Cloth Diapering 101 PT 2

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Looking Inside a Pagan Mom's Mind

Cloth Diapering 101 PT 2
Apr 22, 2009 at 1:06 AM
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- Kenre
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If you already cloth diaper, please read this journal.

Now, for those who are wishing to learn something about cloth diapering, here it is.
For the first part in this "series" go HERE.

Since cloth diapering is a such a wide subject, it needs to be split into separate Journal posts here (be prepared).

The next thing I did after polling CM users (the journal post above), was research everything I could on cloth diapers (the poll will be later brought up one week from now to allow CM users to respond to it). There are numerous sites, and long informational listings. It was a daunting task to sift through the jokes, the false advertising from disposable diapering sites, and the misconceptions about cloth diapering. Finally, I came through it all with just a little water in my lungs. The information is easy to sift through if we ask some more basic questions. (In bold is what has been covered already... moving on!)

Statistics of Disposable Diapers
Advantages of Cloth Diapers
Misconceptions
Cost of Cloth Diapering
Types of Cloth Diapers
What are the basic Cloth Diapering needs
Laundering and Caring
Leaking
Black and Brown spots
The Smell
Outings or Long Stays
Buying used Cloth Diapers
Baby Wipes
Diaper Service
Day Care children
Toilet Training

Cost of Cloth Diapering

Now, just like with buying a car, there are expensive "plans" and cheap "plans" in the cloth world. You can go out, spend a whole bunch of money on some good looking cloth diapers if you have it, but I am thinking most of us are the types of moms who need a little budgeting and maybe even need a little "spending plan."

For me I have prefolds for my newborns (plus the Snappi's and liners.) My toddler is wearing All-In-One's One Size Mommy's Touch Velcro diapers. My stepson is in cloth training pants. My prefolds were "donated" to me by mother-in-law, grandma (on both sides), bought from WalMart, and found at local garage sales for about 10 to 25 cents each. I bought the Snappi's online and the liners online as well. I found my toddler's Mommy's Touch online on sale (2 for 1 sale.) I paid about 100$ for 24 diapers, two pail liners, and two diaper bag "wet bags". My stepson's Training Pants were 15 for 40.00$. Our wipes were old blankets given "donated" to us. We cut them to fit into a large Huggies wipes bin, and sewn the outside of them to not allow them to fray in the wash. You can buy a pack of 15 wipes for 8.50$. You'll need two of these packs for one child.

Then I have to pay for laundry soap. We buy allergen free soap the economy size. I'm thinking we paid about 20 dollars for it. (It last a whole month.)

We also bought a hand sprayer for our toilet to help get the poop off the diapers. It was 20 dollars and easy to install.

Our diaper pail was free by a neighbor who was trying to get it out of her house.

We are set from birth until potty training now. No more spending money on diapers even for my new addition to the family coming in August.

Finding deals isn't difficult. Start small, don't stress yourself, and don't think it's impossible. (I will be listing sites I have found on the last part of this whole "class." Be patient and learn first before stepping into the cloth world.)

This is an estimated cost chart for the different types of cloth diapers sold new online:

Cloth Diaper Cover $9.00
Pre-Fold $2.00
Fitted Diaper $9.00
Pocket Diaper w/ Insert $15.00
AIO $14-18.00

Now, don't get daunted already by this. Remember one of the questions that scares mom's away: "What if I don't like cloth diapering after spending all of the money on them?" Well, there are moms like this looking to get rid of their cloth diapers. There are also moms who aren't having any more kids. Buying used isn't horribly bad. Check out local garage sales as well for cloth diapers posing as burp cloths (prefolds).

You could spend possibly up to 300$ per child for cloth diapering (including laundering). That's the low cost. But remember how much it cost to do disposable for just a year? 300$ per child is cheap. Also, remember that you don't have to go completely "cold turkey" on your disposables in one day. If you can't afford it and baby is already sitting next to you playing with his toys, then go buy a few of the kind you want and start slowly. Put them on when he's home playing, but put disposables on when he leaves the house or takes a nap/goes to sleep at night. Get a feel for it, and slowly buy into it. It's not an "All or Nothing" type adventure here. There's time in most cases to add to your pile.

Types of Cloth Diapers

PREFOLDS:
These are "grandma's" diapers, and usually what people think of when you say you're cloth diapering your baby. They are a rectangle shape, usually with a thick middle part where the padding is. Usually, when using this type, you place a Diaper Cover over them to keep leaks from happening. This is the cheapest way to cloth diaper a baby. They have three sizes for these: Preemie (4-10 LBS), Infant (newborn - 15 LBS) and Premium (15 - 30 LBS).

DSQ- Diaper Service Quality prefold. These are usually the kind used by Diaper Services and hold better than Gerber brands.

CPF- Chinese Prefold. Most popular type on the market. Heavy duty stitching, made of twill, and cleans up nicely.

IPF- Indian Prefold. Softer than CPF's and made of gauze. More absorbent, but wear out faster than CPF's.

Infant and Preemie prefolds can be used as extra lining inside a diaper, a burp cloth, or an extra cloth for those really messy jobs.

Closes with pins or Snappi's. Some other things on the market have been shown to pop up here and there to help us weary moms with keeping these on our baby's bum.

DIAPER COVER:
A diaper cover is a waterproof cover that keeps large messes inside their diaper while using a prefold. When using the right size diaper cover, you should never have leaks (unless you don't change your diaper as often as you should. Then we might have a problem.)

FITTED DIAPERS:

A fitted diaper can be used with a diaper cover as well. These usually have elastic around the leg areas, Velcro or snaps to close it, and are still very cheap (though a bit more expensive than the prefolds.) Place a cover over them and you're ready for anything. If you're scared of using a prefold, but still can't afford the expensive kinds, this might be your bet.

CONTOURED DIAPERS:
These are similar to fitted diapers, but are missing the elastic. These have wings that need to be fastened using pins or Snappi. Requires diaper covers.

POCKET DIAPERS:
These are made with a pocket area for absorbent inserts to be placed inside. Add as many as you might need for as much time between changing as you can think of. These just fasten on the baby and don't usually need a diaper cover (I say usually, because you might just find that one brand that does.)

INSERTS:
Inserts are used in pocket diapers. You place this piece of cloth (made of many different types of materials: micro terrycloth; regular terrycloth; hemp; or prefolds.) "Doubling up" just means adding more than one insert into the diaper, which you could do if your going to be on a long trip or for over night to reduce the chance of leaking if you have a heavy wetter.

ALL IN ONE:
This is usually abbreviated as AIO. All In One diapers have a waterproof cover and an inner absorbent liner sewn together (hence the name.) These diapers usually have a hook/loop fastener, a Velcro fastener, or a snap type fastener. These are the most reliant diapers for parents who want to cloth diaper with daycare or babysitters. They are a lot like a disposable in their use on a baby.

ONE SIZE DIAPER:
This is usually abbreviated as OS. A one size can fit a child from the time they're born until about 30-35 LBS. These can have snaps (going across the entire front for different sizes) or Velcro. They can be wonderful additions to your diapering pile, if you have the money to pay for them.

WOOL SOAKER:
A wool soaker is a diaper cover made exclusively from wool. This fabric has a high lanolin content, so it works well. It can hold up to forty percent of its weight in moisture and used over fitted, contour and prefolds.

TRAINING PANTS:
These are your Pull-Ups for the cloth diapering world. They come with waterproof outsides or sewn inside for your little one not to know its there or are more like an underwear with a thicker middle (these you might want a diaper cover over for sleeping).