Keith and I are cloth diapering for two main reasons: 1.) we like the planet, and 2.) we like not spending money. I just read that parents change about 8000 diapers by the time their child is potty trained, which I can believe. We have already changed about 500, unfortunately all disposables since she was too small for the one-size cloth diapers. 8000 diapers, in addition to taking up a lot of space in landfills, cost a lot of money. It costs about $2000-$2500 to buy all of those diapers. When I realized that we could make it through Gwen's entire life from being a newborn to being potty trained with only about 24-28 cloth diapers (which come in adorable patterns and are so much cuter than disposables), and that this would cost maybe $600, plus the cost of detergent and water to wash the diapers (not a trivial amount, but still much less than the $1400-$1900 gap between cloth and disposables), I was sold.
I'm now embarking on this journey. The diaper detergent came in the mail last night (Rockin Green), and we have 3 different types of diapers to try: 6 g-diapers, 3 snap closure bumGenius one-size pocket diapers, and 3 hook-and-loop closure bumGenius one-size pocket diapers. We are trying these two types to see which we like better - some very wise cloth diapering friends recommended that we only buy a couple of any type at first, try them out, and see how we like them before we go out and buy a large amount.
I am currently prepping the diapers. When you first buy cloth diapers, you have to wash them about 5 times to remove any chemicals that are still present from the manufacturing process. This step also makes the diapers much more absorbent. Funny - I have been spending months researching cloth diapers, detergents, etc. I am ready and willing to launder dirty diapers for the next 2+ years. But what paralyzed me to nearly the point of inaction was when I first threw the diapers in the washing machine last night. Each one of these diapers costs about $18 (it may sound pricey since you can get about 65 disposable newborn diapers for the same price, but that many disposables only last us about 4.5-5 days right now, so $18 is a small price to pay for a diaper we can use again and again), and if you wash them incorrectly you can ruin them. If you wash them with regular detergent, you can make them non-absorbent. If you wash them on too high a heat setting, you can melt the outer layer of fabric, a waterproof material called PUL, and no longer have a waterproof diaper. Both of those are pretty big problems. I kind of like diapers to have the qualities being absorbent and waterproof. I went ahead and took the plunge and washed them and dried them once last night. Today I will wash and dry them 4 more times (and contact a local store that specializes in cloth diapers to make sure that I am doing everything correctly). Then we will officially be a cloth diapering family.
I'm now embarking on this journey. The diaper detergent came in the mail last night (Rockin Green), and we have 3 different types of diapers to try: 6 g-diapers, 3 snap closure bumGenius one-size pocket diapers, and 3 hook-and-loop closure bumGenius one-size pocket diapers. We are trying these two types to see which we like better - some very wise cloth diapering friends recommended that we only buy a couple of any type at first, try them out, and see how we like them before we go out and buy a large amount.
I am currently prepping the diapers. When you first buy cloth diapers, you have to wash them about 5 times to remove any chemicals that are still present from the manufacturing process. This step also makes the diapers much more absorbent. Funny - I have been spending months researching cloth diapers, detergents, etc. I am ready and willing to launder dirty diapers for the next 2+ years. But what paralyzed me to nearly the point of inaction was when I first threw the diapers in the washing machine last night. Each one of these diapers costs about $18 (it may sound pricey since you can get about 65 disposable newborn diapers for the same price, but that many disposables only last us about 4.5-5 days right now, so $18 is a small price to pay for a diaper we can use again and again), and if you wash them incorrectly you can ruin them. If you wash them with regular detergent, you can make them non-absorbent. If you wash them on too high a heat setting, you can melt the outer layer of fabric, a waterproof material called PUL, and no longer have a waterproof diaper. Both of those are pretty big problems. I kind of like diapers to have the qualities being absorbent and waterproof. I went ahead and took the plunge and washed them and dried them once last night. Today I will wash and dry them 4 more times (and contact a local store that specializes in cloth diapers to make sure that I am doing everything correctly). Then we will officially be a cloth diapering family.
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