CDing for dummies

[marit]

I am completely clueless when it comes to CD, but am very curios about this option. What are the reasons people have for choosing CD's? Are there any other reasons than the environment? How much extra work is it over disposables? Do you wash them yourself or have a service come pick it up? How much does it cost?

Thanks,
Marit

The reason I'm trying CD's is Nathan seems to be allergic to everything but huggies. I am washing them myself and it doesn't seem to be more work than disposables. I spent about $200 to start but wanted to try one of everything. It seems there are discounts when you buy 6 or more of the same.

HTH

I started CDing out of curiosity :) Once I tried it, I was hooked!! There isn't much extra work actually. I just do an extra laundry every 3-4 days. Other benefits didn't occur to me until later. For example, I no longer have to go out and buy disposables when it's snowing and cold. Our garbage pail is no longer so full that we can't put the lid on. Trying all different kinds of CDs is fun. I had no idea there are so many to choose from. Plus, I don't like the smell of disposable diapers (when they're unused, I mean).


Kate
Mama to Maya 2-17-02

I just decided to try it out of curiousity too, and now I'm hooked. I never realized how uncomfortable disposable diapers really seemed until I started CDing. I wash my own, and its not that bad at all. I use flushable liners, but even when I don't, the clean up is not at all as bad as I thought it would be. I've probably spent about $200 or a little more, but if you compare 300 or so dollars to what you pay for disposables over time, its a real money saver. I think its also been good for DD's skin, I hardly ever have to use diaper cream anymore. I think they fit better too because we've never had a blow out in Cloth, and the only time we've had a leak is because of my error, so its been nice not having to clean up her clothes too.

[marit]

Thank you all for your answers.

When you put them in the laundry, do you somehow clean all the poop from the diaper first? otherwise, isn't it like spreading it more equally over everything? :7

I scrape the diaper, but I know folks who don't bother. I set the washer for a second rinse, and have never had a problem with "residue"...

When I did the math for my CD setup, it came out at about 1/3 the cost of disposables. It'll be practically free for baby #2... just the cost of running the washer twice a week (and I line-dry half the year)... and even after all that, they'll have some resale value!

We did disposables for the first few weeks after DD was born, and I felt really uncomfortable with the huge garbage bag of diapers that was going out to the curb (and from there to the municipal landfill) every single week. On the using-up-water front, I calculated that cloth diapering, even with the second rinse, worked out the same as having the child flush the toilet a couple of times a day. Which she'll be doing anyway some day, and nobody seems to think that a toilet-trained child is a big threat to the water supply...

I still can't get over the reactions of people when they hear that you cloth-diaper... you can see the thought bubble over their heads with an image of you laboriously pounding diapers on the rocks beside the river... it's not hard, REALLY it isn't!!! And how, after centuries of cloth diapering, did we develop this gigantic phobia about baby poo? It's baby doodoo, it's not plutonium!

Soap-box-ing again...

Cheers,

KathyO

I am cracking up at your "pounding on the rocks" image! I know what you mean. I'm almost afraid to even mention to anyone other than just a couple of folks that I've decided to CD our new baby. I live in a town where people think that God created everything for them to use up and what's the purpose in recycling anyway?! Also, everyone here is all about convenience...disposable everything for them! I can't wait to get started CDing and I really hope it turns out to be as easy for me as you make it sound!

Yeah, it's amazing how people who haven't even tried it are so keen to tell you how impossible it will be...

I do recommend disposables for the first couple of weeks, while you attempt to reassemble the million pieces that this tiny baby has blown your life into... and yes, CDing is a bit awkward and trial-and-error at first, but then, so will everything else be. This approach also allows you to try out different CDs and decide what suits you best before you go whole hog.

Once you've got your setup, though, you'll find that it's a cinch. Even easier than the rest of the laundry in some ways. Clothing laundry has to be sorted, and folded when you're done; diapers can just be dumped back in the basket beside the change table!

Have fun,

KathyO

I started CDing mainly due to environmental concerns, but as I started researching all the different cloth diaper options, I became more curious about trying different diapers. I also like the cost effective factor. I am CDing my 5 week old part-time for now until I come up with a night and going out diapering system. For now, we are doing Kissaluv contours and CPFs for day time and Tushies gel and chemical free disposibles for nighttime and going out. I am still working on my "system" and eventually I will be CDing DS full-time.

Naty
Mommy to Alexander 2/26/03

[C99]

I dunno, actually, where I got the idea. I think I somehow had the idea that CD'd kids have an easier time of potty-training, simply b/c the cloth allows kids to know when they are wet/poopy. I don't know if this is actually the case, but that was my crackpot theory that started it all. I suppose it's also partly because I have the original "Earth Mother" for a mother: she breastfed and used CDs with me in the early 70s (and w/ my sibs). She also rails constantly for personal and collective responsibility and respect for the environment. And finally it is because what I read about the chemicals in 'sposies kind of scared me.

With my husband, I have used the argument that CDs are cheaper, but since I've spent over $300 on dipes and Nate's still in the smallest sizes, I don't think either of us really "buys" that argument. :)