Cloth Diapering :: 18 months

2.08.2014



Well folks, it's been over a year and half since we first started cloth diapering. We've run into some major issues, and some major successes. Here we are in toddler land, and we're here to report.



Has It Been Worth It?


So, the big question: Was it worth it? There's several factors to go into answering that question. Here are a few of the key players in the decision for us: Troubleshooting, Cost, and overall Pro and Cons.



Troubleshooting:


We started out with fuzzibunz and flip diapers. I wrote about it here in this post. Both served us relatively well for the first year (with fuzzibunz, once we figured out the right size, they worked well, but there was trouble shooting involved. She ultimately reached the size limit before she was done with diapers so we now use the FLIP covers exclusively.)  We started using disposables at night when she first starting showing signs of being a heavy wetter (and kept leaking) around one year but kept cloth diapering during the day. At right about 15 months however, we started having major leak issues even during the day because Eowyn drinks gallons of water (it's ridiculous how hydrated that girl is.) So, we took a bit of a break and switched to disposables while we tried to figure out how to avoid her leaking so often.

This happened to coincide quite perfectly with the holiday season and it was kind of nice not worrying about washing the diapers amidst travel. When we came home, and looked at our budget for the next 6 months. The reality of how expensive 'sposies  are set in, and back to cloth land we went.  We realized that if we don't problem solve we'd have possibly 6 or more months of full-time disposables on our budget and we have other plans for those funds (pizza, mostly.) So, we decided to find a better solution for our  heavy-wetting babe.

In comes the  kissaluvs hemp/cotton fitted diaper. We paired it with a flip cover (and turned the flaps in since they don't quite stay covered otherwise and ladies and gents, IT WORKED. We use our hemp doublers with our flip inserts, and the kissaluvs at naps, and it's all fine and dandy. I'm quite happy.

When reading reviews, these kissaulvs were pointed to as problem solvers for heavy wetting, rashes, and bigger babies-all areas we were struggling through. So, while it was a bit of an investment to purchase a few of these, it is marginal compared to what we would be spending if we switched exclusively to disposables for the remainder of her diaper wearing days. We're happy. 

Cost Saving:


Well when we calculated it originally, our first stash would pay for itself after three months of diapering. Check. Done. Then we bought a few more for convenience, (As E got bigger the Flip seemed to work better for us) and it paid itself off after about a month. We purchased these and Hemp doublers to accommodate. Lastly with these past few months to troubleshoot the heavy wettedness, we calculate it's about a month and a half worth of full-time disposable diapers.


So, when we break it down to date,  we essentially have about half of her life in diapers for free give or take a few weeks (at this point, this figure will continue to grow as we continue to cloth), and paid for 7-9 months worth of diapers when you combine all costs that went on dipes (sposies and cloth).  No matter how we've tried to dice it, it's been a cost saver. For all you infograph lovers (which I am) Here are two easy pro-cloth infographs for you. Infograph 1 & Infograph 2. They break down some costs. While I can't necessarily vouch for all their information (the first infograph uses info from 1991 and the second doesn't source well), our experience has been pretty inline with these.

.
Now I'm just excited for the next kid. We've problem solved so much for Eowyn, I feel pretty well versed in the cloth diaper arena. Hard water issues? Gotcha covered. Rash issues? Solved. Leak issues, Triple covered. And while I'm not convinced we are home free in terms of spending any more money towards all diapers in general (we probably will still use disposables the newborn days/overnight as they get older, same with E.) I'm pretty convinced it'll be marginal in comparison of what we would be spending. It feels good to have invested, and when we count the costs after all of this, still can see it's worth it. Especially with a kid with sensitive skin, and who loves her water.


Pros So Far:



  • Never had a blowout. Ever.
  • Extra padding on her bum for all that falling while figuring out the walking business.
  • Pretty kind to her skin (except when she got a yeast infection-then cloth is harder to deal with.) Overall rashes have been marginal.
  • Saves us money. 
  • Easy to use-and super cute. It's nice that she looks like she's wearing bloomers all the time. and the snaps are super easy. I recently got a velcro diaper for free with an order of the kissaluvs as well and that is a super nice diaper as well.
  • No diaper smell outside of our door (our garbage cans are right outside our townhome. In the summer, disposables are an unfortunate reality we try to minimize.) 
  • My heart feels good about treating this planet a little kinder. 
  • Easy to clean. I use Rockin Green Hard Rock & it's been a dream. A friend of mine even makes her own detergent for cloth.
  • Never have the emergency target diaper run.  
  • Super great cloth community and resources here in the MPLS/St. Paul. Like free classes and a chance to look at them (and touch) over at Peapods.

Cons:


  • Not as convenient as sposies in the sense that you can just toss and go. With cloth a wet bag (or ziplock) is helpful.
  • Not always as absorbent, so more changes in any given day. 
  • Cloth isn't the all mighty-fix-all to skin issues. When we had her sleep in them overnight she had issues with wetness that agitated her skin. It could be user error, though. 
  • Upfront costs are higher. 
  • Can be difficult when traveling due to the need for a washer and dryer (we tend to not cloth depending on the length of the trip, we have when I go back home to my parents from time to time, but other times we just buy or use the pack of disposables we have-we're a moderate kind of family.)
  • More washing (for us it's marginal, but for some it might be difficult, I have one friend who chose not cloth to due to needing to go to a laundromat.)
  • The original stash you purchase might not be all you need which can come as a surprise if you didn't expect that. 
    • I haven't minded too much-since we plan to have more kids and possibly with multiples in diapers at the same time. Purchasing more was always planned. If we don't have more, each diaper gets less daily wear which = less wear-and-tear over time. Even if we didn't with Eowyn, I think I'd be in favor of doing it with my second or third. I have a gal from my home town that started using them with her fourth and last child. Never too late to save some dollars.


Overall Conclusions:


Worth it.

Knowing what I know now, I still think I'd be in favor of cloth diapering. I'm a researcher heart, so I like problem solving (at least in theory.) The problems that every parent face are not entirely avoidable with cloth (despite some websites that say otherwise. "No Rashes Ever!" "buy once and never again!" )


Overall, I'd say diapering issues are diapering issues. You still may have issues picking the right diaper cream, finding the most effective diapers, getting the right fit/absorbency etc. They aren't the fix all that perhaps I thought they would be, but they proved to be a problem decreaser for sure.


I'm a bottom line kind of girl. These were the cost effective option for our fam they also have been kinder to my girl (who has eczema and pretty dry skin issues). So for us, dealing with our set of circumstances (skin, cost, location, feasibility, washer/dryer options etc.),  it has been worth it.



Ben's Opinion:


"It has been worth it. It does save money and it's not as gross as you think. While it is more work to wash them, and knowing how to wash them needs some research, its not too bad. (Advice) Not all are created equal-so there may be a higher investment if one brand doesn't work out. If we would do something differently, we'd have stripped 
(a super deep cleaning) the diapers more  often-since thats what seemed to cause our one major rash issue. Overall, just do your research. (thumbs up)" 

{He then launched into a commentary on the beloved Olympics. GO USA!}


Conclusion/Disclaimer/Resources:


If any of you friends are interested/on the fence, let me know your questions. I'm a total 'vote yes' for them and would love to give a knowledge transfer of the experience we have.

 But, just FYI, I have affirmed a few friends in their decision to not cloth, so it really is a case-by-case.  We don't think cloth vs. sposies is a right/wrong issue. It really is just a preference/priorities thing. I don't want any of my momma friends who are pro-huggies to be hesitant to change their kids diaper if I'm in the vicinity. Please.  I don't care. Heck, I'll pass you their pants and my spare overnight in my bag (because OhMyWord huggies absorb like magic.) While I'm doing so, I'll ask you what this business about huggies codes on the packages are all about(because I have saved them all from our night time diapers...and have a nice stash of stickers now)? I'd also probably ask you what you think about Luvs & Kirklands or any other magicly cheaper choice that you might know of. 


I think we all just want to be in the land of RIGHT regarding motherhood. In my whole whopping 18 months of line-of-duty momhood, I'm discovering how much of a mystical place that is.


You're doing a good job momma, regardless of how you catch your kids waste.

Now that I've reassured the masses that this is just another (but possibly a viable and beneficial) option for families, here are some resources:


Other sites I'd recommend if you want to read up on how cloth diapers work:

  • Young House Love (Cloth Diapering Post) I really love her post on all of this. 
  • StyleBerryBlog (fuzzibunz user) While we don't use these currently with Eowyn because they fit more smaller babes,  there's still a lot of great info on here regarding washing etc. We do plan on using our stash with the next baby when they're little. They seem to be amazing from 1-7 months for us.
  • Kelly's Closet Place I've bought a lot of our cloth diapers. They often have a 'free diaper' deal with a certain amount of purchase and we've benefited from this twice. 

Any parents with babies/toddlers who cloth or do a hybrid of cloth and disposables? What were your solutions for any problems you ran into? What are your favorite things/brands? What do you wish you would have known? Any parents who made the switch with there second/third kid? I'd love to know.


2 comments :

  1. I love that you included Ben's opinion. Chris is a cloth diaper advocate, for sure. When I have mom friends who want to but can't convince their husbands, Chris always chimes in on how worth it they are.

    We had a lot of leaking issues from 6-9 months but have been able to resolve them for the most part. We use disposable at night mainly because she seems to sleep better, like the wetness doesn't bother her as much.


    We will have two in cloth soon, so I've been working on upping our stash. Excited to enter the new born phase not clueless like I was with Clem!
    Wooo, I'm long winded. I always wanted to say: she's so cute reading her book!

    Mary

    ReplyDelete
  2. I read this and loved it...and I'm a Huggies girl. Love the perspective, totally agree with it all, and love your mommy grace for others who aren't doing the same. I tell people often how much I love my mom friends...I think we have something special that not a lot of people do, so thanks for being part of the loving, supportive, non-judgemental group we have around us. And thanks for helping to save the planet, maybe after all this J and I will plant some trees to off-set our Huggies use. :)

    ReplyDelete