We're leaning towards disposables!!!

[MamaMorgana]

Will I be exiled or ostracized from the MDC community for telling you that, after a few more hours of research and debate last night, my husband and I are leaning towards using sposies for our first baby (due in March) instead of cloth????
At least for the first few months. We plan on using Nature Babycare and/or 7th Generation, although I've read that neither of those are, in truth, fully biodegradable as they might claim. And we sure won't be putting them in our compost pile. We just feel completely overwhelmed by the choices, the styles, the task of cleaning and washing cloth, the load on our new washing machine, the up-front cost every year or so as baby grows, and the burden it puts on any future babysitters or daycare providers.

That said, I did get DH to agree that we'd reconsider after the first couple of months, when we'll be less overwhelmed by all that comes with our first brand new baby. So it's pretty likely we'll be able to make a decision at that point and invest in some cloth dipes.

Any words of encouragement or helpful suggestions are welcome!!!

[Bokonon]

It is overwhelming at first, but once you get started, it's really not bad at all.

I used disposables with DS, who wasn't potty-trained until 4. Using cloth wasn't something I had ever even considered. I had a change of heart when DD was about 4 months old. I LOVE my cloth.

I wash my dipes about every other day or every 3 days. It's about a half of a load, so I usually throw DD's other dirty laundry in there too. No big deal.

As far as burden on other caregivers - it doesn't have to be all or nothing. You can have a package of sposies on hand for such occasions.

Check on Craigslist for some used cloth. There is no reason you have to buy all the diapers you'll ever need new and all at once.

I started with prefolds and covers, which cost me about $75 to get started, and that was new. I loved them, but a friend of mine gave me 2 FuzziBunz and I love them even more. I've maybe spent $300 total, and I won't have to buy anything else ever if I don't want to. I would have needed more if I had started when DD was a newborn, but I probably would have done prefolds and covers then, which is the cheapest way to go.

And it's FUN! I had no idea how fun cloth was and how cute my baby would look with her puffy bottom.

[tvantol]

Our happy medium is a diaper service. It costs about the same as disposables (actually less if you are going with the more expensive diapers) but we get the benefits of cloth. We've been using cloth since our DS turned about 2 weeks and I don't regret it. Occasionally we will use disposables when traveling, etc. We found that our daycare provider is absolutely ok with cloth and though we've only utilized a sitter a couple of times in the last 2 years they seem to do ok with the cloth after a quick tutorial. DS is showing signs of getting ready to train though I'm expecting #2 here any week now, so we are in no hurry to attempt that transition. I would bet that he will be trained by 2 1/2 in cloth. If you do go with disposables, one way to make less of an environmental impact is to dump as much of the poo in the toilet as possible before throwing the diapers out. Not many people know that human waste has no place in our landfills.

[MommaShark]

Cloth diapering has gone wild - in that there are so many choices - maybe it would help if you thought of them like cars......

flats/bummis original cover is the least you can get away with (my brands reflective of what I've tried) and still get to work - my mil used these for 4 kids and still has the flats for rags.....

prefolds w/snappi and a Thirstie cover - like a Toyota or Honda standard model - works great, no problems, easy maintenence, leaks are contained by cover.

fitteds w/ Thirstie or other cover - a Toyota with Leather - takes a little more time to dry, easier on daycare and the husband

Pockets - like a SAAB - takes more maintenance (stuffing and synthetic materials are finicky and can hold smell) once stuffed used like an AIO...sometimes there's buildup

AIO - the Porsche of diapers - the most expensive, totally not necessary but oh so nice when taking 2 steps to put on a diaper is too many (great for daycare and dads).

I have only had blow outs when using sposies - lot's of poop on the clothes and yes it stains (hang in the sun - it WILL go away - even if dried in dryer - just wet and hang in the sun).

I will never go back to sposies.

I recommend prefolds w/snappi (trifolding it and laying it in the cover doesn't contain breastfed poo all the time) and a wool cover (Blue Canoe) or Thirstie (the leg gussets are the secret and are awesome)....I use flats w/wool mostly but they have to be folded so I don't recommend to first time hesitant users....

It takes no more time to use cloth than a disposable and SO much less trash!
When you cart off the biodegradable sposies in a plastic bag - they aren't going to biodegrade!)

You can sell your covers/dipes when your LO has outgrown them (if no more on the way) and you can reuse them on all your kids......

Hopefully you weren't looking for encouragement to use sposies - if so - sorry!

MDC will still love you if you use sposies - but you will get recommendations to cloth when you complain about blowouts or rashes or saving money


ps DH now can snappi a prefold or fold a flat with no prob!

[Juliacat]

Originally Posted by MamaMorgana

We just feel completely overwhelmed by the choices, the styles, the task of cleaning and washing cloth, the load on our new washing machine, the up-front cost every year or so as baby grows, and the burden it puts on any future babysitters or daycare providers.

THIS is why I think a LOT of people don't cloth diaper! There are TOO MANY CHOICES! But just as you wouldn't refuse to buy a car simply because there are so many different makes and models, I hope you'll consider that cloth really is great. It's not a lot of work to wash (and you don't have to go to the store to get diapers, or take out the trash all the time), it's much less expensive in the long run, and 6-12 pockets or AIO's should be enough to get you through daycare without a problem. What kind of diapers to pick for everyday use is a personal choice, just as picking, say, a compact car, or an SUV would be a personal choice, based on your family's needs.

Diaper service quality prefolds, Bummis and Proraps covers, Mother-ease fitteds and covers, and Fuzzi Bunz and BumGenius pockets are all excellent quality diapers that work for most people most of the time. You can also find an online seller you like and ask her questions about her product lines--most of the sellers are very helpful.

Also check out my web site--my entire goal is helping people like you, who would like to use cloth but are overwhelmed. http://juliacotton.wordpress.com

Good luck, and I hope you get some fluff!

[GreenGranolaMama]

Diapers = cars is a completely correct way of putting it! We had NO idea what we were getting into... we were like 10 weeks pregnant and hadn't even talked about diapers when DH came home one night with a huge bag of prefolds/covers and was like "Hey look what I got for $100!!!!" I had never seen a cloth diaper (no joke). I had to buy some odds and ends and yes I splurged on a few Porsche style AIOs for the diaper bag/ outings but I LOVE cloth and my prefolds.

That being said, I did do 7th gen for the first month because we were given a TON of them @ our shower and newborns poo like 10 times a day, and I was still completely exhausted from the birth/ breastfeeding.

[DevaMajka]

I was determined to use cloth on ds1, but wanted to use sposies for the first few months. He was my first baby, and I knew there would be so much to learn, I was worried that it would be too overwhelming to add cd's to the mix.
I finally bought some cd's when he was 5ish mos old, but still used sposies sometimes. It was what worked for us, and I was/am happy with the decisions.

[My3guys]

I really think the car analogy is brilliant. Going to use it with my in-laws who still struggle a bit with this decision. However, I think you forgot a category...the hybrid. Products like the Gro-baby system or the new Flip are the Prius' of the diaper world. Can toss the biodegradable liner but still keep the cloth cover to use over and over again.

Good luck in whatever you decide. You will not be excommunicated from MDC or be labeled a bad mom if you choose disposables. Really, everyone needs to make the best decision for their family. However, don't give up because it is confusing. Let us help you figure it out. If it still does not make sense for you, it doesn't make sense for you. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy.

[octobermom]

It was using sposies the first few weeks that convinced us cloth ws better I had planned on cloth from birth but never knew there was a cyber world dedicated to it. Thats was both good and bad. The good I wasn't overwhelmed with all the new information the bad I was unaware that Gerbers weren't the only choice...
We had all the gerbers tons and tons of them none fit in any way my little girl so for about the first 3 months we used sposies till shes grew a bit.. We also lived in small town where my diaper choices were basically pampers and huggies and no bigger than the jumbo packs so I was sending DH to the store every 2-3 days to spent another $14-$20 on more diapers.. When we realized that we'd spend well over $400 on sposies and wipes alone in just those first 90 days we thought there must be ways to cloth diaper even a tiny one... Thats when I thought HEY! wouldn't it be cool if someone invented a CD that worked a lot like a sposie but jsut washable! I got online... soon made my first DH order snuggle ups bummi whisper pants and kushies... the rest is fluffy history. Weve been suckered into the fluffy black hole at times but deffiently haven't regreted our decession to cloth diaper. At the same time were not totally anti sposies anymore we also got sucked int the "sposies = evil and only bad neglectful parents use them it was a huge battle cry of the cloth diaper world at the time. (its way relaxed now) and when using a sposie for say nghttime or a long day out or a short vaccation would have been a lot easier we instead delt with cloth often spending a ton trying to perfect it cause "sposies = bad/evil" ... so what am I saying?
Its fine if you feel more at ease doing sposies at first I'd suggest getting a dozen newborn prefolds they will have tons of uses even if you never use them to diaper or you might fine they are great as diapers and just appreciate a bit of a back up. Maybe look into a try-out package where when your ready you can try a few diffrent styles and see what may work best for you. Then maybe step away form here for a spell (yes I said it) heck even after knowing the whole what goes into CD and having my when I get pregant again plan for YEARS I come back on CD boards and I get overwhelmed with all thats new.


Deanna

[Blueone]

I occasionally use disposables and while they are convenient in a way and not very complicated I still love my cloth. It's cheaper and I never have to worry about running out when I stick to my every other day routine.

I would suggest that if you want to still consider cloth that you decide between synthetic and then natural. That's what I did. I decided on natural so I then started choosing between fitteds, prefolds, and All in 2's. Pockets weren't an options when I chose natural. I then saw the gro baby diapers and decided that's what I wanted and since then I've never allowed myself to consider any other diaper.

It works for me so no reason to go looking through others. Although I will admit that sometimes I get prefold curiosity and wish I had just done that. But the route I chose it just as good!

I think that choosing a synthetic diaper leads to even more complicated decisions. But that's just me. Natural fibers seem easier to care for. We just do a rinse, wash, then extra rinse. But we also use Crunchy Clean because normal detergent took too long to rinse.

Don't think this is an add, but gro baby diapers are the best! They are one sized and work all the way through potty training! They also have an option for snaps on the shell so I got all the velcro tabs converted so snaps because I hate aplix. When you buy shells or sets you can add under order specifications that you want them converted to snaps and they'll do it for free.

Good luck though and what matters is that you make a choice that works for yourself.

[odoole]

Originally Posted by MommaShark

I have only had blow outs when using sposies - lot's of poop on the clothes and yes it stains (hang in the sun - it WILL go away - even if dried in dryer - just wet and hang in the sun).

I will never go back to sposies.

Same here. We did a two week stint of disposables when we were out of town with the babe, and we had some kind of poopy blowout EVERY DAY. I constantly had to clean his outfits, and sometimes mine when his breastfed poo ended up all over ME!

I don't know, my little boy just poops a ton. Cloth keeps it in beautifully, and is ultimately simpler for us because of it. Also -- no diaper rash. NONE.

I would second the used diapers as well. I have used craigslist, ebay, and diapperswappers.com. It's MUCH cheaper that way, and you can try out different systems. It's actually kind of fun! I plan on selling my diapers when I'm done, so at the end of the day, diapering him will cost me next to nothing. (We also use cut up t-shirts as wipes.)

[mambera]

Originally Posted by DevaMajka

I was determined to use cloth on ds1, but wanted to use sposies for the first few months. He was my first baby, and I knew there would be so much to learn, I was worried that it would be too overwhelming to add cd's to the mix.
I finally bought some cd's when he was 5ish mos old, but still used sposies sometimes. It was what worked for us, and I was/am happy with the decisions.

I was interested in CD since pregnancy but quickly realized it would be a PROJECT to sort through all the info. I wasn't interested in adding one more Thing To Figure Out into the overwhelmingness of being a new mom.

We had bf issues and back-to-work issues, and finally hit a groove around 4 months. That's when I felt I had the time and inclination to research the whole CD thing.

I love my cloth now but I certainly do not regret those 4 months of sposies.

Honestly I would not recommend that anyone invest in a stash before having their first baby. Being able to *try the diapers out* was really crucial.

[Ruthla]

I've done both, at various points in my parenting career.

When we run short on diapers, if we're using cloth, we just need to run a load of laundry. If we're using disposables, running low means having to bundle up the baby and go to the store- and if money is tight, it might mean buying a small package today and then needing to go out to the store again next week when we get paid again.

But when money isn't super tight, we buy a new package when we're low, not out, of diapers, and we don't ever run out. We get into a routine and just keep plugging away at it. With either cloth OR disposables, we get into a routine and don't really think about it- and the cloth routine isnt' really that much harder than the disposable routine. Cloth does have a bit longer learning curve though- ESTABLISHING that routine can take a bit longer.

With disposable diapers, you generally won't have pee leaks, but breastfed poo seems to inevitably leak when the baby has a big poop (if your baby poops numerous times a day, its' mroe likely to be small amounts that may not leak.) With cloth, some styles mean far fewer leaks (actually holding in the BF poo explosion) while other styles (such as pinned flats that weren't pinned snugly enough, with covers that are put on wrong) you may have pee leaking out the sides and frequent damp baby clothes. But then it's no big deal to toss the baby's outfit into the diaper pail- it's no extra effort to wash.

If you're using disposable diapers, and the poo leaks out the diaper, you need to wash the poopy baby outfit. IME, washing a single poopy baby outfit is about as much work a washing a whole load of cloth diapers. Either I'm hand washing the outfit to avoid stains, or I'm running the washing machine with 3 tiny things in it (since I really don't want to wash poopy clothes with other laundry.) So the disposables won't necessarily save you laundry hassles.

I agree with you that it's a good idea to use either disposables or a diaper service for the first few weeks. You'll be recovering from childbirth, learning how to breastfeed, and both of you are learning how to be parents. It's not the best time to also learn new household washing routines. But after those first few weeks, when your'e ready to settle into a routine, the cloth routine is just as easy as the disposables routine.

But if you decide to go with disposables in the end, you'll still be welcome on MDC! You need to do what's right for your family, not "what you think you're supposed to do."

[sunshynbaby]

I started with a sampling of the options (name brand AIOs, pockets, Gdiapers, homemade AIOs, sposies, and prefolds), then made my decision (prefolds with Thirsties covers). I wouldn't expect a babysitter to learn CD101 and am flexible about the occasional use of sposies (DH will not leave the house without a sposie on DS's behind, lol). We also used sposies until DS's umbilical cord came off (and I recovered from an emergency csection). I can't imagine experimenting with CDs those first few weeks with your first baby.

[GoldmanBaby09]

I wanted to do cloth with my baby (also my first) but was overwhelmed, too. We did sposies the first three months or so, but my son's skin was terrible! Always red and tender, not just in the crack but the whole diaper area. So that is something to consider. Your LO might be too sensitive for disposables. My son was screaming during diaper changes and I couldn't in good conscience let that go on. I started experimenting with EC as a way to reduce the diaper rash, and doing that part time worked great for us. Unfortunately, I was "wasting" a lot of sposies while doing this, as I would often have dipes that only had a little pee before I took him to the potty, and I refused to put a sposie I know had pee in it back on him, even if it was just a little. So we were spending $20+ a week on sposies and I just couldn't deal with that anymore. Though I wasn't totally certain what type of cloth diaper I wanted, I stumbled on to a great deal on a starter set of Gdiapers and was hooked. I got 6 new diapers for $50 and I just use the multitude of Gerber prefolds I already had around the house. I've bought a second set of gdiapers on sale so I have spent $100 total so far and the sizes should last us quite a while. I was spending the same $100 a month on sposies. Now, even my DH can handle the cloth and I feel better knowing my son's skin is healthier, we are doing our part for the environment, and saving a huge chunk in our pocketbook.

[MommaShark]

ah yes - forgot the hybrid! never used it....

[beautifulboy]

first of all, of course you won't be ostracized!

We use cloth except when we travel, then we use disposables (like 7th generation). I think there really is no tax on your washer, those things are made to work. We have one baby in diapers and we wash every 3-4 days with tide. You just have to make sure you have enough diapers/covers/wipes so you don't run out. Cloth diapers are great because you don't have to run out to the store in a diaper emergency! You have it all at home.

In case you're still on the fence, if I could do it all again my dream diaper stash as a new mom would be (and this is very basic, we tend to be into basics around here) made up of prefolds from green mountain diapers, kissaluv 0s and sugar peas fleece covers (they never leak and they are so cozy!)

Happy Diapering!

[Llyra]

You can always change your mind a few months into it. Then you don't have to buy small diapers, and that's a big help with the cost.

Or you can always decide to just get a few cloth diapers, even as few as three or five, just to try out. You're putting that many fewer paper diapers into the landfills, even if you only use cloth at home, or for a few months, or whatever.

Myself, I used cloth until the kids reached about 2 1/2, in the daytime. At that age, DD2 was pottying. The other two weren't at that age, but they'd reached a size where they were wetting through every diaper I could find with one pee, and I got sick of having to change an active toddler every half hour, so we went to sposies. We also started using sposies at night recently, for the two who still aren't dry at night, mostly because DD2's skin wasn't liking the all-night wetness.

I don't feel guilty about it at all. I used cloth full-time for five years, and I like to think, sometimes, about all the paper diapers I DIDN'T put into landfills.

I think you should do what you decide is the right thing for your family, but be willing to stay open-minded about the possibility of part-time cloth, or cloth later on.

[mntnmom]

I assume posting this here, you're looking to be talked out of using sposies!
I used prefolds with my first. Hit some depression issues, gave up when she started solids. Tried for a while with my second, gave up again. Then with number 3 I discovered fitted diapers! Apparently I am not talented enough to make prefolds work, and my fitteds contain poop better than ANY sposie I used ever did!! You can look around and get them pretty cheap, and a couple covers to start with( like pro wraps for the tiny babes, very stretchy, and inexpensive).
It seems really overwhelming, but don't write it off. I know the learning curve is really steep with the first baby.... but it will be regardless of which diapers you use!

[sunshadow]

At first with my daughter I was just as confused and worried, but cloth was so simple once I figured out what we liked and got the wash routine down. I actually can't believe we every used disposables.

At first I ordered a bunch of different brands to figure out what we liked. I ended up selling the ones that didn't work for us and since I knew right away what I liked I sold them for pretty much new condition and got most of my money back on them. I also bought some used for cheap just to see what they were like. In the end fuzzi bunz were what we like the best.

My daughter was in the same size medium fuzzi bunz from the age of 3 months old (she was a plump baby) until she potty trained. We saved SO much money with cloth!