Cloth Diapering & Eco-friendly Disposable Diapers

[enduringplum]

I think I've figured out what we'll need to cloth diaper our baby. There are so many different options available to people interested in cloth diapering that looking over the diaper websites was a bit overwhelming and buying a wide variety of different diaper styles can get expensive very quickly, although it would still be cheaper than paying for two years' worth of disposable diapers.

The big reason I want to cloth diaper is because it's much cheaper in the long run than using disposables. I also won't have to deal with the guilt of tossing a dozen or more disgusting, disposable diapers in to a landfill every day.

I've registered for some diaper inserts and pre-fold diapers at Babies "R" Us, but I'm going to buy the bulk of our cloth diapers from http://greenmountaindiapers.com/

I'm going to use Indian unbleached cotton pre-folds and will be able to get enough to do laundry every other day (unless our baby is some sort of Olympic pooper) for about ninety dollars. I'm planning to start out with three dozen "newborn" size and one dozen "infant" size, unless our baby is measuring unusually large toward the end of my gestation, in which case I may go up a size, but those measurements aren't especially accurate.

I am going to keep some disposable diapers handy, in case I get behind on laundry (I know it'll happen at some point) and for visits to grandparents' homes and other outings. Nature Babycare Diapers are biodegradable disposables and a pack of forty-four of them is only a few dollars more expensive than a forty pack of Pampers diapers of the same size. If you're interested, you can read a review of Nature Babycare Diapers here.

I also plan to make my own baby wipes, both from cloth and paper towels, simply as a way to save money, because we need to save money every way we can, especially since I plan to go back to school when our baby is about seven months old; I'm thankful we have family we can rely on for babysitting!

Comments

[switchknives.livejournal.com]

I wish we were in a better finanicial situation and could do cloth diapers with Grace, because not only do they save money, but cloth bums are so cute!

[perfectcherry.livejournal.com]

If you can do laundry every other day, then you can get enough cloth diapers for ninety dollars. Cheaper, if you buy them used from eBay or from someone in an LJ cloth diapering community.

I don't think I would be able to do it without my own washer and dryer, though. If I tried washing the dirty diapers at my mom's house, she would probably freak out, and that's where we're doing our laundry until we get our own washer and dryer; she's very weird about the cleanliness of certain things, which is why she has four different sponges for washing dishes: each one has its own, special purpose.

The cheapest washer and dryer I found anywhere was a washer/dryer combo (washer on the bottom, dryer on the top) is less than eight hundred dollars, so you may want to consider saving for it if your new place will have washer/dryer hook-ups. Then you can also take it with you whenever you next move. Being able to do laundry at home makes a huge difference, both in time saved and money saved.

Can you get free diapers through the WIC program? I just signed up for it and they haven't finished processing my paperwork, so I'm not very familiar with it yet.