Why do you CD?

[soccermama]

Is it for health reasons, finances, environmetal reasons, etc.,? H and I were talking about this the other night - when we have our 2nd child, I would like to at least attempt to CD because I have heard of the savings that come along with CD'ing, but he's concerned with the health risks that can be involved with the dipe not being clean enough. How do YOU make it work? And what brought you to CD'ing especially if you used disposables with your first LO?

I used disposables with my DS because I wasn't really tuned in to the whole CD'ing world and how things worked. Would love to know more!

[sagemomma]

we do it for environmental reasons, for the health of our child, the comfort of our child and because it is the natural choice. i prefer to do things as naturally as possible.
it certainly isn't for financial reasons because i am addicted to buying fluff....cmon man just let me buy one soaker this week, i need my fix. lol
the diapers will be clean enough and in general there are almost 0 helath concerns with cloth but disposables are toxic. they keep the groin abnormally warm so in boys it can lead to fertility problems, not to mention the silica, bleaching and fragrance in disposables .

[Ifluffedthree]

google health risked and disposable diapers and see if you get anything.

The risks using a commercial disposable diaper with dioxins that are attached to cancer, the documented links to asthma and male infertility far out weigh the concern over a un clean diaper.

To answer your question as to why I stared 19 years ago:
for monetary reasons and 20 years ago there was a large save the landfill from diapers movement.

10 years later when I had a second child it was about offsetting the cost of giving up a job, and saving the landfill.
2 more years later I learned a WHOLE lot more about the links and health concerns when I had a 3 child that developed acute allergies to disposables.

tack on another seven years in the diaper communities. now you could not pay me to nuke my child.

[chely7425]

We CD for several reasons... first, the health benefits! Second, DS is allergic to sposies and gets a wicked rash from them. Third, sposies just freak me out... and last, my mom CD-ed all of us so I never thought of doing anything else!!

[KristyDi]

First, dd wound up reacting badly to some sposies.
Second it's really nice not to have to buy cases a diapers every month.
Third, I actually like the cloth diapers better. Very few (like 1 ever) blowouts. I never run out of diapers. And the cloth just plain look cooler. Whether it's the BG, Thirsties, Bummies they all look so cute.

Since I started using cloth, I can't stand the chemical fake baby powder smell of sposies. blech!

[ChetMC]

We started out doing it for environmental reasons. When DH and I got married the neighbours had small kids and they generated a massive amount of garbage because of their diapers. It grossed me out.

Once we'd been doing it for awhile I realized how much money we were saving. If DS trains at around age 3 diapering three children will have cost us about $1500. And that estimate is actually high, because it doesn't account for the fact that I wash sheets and towels with my diapers, or that I'll be able to sell at least of my diapers when we're done.

Our other issue is that the smell of most disposables makes DH sick.

And I agree with KristyDi, cloth diapers are way better at containing messy poops. All of our blowouts were in disposables when we've been travelling.

I've never had any trouble getting my diapers clean. They go through on such a long, hot wash with borax, and have so many rinses, a can't see how anything nasty could survive.

[katie9143]

ya saying that there are health risk associated with cding and cleanliness is crazy....if someone said that to me i would tell them that it sounded like they were looking for a lamer excuse because they were too lazy to do the extra work. sorry

we cd for all the reason you mentioned and more, the health BENEFITS too

[4Blessings]

I started CDing to save money and eliminate all of the packaging and garbage that comes with disposable wipes and diapers. I didn't get started until my third was five months old.
It is so easy and saves us so much money. I really hate that I was so afraid to try them sooner! We use prefolds and covers.

And I have zero concerns about the diapers not being clean enough.

[Drummer's Wife]

I'd say we started out in effort to save money, but now that is pretty low on the list of why we cloth diaper. My baby's health, comfort are near the top. Then of course, the environmental reasons. Plus, it's just soooo much dang cuter than disposable diapers.

[Mrs.Oz]

1. I hate hate HATE buying sposies. I could think of many other things I'd rather spend ~$40 a month on than something that is going to get no more than 2 hours of use and then go in the garbage. Heck, I'd be in heaven if I could buy $40 worth of CD stuff each month (although sometimes I do...shhhhhh...don't tell DH).

2. I love that DS has a nice soft cushion on his bum when he plops down on it, and not some paper-thin thing. This also makes a difference if he happens to plop down on poop. In a sposie, it is pretty much guaranteed to leak out the sides and on his clothes in this scenario...in cloth, at least the cover will catch it if it escapes the dipe.

3. Financial reasons...even though I've bought lots of CD stuff, I'm sure that we're still spending less than if we had 2 in sposies right now, even taking into account the laundering expenses.

As far as dipes getting clean, I think my CDs are probably the cleanest things in my house when they come out of my washer. They don't go in the dryer unless they are odor and stain free, haven't had any stink or rash issues since going with 100% cotton.

[kirstenb]

I know we started to save money but we are also doing it because DS has very sensitive skin and had reactions to a few diaper brands. Plus I LOVE how cute he looks wearing them!

[cristeen]

I've already started building my stash for this little bean. I've chosen CDs mainly for health reasons, although environmental reasons also factor in, and the monetary reasons are what convinced DH.

I know I'm chemically sensitive, and the thought of surrounding any child of mine with that much chemicals gives me hives - not even to mention what it'd do to the child.

[Carlin]

Well, I haven't actually started to cloth diaper yet, but we are going to when our little one arrives in June!

Our reasons are:
1) Environment - This is the number one reason by far. Flawed studies aside, I am completely convinced that cloth is a better option. Particularly if you can get diapers second hand, buy organic cotton or other more natural fibers, use the diapers for more than one child and hang to dry whenever possible.
2) Health - I'm not particularly chemically sensitive, but I'm pretty sure my dh is. I don't want all the nasty things in disposables against my new baby's most sensitive bits. As far as cleanliness goes, there's plenty of good information on this forum and a number of diapering sites about how to properly wash diapers. Unless your infant is suffering from a highly infectious disease, I don't think there is anything to worry about.
3) Finances - It's a nice bonus that this will work out cheaper in the long run, even though we aren't going the most affordable route.
4) They're really cute!

[soccermama]

Originally Posted by katie9143

ya saying that there are health risk associated with cding and cleanliness is crazy....if someone said that to me i would tell them that it sounded like they were looking for a lamer excuse because they were too lazy to do the extra work. sorry

we cd for all the reason you mentioned and more, the health BENEFITS too

I never said that cleanliness is crazy. Where did that come from? We're just ignorant when it comes to CD'ing and wanted to learn more. That's all. I'm the queen of clean in my house - all of my friends call me this - so that has nothing to do with it. And lazy? Really? I think you mis-read my post entirely.

[lashon20]

I'm mainly doing it for financial reasons, but health reasons and not having a load of stinking diapers in the trash are other reasons. Also cloth diapers are so darn cute and irresistable.

[ChetMC]

On the Topic of Cute

Little girls in dresses look WAY better with a cloth diaper. The cloth bum helps the dress to puff out so nicely.

[Marcimama]

Originally Posted by Drummer's Wife

I'd say we started out in effort to save money, but now that is pretty low on the list of why we cloth diaper. My baby's health, comfort are near the top. Then of course, the environmental reasons. Plus, it's just soooo much dang cuter than disposable diapers.

Ditto!
Same way for us.

[katie9143]

Originally Posted by soccermama

I never said that cleanliness is crazy. Where did that come from? We're just ignorant when it comes to CD'ing and wanted to learn more. That's all. I'm the queen of clean in my house - all of my friends call me this - so that has nothing to do with it. And lazy? Really? I think you mis-read my post entirely.

no i say its crazy - to say that a person would not cd because of sanitary or health reasons is crazy. cds are way better healthwise period. to me it does sound like a lazy excuse - sposies r easy, buy them, put them on, chuck them in the landfill.

what does your friends calling you queen of clean have to do with anything. no one said you are messy - that has nothing to do with your diapers. i know several ppl that arent obsessively clean, yet still cd. man

[DevaMajka]

My "rationalization" is financial reasons- I found some great deals on cd's (mostly seconds or clearance) and I've spent $600 for my entire stash, nb to pl'ing. I have mostly pockets. Sposies would run a minimum of $600 per year, so I'm doing ok. (Washing cd's will end up being about $300 over 3 years, that's with line drying).

The environment is an important reason for us, too.

Also...buying cd's is WAYYYY more fun than buying sposies! lol
(But that could be a downside- I may end up spending more money buying dipes that I want even though I don't need them. lol)

[Maela]

1.) to save money
2.) environment

we use prefolds and covers and I stay away from the diaper sites, so that I'm not tempted to buy more than we need. Can't imagine how much money we've saved!