Cloth Diapers vs. Disposables???



Before I had to diaper Jakob’s little soft bum several times a day – the thought of using cloth diapers just seemed silly to me. I mean, wasn’t that for the tree hugging, safe the earth, granola, all organic people? Why would I want to voluntarily wash poo?

But then came Jakob. I had the hardest time finding a diaper that fit him properly. I was surprised when he leaked through every single diaper for the first two weeks. Maybe the wrong size? But he clearly is within the weight range of the diaper size. Wrong brand? A learning curve on how to properly put on a diaper?

I tried several different brands and bought different sizes to try and find a good fit. Some worked slightly better than others, but none worked good. At least he wasn’t leaking through EVERY diaper, instead it was only leaking through a few diapers a day. And maybe a diaper would contain a poopy mess 40% of the time. I was terribly discouraged by diapers, but I just thought that was the way things were.

Then a friend shared with me about cloth diapers. She showed me the different styles she had and explained how they worked. She said she had much fewer leaks with cloth diapers and she was also saving money. Fewer leaks?? Yippee! That was enough to perk my interest.

Well, I tried a few and made the switch. Now I love cloth diapering. Really, I enjoy it. A friend recently was contemplating switching to cloth diapers so I showed her mine. I asked why she wanted to change. She said her only reason would be to save money. I knew cloth diapers were cheaper, but I wasn’t sure how much cheaper. And was the savings worth it if that was your only reason for using cloth?

So I sat down to figure out how much the savings would be. I made a chart and calculated the cost if you bought Costco diapers and used a coupon every time. I calculated the cost if you signed up for Amazon Mom and got the 30% savings. Then I calculated how much it cost for the cloth diapers I am using along with the washing cost. Basically if Jakob potty trained by 2 ½ years old I would spend $1,260 on disposables if I bought all of my diapers on Amazon Mom. But with cloth, if Jakob potty trained by 2 ½ I would have spent $560 on the cloth and the washing. A total savings of $700 – which breaks down to a savings of $23 a month.

Only $23 a month?? When you break it down that way it doesn’t seem like a big savings. To me it really is preference. Do you prefer to spend an extra $23 a month to have disposables or to have more money in your date fund? And if money is your own motivation there is other ways to get cheap disposable diapers if you really tried. (MoneySavingMom.com gives some good ideas like Swagbucks or doing the Drugstore Game.)

So why do I enjoy cloth so much? For Jakob it works much better! Not having poop and pee leak all over me is well worth it! Jakob’s thighs are much thicker than his waist and it is hard to find a customized fit with a disposable. Plus, over time I have realized that Jakob is allergic/sensitive to many things… one of those things being disposable wipes (even the sensitive skin formula). With cloth I use cloth wipes and just plain old water! He is even sensitive to many of the creams and oils you use for diaper rash. What works best? A clean cloth diaper – that’s ALL. If my diaper is cleaned properly then his skin is most clear and healthy without the use of any creams or chemicals at all. Also – cloth diapers are really cute! It is fun to put such a soft, cute and colorful diaper on his little bum! And I am saving a little money that my husband and I can use for one more date night a month.

So… which is better cloth or disposables? Neither – it depends on your child and your situation. Everyone’s situation is different. Ease and access to washing your diapers. Time and flexibility to wash your diapers regularly. Your preference to spend the extra $23 on diapers each month or on something else (but even with disposables if you were motivated and tried hard enough you could probably save more money with disposables).

Anyways, those are my thoughts on cloth diapers. ☺