In about 19 weeks, we're going to have a newborn again. Another adorable, chubby, sweet little boy! Just last Wednesday, I found out that Baby @#2 was going to be a boy. Which was surprising for both Michael and I, considering we were totally convinced this baby was going to be a girl. But it makes no difference to us. We can't wait to have a little guy with chubby legs, cute baby coos, soft baby skin....
However, we're not looking forward to little to no sleep, maybe getting in 2-3 showers a week, and loads of diapers.
When we had Gabriel, I always thought it would be "fun" to try cloth diapering. But I didn't think it was realistic for our family. Who has time to do laundry once a day or every other day, and ewww! Wouldn't it be gross? And what do you do when you're on the go? Aren't they super expensive?
Fast forward two and a half years with one child being in diapers. I think Huggies, Pampers, Costco, and now Target have made a small fortune on the amount of money I've spent on disposable diapers. Earlier this week, I had to go buy yet another package of diapers for Gabriel (as potty training is not going so well), and had a small heart attack when I realized how much per diaper I was spending lately. $.39 a diaper!!! Because I've got a football player in the making, my son has to wear a size 6, which is the biggest diaper they make. Which also means that I have to buy packages that contain the least amount of diapers for the same amount of money. After handing over my $15 to Target for my small box of "generic" diapers, I took a deep breath and affirmed myself that with this new baby we would be doing things differently.
My friend Lauren, who's also expecting, threw a cloth diaper party a couple of months ago and I was able to see all the different kinds of cloth diapering systems. Needless to say I was overwhelmed. But that wasn't going to turn me back to using disposables. So for the past few months, I've been researching all different kinds of diapering systems. Unfortunately, I still haven't made a decision on what we want to try. The initial investment for cloth diapering can really add up, spending close to $200-300 up front. But when you compare that to the amount of money spent on diapering a baby for two years with disposables, it's just a drop in the bucket. And, the benefits of cloth diapering as opposed to disposables are awesome too! Less diaper rash, no torn tabs, no more killing the environment. All I need to do now is make a decision on what few diapers I want to try before we take a huge plunge into a system. Here are a couple of the brands we're looking at pretty seriously. Any thoughts, suggestions, or experiences that you think would help us make an informed decision are welcome!
Soft Bums
Fuzzi Bunz
Thirsties
Posts
4 months ago
You have got me very interested. Cliff and I are going to do some research now. I also heard that it makes potty training a lot easier.
ReplyDeleteYeah for cloth diapers Kristina! I will bring a few selections for you to ponder tomorrow. We have quite the stash.
ReplyDeleteHere's a post I did when Oliver was a newborn.
http://unforeseenexpressions.tumblr.com/post/482013181/i-may-have-figured-something-out-for-now
We do things a little differently now, mainly using BumGenius, GroVia, Fuzzibunz, Smartipants, and occasionally Flip & Econobum when we're desperate.
We can talk more tomorrow. Can't wait to see you!!
Also, check out http://www.theclothdiaperwhisperer.com/
ReplyDeleteAny questions you have, they've probably answered it-check out the alphabetical posts on the left.
Best deals-http://www.kellyscloset.com/
They have sales (sign up for their email list for tons of great coupon codes), you can earn points for free merchandise, and free shipping over $49 (which isn't hard to do!).
I'm so happy for you. I don't think I knew you were expecting! You'll love the cloth diapers. What I liked best was a fitted diaper (with velcro closure) plus a Thirsties Fab Fitted diaper cover. You only need a handful of covers, and the fitted diapers dry faster than the all-in-ones. The Thirsties diaper cover is awesome. It comes in pretty colors and it really holds in breastfed poop.
ReplyDeleteI also used the Kushies all-in-ones from Walmart and liked them pretty well. But they took longer to dry, and they didn't seem as durable. Probably because they were cheap.
My friend Gentle loves the G diapers you can get at Target. They have a separate inner piece and a waterproof cover that fits into a sling thingy. They're very, very cute and work well. The inner piece is really soft, sort of fleece like.