I have a friend who just found out that she is having twins. She is contemplating the differences between cloth and disposables and needs some advice from other mommies.
We used disposables for Boppers (yep we helped make a hole in the ozone layer) so I gave her my pros and cons list for those but she is wanting to know the pros and cons of cloth diapers.
She is a single mom and she is only 20 years old (yes she is gonna need lots of prayers and support). So becides cloth being cheaper in the long run, what are the other benefits and dont be shy what are the cons as well?
Also, if you have any other tips and advice for her about twins, single mothers,etc please feel free to comment or email me jlbhowell@gmail.com.
Thanks girlies, I told her that yall rocked and could totally give her advice.
the greatest benefit of cloth diapering is rash prevention (outside of the coolness of not piling more stuff into a landfill) because cloth diapers are usually cotton, they are much more breathable than disposables. however the reduction or complete erasure of rash problems is probably related to the fact that cloth diapers are changed much more frequently than disposables. To make cloth diapers the cost effective solution it really is, you have to ignore the lux cloth diaper brands and go for the classic basic cloth diapers. for night you probably need to experiment with different solutions to prevent leakage. for travel I would recommend having a stash of something like g-diapers or another flushable diaper handy.
ReplyDeleteto make cloth diapering faster and cheaper your friend should consider: hooking a water hose up to the tub or sink spiget in the bathroom to spray the diaper down over the toilet. look into the different kinds of cotton bloomer diaper covers out there to put up over diapers. invest in a giant pot to boil diapers before putting in washer, this will remove more trace bacteria that can totally survive in the washer (washers are not magical sterilization machines)
cloth diapers are only cheaper if you are willing to do all the cleanup and such on your own (diaper services are scary expensive) and if you get the repeat use cotton basics. also because cloth diapering has become a trendy affluent mothering thing to do (don't shoot me, but the rise in cloth diapering has been almost wholly restricted to upper middle class to upper class households with mothers born 1973 on) a lot of products have come out for cloth diapering that are unnessasary and expensive. as odd as it sounds the best first resource for cloth diapering is, in my opinion, are parenting books published before 1955 (disregard the advice on rubbing cod liver oil on scalp and setting baby in sun.)
We just made the switch so I have batted for both teams and I am cloth diaper lover now. You can do it much cheaper than some may say if you shop ebay. I bought my diaper sprayer which is amazing and changed my life for 30 bucks on ebay. I would recommend the one size because they fit from 7 to 35 lbs. Yes, they are baggy at first but it is doable and worth it for the money. I wash all mine myself and its not too bad. If she is single and mom of two she may want to plan on disposables until she gets her sea legs of mothering that may be too much at once. But, it will save money even if she waits until they are 3 months to start. But if she thinks she may do it, go ahead and register because its always nice to get a useful gift than 10 of the same outfit. Please have her email me directly if she has any specific questions or thoughts. Best of luck to her, wow twins wow =)
ReplyDeleteI blog A LOT about cloth diapers, so you could send her to my blog for lots of posts/links/info, etc.
ReplyDeleteBut my main benefits for cloth diapering (and I've used both disposable and cloth for both my kids...but 99% of the time now use cloth on both the 6 month old and 2 year old.)
- MUCH better for babies health. No chemical/plastic off-gassing or absorbtion into baby's skin, which has been loosely linked (no definitive studies yet) to asthma, allergies, eczema, ADHD and more.
- MUCH cheaper no matter WHAT type of diapers you use, but NOTHING can beat a large supply of prefolds (the old-fashioned type of diapers that some people foolishly think are more work...but really aren't) and some covers. The covers can run from $5.00 to $20 each but are available now in one-size adjustable varieties that will last from birth to potty. My fave is the Thirsties duo wrap which comes in 2 sizes. It's awesome. Tons of cute colors and prints. She'd probably need 8 to 10 of the small size ones and another 8 to 10 of the large size ones to cover her twins, but they'd last to potty training and can even be resold when she's done with them to get some of her money back.
- MUCH better for the earth. Even when water and electricity use are factored in to wash and dry the diapers, the environmental impact of cloth dipes is SO SIGNIFICANTLY less harmful to the earth there is simply no comparison. There is erroneous information floating around the internet (first started by a disposable diaper company) that the washing and drying of cloth dipes makes them the same impact on the earth as disposables. But cloth dipes are not full of harmful (to the earth AND to babies) chemicals and plastics, do not create toxic, polluted water run-off in their production, do not require massive amounts of resources to produce, do not sit around in landfills for hundreds of years after their use, and do not cause untreated human waste to be disposed of in landfills.
There are many more benefits, but in my mind these are the top ones. Cloth diapers will certainly be more work with twins, but I have two in diapers right now and I find that it's manageable as a stay at home Mommy. I wash dipes twice a week (though I have a high capacity washer that will hold them all, if she has a smaller washer she may have to do diaper laundry 3x per week.) In some ways cloth diapers are incredibly easier, such as NEVER running out and needing to make a frantic run to the store in the middle of the night or during a storm.
I agree that she may need to use disposables for the first couple weeks or even a month or two. My 1st born wore disposables until he was 5 months old and I was introduced to cloth dipes. My 2nd born wore disposables for about 2 weeks (I had a c-section...ugh) until I was ready to resume the laundry duties.
There are a couple of great websites she can get more information from and ALSO register for cloth diapers. My two favorites are http://babyworks.com and http://kellyscloset.com
Again, refer her to my blog if she wants more info or wants to contact me. secretmommyblog@gmail.com http://secretmommy.blogspot.com :)
I honestly think that doing both is the best of both worlds. We cloth diaper at home and when we are on the run we use disposables. It's cheaper (using the cloth), but you still have the convenience when necessary. It's all about balancing cost, health and sanity!
ReplyDeleteI used disposables with my son, and then when I decided to stay home I made the decision to use cloth with my daughter. The startup cost is a bit, but it's very cost effective.
ReplyDeleteI used cloth with her until she was 9 months old...then we quit b/c I started couponing and was able to get diapers Super cheap and once she was eating solid foods my "ick" factor kicked in. :( I did a load of diapers about every day in the beginning, but once she was about 2 months I did a load every 2 to 3 days...definitely not bad! We've recently went back to cloth some now that she has a regular poop schedule (sorry, tmi). I do plan on using cloth with my next one too.
This is a great site where we ordered all of our supplies from:
www.cottonbabies.com
If she needs a list of items to get started just let me know and I'd be glad to send her some info.
When I had three in diapers, we did cloth. Having more kids in cloth means that the laundry isn't such a chore, because there's plenty of it. I bought fewer diapers because I washed them every single day.
ReplyDeleteStart up costs for cloth are hefty, so she needs to factor in the initial output of money vs. what she'll save over time.
My recommendations: GroVia diapers or FuzziBunz
Always happy to talk twins with another new mom. Feel free to send her my info.
Thanks guys! I will be sharing all yalls great info with her this weekend!
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