Still Skeptical: The Cloth Diaper Experiment Day 4

My husband and I are getting the hang of these things now. Lil' J still seems to be her happy cheering self around me so I'm chalking up her misbehavior to missing me while I'm at work.

My husband is still convinced it's the cloth diapers that are keeping her from taking long naps so tomorrow we may try a FuzziBunz all-in-one pocket diaper we have because some commenters suggested pocket diapers for naps. I may also buy some soft sleeves by Sprout Change to add an extra layer of absorbency. You can use these with any other system of diaper you already have so I think this may make it less expensive overall since I won't be buying an entirely different diaper and cover etc. It'll only be $4.95 versus $20+ for each additional diaper.

It is a little discouraging think about all of the different things you need for different scenarios. So, I'm with one commenter on my last post--I'm still not totally convinced cloth diapers are as economical as people say. Especially when you consider the special detergents you need (I still use Tide despite some people who suggest a special, more expensive kind). If you want stain remover you need a special kind for that. Buying a diaper sprayer, a diaper pail (I didn't though, I'm just using what I have). Then when you consider doing an extra load of laundry every-other day (I could go longer but I hear it's not best to let the diapers sit more than 2-3 days). That's 15 extra loads of washing and drying a month. You're using hot water in the wash, then some suggest running an extra rinse cycle... It's a lot of water and energy you're using.

A friend of mine buys 200 diapers at Costco averaging $.14 a diaper. That's hard to beat. Then on the other end of things, some people get "addicted" to cloth diapers and are always buying more and more cloth diapers and while having a minimum stash I think is awesome, and cost effective--having dozens of brand new, different brands and styles seems to defeat the point... To me. I'm NOT going to go crazy with cloth diapers. Mark my words. We have enough. And if I want to save money, I must not go crazy.

Using the Sprout Change diapers for a second child I'm sure will make up the difference in costs, and I'm going to look into buying an indoor drying rack that I can set out on my porch, or use inside to dry the diapers after they've washed. I figure that's more green, and more economical. It also would keep from the wearing on the elastic--Which one of my commenters mentioned can happen with continued dryer use. Lucky for me though, the Sprout Change diapers have a lifetime warranty on the snaps and a year warranty on everything else!

I have been using my diaper champ as a diaper pail instead of buying a new pail to put them in. I've been reusing a plastic bag after dumping the diapers in the washer, but the bag is beginning to stink so I'm thinking of buying a cloth bag to put in the champ, that I can throw in the wash with the diapers.

So if money is your main and only motivation for trying cloth diapers, you may want to check your numbers and make sure it would work out for you. If you're planning on having more than one child and using the same diapers more than once like I hope to if these work out--That for sure will save ya some dough, probably about $40 a month.

There are other reasons for liking them though besides possible savings and that's what I'm trying to focus on now.

My husband isn't skipping a beat with the diapers. Tonight when he brought my daughter up to work for my break, she was in a cloth diaper, and he brought extra to change her while he was there. He just put the dirty one in a plastic bag, and did diaper laundry when he got home. I told him I'd do it but he said he would. And he did!

I noticed a couple of the inserts did have poop stains on them (see, breastfeed baby poop CAN STAIN!) these were ones that weren't rinsed, just thrown in the pail then washed. They're faint, but I don't mind because it's just the inserts (not the cute, reversible cover), and I can always sun them later if I want to get the stains out. A commenter on my last post also mentioned a diaper-friendly stain remover I may try.

So day 4 of my adventure is down. What's next? Who knows!

***

Winner of the bumblebee costume from Flowers and Beyond: #27 Emily. I'll email you and you'll have 48 hours to respond!
Everyone else gets $2 off your order from their shop my mentioning my blog! :)