(Update: Contest closed. We didn't win, sorry guys! But you can check out the winning posts here. Congratulations to all of the winners!)
Really, are you serious? Gross! Good luck with that! We'll see how long that lasts.
But the most common question was- WHY?
Well, there are quite a few reasons...
- A disposable diaper can take up to 500 years to decompose.
- One baby in disposable diapers will contribute at least 1 TON of waste to your local landfill.
- If you chose to cloth diaper you are saving the earth from a whole lot of waste, and that feels good!
- The average (total) amount parents will spend on disposable diapers for one child is anywhere between $1,500 to $2,000. That's a whole lot of money going in the trash, literally.
- My stash of cloth diapers was $265, the initial cost may sound high, but that is all I will EVER spend on diapers. I even plan to use them to diaper our future kiddos.
- What would you rather pay, up to $2,000 or $265?
- Diaper rash? Not with cloth diapers (at least in my experience). We used disposable diapers for the first three months, until Sienna fit into her cloth diapers a little better. During those three months, from time to time I saw some redness and irritation on her bum. With disposable diapers, it's the "norm" to have to use diaper rash creams to help irritation. Since switching to cloth diapers, I haven't seen any redness or irritation at all and I haven't had to use any cream, not even once!
- Save time, no more running to the store for disposable diapers!
- Blowouts, leaks, outfit changes, so inconvenient! When we were using disposable diapers, nasty blowouts and leaks happened often. I had to throw out many outfits because I couldn't get the poop stains out. Since switching to cloth diapers I haven't had ONE blowout or leak, not one! Isn't that amazing!?
Emergency Situations:
- While I was pregnant this past summer, most of Southern California, Arizona and part of Nevada had a massive power outage. People were in a panic. Crowds rushed to stores and cleared shelves within the first few hours of the blackout, since no one knew how long we'd be without power. Everyone wanted to stock up on things like water, food... diapers. Most people don't buy boxes and boxes of disposable diapers in case of an emergency. What happens when the unexpected happens? Well, if you cloth diaper, you're covered. Just hand wash, hang dry and there you go!
My favorite source for cloth diaper products and information is over at Cotton Babies. There we found many different kinds of cloth diapers. After a LOT of research, the Hub and I decided that we wanted to go with bumGenius Elementals. We chose this diaper for one reason- it seemed to be the easiest to deal with! It is an All-in-One diaper, no inserts or covers, just as easy as a disposable diaper!
photo by cottonbabies.com
The design of this cloth diaper is essentially the same as a disposable diaper. The organic cotton inside is so soft, much softer than any disposable I have used in the past. Plus, the diapers come in tons of really cute colors and prints!
So now you know my reasons WHY I chose to cloth diaper, I'm sure you're wondering- HOW? How does it work? How do you get rid of the poo? How do you get the diapers clean? How do you store your dirty diapers until they go in the wash? Well, keep reading...
My husband and I thought the switch to cloth was going to be much more difficult! But to our surprise, changing cloth diapers isn't much different than changing disposables. It's as easy as 1,2,3.
1 For a wet diaper, instead of throwing it in the trash, I place it in a Planet Wise Wet Bag that hangs on the back of Sienna's door. The wet bag is leak-proof, smell-proof and machine washable/dryable!
2 For a dirty diaper (poo), I take it to the bathroom for a quick spray with our bumGenius Diaper Sprayer that hangs on the side of the toilet. Then I place it in the wet bag. The diaper sprayer was super easy to install, it only took Isaac a few minutes!
3 When it's time to wash the diapers, I throw the diapers in the washer along with the wet bag. Then I machine or line dry them, simple as that! It's really no trouble at all to do one extra load every day-and-a-half, since I'm constantly doing Sienna's laundry anyway.
So now you know WHY I chose to cloth diaper and HOW I do it. Still not sure about cloth diapers? Well, check out this happy face...
She LOVES her cloth diapers and so do I!
Here's the bottom line- cloth diapering may not be for your family and that is perfectly fine!
BUT I want people to know that it's inexpensive and easy, anyone can do it!
I have not received any form of compensation for this post. I've been wanting to blog about this subject for a while, so when I found out about Jenn Labit's (Owner of Cotton Babies) contest, I figured this was the perfect time! She's asking bloggers to spread the word about how awesome cloth diapers are. Jenn will choose her favorite post and the winning blogger will receive 12 bumGenius cloth diapers, PLUS 12 for one of my readers!
If you would like a chance to win, all you have to do is post a comment telling me why!
Very informative post! You definitely sold me! :)
ReplyDeleteI wish more people would give cloth a try, it really is as easy as you said. I'm so glad I found cloth and will never switch back to disposables. Oh yeah, another great thing about using cloth is that it can help potty train sooner, I'm sure every mom would see that as a plus!
ReplyDeleteI was one of those people who turned there nose at the thought of cloth diapers. I assumed it was too much work, too messy and too stressful. I actually think it would be worth trying. I have a 11 wk old and all of the things Jenny talked about happens using disposable diapers, rashes, blowouts, leaks and ruined clothes. Just the no rash sold me :)
ReplyDeleteIf I had a baby again(I'm not), but I would try them. They are cute and your right on everything you posted. Lexie never had a diaper rash and I used store bought diapers, but I would love to have tried them when she was little.
ReplyDeletesold me!! you go jenny!! Desiree
ReplyDeleteI think cloth diapers do seem just as easy as disposable diapers. I may try them if I had a washer and dryer in my apartment, I would end up spending more money on washing them at the laundry facility in the apartment complex. Jenny is doing great with them and Sienna seems to be doing just fine. I havent had any issuse with dispoables, no blow out, or leaks, shes had one rash (but had a fever too so dont think it was caused by the diaper) and most diapers are biodegradable now. So they arent all bad. Cloth diapers are great and very cute! Good job Jenny <3
ReplyDeleteSerena
Cloth diapering looks so appealing. I wish I would have taken that extra step and tried it. Now that we are on our fourth baby and currently using disposable diapers it makes me even more intrigued. Sienna visits often and I have never observed her bothered or uncomfortable in her bumGenius diapers. I have experienced many leaks and blowouts using disposables and would loveto try an environamentally resposible alternative. My only roadblock is not having my own in house washer and dryer. Using a community laundry room poses the only problem of using cloth diapers...for me (and my neighbors) at least. If given the chance, I would definitely follow in your footsteps and give them a whirl...for the bum of it! Thanks for your informative post Jenny. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteMy name is De Ann De Chellis, and I think its awesome that you found a product that worked for you. I have heard all of the stats about how long it takes disposable diapers to break down and it is pretty amazing. My brother and sister in law were going to go cloth but gave up very quickly after they started. I am sure they did not go through the same company that you did. It appears this company covered everything and I am thoroughly impressed. I wish Id a used them back when my girls, now 23 and 27 were babies as I was a single parent and diapers were so expensive. Also I would have liked to been able to share this with my brother and sister in law. I love it and way to go BumGenius and you Jenny!
ReplyDeleteI've never really thought about cloth diapers before. They always sounded really dirty and messy. This blog has opened my eyes, very informative! When it's my turn cloth diapers are something I will definately take into consideration. -Danielle
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a cutie! And, all of these posts are definitely making me want/need a sprayer for our little one next month (well, probably not right away).
ReplyDeleteShe's adorable! And I love your step by step directions of how it all works!
ReplyDeletesuuuper informative, i wish i had done more research when pop wore diapers!!
ReplyDeleteYou sold me! Can this company hire you? This is so professional looking! Jess
ReplyDeleteIm not a mommy, im a daddy. My name is paul and I really thought that the cloth diapers was alot of work. I never even knew about cloth diappers until Jenny told us about them. I wouldnt mind using them, but like my wife Serena said it would cost us more money washing them then buying disposable diapers because we dont have a washer and dryer. Jenny and Isaac are doing great with it! Good job guys!
ReplyDeleteI love those pictures of your diapers! Gah, I'm totally addicted to fluff.
ReplyDeleteWe're using cloth on our first child, and I love it! He's still in newborn diapers at the moment, but once he grows out of them and into his one-sized stash, we're going to have to do laundry much more often as we don't have enough of them yet. Maybe he'll take his time growing into them, because right now we can't afford to add to our stash. Makes me even happier we're not using disposables!
I am using cloth on 2 little boys right now (and I am envious of your pretty pink diapers...maybe some day) ages 7 months and 24 months. I love using cloth, I have been able to convert a few of my friends to cloth as well just by them seeing how stinkin cute they are on my boys. A few more diapers would really be nice though for when mommy falls behind on the laundry or one of the boys is going through more diapers than usual. I love bumgenius (I only have 2 but they fit so nice on both my boys).
ReplyDeleteKEEP ON SAVING THE PLANET:)!!!
ReplyDelete