new parents considering CD's

[kara alexander]

We are new parents considering CD's and need to hear from parents who have gone this route. Is it really more economical, does it come out the same as DD's in the end? We would appreciate experienced parents insight. Thanks

[mommyoftwo]

Well, there are a lot of things to consider. Is it more economical than sposies? Absolutely, but you can make it more or less econimical depending on how fancy you want to get. One thing to keep in mind is that cloth diapers have a resale value when you are done with them which helps to offset the total cost. Plus if you have more than one child, the savings can really add up. You have a ton of different options as far as types of diapers go. Prefolds and covers are the cheapest way to go but don't work as well for heavy wetter unless you use doublers. Plus they involve a little more work because you have to fold them and use a snappi or pins to keep them in place. Fitteds and covers are my personal favorite and can be in the medium to expensive range depending on what you get. Pocket diapers (my next favorite system) are great for ease of use because they go on just like sposies and you can customize the absorbtion level of them. They are a little pricier because you have to buy the pocket diaper and the absorbable layers that you stuff inside. Some people really like all in one's (AIO's) but they don't work well for heavy wetters. The best thing to do is to put together a small selection of different types of diapers and covers and see what you like when you start using them. Then you can buy more accordingly. If you can give us a little more info or ask some more questions, we can help you out a lot more. I hope this helps a little at least.

[o_mom]

It is cheaper if you can resist cute diapers! :-) Seriously, though, it is cheaper in the long run. There is a bit more up front cost, but if you go a little at a time it is not too bad.

Check diaper and wipes prices at Sam's club and figure a cost per diaper change with 1-2 wipes per diaper. Then figure about 8 diapers a day for the first three months. That will give you a minimum cost for disposables for the first three months. I think I figured it at around $130. Then I knew that if I spent $200 on newborn size, and resold them after, I would at least break even if I didn't stick with it.

The next size was much more economical, because they tend to be in them for more than a few months, but again, you can usually break even after just 2-3 months. Where it really paid off was with the second baby - cost of cloth was basically free, just the washing costs and a few extra covers.

[Joolsplus2]

I found the idea daunting at first, but I babysat a friend's baby and she used Fuzzi Bunz, and I found it to be just as easy as disposables (with a little extra laundry and diaper stuffing time).
For me, the main thing was having cloth wipes and a cloth 'wet bag' to be able to put all the dirty stuff in. Then it's the same as shoving disposables and wipes in a trashbag, it's just that you empty the whole thing into the washing machine instead of the garbage can.
I buy all my own dipes (I prefer Fuzzi Bunz, but have become addicted to trying new things) used from www.cottonbabies.com or ebay, and re-sell them on ebay for about the same price.
I have a front loader washer and never noticed an increase in water or electricity charges from washing diapers.

Anyway, I'm sort of a novice at it all, still (I used poor quality diapers and covers from Target for my oldest child, and it was a leaky nightmare, totally not worth the expense or effort, but things have improved a LOT since then!), but I hope that helps.
:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[american_mama]

This is a pretty complete calculator that includes the costs of washing cloth diapers in the calculation:
http://www.diaperpin.com/calculator/calculator.asp

I agree, for a newborn, figure on minimum of 8 changes a day. Some people change newborns more like 12 or 14 times a day. For a newborn stash of diapers, there are packages that cost about $200; check out packages at sites like cottonbabies.com, naturalbabies.com, lilbunz.com, greenmountaindiapers.com for packages. Someone correct me if I'm wrong,but you could probably also buy enough prefolds and covers (the cheapest diaper options) to get through the diapering years for less than $300.

For me, it said I broke even after a year, which was much longer than I expected. I may have underestimated the cost of disposables and underestimated the number of changes per day, so if that had been more accurate, my breakeven point would have been sooner. BTW, the number of changes a day matters because more changes in cloth are practically free (just laundering costs) whereas in disposables, every change is the price of that disposable.

Also, just in case it wasn't clear, PP were assuming that you use cloth diapers and wipes. You don't have to do both (I used disposable wipes until very recently) but then I realized that cloth wipes wouldn't add to the work at all since I'm already washing the diapers. So I started trying cloth wipes a week ago, after 17 months using cloth diapers.

[Joolsplus2]

Oh yeah, I wasn't even considering the actual cost of cloth wipes, just that it's easier to shove them into the wet bag with the cloth dipe (i never really have a trash bag on hand, my dog finds a way to get into them, so I have to walk a nasty little handful of huggies wipes to the kitchen trash...cloth just works better for me in that respect, lol).

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[tarahsolazy]

It really can save a bundle, but it depends on how you do it, and why. I am all for a deal, but the money thing was not my major motivation for the CDs. I just didn't like the idea of adding two tons of eternal garbage, contaminated with human waste, to the landfills. (per child). If I had stuck with prefolds and covers, which has always worked very well for my kiddo, I could have spent $300 for his whole diapering life. We only bought 3 packs of sposies in the first 15 months of his life. I did get sucked into the more expensive cloth diapers, but I think I have still saved money. I have had a stable collection of about 20 fitted diapers for the last year or more. We have some that have been in constant rotation since my son was 8 mo old (he's now 28 months). That's not bad!

I would say that you shouldn't count on resale or even re-use for some of the more expensive diapers. Our fitteds with 20 months of use are starting to lose the elastic, so I don't think they'll make it to another kid.

[o_mom]

>I would say that you shouldn't count on resale or even re-use
>for some of the more expensive diapers. Our fitteds with 20
>months of use are starting to lose the elastic, so I don't
>think they'll make it to another kid.

Interesting. I have fitteds (ME) that I bought used from a friend. She used them on two kids before I got them and they are still going strong. The only thing that hasn't lasted is the velcro on the Bummis covers - the NB, SM and LG are fine, but the MED will need replaced after this one.

If the rest of the diaper is fine, you might look into getting the elastic replaced on your fitteds. I'll bet there are many WAHMs that make diapers that would do that repair for a few dollars per dipe plus shipping. It would be much cheaper than buying new.

[Katigre]

If you use regular disposables and disposable wipes you will spend at least $2,000 on them by the time your child potty learns.

You can cloth diaper for under $1,000 (including the extra water and energy used to wash the diapers). We wash our own and its no big deal. Plus when your child outgrows a size you can sell them and make a lot of your $$ back on places like diaperswappers.com and diaperpn.com

[elephantmeg]

At a little over 5 months we have gone through 1,069 cloth diapers (we use disposables for the baby sitter-prob 8-12 hours a week and occasionally out & about-I refuse to put more than 4 diapers in my diaper bag). Here's what I've bought. ($431) I still haven't broken even :)

Granitesmith (Ebay-new)
3 doz infant IPF
2 doz premium IPF
3 newborn proraps
3 small proraps
4 medium proraps
3 snapis
(179.05)

walmart
economy pack washcloths $3.97
1 yard fleece $4.99

April 2, 2006 97.55 – Cotton Babies
b
1 x bumGenius!One-Size Pocket Diaper = $16.95
1 x Bummis Super Whisper Wrap = $10.50
Size Small
Fabric Selection Jungle
1 x Proraps Classic - Velcro = $6.95
Size Small
1 x MiniShower Diaper Sprayer = $39.95
2 x Dappi Nylon Pants = $10.00
Size Small

Sub-Total: $95.35
Shipping and Handling (Economy + Insurance): $2.20
Total: $97.55

SWAP
1 cottonbabies soaker
1 lizajane soaker
4.00

Swap
3 BSWW covers-white (med)
$21

6 bumgenious colors $98.70) J (mother’s day present!)

6/5/06 (dappi pants)
Nylon Diaper Pants (2 pack)
White Medium (20-25 lbs) $3.99 2 $7.98
Nylon Diaper Pants (2 pack)
White Large (26–31 lbs) $3.99 2 $7.98
Subtotal: $15.96 Regular Shipping: $5.95 Grand Total: $21.91

[kijip]

For me it was way more economical and I did not go the cheapest route. One thing to consider is that you can sell the used diapers for cash when you are done or use them for another child, thus stretching the cost further. When I started with cloth washed at home we bought a bunch of Wonderoos, Motherease, some Aristocrats, some covers and prefolds. All told I spent (as I recall) about $250-300 since I got a lot on sale and used. When we upsized to larges and he out grew the "one size Wonderoos", I spent another $200 or so. Then I went on a Loveybums kick a few months before he potty trained and spent another $100 . So $600-650 or so total outlay. But YOWZA---I made about $150 selling off smaller diapers and Wonderoos when I sold diapers about a year ago and I very recently made $245 selling FB, Loveybums and Airflow covers once we had been diaper free for about 6 months. I also gave away a few items. So a net cost of approx $205-255 to diaper Toby from ages 11 months-fully potty trained at just past 2 and 1/2 years. Even with the laundry costs, I can't complain. On the flip side disposibles were costing us $60 per month when we switched to cloth washed at home (birth to 4 months we used a cloth diaper service, 4 to 11 months of age we used disposibles) which if I had used disposibles from ages 11 months to 2 and 1/2 years, I would have spent $960 and had not diapers to sell or give away or save for a sibling.

I never found washing to be difficult. Additionally, while not true for all I do think Toby was easier to potty train due to the cloth. He was fully trained at just past 2 and 1/2 years and for boys (no diapers, even for nights) that is on the early side.

Good luck! There is a lot of good info here!

[mom_of_gia]

I have my 2nd little girl on the way (My DD is 2) and was wondering about the cost effectiveness of cloth diapers myself. I would be more interested in using a diaper service, though. Have any of you found that it's still less expensive even if you use a diaper service?

Thanks,
Denise

[jeniferrlynne]

I would never have considered this option had I not read about them on these boards but I am so glad we went this route. I think we have spent around 200-250ish so far. I bought from granitesmith on ebay, she lived here in Oklahoma so I was able to save on some shipping on prefolds and proraps. I also bought pockets and some more covers from diaperswappers when we moved to mediums. I have stayed away from the more expensive selections and have already saved compared to our friends using disposables. Would I do this again yes, and I would recommend it over and over. I must add I am a SAHM, so I don't know if that makes a difference but it does make it easier.