feel clean from a very young age. Utilizing cloth diapers, helps them to make that distinction better as they grow. This helps them process potty training a lot better when they are ready.
Cons of cloth diapering:
Yes, you have to wash them- I am going to be 100% real here, you need to have a solid washing routine otherwise can be overwhelming. By this I mean, first, ensure that you have a nice stash of diapers ready to go for a good period of time. This way you wash every other day or three days and not every day. I would recommend 40 diapers at least. Second, determine how are you going to wash them? are you going to pre-wash them? Click here so you can see some of the things I use during my washing routine.
Poop cleaning - Yes, this can be intimidating for many, including myself! This is something that till this day, I do not look forward to do lol. Yes you have to wash the poop off the diaper before you put it in the washing machine, and potentially have to "sun bleach" them if they are stained. There are different tools now a days you could use to wash off poop such as toilet sprayer, this is definitely life changing and it is 100% worth buying if you are serious about CD. Click here to see the one I use.
The diaper could be bulkier than the regular disposable ones- I've encountered many people that just don't like how the cloth diapers look on their babies. Simply because they could be very bulky. Now, depending on what stage they are, also depends the inserts that you can use. Especially at night they can get pretty bulky as you will need more absorbency.
Velcro vs snaps - Cloth diapers can be build with velcro or snaps to close them. Velcro is nice, as it resembles more like a disposable diaper and it is particularly helpful for care givers other than you. However, velcro can worn out pretty quickly after washing so many times. Snaps on the other hand, are very durable, but it takes some patience and skill to close them quickly when changing a moving baby. Not impossible, but not the most practical thing to do.
Cloth diaper on the go - When going out, I personally do not like to carry peed or pooped diapers around inside my diaper bag. Yes, you can absolutely buy a wet bag that will ensure the cloth diaper smell and moist will not go out. Still, it is a pooped diaper inside your bag. I therefore, will have some spare disposables diapers in case I need them on the go. That has been my personal preference but I do know parents that will carry their cloth diapers on the go with no issue.
I really hope that this information helps you on your decision, weather you want to cloth diaper full time or part time or simply not. There are no really right or wrong decisions ,but mainly what ever works for your pocket and philosophy of life. Please don't forget to add comments below and tell me what has been your experience so far with cloth diapering! Thanks for reading.