My fiancee and I have started to talk about having a child in the next three years. The other night we did a lot of research on BabyCenter.com and I was amazed that the average family spends about $6,000 in the first year on mostly junk. Unfortunately, parents can't escape the revenge of the diaper. My fiancee came up with using reusable cloth diapers, which range between $15 and $25. In the end, it's cheaper, I assume, then spending $40 a month of diapers. What do you think? Why aren't more families buying reusable cloth diapers?
We use cloth diapers and you can find them cheaper than between 15-25.00 a piece. Kawaii, Alva, and sunbaby all have pocket diapers (that you put an insert in like a pocket) that are under 10.00 a piece. If you are up for going old school then you can use prefolds and covers Newborn Alva cloth diapers are 4.50 a piece! Although the start up cost of cloth diapering can be scary to some- it is a lot cheaper in the long run than disposable diapers. Additional bonus- you can use them for more than one child!
Cloth diapers can definitely save you a great deal of money. Prefolds and flats with covers are the most economical options if your main priority is saving money. There is some folding involved, but it is an excellent way to cut expenses. I exclusively use flats and waterproof covers on my toddler and they work quite well. You could even use receiving blankets and old t-shirts as diapers. The overflowing heap of washcloths I received at my baby shower are being utilized as baby wipes. You are only limited by your imagination! I would try out a cloth diaper trial; Jillian's Drawers allows you to try out various types of cloth diapers for $10. There are numerous brands and types of cloth diapers out there. Finding what works best for your baby and sticking with it will help you to keep costs down.
I have been using cloth diapers for 6 years now (between 3 kids) and can not imagine buying a box of disposable diapers, it just seems like such a waste. I think the move to cloth diapers is becoming more popular though, at least in my area. I hardly have any "mommy friends" who use disposable diapers. People are intimidated by cloth at first and think it will be so much work but really once you get into the routine it isn't much work at all. People are also a bit turned off by the obvious "ick" factor of it but as you will learn when you have kids no matter what type of diaper you put them in there will inevitably be some "ick" involved.
Well, the cost in terms of water, electricty, and time are somewhat offputing. There is also the factor of daycare - daycares don't do cloth diapers genrally speaking. Further, babysitters are generally not cool with them either. Then of course is the issue of how often your kid goes, whether they're prone to "monsters" in terms of bowel movements, and if they come down with diarherra. I mean with disposable diapers these questions don't generally come up. Added on to that is - two years or less of disposable diapers tends not to annoy people in terms of cost. You'll be potty training the little sprogling before your know it so why stress yourself out beyond the colic, the late feedings, the teething, the messes, the establishing a sleep schedule, the crankiness, the bottles if you use them, etc. ?
Well, above answers are numerous and comes down to one common thing - disposables are more convenient though they may be more expensive than cloth diapers. Especially with times like now, when everyone is in a rush, it's really the choice of the great majority (although environmentally speaking, imagine mountains of disposable diapers as garbage! It's not very helpful to the environment.) With my own four kids, I used cloth diapers when we are at home because it's more airy for the babies. They don't develop rashes as compared to plastic from disposables. Going out requires disposables. Just a tip though, if you will go for cloth diapers, too, use them only when you feel your babies have already pooped; meaning, cloth diapers are easier to wash only when they were peed on and not pooed. ^_^