Reactions to CD? Is it really that hard? - Page 3

[gypsyhips26]

i started CDing my Ds when he was about 8-9 months or so because the sposies ALWAYS LEAK esp. at night. I love it and I'm in an apartment complex (ie-communal washer) I had a couple of detergent issues but once I worked all that out, its actually kind of fun (I use combo of FuzziBunz, BG & Swaddlebees).

And its really only 1 extra load of laundry/per week so not so bad. And no stinky pail either and I only wash the dipes once a week (I do sprinkle the pail with tea tree oil every couple of days)

And my new CD obsession is the wool cover I use for nighttime diapering. They are so incredibly soft, cute and most importantly don't leak! :

[tjjazzy]

Originally Posted by apelilae

I'm convinced cloth smells much less than most 'sposies. A friend's 'sposie diaper pail was awful! She was using Pampers and Luvs and it did stink up the room at times. I've never smelled my diaper pail except when it was open around laundry time.

i agree. we use disposables for bedtime and when we're lazy and the disposable pail stinks to high heaven much more than the cloth pail. AND i find the diapers themselves smell. i can smell a wet baby from a mile away in a disposable but not in a cloth.

[tjjazzy]

Originally Posted by jenmichelle99

She has said today (I was at her house all day).
Your diaper pail/your house is going to STINK.
They are going to leak everywhere constantly.
He is going to get a rash.
Youre going to have to use disposables at night.
Etc.

-the diaper pail stinks when you open it (however, the only one that stank up the house was the sposie pail.) i haven't found a great pail system yet so if you're going to spend a bit on your system, it might be worth it. i have a cheap pail from wal-mart and, though it works fine, i wish i'd just bought something like a step can and a wet bag for it.
-the good ones last quite some time before leaking. though our disposables (no name from the grocery store) leak very rarely, the same can be said for the BG and Motherease with the right covers.
-my son has only had one diaper rash (he's 2.5 and we started CDing at about 8 months) and i think it was b/c the diapers weren't clean enough but not sure. my mom HAD to use cloth on me b/c of diaper rash/allergies to disposables.
-we do use disposables at night but don't plan to with the new little one unless there's some weird reason for it.

sometimes it's more inconvenient and takes up more room but a lot of hassle has gone out of CDing now that my washer/dryer are on the main floor instead of the basement!

[tjjazzy]

Originally Posted by KristyDi

When I first started I was using sposies when we went out. .

haha i'm ashamed to do that b/c i don't want to advertise sposies. i have myself convinced someone is going to notice! LOL. or that i could've converted someone if he'd just had his cloth on. if he does wear sposies out, i tend to put him in overalls so no one can see!!
some days i wonder about myself

[sarahwpen]

Originally Posted by jenmichelle99

I just bought a big stash of CD's today and started up.
My mom, although willing to participate, has plenty negative to say about it. She CD'd, at least part time, 4 kids.

She has said today (I was at her house all day).
Your diaper pail/your house is going to STINK.
They are going to leak everywhere constantly.
He is going to get a rash.
(When I said that CD kids potty train 6 months earlier) Why? Because it is so nasty? Can you imagine being in a wet towel all day?
Youre going to have to use disposables at night.
Etc.

She has a lot of experience, and obviously she is not thrilled about the extra work involved when she is taking care of him.

SO what do yall think? Is CD that bad? Do modern conveniences make all the difference? Am I overly optimistic about my decision?

ok, honestly, my husbands dirty work clothes stink more than my diaper pail.

disposables leak! my cds can be made to fit better! and I have NEVER had a good wool soaker that leaked at all.

rashes happen if you don't change often enough, no matter what you use.

and yeah, sitting in a wet diaper ALL DAY would suck! I would never let my kid sit in it all day. that is why you change them! and fortunately, with cloth, you can do that as often as you like, and it won't cost you any more! which, in my opinion, is why kids who cd learn that it is soo much nicer to be dry.

Every time i used disposables at night they leaked. when I cd, i can double wrap her and she never leaks. She also wakes up a lot drier too instead of soaked and coated in diaper gel.

not to be snarky, but your mom sounds like she has hygiene problems instead of cd problems.

[ChetMC]

So True

Originally Posted by tjjazzy

...the disposable pail stinks to high heaven much more than the cloth pail. AND i find the diapers themselves smell. i can smell a wet baby from a mile away in a disposable but not in a cloth.

The smell of disposable diapers gives DH a headache. When we buy them for long trips he tries to find the least smelly... and that's before they're peed or pooped in. Once they've been soiled they have to go in the inside garbage immediately.

[texmati]

betcha your mom will be over the moon when she sees how cute dipes are nowadays!

[Anna1979]

It's extra work but it is so worth it....from what I remember when my sisters were little. I talked to DH about CDing when the time comes and he is totally on board :

[Talula Fairie]

I've done both for considerable lengths of time (2 years doing cloth exclusively, followed by about six months of cloth/disposables and then a year of disposables only). I personally think that cloth is extra work. Changes take a little bit longer (unless you use AIOs), you usually have to wash the diapers twice and they take awhile to dry as well.

It's not *hard* to cloth diaper per se, but it is a little extra work. I don't think it's really hard at all with one in cloth but when you have 2 or more in cloth it can be a bit of a challenge, especially if you use all wool covers like I used to (I've since switched to machine washable covers due to cost and time issues).

I do think cloth is way worth it. Also, sposies stink like nothing else. Ew!

[Bleu]

responding to all the OP's questions: I was very happy with CDing. What was too hard was trying to CD part-time and use disposables while out, which is what I was trying to do at first. All CD all the time was much easier for me, personally. The only time we used disposables was when out of town.

My personal opinion is that you do have to be a bit more vigilant with pee changes in cloth than in disposables. But letting your kid marinate in their own pee is never good, regardless of what they're wearing. The single exception is overnight. I *never* changed my baby overnight unless there was a #2 that I was aware of. If you want to be extra meticulous, or if your baby is getting rashy, or if the CD is leaking, you can stick a fleece doubler in there - they work great to wick away pee. That and some naked time during the day are great.

Stink isn't an issue if you're careful about closing up the diaper pail really well. Id on't see what that's any different from sposies - I mean, there's human waste either way, right?

Good luck & enjoy your baby!

[newcastlemama]

It is a little extra work but I also do it for the financial reasons (plus the enviroment, health ect)

The only thinkg that was difficult for me is that my first child could not use them and I spent lot of effort into trying to make it work. DD has no rash issues at all as long as she is in wool

[Ifluffedthree]

I don't feel it is hard at all.

I do feel that too many choose a stash of all one diaper and get frustrated as it may not be the best fit for their particular needs.

I always suggest that a stash should be a bit of a mix to feel out what you best like, inclusive of various covers too. What is one persons love is another ones dislike.

establishing routine is key to good diapering success.

[Magali]

Your diaper pail/your house is going to STINK. There is NO stink. I have a lid for my pail. Poop goes in the toilet. Smells less I think than having poopy sposies sitting around.
They are going to leak everywhere constantly. I have had 1 cd leak in 15 months.
He is going to get a rash. Sometimes babies get rashes...cd or sposies My cd'd ds rarely has a rash and when he does it's not from the dipes.
(When I said that CD kids potty train 6 months earlier) Why? Because it is so nasty? Can you imagine being in a wet towel all day? He can feel the wet more sure, but he is changed frequently. I think sposies are more nasty anyways because of they can absorb so much pee and it just hangs out there.
You're going to have to use disposables at night. I was told this too...not true, I use cloth with no problems, no leaks.

[tjjazzy]

Originally Posted by ChetMC

The smell of disposable diapers gives DH a headache. When we buy them for long trips he tries to find the least smelly... and that's before they're peed or pooped in. Once they've been soiled they have to go in the inside garbage immediately.

i have friends who use disposables and they'll be sitting there putting their son's butt right up to their noses going "i think he's wet." and the other will try too "i think so. you think so?" meanwhile, i'm across the room thinking "are you kidding me?! i can smell it from here!" LOL

[TypingMarie]

I voted "extra work, but worth it". I've been cloth diapering for almost two years and though there have been some challenges, none of the problems in the OP have happened to me. When it comes to leaks and smell especially, cloth diapers are the winners.

There's no denying that cloth diapers are more work than disposables. There's a learning curve, and you will need to do a little adjusting here and there to hit upon the "perfect" wash routine based on the brand of diapers, your washing machine, and your water. But, I've found them to be much more reliable than disposable diapers, and they're much gentler on my son's skin, so the extra effort's well worth it. I'd still cloth diaper even if it was a bit more expensive than disposables.

[brookie514]

Cloth diapering has come so far since your mom did it!! I would buy her AIO's and a wetbag for her house and let that be that. She'll soon see how easy and nice it is. I only wash every 3 days and my house does not stink. Not even the laundry room where the wetbag is stored (open, btw). Buy her some Depends and make her wear them for a month, if your kid has to be in paper, then so does she!

[Mama Poot]

Originally Posted by Ifluffedthree

I don't feel it is hard at all.

I do feel that too many choose a stash of all one diaper and get frustrated as it may not be the best fit for their particular needs.

I always suggest that a stash should be a bit of a mix to feel out what you best like, inclusive of various covers too. What is one persons love is another ones dislike.

establishing routine is key to good diapering success.

ITA with this!!! I have all kinds of different dipes-sometimes I think my changing table looks ridiculous and DH gets confused about which one to use LOL! But I have prefolds with Bummis covers and other kinds of covers, I have BumGenius, Fuzzi Bunz, cheap Gerber flats and plastic pants (for when I get lazy about the laundry oops! ) and Sammy's one-size fitted sherpa dipes (which are just WONDERFUL. I wish my whole stash was these!!) But I like to mix things up. Its good to have different dipes for different occasions and times of the day too. I save my FB's for nighttime, for example, and use my prefolds and covers around the house, and use the Sammy's when we go to the store (they're UBER absorbent)

[jenmichelle99]

Well, I have been cloth diapering for over two weeks now and i like it!! It doesnt stink, he doesnt have a rash. In fact i had to put him in a disposable the other day for him to fit in a certain outfit i had already picked out for portraits, and it made his skin much redder than the cloth.

i havent had many problems with leaks either. i didnt have any leaks at first and now i am having some, so i need to troubleshoot. I actually think i am having fewer leaks with prefolds and covers than with the kushies (i have some ultras and classics, yeah i know they arent highly favored but i got them for REALLY cheap and i am on a tight budget).

Washing them is no problem although i wish i had a house with a washer/dryer and clothesline for decent weather. Coin laundry stinks!!

THe only thing i'm not too crazy about is the bulk, not only that he outgrew a ton of his clothes instantly, but that they require a whole extra bag when going back and forth to my moms for the weekend (and the pail) and that my nifty changing wallet that held a couple of disposables for a quick trip cant be used now.

all and all though i am happy with it and its great to know that i am doing something for his health and the environment while also saving money!

[jenmichelle99]

oh and my mom *does* greatly prefer the AIO's.