Why Use Cloth diapers?
Well, the short answer is that it's unequivocally better for your baby, better for the environment, and better for your pocketbook. Convinced? OK- start shopping! Not yet? Read on! First, a note on water conservation for my fellow Arizonans. Then an excellent essay from Heather Sanders at Cut of Cloth that sums it all up better than I ever could! "We live in the desert- we must conserve water!"
We did not cloth-diaper our first child because I mistakenly believed a "study" I read on the internet suggesting that in the arid southwest where water is limiting, it may be more environmentally responsible to use disposables! I have found that many otherwise enlightened people use this rationale in Arizona. I know now that the detriment to the environment caused by disposable diapers is far worse than the 3 extra loads of laundry I do a week with cloth! In fact, the water I use on those extra loads of laundry is approximately equal to flushing the toilet 5-6 times a day- about what a potty-trained child would use. Now if you use a diaper service, more water is used because they wash the diapers several times (13 at one place I called). With today's cloth diapers, there is absolutely no need for a diaper service!
A big bonus for me when cloth diapering a newborn: NO MORE BLOWOUTS! In disposables, my son would go through at least 4 outfits a day. Paper diapers don't have elastic in the back to contain those explosive poopies of the first 6 months- cloth diapers do. I wonder how many loads of laundry a week are saved by using cloth diapers? The water conservation argument is weak- don't fall for it.
The Cost of Using Disposables- Actual numbers and an Actual baby
I was recently showing off some of Ella’s Happy Heiny stash to some gals I met at a friend’s house.They were really interested in the diapers, and I was feeling pretty good! Then I told them what one diaper cost. One woman actually gasped. $14.95??? For ONE diaper??? I had lost them. Explaining anything further would have been a waste of breath. It is so hard to convince people of the money they will save cloth diapering when the money is spent up front, rather than week by week. Additionally, many people think it’s not worth it to switch if their baby is a year old or more. The internet is full of cloth versus disposable calculations, all based on the author’s experience. Google a few and you will find numerous estimates. I’ll add mine into the mix, just to be thorough!
My cost calculations are based on my son Riley’s time in disposables, using his real weight and size over the 3 years he was in diapers, and our real buying habits. We did not have memberships in Sam’s Club or Costco, but we usually could scrounge up a coupon. We bought mega-packs from Target or Safeway, which run about $17.99 on sale (we rarely bought them on sale, but I’ll use sale prices in my calculations)- but be careful! Each size that you go up contains fewer diapers. Currently, for Huggies, you get:
|
Newborn size: (up to 10 lbs.) |
48 (11.99) |
| Size 1: (up to 14 lbs.) |
84 |
| Size 2: (12-18 lbs.) |
72 |
| Size 3: (16-28 lbs.) |
60 |
| Size 4: (22-37 lbs.) |
52 |
| Size 5: (27+ lbs.) |
46 |
|
Size 6: (35+ lbs.) |
40 |
Because I was thinking ahead, I decided to skip the newborn size diapers to save money and go straight to the size 1. But then we brought home 7 lb., 7 oz. Riley and he swam in the size 1 diapers! So we used the newborn size for the first 2 weeks:
|
Newborn size:168 diapers at .25/diaper= |
$42.00 |
| Size 1: 448 diapers at .22/diaper= |
98.56 |
| Size 2: 490 diapers at .25/diaper= |
122.50 |
| Size 3: 1920 diapers at .30/diaper= |
576.00 |
| Size 4: 1095 diapers at .35/diaper= |
383.25 |
| Size 5: 1825 diapers at .39/diaper= |
1642.50 |
| Pull-Ups: 70 pullups at .41/pullup= |
28.70 |
|
2893.51 |
| Add disposable wipes bought in bulk: |
180.00 |
|
3073.51 |
Had we used a simple cloth diapering system of prefold cloth diapers and Bummis covers, we would have bought about 3 dozen each of infant and premium prefolds, 2 dozen toddler prefolds, and 12 covers (3 in each size). All of this would have cost us less than $350.00.
Even if we had decided to go with the easiest system available, we may have bought 3 dozen Fuzzi Bunz in size small and medium, and 2 dozen in size large. Add in 12 pairs of training pants. This would be about $1400. But don’t forget, cloth diapers have a great resale value! Currently on ebay, used Fuzzi Bunz are selling for $9-11/diaper. So even if you only get $9 each, you can make back at least $972. Try doing that with a used disposable diaper! This is of course assuming use by only one child. The more children you have, the more money you are saving.
Let’s say you are a more savvy shopper than we were, and buy your disposable diapers at discount warehouses or on ebay. So let’s lop off 30%- your bill is still over $2000. Even if you could, by some miracle combination of free coupons, sales and rebates, buy disposables for the same price as cloth diapers, at the end of it all, you have nothing to show for it. NOTHING! Oh, except about 2000 pounds of your child’s used diapers sitting in a landfill somewhere for the next 250-500 years. Then when baby #2 and #3 come along, you do it all over again. Another few thousand dollars for each child, when you could be using the same cloth diapers you bought for your first child.
I realize how hard it is to come up with money for that initial cloth diaper investment, even if it is a fraction of what disposables will cost. Handle your cloth diaper purchase the same way you would handle the purchase of other baby gear. Some people save little by little over the 9 months of pregnancy, or start building their cloth diaper stash as soon as they see those 2 lines. Many people are taking advantage of our gift registry- it’s really easy to direct all your friends and family to a single web page to see your wish list! I am also happy to offer a layaway plan if it’s easier to pay over 3 months and you don’t mind waiting on your merchandise. However you do it, you won’t regret it!
I now invite you to read this excellent essay, "The Diaper Drama," by Heather Sanders at Cut of Cloth. It is well-written, informative, and even entertaining!
The Diaper Drama
Scene 1 - The Costs
Scene 2 - Dryness and Rashes
Scene 3 - Health Issues
Scene 4 - Environment
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