I wanted to know what your dh's thought on the subject of CD.

I would like to go this route mostly for the cost savings, but also because I feel it's better for the baby. I feel if it worked for my parents then it's good enough for me. My mom feels that it's not too big of a deal.

DH thinks it will be too much of a hassle. His dad said they used disposable because cloth is a pain to deal with. Reinforcing dh's views - in his mind.

I figured we could use cloth and then disposable for when we go out. I thought that would be a good compromise. But dh doesn't seem into it. Dh will be a SAHD after I return to work, thus being the one doing the most diapering.

He knows how I feel on the subject, but I will follow his leading in whatever final decision he makes.

How did your husband's take the cd idea?

Your dh needs to see, for one thing, that today's cloth diapers are nothing like the ones from when he was a baby. The fitteds they have today work just as easily as disposables. And even the prefolds are of better quality, as are the covers. And the mess, well, it really isn't all that bad. I mean, you just deal with it. Swish the dipe in the toilet, throw it in the pail, wash a load every other day. It's just not *that* big of a deal.

Well said!!

My dh was kinda freaked out at first, and he'd take one off but always grab a disposable to put on. Finally I hid the disposables, and forced him to do cloth 100%. He was a little upset at first, but now he's a HUGE supporter of CD. He's seen how many hundreds of dollars we have saved with each child, so that makes him happy. He's seen the rashes that our children get when they wear sposies, so he likes the CDs for that, and now it's just what we do. He actually talked his friend into trying CD for his baby.
Like anything else, I think if you are interested, you just need to give it a try. CD is definitely not for everyone, but you owe it to yourself and all those landfills to give it a whirl. Your wallet will thank you. :lol:
Our diaper of choice is Fuzzi Bunz cause you don't actually have to touch the wetness to take it off and the snaps, once you know where to snap it, well it's methodical and that suits dh's and my personalities. :oops: :lol:

I think I have him talked into at least giving it a try. I think we will be able to make it work fine. And since we'll be doing a half & half type deal, I hope he will change his mind while I'm off work. And for the first couple weeks, I'm going to get the swaddlers. I thought it would be a little easier on us at first.

We're going to go with the Gerber DSQ, they're 6 for $11. I would get 7 packs for 42 diapers. Plus I am getting reusable liners. They have disposable liners from Kushies I thought I would try also. We don't really have a much money to spend on the more expensive ones. Not sure on what to use for covers yet. Have to find something that we can afford.

There are services that pick and and clean them for you, I think? That's the only hassle part with the better designs these days. Maybe it'd come down to whether a diaper cleaning service would save money and even time, over disposables.

I tried Gerber, all they did was leak. Even if you go with Fuzzi Bunz, you can get everything you need for about $400, sounds a lot at first, but if you think about how much disposables cost, you still save money. I don't know the pricing in your area, but it was only 4 months until we 'broke even' with our investment.

I've just not heard good things about using them as real cloth diapers. Chinese prefolds are much better. Also check out the Snappi - so much easier and faster than pins, and no pokes!

I'm going to have to try the Gerber. There's no way to come up with $400-$500 for us by then. We are on an extremely limited budget. I know it sounds funny since disposable ends up costing much more than cloth, but it's just not doable with everything else we need to buy before the baby comes. :?

DH gave up his birthday gift so we could make sure to get everyone something for Christmas. And our Christmas gifts to each other were the crib, dresser, stroller and car seat. Fortunately, my fil gives us each a $100 Walmart gift card for Christmas. We're going to save those for food for when I'm off. Getting only 50% of my pay during those 6-8 will be tough. We'll bring in just enough for bills (if that much) and that's it.

Sometimes it's overwhelming to me. I pray that we will get through it. I have faith God will provide for us and we will do great. I expected this all before we started ttc, but sometimes it just gets to you KWIM?

Well, since I am a SAHM, my DH pretty much said go with whatever you like, but if you choose cloth diapers it's all you for laundry etc. And that he'd better not have socks that smell like poo LOL. And I can't wash diapers while he is here because it tends to make that area smell yucky while they are washing... he does not like that, so I wash them while he is at work. He appreciates that I save money, but he thinks i am extreme about some things (like washing out ziplock bags LOL). But at the same time it frees up some spending money for us, so I can go buy a new shirt or we can go out to eat etc, if we come under budget each month. Also allows us to tuck a little more away in savings for emergencies.

Katherine's diaper rash (which wasn't really bad but a few red dots here and there) has been gone since we switched to cloth diapers though. :) speaking of that since I switched to cotton pads for my time of the month, my monthly yeast infections have disappeared - NICE!! Saving money and am more comfortable at the same time, both me and katherine LOL


If my DH had to do the diapering though he would use disposables - he would rather spend the extra dollars than do extra laundry. He doesn't mind changing the cloth diapers once in awhile but if I got sick or something, and he had to take care of the baby, he'd be using disposables because taking care of me and baby while i'm sick and everything else is too much for him...

I'm going to have to try the Gerber. There's no way to come up with $400-$500 for us by then. We are on an extremely limited budget. I know it sounds funny since disposable ends up costing much more than cloth, but it's just not doable with everything else we need to buy before the baby comes. :?

DH gave up his birthday gift so we could make sure to get everyone something for Christmas. And our Christmas gifts to each other were the crib, dresser, stroller and car seat. Fortunately, my fil gives us each a $100 Walmart gift card for Christmas. We're going to save those for food for when I'm off. Getting only 50% of my pay during those 6-8 will be tough. We'll bring in just enough for bills (if that much) and that's it.

Sometimes it's overwhelming to me. I pray that we will get through it. I have faith God will provide for us and we will do great. I expected this all before we started ttc, but sometimes it just gets to you KWIM?

Hey it sounds like you have the same problem we had. We couldn't afford to spend a huge amount of money on diapers all at once. You do save money in the long run but with disposables you are only paying out $7 or so dollars a week (here in NZ). I think you should try the Chinese prefolds. If I read your post correctly you said you would buy 7 packs of the Gerbers right? So that's about $77 dollars all up? Whereas you could buy one pack of cloth prefolds (or two) and only spend about $40 (guessing... they are about $20 for 12 here in NZ I think. The Indian cloth ones are more expensive... they are $50 a pack of 12 here. Anyway, don't think you'd spend more than $50 on two packs).
They aren't really that bad. If you aren't worried about handling the dirty/wet diapers and swishing them in the toilet then I don't think you'd mind using them. You can even get liners for them so you don't have too much mess on the diapers.
When I use cloth diapers I put plastic pants over them and then fluffy bunnies over the plastic pants. There are lots of different folds. I found two that I liked the most that seemed to keep the most moisture in and were the tightest around their legs to hold those poos in LOL

HTH

Oh yeah I forgot to say... DHs opinion on cloth is that he won't touch them LOL So it was all my job. So when I start using them again (as of Monday) it will be all my job. :roll:

It's actually NOT a big deal, I honestly have no idea what the big fuss and complaint over CD is.

DH thought the CD's would be useless - but he allowed me to buy up in NB size anyway. He didn't say no. He isn't bothered by it.

I really don't see why people think that taking off a CD and putting it in a nappy pale and then washing it in the machine is any different to taking a disposable and throwing it in the trash ????

I mean you do have to hang them out to dry etc, but I spend a portion of my day washing clothes anyway so I just don't see it as being any different KWIM?

The only problem I have with the CD is the setting up factor is a big expense and over here in Australia it is incredibly hard to find stores which stock all you need so to speak. Ebay is a good place for that however.

Aussie Mum

Hey it sounds like you have the same problem we had. We couldn't afford to spend a huge amount of money on diapers all at once. You do save money in the long run but with disposables you are only paying out $7 or so dollars a week (here in NZ). I think you should try the Chinese prefolds. If I read your post correctly you said you would buy 7 packs of the Gerbers right? So that's about $77 dollars all up? Whereas you could buy one pack of cloth prefolds (or two) and only spend about $40 (guessing... they are about $20 for 12 here in NZ I think. The Indian cloth ones are more expensive... they are $50 a pack of 12 here. Anyway, don't think you'd spend more than $50 on two packs).
They aren't really that bad. If you aren't worried about handling the dirty/wet diapers and swishing them in the toilet then I don't think you'd mind using them. You can even get liners for them so you don't have too much mess on the diapers.
When I use cloth diapers I put plastic pants over them and then fluffy bunnies over the plastic pants. There are lots of different folds. I found two that I liked the most that seemed to keep the most moisture in and were the tightest around their legs to hold those poos in LOL

HTH

I will look into the CPF that you mention. I would like to keep our total CD expense to right around $150 (including liners and covers). So, if I found them at the price you mention, that would work great, too.

Thank you all for your tips. I appreciate it more than you could know.

Oh Kana!!!! This is absolutely wonderful!!!! I'm going with this. This is right in my price range! Oh, this makes me so excited and I feel so much better about the money part of it. The set that is $145 sounds terrific. I will research all of the options and products to figure out which is the best option.

Then there's the package for 15-30 pound. I can worry about that later instead of getting them now. I think it would be doable.

Thank you so much. I appreciate it so much. If you were here, I'd give you a big hug!!

DH and I talked last night and discussed the money savings part of it. And he said we will definitely try it out. I'm so excited. I just had no idea how we would afford disposables all the time. I honestly believe we will be fine. I know it's not a walk in the park, but come on! There are so many women out there doing this, we will be able to work through it.

Kana,

Can you use flannel for wipes, too? If so, does it need to be stitched around the edging to not fray. I'm trying to find the best product to use as a wipe also.

I don't sew at all, but if needed, my grandmother is a seamstress. So, I'll incorporate her help in this area.

Thanks!

I alternate between disposable wipes and also a wet nappy liner (a chux) is great for a wipe (and a LOT cheaper).

My sister used to use moistened cotton balls as wipes - also a great and cheap alternative.

My friends mother is a nurse and she always spoke about actively washing the babies bottom with warm water after dirty nappies as this removes the amonia in the urine and completely removes the faecal traces where as wipes leave perfume etc behind which is not so good for bubby's bums (mind, I don't really apply her advice at ALL TIMES - but I often give bubby an extra clean up with a warm moist flannel, just not everytime)

DH was skeptical (and frankly a bit grossed out) about using cloth. Now he wonders why anyone would use disposables. Our main reason for continuing with cloth? CONVENIENCE!

Every time we're around friends who have leaky diapers or mention something about blow-outs, he says, "Why don't people just use cloth?!" We've never ever had a blow out with cloth. When ds was a newborn and again last month on vacation, we tried disposables--4 different brands including the big name brands. Cloth lasts us twice as long and is guaranteed not to leak. (Apparently ds pees A LOT.) We were SO SO thankful that I threw in a duffle bag of cloth diapers for the vacation! Believe me, washing clothes, bedding, and car seat covers is far less convenient than washing diapers.

I think the cost factor is a big selling point (forgive the pun) for husbands. Just give them the cold hard #s--and don't forget to include the $ you make back when you re-sell your used cloth diapers. BTW, my best find so far is Dappi nylon covers--thin, waterproof, feel soft, fit about any body shape, hold up to washings, and very cheap.

I personally don't see how you can have leaks or blowouts or diaper rash with disposables. The only times I've had leaks is when my daughter has slept with her bottom in the air, or when the diapers are getting too small for her. Or if it's just left on for too long.
The same goes for blowouts. It's never happened to us unless she has done a lot of wees and then done the runny poos. Then the diaper starts to sag and the poos can get out the legs. Otherwise it always holds poos in.
I also haven't seen my daughter get diaper rash from disposables either. I think some kids can be allergic to the chemicals in them. But not Abby or Sophie. The times she has had diaper rash have been when she has been teething and had a lot of runny diapers. Or again, if the diaper has been left on for too long eg overnight when she has done a lot of wees or poos.

It just irritates me to hear people blame these things on disposables. Yes, cloth is better for the environment and it saves a ton of money.
But personally, from my experience with using CPFs I had far more leaks and blowouts with those. And you can't leave a CPF on for as long as a disposable so I could see more diaper rashes with those when parents (some) don't change them every 2 hours. My hubbys best friends mother told me about her first granddaughter... how every time she was dropped off to her for the weekend she would have terrible diaper rash from being left in cloth diapers for too long. She would have it all cleared up by the time her granddaughter went home on Sunday night. And the next Friday night she would get her back with the same terrible diaper rash again.
I just cannot see that happening with disposables... you can leave one on for 8 hours overnight and not have any diaper rash. I've been using disposables for 2 1/2 years now so I do know what I'm talking about.
IMO if a child has a really nasty diaper rash and they wear disposables they have either had a lot of runny poos from teething or they have been left in the disposable for far too long, too many times. Also when you put Vaseline or a barrier cream on every time you don't get diaper rash unless as I already said, they've been in the disposable far too long. JMO

I'm not putting cloth diapers down here. I'm just saying there is nothing wrong with disposables (other than the enviromental factors) if you don't mind the cost.
:(

I've had leaks and blowouts with both cloth and disposable. I've wondered if i'm just inexperienced and am not putting them on right, but I make sure there are no gaps on the legs or around the waist. sometimes they leak even when they are not full?? I change her pretty often. What am I doing wrong?? I did find out the fuzzi bunz were partially leaking because I didn't have the outer liner up over the insert and inside liner, so now I make sure it is, but they still leak sometimes... weird

Anyway the worst kind of blowout is when you are 2 hours away from home and it goes UP the back!! UGH yuck I HATE cleaning up those away from home. If i'm home it's a rinse with the sprayer and a bath! lol

Maybe some babies just have more forceful movements or a LOT more pee at once or something LOL

Cheeseburger with the disposables (if you use them) you could try going down a size if you are having leaks/blowouts. Or up a size if you are having leaks all the time. I noticed every time the diapers got too small for Abby they would start leaking. They should be tight around the legs so nothing can come out. If they get really wet they do sag though. But CPFs do the same thing.

Well at first DH wasnt too keen on the cloth and I too hid the disposables except for at night. We are such a super soaker that we usually have to change somewhere around 2am.

I do have a concern about the environment as well as the cost savings. I do use G-diapers ( www.gdiapers.com) for when we go out or out of town. I have heard that some moms use a prefold sometimes instead of the insert with the g's.

Now adays it has just become routine to him to use the cloth dipes.

I dont have any of the flannel wipes I do have some of the Kissaluv wipes that I got off of www.cottonbabies.com they have a lot of loop/fibers on one side to catch the "poo"
I dont uses those too much because I'm waiting on some solution to have on the changing table to wet them to make it more convenient for dh.

Dh is fine with it, but would prefer 'sposies because he is still afraid of poopy cloth diapers. BUT, since we've been having to buy 'sposies for the past 2 months he has an all new appreciation for how much money cloth saves; I kind of forget to mention to him that I'm buying the more expensive environmentally-friendlier diapers :oops:...until we have our washer back and we can go back to cloth.

Okay, what about friends and co-workers. How do you reply to them when they find out or know you're using CD. I have a lady here at work telling me to check into WIC so I can get some items free so I can use disposables!!! I couldn't believe it! Money issues aren't the only reason we're going with CD. It's a main reason, but not the only one.

It's hard because they give you this look and comments like you have no idea what you're talking about since you haven't had a kid yet and they have. It's so frustrating sometimes! I hate to mention anything we want to do with our baby because we get this response.

That's why I love the support here at c'moms.

If people act like you're poor when you tell them you CD, you should see the looks I get when they find out I not only use cloth diapers, but cloth menstrual rags as well LOL .... they think I am in dire need of assistance. Heaven forbid we do not add the mountains of trash in our countries and expose ourselves and our children to chemicals!!... LOL.... you can use reusable EVERYTHING though... even hankies, you can make out of soft linen and keep stacks around your house instead of using kleenex and just throw them in with laundry. we do use kleenex though but i am considering switching to cloth since we go through SO MANY during winter... yeesh.

i got mine from lunapads too!! I love them they are soooo comfortable!!! :)