Cloth Diapering

How cute is this cloth diaper?!?!? (Cover from Assunta Store)

What goes through you head when you hear "cloth diapers?"

Messy?

Stinky?

Laundry?

Cost?

Only for "hippies"?

There are a lot of misconceptions out there about cloth diapering.  Today's cloth diapers are more mama-friendly than ever!  I started cloth diapering my oldest daughter around 6 months old.  I thought about it for a while before diving in and I haven't ever looked back!
Let's address some of the concerns you may have that I listed above.

Messy- Modern cloth diapers are just not as messy as the old fashioned kind.  They are basically structured like a disposable diaper with either snaps or velcro.  In fact, because they have elastic in the back (unlike disposables) you get less blowouts up the back of those cute little onesies!

Stinky- Gone too are those old-fashioned water-filled disgusting diaper pails.  You simply place the wet diapers into a "wet bag" in your laundry room (or wherever you choose).  When there is a poo, you can use a special sprayer to spray the poo in your toilet and flush, or if its an older baby's solid poo, just dump it in the toilet.  WAY less stinky than disposable diapers because you are flushing the poo!  (FYI- if you read the fine print on your disposable diaper box, it instructs you to dump the poo out of those as well.  Human waste is not supposed to go into landfills, they are not equipped for it!)

Laundry- Yes, there will be more laundry.  I wash my dirty diapers every other day.  They fit in one big load, and I hang dry the covers and wet bag to preserve the waterproof coatings.  So, there are a lot of benefits to cloth diapering and the trade-off is one load of laundry every other day.  That is worth it to me!  Some people argue that cloth diapering is not cheaper or better for the environment because of ALL the laundry- well if you add up the cost of the special diaper detergent (I use Rockin' Green), and the cost of the water for one large load of laundry every other day...you will see that this argument is SILLY!

My favorite diaper detergent!

Cost- Cloth diapers are definitely an upfront investment.  BUT- just like anything else, there are more expensive options than others!  We have chosen to use the more old-fashioned prefolds with small sized covers for the infant stage, as she will outgrow them fast and those are the cheapest option.  Then once she is larger we will use the Flip system again.  This is a hybrid diaper, and there are several other brands of them.  The Flip brand happens to be what we chose.  If you include some thicker nighttime diapers with covers, our Flip stash, and a couple of cloth swim diapers, and a couple of wet bags, all in all we spent about $200 to cloth diaper!  We had previously been spending about $70/month on disposables, so this has definitely saved us a ton of money.  For this baby, since we are starting cloth from day one, we have spent about $70 on infant cloth diapering supplies.  So by the second month of her life we will have broken even on those.  Then she can move into the Flip stash that her older sister used which will cost us nothing!  At some point we may replenish some covers, etc. if they start getting worn, but so far so good.   We did get a great deal on the covers from The Assunta Store.  They are owned by Americans living in China who help sick children and orphans, so their proceeds go to their non-profit.  I have found the covers to be very high quality and well fitting.  (They also sell cloth diaper making supplies if you are interested.  To me, the time making them myself is not worth it!)  I love to purchase things locally when possible, are we are fortunate to have a great cloth diaper store in the Indianapolis area called Toasty Baby.  They sell used prefolds at a discount (obviously they are sanitized and perfectly safe to use!)  That is how I got my newborn stash so cheaply.  They have an online store so you can shop with them too!
The most expensive option is all in one diapers, because you need a bunch of them and they are about $20 or more each.  The perk to these is anyone can use it because it really is just like a disposable.  Its all one piece so some day care centers will only allow this option if you choose cloth.  I know a couple of friends who asked about using cloth for their children at day care and they were told "no way!" so before you buy cloth diapers you may want to check with the day care you plan to use if necessary.  If you work and can't use cloth during the week at day care, you can always have a smaller stash and do it at night and on the weekends!

Only for "hippies"- Cloth diapering has become important to parents for several reasons- not just the environment!  Yes, it is better for the environment (no poo or diapers in landfills, less manufacturing, etc.) but there are other reasons to use them as well.  I like that there aren't any weird "gel" fillers and chemicals on my children's skin.  I like that they save my family money (more shoes for mom!!!) and they are REALLY cute- I have these adorable minky covers that are fuzzy and have adorable little prints on them.  My older daughter got to an age where she would ask for cloth if for some reason she had to wear a disposable (like at her Mother's Day out program).  When I thought about it, I wouldn't want to to wear scratchy paper panties if I could wear soft cotton ones- would you?

Please feel free to email me or comment below if you have any questions or need cloth diapering advice!  The post above barely scratches the surface!

Dear babies, Use cloth and be cute like me!  Love, Stella