Making The Switch To Cloth Diapers?
My 3 month old son has had a nasty diaper rash pretty much since he was born. We change him frequently, use dye free, fragrance free mild soap, and have switched from wipes to bactine and baby powder. All of these changes have noticeably helped, but he’s still pretty miserable. I’ve been entertaining the thought of switching him to cloth diapers, but need some advice.
We currently only spend about 25 a month on diapers. We are on an extremely fixed income, and the prices I’ve seen for some single cloth diapers on the internet is comparable to what we pay for around 60 disposables. That seems a bit daunting to me, so before I even bring the idea up to my husband, I’d like to know what brand we’d be getting, how many we’d need and about how much it’s going to cost.
So my question is what brands do any cloth diapering moms out there recommend, and about how many do we need? All I know so far is that I want the ones with Velcro, and preferably the kind with the insert, though it’s not necessary.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Tagged with: Cloth • Diapers • Making • Switch
Filed under: Free Baby Stuff
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I actually just bought my first cloth diapers online today and am switching completely when they arrive! Very excited. =] The ones I bought are $18.50 per diaper, and you can save 5% if you buy 5. So I’m buying 5 and my sister is buying 5 for me as a gift. She has 10 for her youngest and she does a wash every morning. If you want to wash them less, buy more. So, with these diapers it costs us a one time fee of just under $200 and will last til our daughter is 20 pounds. A big chunk up front, but cheaper in the long run (also cause we don’t pay water or electric bills b/c my husband is in the military and they pay for it…which makes us able to wash everyday and buy less diapers.)http://www.bluepenguin.biz/ProductDetail…
What diapers do you buy if you only spend 25 per month??? This could be a major factor on why your baby has such bad diaper rash. Plus, it sounds like you might not be changing your baby’s diaper enough. Yeah you cut back on the diapers used but thats probably contributing greatly to your babies rash. You’re either buying REALLY cheap diapers that cause the rash, or your buying decent diapers but not changing him enough.
Since you are on an extremely fixed income I would take Hannahs suggestion and make your own, that way you can make a lot, change your baby -every- time he’s wet, and not have to wash as frequently. Maybe look up online how to make them.
ETA: Here’s a link I found quick with patterns to make cloth diapers.http://www.diaperjungle.com/sewing-cloth…
ETA2: I wouldn’t suggest velcro cause it gets worse as you wash and wears easily, the website I suggested has velcro or snaps, I got snaps cause they can’t wear out and dont stick to each other in the wash.
I would recommend filling out an application with Miracle Diapers http://www.miraclediapers.org They can help you get a stash started, and then you can build up the rest of what you need, with the money you would be putting towards disposables.
i’m in australia, so the brand i use is no good to you, plus the ones made in America are some of the best in the world.
you want a bare minimum of 24 nappies.
if you get the ones with velcro like i did, be careful to fold the grippy side over so that it doesn’t grip everything in the wash- this can lead to the velcro becoming unstitched.
I do have a website with links to patterns for you though!
There are so many brands out there it is crazy. i had to try several before I found what i liked. A popular one is BumGenius, which we did not like. One suggestion to help save money is to go with a one-size pocket diaper. We LOVED Happy Heiny’s.
there are a few good deals out there, you can also try diaperswappers.com to get one or two used ones to make sure you like them.
At 3 months old I think you could get started with 12 diapers. You can get 12 new bumGenius one size (fits from 7-35lbs) for about $200. The upfront costs seem high but in the end you will be able to save, you can even resell your diapers. Don’t be discouraged from used either. Cloth diaper users take excellent care of their diapers, buy them used and give them a few hot washes (you can even use vinegar to kill germs) and they will work just as well as new.
If you can sew, diaperkits.com sells 13 kits you can sew for about $80. I personally did not really like the diapers I sewed, but my son is a heavy wetter. You can also get a single kit for $7 I think. You can also purchase PUL and an absorbant material (fleece, flannel, cotton, hemp) and make your own patterns
I would also suggest getting velcro and snaps to see which you prefer. I like velcro but the more I use snaps the more I really like them…snaps also hold up better in the long run.
Don’t rule out prefolds either, they are awesome as well. You just get 24 pre-folds and about 6-10 covers (i personally like thirsties covers) and you are set. I think Bummis.com sells a kit with the prefolds and covers.
try getting some on craigslist or ebay. a lot of moms make them and they’re cheaper and just as good and if you can sew, you could make them VERY easily yourself for probably about a third of the price. I got 15 happy heinys on craigslist for $100. you’ll probably want about 2 dozen, depending on how many you go through a day and how often you wash them. babies can feel the wet faster, so you change more often with them. we go through about 7 or 8 a day maybe, less lately because he’s been sleeping through the night almost. we have bum genius and happy heiny’s and I’d recommend both. both come with doublers too, so they absorb more. hope I helped!
eta; various links – http://www.diaperjungle.com/sewing-cloth…