I became interested in cloth diapers for one simple reason: to save money.
Benjamin was our third child and money was getting tight. One day, while browsing through the ads in the back of my baby magazine, I saw an offer for a free fitted diaper. It was a no-strings-attached offer. If it didn’t work, I could send it back. The idea of trying any free baby product seemed fun to me. So I filled out the form and received my free fitted about a week later.
There was a long list of instructions that came with the diaper. What to do. What not to do. How to wash it, and how not to wash. It needed a separate cover. In short, the whole process seemed quite complicated. Feeling a bit shell-shocked after looking up what it would cost to thoroughly outfit Benjamin with a full-time collection, and put off by the bulky, puffy fit of the diaper, I eventually mailed it back. Oh well, I had given cloth a try.
But there were a few things I had liked about that diaper. The fabric was soft and cozy. Compared to a stiff plastic diaper….well, there was no comparison. And the fact that it could be washed and re-used over and over and over again did not escape my frugal side. Yes, maybe I even found a little bit of pleasure imagining myself like Ma Ingalls hanging up fresh white diapers on the line while my skirts billowed in the Kansas breeze. There were definitely some benefits.
All of those thoughts led me to try cloth once more about six months later. But here again I hit some snags.
After finding Gerber prefolds at Walmart and dirt cheap Dappi covers I thought “Now THIS we can afford!” This simple and frugal system looked very much like the diapers my mother had used on my little brother (I was young at the time, but do have some random memories).
But after using the prefolds for a few weeks, we started having leaks. Come to find out, there was synthetic padding in the middle layer and the cotton layers were very thin. The Dappi covers had a cotton component that shrank considerably in the dryer. Nor was the velcro strong enough, and it would come undone, snagging other laundry and causing fabric damage in the wash. I also got really tired of poking myself with sharp diaper pins!
With two failures under my belt, I was definitely disheartened. But there’s a stubborn streak in me that wants to finish what I start. There had to be something that would work for us. After all, the cloth diapering “movement” really seemed to have momentum and veteran mothers regularly raved about it. So I decided to ask for help (imagine that).
I called Karen from Green Mountain Diapers. Her family has been selling cloth products for many years. When I shared my experience with the Gerbers and Dappis, her reply was “Get some real prefolds.”
So I I went shopping! My first successful system consisted of Chinese prefolds and a mix of Bummis and Thirsties diaper covers. I loved that my diapers were all cotton and that the PUL was easy to wash and quick to dry. I used this system for Benjamin until he was more than a year old. And my next baby, Samuel, got to wear all of Benjamin’s stuff. I finally experienced the satisfaction of successfully diapering a baby AND saving hundreds of dollars. It wasn’t long before I was sharing my experiences (and giving away free diapers) at my blog.
Over the years we’ve explored all the options – hemp, bamboo, pockets, all-in-ones and even hand-sewn diapers. So many choices!
I sold my cotton prefolds years later for a good prize and they were still usable shape. I guess those investments really do pay off. Update: I’ve now reviewed over 150 different diapers and accessories AND more than 40 newborn cloth diapers.
Cloth diapering can be part time or full time. It can start with failure and end with the glow of success. Give it a try and enjoy the process! There are so many choices out there, for all different kinds of budgets, that a mother can truly find something to love if she’ll stick with it.
Tell me about your cloth diapering experience. And feel free to ask any questions if you are confused like I was!
I’m just getting started with cloth and my little one isn’t quite here yet. I’ve run across Green Mountain, but with a recommendation like this I’ll definitely be checking them out again!
Thanks for visiting the blog, Melissa! I know you’ll find the folks at Green Mountain very helpful 🙂
I love this! I did a lot of research before my first son was born… (or so I thought)
He’s no longer in Cloth and is potty trained but now that I’m getting ready for baby boy number 2
I’ve started looking into a few more things to add to my stash and have been blown away with all of the options!
(All of this within a few years! started my research in 2009) So glad to hear you stuck with it and found some cloth that really does work! 🙂
I had a far easier time getting into cloth. My husband was on board from the get go and we had a bunch of fun looking up the different types and then choosing the different designs. Now three months in Im so happy I made the decision to fluff.
I’m glad it was easy for you, TyErika! And that’s so good to have your husband’s support.
Anne
I’ve wanted to do cloth since my first was born (over two years ago) I was just so hesitant because it all seemed so overwhelming. After figuring out we were paying 120$ a month for diapers for our 4 month old and 21 month old I looked into them more and finally got brave enough to try them. After the first couple days I was overwhelmed, but stuck with it. Now, after using only cloth for a couple months, I am so glad I stuck with it. I have spent about $200 on diapers and supplies and saved over $400 already. Amazing!
I am so impressed with the way you’ve calculated up your savings, Melissa! My main reason for using cloth is definitely saving money. I’d love to hear what’s in your stash!
Anne
I’m going to be cloth diapering my first born when she arrives in about a week! I have mostly cotton prefolds and covers, but I am very interested in hemp prefolds. What do you like about them? Why?
Hi Aislinn,
I had cotton prefolds for a long time and liked them, but they are quite bulky compared to other types of diapers. Hemp is even more absorbent than cotton, and is naturally antimicrobial, and the jersy prefolds you can buy from Thirsties are less bulky than a standard cotton prefold. I had to buy mine a few at a time b/c they cost a bit more. Got them at http://www.buttercup-baby.com/?Click=3
Thanks for commenting!
Anne
I started much like you did, but with cheap plastic pants. My mother told me about how she used to put water and bleach in the diaper pail to keep the smell down and sort of pretreat the diapers for washing. And then she used bleach in the wash as well.
Needless to say, we did not have a successful start to cloth diapering. But…. now I’m diapering my second daughter in cloth and love it
My mother used a lot of bleach, as well, and did the wet pail. I still remember my youngest brother in cloth.
My older sister actually uses the wet bleach pail method; I’m a dry pail person. Each to her own, I guess!
We loved CDs from the start even though they sucked (I bought two used diapers and both leaked like they were fitteds even though they were AIOS). We’ve had a lot of problems but also have loved every minute of it : )
I’m impressed you stuck with it after leaking problems!
I considered cloth before my daughter (now 2 1/2) was born but my idea of cloth involved prefolds and plastic pants and swishing in the toilet like my mom did 30 years ago…When my son (now 6 months) was about 3 months old I decided I had to see what all the fuss was about and I ordered 3 Kawaii pocket diapers. I was totally hooked! I wish I had done this a long time ago. I had about 2 dozen prefolds my mom saved from when I was a baby and I now use them with Flips and pocket diapers of various brands. I’ve been able to put together a full stash for cloth diapering 2 kids for about $250 and everything I have I bought brand new except those prefolds. I love my cloth diapers!
That was my impression, too, Jessica! Prefolds and plastic pants, because that’s what my little brother was diapered in. I love that there are so many options now. Every mother can find something to love!
Anne
when my husband and i were expecting he mentioned in passing that his oldest daughter had be cloth diapered. i was immediately judgmental, and blew off the idea as some sort of absurd hippy phase he must have gone through. i have very few friends with children, and none of them had used cloth diapers. the concept was pretty foreign to me. however, i caught myself a few weeks later with an overwhelming amount of google tabs open all about cloth diapers. they wouldn’t leave my mind, and i started taking in as much knowledge as i could. i can’t imagine using anything else for my beautiful baby! it seems that most women have to convince their husbands to go cloth, but my husband had to convince me!! our cloth diapering experience has been wonderful. our lives have been opened up to so many other lifestyle changes because of our choice to use cloth, and i am so grateful for that.
Valerie, your experience is so unique. Thanks for sharing! How wonderful that your husband was the one to take the leap first!
Just like you, we’ve also introduced other reusable cloth products into our home, thanks to our success with diapers.
Anne
We were going to try gDiapers as an alternative to full CD’ing. But, after we got nothing but disposables at the baby shower, we put that idea in the back of our minds. When we went to get our car seat inspected, the ladies raved about a local cloth diapering store. I looked at their website and was overwhelmed! On top of that, LO came 2 weeks early so it was once again out of our mind. Once LO was about a month old, we went up to the CD store because I wanted a Moby. Well, we ended up walking out with a full CD’ing system as well.
I love how soft CDs are compared to disposables. I can tolerate the (lack of) smell unlike most disposable brands with who-knows-what fragrance inside. Our LO ended up with a slight diaper rash from sitting too long in a disposable at Grandma’s, but a clean prefold and cloth-friendly cream cleared it up in less than a day!
If we have more children, they will be CD’d from birth. We are that hooked!
Thanks for sharing your story, Lindsey! I love that you were able to walk into a local cloth diapering store, too. Wish we had one here in our area. I am also hoping to cloth diaper a newborn – never done that yet!
Anne
I’m so glad I inherited my brother’s family’s stash (and knowledge!), as well as their website recommendations where I learned all about cloth before my LO was born! Glad you found your way 😉
Sara, I’d love to know what kind of stash you inherited. Lucky you!!
Anne
I really want to try cloth diapering my 6 month old bay girl. Disposables are breaking the bank!!!
I have 12 Gerber prefolds that I bought. I found that I actually {somewhat} like them trifolded and put inside the Flip cover.
Hi Sarah! I’ve actually seen other good reports on the Gerber prefolds on diapering forums, and I’m not against them by a long shot. However, I do know they are less absorbent than the thicker Chinese or Indian prefolds and so you might find they’ll need changing more often. Anne
My first two children were disposable diapered. I started cloth diapering (along with part time Elimination Communication) with my oldest son 8 years ago after my midwife gave me a mini stash that someone had given her. I must have mentioned it to her? I don’t recall how we started talking about it. There were a few fitteds and covers and they worked okay. Back then I was able to find some Gerber DSQ prefolds in the local Wal-Mart and they worked okay. We had a few leak and stink issues (probably because of our extremely hard water up there) but it wasn’t a huge deal since my son was being pottied a lot of the time anyway. We ended up putting him in disposables once he hit about 2 1/2 I think. It was at that time that his baby brother was stillborn and I had an extremely hard time simply getting out of bed in the morning. Since my husband never liked cloth, we switched to disposables without much fuss from me.
Our next baby, a girl was also cloth diapered and EC’d from about 7 weeks of age. I gave myself a bit of time to heal after the emergency c-section because I’d felt really battered afterward. We did better that time. My sweet mommy sent a little wad of cash for me to use on whatever baby stuff I wanted so I bought a stash of old-style Fuzzi Bunz. My hubby preferred the pockets over anything else but still hated the idea of cloth. He even insisted on disposables at one point but the cost of them and having to go on night time diaper runs made him change his mind, at least about wanting to buy disposables.lol.
We have a new baby on the way in September and initially DH said NO to cloth. But I’ve been persistent and I’ve also reminded him how expensive disposables are. He’s resigned to using cloth but still not happy about it at all. Money’s pretty tight these days so that’s probably why he doesn’t put up much fuss. Plus, cloth diapering has become popular so that means even my mother in law is on board these days. I had several people try to talk me out of it when I first started. No one’s said a negative word (well, I mean other than my DH.lol) to me this time around. Plus there are so many ‘new’ diapers around these days. I want to try them all. 🙂
Julie, I loved reading your cloth diapering story! That’s great that your mother-in-law is on board, but I understand about your husband. Although I’m very enthusiastic about cloth, my husband never has shared my zeal. He’s glad it saves money, but is in no way interested in the process. He teases me about my passion! Like you, I also love to try new things. Anne
I lone the pictures of susanna!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for paying a visit to the “virtual” Zephyr Hill! xxoo
I am a little intimidated by cloth diaper but would love to try them. Your advice is comforting.
What pocket diapers do you recommend? Your baby is so so so cute! I love the prints he is wearing… what brand are those?
Hi Raquel,
Thanks for commenting! The pockets you see in the pictures are Rump-a-Rounds, Happy Heinys and Bunnzoo. My favorites are probably Bunnzoo, Sunbaby and Smart Snugs for fit and great prices!
Anne
Omg…I cannot believe that I completely forgot about those horrible Dappi velcro covers! They gave both of my boys serious velcro-burn on their tummies! We used the pull up style Dappi pants (with cotton prefolds) which worked well for us. The bulkiness bothered me, but at the time, we couldn’t afford more than a few dollars per diaper when we first started 🙂
Same here, Alanna. We were just looking for the cheapest thing we could find!
Im learning a lot, we are planning another baby and I really want to clothe diaper him. Have you ever heard of anyone making clothe diapers, and would you recommend buying used? Thanks, I cant wait to learn more!
Hi Sunnie! Buying used diapers is a great way to save money on a stash for a new baby. That way you can find out what you like best without spending a lot on brand new diapers that may or may not be your cup of tea. Diaperswappers.com is a good place to start; just visit the For Sale or Trade forums. ~Anne
I totally agree with you the cloth diapering is a process. I started out with mainly AIO’s because I was shifting to cloth from disposables and was nervous! Now my diaper stash consists of a bit of everything but I mainly love AI2’s, prefolds, and the occasional pocket. I’m visiting from the change-diapers July blog hop!
Cloth diapering is hard sometimes, but so worth it. It’s great to read about other people’s successes! So you’re loving the Disana wool cover? I am thinking about trying one because little girl is leaking at night.
I do like the Disana, covers, Sarah. They are moderately priced as far as wool as concerned and very soft and stretchy. ~Anne