TTMA cloth diapering

[kristhegirl]

This will all depend on what kinds you get and your personal setup.

I've spent about $350 on cloth diapers - all new, because I wanted them to last for two kids, and my husband thought used diapers would be weird. (Now that we use them all the time, I think he'd be on-board.) Our water bill has gone up between $2 and $3 a month.

Since we don't use cloth when we travel or are out and about longer than a couple hours, we've also bought a couple of boxes of disposables, and we use disposable wipes at those times too.

I think it's already a money saver, but will especially be so with a second child. I love using cloth and don't find the extra laundry to be that big of a deal.

[Girlymama79]

I love cloth diapers, and agree with what kristhegirl has said. And don't forget if your diapers are still in decent condition when you are done you can sell them. The cloth diaper board here is awesome, check it out!

[kaits8]

Another CD user here! I'm also in the camp of using disposables if we're traveling or away from home for a long time. It can be overwhelming at first, but it doesn't have to be! I think it has definitely saved us $ (although I went way overboard on diapers b/c they're cute..but I did sell what I ended up not loving or don't use enough). I'll still buy disposables when there's a good sale, but only buying every few months is much nicer on the wallet than every week (or however often non-CD families have to buy diapers)!

Re: washing, I love laundry, so there's that..but I wash every 3-4 days and once it's part of the routine I find I don't think about it much (it's no harder than throwing in a normal load of laundry). I don't pay much attention to our water bill, but it didn't go up enough for me to notice so I'm assuming any increase was quite small.

[bluedaisy0627]

Does anyone cloth diaper in an apartment where you have to pay for laundry? That's my biggest objection at the moment. Otherwise, I think I'd be all about it.

[kristhegirl]

bluedaisy0627 I know people do it, but the hassle of going to the laundry room and then paying per load would be a no go for me.

Have you looked into diaper services? They're usually still cheaper than all disposables, and bonus, you don't have to do the laundry at all! (No idea where you live - there is no diaper service in my town at all so if you have it I'm jealous.)

[zengal]

My upfront cost was very low, though I'm not sure of the exact dollar amount. We use flats and prefolds, which you can get by the dozens and then you only need a handful of covers (but like almost everyone when I see a super cute cover I feel like I NEED it). We also use cloth wipes and take a wet bag when we travel. I am so pleased with the cloth diapering experience! I also find it hilarious that MH has no idea how to use a disposable diaper.

[daisylola11]

So I started cloth diapering my son when he turned 1. I had heard of cloth diapering but it seemed hard and as a FTM I wanted to stay w what I knew, disposables.

But after meeting a few moms that cloth diapered I was interested and thought "I want to do this w future babies". So I started searching through buy sell trade sites and ended up finding an amazing deal for a whole stash of one size fit all cloth diapers, wet bags and all, so I got it and just started with my DS. I ended up accumulating more diapers and even newborn ones that were good deals. So overall I spent about $250 total. Most all are used and I have enough for two in diapers so I might end up selling some extras.

Not gonna lie as soon as I find out gender I'll probably get this LO a few new covers too.

[daisylola11]

Oh about the laundry, super easy, just dump and dry the inserts and hang dry the covers. Very easy! I dorm notice the extra 2 loads a week and it's easy folding and putting away.

[mikaela20]

What do you ladies thing about sewing your own O/S fitted diapers? Is it just a bad idea?

I was planning to get my mom to sew them because she is an intermediate sewer. I bought a pattern off etsy that lists the type of fabric to use for each layer. And then I would buy covers.

[moutonrouge]

Does anyone CD at home but send disposables to daycare? The daycares here won't allow them (by law) and I had kind of stopped thinking about CDing when I learned that. But if I could do it at first full time and then part time when I go back to work, then I would think about it again

[bluedaisy0627]

Briefly looking, there seems to be a diaper service that is about $100/month. They deliver and pick up diapers once a week. Is this worth it? I have no idea what disposables would cost for a month to know if it is comparable.

[mrsmechanic]

Jul 20, 2016 7:01:54 GMT -5 moutonrouge said:

Does anyone CD at home but send disposables to daycare? The daycares here won't allow them (by law) and I had kind of stopped thinking about CDing when I learned that. But if I could do it at first full time and then part time when I go back to work, then I would think about it again

 I would talk to the CD board about it if you're serious about doing CD at daycare.  I think they've found that the laws don't actually exclude CD, but could be interpreted that way.  Also, in home are more likely to work with you on it.  Our in home never had an issue with it.  When we switched to snaps vs. aplix there were a few wonky days, but overall we've been doing it for a year and a half and it's worked out just fine for everyone.

[zengal]

Jul 20, 2016 6:27:49 GMT -5 mikaela20 said:

What do you ladies thing about sewing your own O/S fitted diapers? Is it just a bad idea?

I was planning to get my mom to sew them because she is an intermediate sewer. I bought a pattern off etsy that lists the type of fabric to use for each layer. And then I would buy covers.

If you have the instructions and your mom has the know-how, I don't see any problem with this at all! I'm eager to hear how it works out- and good luck!!

[Deleted]

I CD full time, he only wears a disposable at night because he sleeps better that way.

DH and I went the cheapest way, we have flats, prefolds, and covers. When we first had DS we lived in a small apartment with a laundromat and I didn't want to wash the diapers there. The flats and prefolds were the easiest to hand wash and hang dry.

Now we have a washer and dryer and I use that. Flats and prefold diapers are super quick to wash and dry and are super easy(to me).

We only spent about $200 on our entire diaper collection. If I get DS potty trained before the new baby I'll only have to buy a few newborn cover and we'll be set.

[Girlymama79]

Lots of people only cloth part time, it's still does save money. For one you don't buy as many disposables and then there is less wear and tear on your cloth, then they are worth more on the resale.

[summerrain]

Jul 20, 2016 8:15:17 GMT -5 bluedaisy0627 said:

Briefly looking, there seems to be a diaper service that is about $100/month. They deliver and pick up diapers once a week. Is this worth it? I have no idea what disposables would cost for a month to know if it is comparable.

We use disposables because DH said he wouldn't change cloth diapers and it wasn't worth the fight. We spend about $50 a month on disposables because DD has a sensitive butt and honest co are the only ones that don't break her out in a rash. Many people spend between $20-$30 a month getting Costco brand, parents choice, or up&up. I know cloth diapering has more upfront cost but pretty decent savings overall.

This thread is so fascinating to me because I want to be on board, but if my husband is happy buying the disposables then so be it.

[amacbaby]

Jul 20, 2016 6:27:49 GMT -5 mikaela20 said:

What do you ladies thing about sewing your own O/S fitted diapers? Is it just a bad idea?

I was planning to get my mom to sew them because she is an intermediate sewer. I bought a pattern off etsy that lists the type of fabric to use for each layer. And then I would buy covers.

I learned how to sew by sewing cloth diapers (embarrassingly before we even had our first kids) so it is definitely do able! They are not actually difficult. The only thing I would say is to splurge on some nice fabric. I love the fitteds I made with the nice fabric, they have held up well and hold a lot. I even added snaps but if you use certain fabric, you can just use a "snappy." I would suggest looking through "Nature's Fabrics" which has a lot of different options. Some of it is pretty expensive but still cheaper than buying nice fitteds. My favorite fabrics were: Bamboo double loop terry (great for using a snappy), bamboo or cotton stretch fleece and hemp/bamboo fleece (for the inserts/doublers). Oh, bamboo and cotton velour work well too for inside layers. If you have any questions let me know, I like making diapers. I plan on making some more newborn fitteds for this LO  

[mrsmechanic]

Jul 20, 2016 11:56:41 GMT -5 summerrain said:

Jul 20, 2016 8:15:17 GMT -5 bluedaisy0627 said:

Briefly looking, there seems to be a diaper service that is about $100/month. They deliver and pick up diapers once a week. Is this worth it? I have no idea what disposables would cost for a month to know if it is comparable.

We use disposables because DH said he wouldn't change cloth diapers and it wasn't worth the fight. We spend about $50 a month on disposables because DD has a sensitive butt and honest co are the only ones that don't break her out in a rash. Many people spend between $20-$30 a month getting Costco brand, parents choice, or up&up. I know cloth diapering has more upfront cost but pretty decent savings overall.

This thread is so fascinating to me because I want to be on board, but if my husband is happy buying the disposables then so be it.

Your husband should talk to my husband. He by far prefers CD.  He admits he was a little hesitant at first, but quickly got on board once he saw how easy it was.  You literally just put the diaper in a pail vs. the garbage.  The only time she was in sposies in her first year she had two blowouts, and that was enough for him.  Plus we made it to a year old before we ever got a diaper rash.