Cloth Diapers

[GaMomof2Girls]

Ok, I know they have come a long way from using pins. Now they have velcrow(I know I didn't spell that right).

I was just wondering:

How much work is it?
Is it really cheaper?
What do you need?
Diaper Service?
Where to find?

DH and I are in a financial bind, and I'm just trying to do whatever I can to save some money.

Any thoughts?

[Fourboys]

Ok, I know they have come a long way from using pins. Now they have velcrow(I know I didn't spell that right).

I was just wondering:

How much work is it?
Is it really cheaper?
What do you need?
Diaper Service?
Where to find?



well i've been cloth diapering for 8+ years. I started with Chinese Diaper Service Qaulity Prefolds. these are flat diapers you either need pins or a *snappi* for. they also need covers.

Then I entered the world of FITTED diapers - these are more hourglass shaped adn either snap or velcro closed. they too ened a cover. covers can be pull up ones or snap on or velcro on. I HATE velcro since they become a velcro chain in the wash but Love snapepd diapers. I prefer pull on covers.

A million and one Work at Home moms seem to make cloth diapers out of everything from hemp, fleece, flannel, old towels, etc. Quality can vary. The beenfit of WAHM diapes is the cute covers adn patterns.

I bought ALL my diapers for the last 3 kdis ( where I needed to fill in) from MOTHEREASE. they are snap diapers in unbleached terry cloth. They're about $8 a diaper. I think ihave 2 dozen. I bbuy pull on covers called DAPPIS which are about $2 a cover - I have about 10.

the absolute cheapest way to CD is to use prefolds and pull on covers. You could get everything you eneded for under $200 easily. And most of my diapers have made it through all 4 kids.

WEEBEES dot com is a great diapering site to get some information. I foudn my system adn have been out fo the cloth diapering bulletin baords, trading worlds for a long time. but there are other places too to find information.

Washing them is NOT hard at all. if you plan on having more kids it is definitely a cost saver. The only time difference I find is I change cloth diapers much more frequently than disposable diapers. I change cloth about every 3 hours except at night.

[MidWestDena]

If your going to do all the washing yourself I'm sure it would be cheaper in the long run. The last time I actually priced a diaper service (they bring, they wash, they deliver clean) it was about the same price as buying that amount of diapers from the store every month--of course this was quite a few years ago. The yellow pages for where you live should have a listing for diaper services and some time on the phone finding out prices (then comparing those with the store bought diaper prices) should give you a good idea if it's more expensive, less expensive, or about the same.

[denalismom]

Wow Im excited to find someone else who might be cloth diapering! I dont think many people on the boards do that. Are you very crafty?? My mom has volenteered to make them for us. I dont think its very hard. There are a bunch of free patterns out there. Though im not sure if you could make them cheaper then dappis
Fourboys-Have you been happy with dappis? A friend is sending me a box of hand me downs, but I heard that alot of people arent happy with them??

Any cloth diapering momma have any tips for us newbies?

[cheapeats]

I cloth diapered my dd for about the first year while she was breastfed. I used Chinese prefolds with the snappi and Prorap covers (with velcro). I got all of my diapering supplies through Ebay. The prefolds were new and the covers I got were like new. It seems a lot of moms buy them with good intentions and you get a good deal on the covers when they "thow in the towel" I used small covers and just a diaper liner when she was a newborn--a regular small diaper would just swallow her! I just tossed them in a diaper pail lined with a diaper pail nylon bag and washed every other day. I'd run a prerinse cycle first and then wash with hot water, "free" detergent (not a lot) and vinager. I'd usually line dry.
We did use disposables at church and at night. We cloth diapered to save money and it worked. I saved $$ by buying on ebay and then by not buying a box or bag of diapers all the time. She rarely had a diaper rash. It worked well for us and I'll do it again if we have another--maybe for a longer period of time. We switched when she was using less diapers and the wash load was smaller and got to be more infrequent--then financially it was ok with me to use disposables.

[jimandbeth1]

I wish I had known of all the different places you could get this stuff. I was going to cloth diaper when I had my first DD, but the only covers I found were the plastic gerber ones at walmart and Toys r us. Even their smallest size had leg holes double the size of my firsts legs. I had done the cost of water usage, getting started ect. and it was worth while for me, just couldnt find small enough covers. Best of luck to you, its also nice to know that you arent contributing landfills and all of that too.

[Fourboys]

Oh please dont buy your cloth diapering suppliesa at walmart or target. the fastest way to quit cloth diapering is using Gerber stuff.

Denalismom
I like Dappi pull on covers - but ive been using them forever... they're harder to find now. And it's hard to find pull on covers otehr than the target/WM kind. I prefer them sicne by the end of the diaper time DS does not want to sit still for more snaps! lol

[jimandbeth1]

Oh please dont buy your cloth diapering suppliesa at walmart or target. the fastest way to quit cloth diapering is using Gerber stuff.
I totally agree.