this is my 4th child. all of them have worn sposies. until DD. she wore them until 10 mo. the little gel things are nasty, and you have to buy more and then THROW them away. it felt like such a waste of money. after reading an article on mothering on CDs i started looking around. It really appealed to me that they were healthier and better for the environment. but with the fibro i didnt want extra work. so i looked into cost and that is what got DH and I conveinced. of all things it was the saving Money part that convinced us. i love not having to buy $60 worth of sposies and wipes every month. we took out a loan (we are low income) to buy a GOOD washer that has a GOOD hot water cycle and then bought $350 worth of diapers. it took 6mo to pay off the loan. since then i havent had to spend anything on dipes or rash meds etc.
helpful hint: go with all natural cotton unbleached preferred. i bought
http://www.kidalog.net/product_info....products_id=29. i love them. i had to have the inside panel made skinnier and had to replace some velcro on 3 of them. i couldnt afford anything better, but they work great. they will wick if you dont change them, but you should be changing them regularly anyway. if you can afford better go for it. i originally way BG3.0 or something but they were 2x the $. dont buy anything with synthetic materials, they hold onto stink and will irritate. like the gerber prefolds with absorbable pad. i do not like those and i only use them for night time. if you buy prefolds get some real chinese or indian prefolds with the thickest middle.
to wash mine, i do a cold prewash with purex free and clear, then a hot wash where i put 3 tbsp (for a full load) of white vinegar in a downy ball (the fabric softener ball that opens in the rinse), then it gets 2 cold rinses. works great. my water heater is also set at 135 deg. i know you are not supposed to turn it up above 120 deg but the dipes werent getting clean. my clean dipes smell great (except the gerbers). i also own 4 thirstie covers for overnight.
