Last week we talked about how great cloth diapering can be! Today I'd like to share with you some ideas on how to fit it into your lifestyle. Whether you're a stay-at-homer or a workin' gal cloth diapers can (and will!) work for you.
The stay at home parent has many options when it comes to cloth diapering. You can use pre-folds and pins, all-in-ones, pockets, or whatever your heart desires. You can tailor the process to what fits your needs. Prefolds work great for me. Prefolds are your basic cloth diaper (they call them prefolds because they're "prefolded" in the center and sewn that way for extra absorbancy). I like using these best because they are one of the cheapest options. I have a few pins and 3 pairs of Dappi plastic pants. You fold the diaper around baby's bottom, pin it, slide on the plastic pants and your done. It actually doesn't take long at all once you get the hang of it.
Now a parent in the working world who uses day care will probably not be able to use this option. Many daycares (or so I've read) will not use them. For this parent All-in-Ones or Pockets might be best. They work the same as disposables except you can reuse them! All-in-ones are great because you just throw the whole thing in the wash. Pockets are a little trickier because they have an absorbant insert that must be removed, washed, and re-inserted. I have 6 pairs of BumGenius Pocket diapers and I LOVE THEM.
The only downer about them is the price. When I purchased mine a couple months ago they were 17.95 each, they have since come down $3 to 14.95. But it is worth every penny to have a few of these on hand. They work great for overnight and are fabulous for outings. I have never had one leak AT ALL. I have had several disposables to leak as well as the prefolds.
You have to weigh the pros and cons when selecting a cloth diapering system. Take into account the price of the product, ease of use, and how long you will be able to use it. I purchased 6 BumGenius One-Size-Fits-All Pocket diapers for a little over $100. That seems like a lot of money up front, but they will be used over and over again for 2 or 3 years on EACH CHILD. I am definitely asking for some more of these for Christmas!!
A few things to consider with Prefolds: If you decide to use prefolds I highly recommend Dappi Plastic Pants. They are old school I know!! But they are CHEAP and work GREAT. I made the mistake of purchasing the One-Size-Fits-All "WonderWraps" at $10 a pop and they don't even compare to my plastic pants that were 3 for $5.00!! WonderWraps are a very neat concept, but I think they need a little more R&D before they will work correctly. Basically they are diaper covers that will expand to fit your child at any age. But the fit is all wrong - Goose's legs stick out at the sides because the crotch is so wide and they leak, leak, leak!! I have, however, heard EXCELLENT things about Bummis Whisper Wraps. I have not personally tried these, but I know WesternWarmth has them and she likes them a lot. Visit her page to read about her experience with them.
I wanted to post some pics of my different types of diapers but I am having camera upload issues today. (SIGH - when it rains it pours! I just hope my laptop can stick it out for another year or so!) So for pics and more info here are some links:
For BumGenius you can click on the Amazon Favorite Products sidebar.
For everything else: KellysCloset
If you have a cloth diaper experience please share it with us in Comments!! And for more frugal tips please visit BiblicalWomanhood.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
When you consider the cost of disposables, I think your cloth diaper investment is a very smart one!
Yes, I love my Bummis Whisper Wraps! Those with prefolds (diaper service quality not Gerber!) are an awesome combination. All my leaks have been with Huggies disposables, my cloth combo keeps it all in! That's why I gave up on using disposables at night. Nothing is easy about changing outfits when the disposables leak. I only wish I had started with cloth on my first rather than third!
This is a very good post and once again proves my point about you: Anything you ever wanted to do bad enough, you would some how do well! You are a great frugal Mom. Whoda thunk it?!!!
Great articles! I enjoyed them and shared them with our readers on http://clothdiapernews.com/
I read the article at Clothdiapernews.com and it was very complementary of your diaper posts. I forwarded the link to Mr. B.
Good job!
You should be able to get your money back by selling the WonderWraps at http://diaperswappers.com (and "one size" diapering items tend to fit best for size small/medium and up).
Post a Comment