Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Cloth Diapering Dilemma

We REALLY want to cloth diaper.  Really, really.  And I've researched quite a bit, and thanks to other friends/relatives who have taken that plunge, I've acquired a ton of information.

But do you know what ALL of these people have that we do not?  A washer and dryer.  We use the laundromat.  Which means doing laundry on a daily basis simply is NOT going to happen.  It happens about once a week, at best.  We would need at least a week and a half of supplies available to successfully do this.  That's A LOT.

If we do prefolds, that's a new size every once in a while, too, and another large outpouring of money.  I know it pays for itself, but the question is, for someone like me, does it REALLY make sense? 

What do you cloth diapering geniuses suggest?  We are now thinking a hybrid plan, using what we can for cloth, and mixing with environmentally disposables like this: Seventh Generation Diapers.  Is it maybe worth it, though, to bust out the money for the cloth?  Perhaps wait until Cricket is out of the actual baby stage (20 lbs) and switch to cloth at that point, when fewer will be needed, and there won't be size changes every couple of months? 

I really need input.  I don't know what to do :(

11 comments:

  1. It might be easier if you just phone me at this point, lol. We didn't have a washer/dryer at our last place and cloth diapered babe for 21 months. We washed them every other day. Not sure we saved money but we did save landfill space. Nothing biodegrades in our landfills because there isn't enough heat and the soil is the wrong composition. Garbologists, yep, real thing, date our landfills by the rings of yellow each year (yellow pages thrown away) and this goes back to the 1920's.

    I lugged babe around with me. How about this cause I could type an absolute novel about cloth diapering, I'll shoot you an email tonight when Babe is asleep.

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  2. I'm no help...it seems like every time DH or I mention cloth diapering, the nearest person says, "You're not going to be able to keep that up." Or, "You're not going to try that, are you?" It seems like every one in our circle used standard diapes and they transfer their uncertainty about cloth diapering directly onto us. It makes me want to do it just to prove them wrong...
    Good luck with whatever you decide. :)

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  3. I am very interested in CD, but I know me and I won't stay on top of the laundry, heck I don't stay on top of it now. Yes, it would be cheaper and better on the environment but it just won't work out for us this time.

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  4. A hybrid system may work, but have you looked into diaper services? It may not save money, but at least, as pp said, saves landfill.

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  5. I've never cloth diapered, but waiting till junior is at a more consistent size (if such a thing ever exists for a child) sounds like a reasonable option. or you could invest in a diaper service, which could possibly run you just as much as buying three times as many cloth diapers but be a lot more convenient.

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  6. I cloth diapered and you really need to wash them every other day. It does save you a lot of money. Maybe enough to buy a washer and dryer? I won't lie, if you work full-time on top if it all, it can feel like a chore sometimes. I also used the 7th gen. diapers you talked about (I got 6 months free). It is ideal to have some disposables just in case of things like diaper rash or what not. I used Bum Genius 2.0 and loved them.

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  7. We are planning on cloth diapering, but we have a washer/dryer in our house. I don't know if we could pull it off without them...so I see your dilemma!! I plan on using all in ones, so we won't need to size up. We will use sposies, though, until the baby is 4-6 weeks. Sorry I can't be of more help or solve your washing situation!

    p.s. your comment on my blog made me laugh because while the gender was clear as day to the tech, my hubby definitely thought it was a boy.

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  8. All I can say is good luck figuring it out. I didn't cloth diaper so I truly have no advice to give.

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  9. I planned on CDing. I bought some prefolds and BumGenius 3.0, and a few other supplies. And when Petite was about three or four weeks old (not falling out of them!) I gave it a shot. Guess what? I didn't continue. Long story short: most baby outfits come in two pieces and with CDs, you need bigger bottoms to give ample room around the hips. Yeah, you can't mix and match sizes folks! So honestly I found it a terrible PITA. Now I have a bunch of BumGenius and others sitting in a drawer. I dunno if I'll ever use them. I'm debating selling them actually; heavens knows, they're barely used.

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  10. sugar swore she'd never use disposables (and had unkind descriptions of babies -- LIKE YOURS TRULY -- who wore them), but the fact is that i can't see making it work for us without a washer/dryer. i'm not going to the laundromat every other day with a baby, and i LIKE doing laundry. far as i can tell, the services around here would cost us about half again as much as disposables (even the greener brands).

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  11. The landfill issue is actually only one part of the environmental argument. Water is also a valuable resource that is not unlimited in many communities. My Bestie did a ton of research about the trade-off and in our community, we have plenty of landfill space available, but water is a prized commodity. She ended up using the 7th gen and other 'natural' diapers combined with cloth.

    I guess what I am saying is that there are a multitude of options to consider - and that the environmental argument isn't as black and white as it might appear at first glance.

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Whip me, beat me, take away my charge card. Or just leave a comment. Whichever works best for you :)