It is funny the reactions we get when we tell folks that we us cloth diapers. What immediately comes to mind is the image of ’70s with the baby in a big massive cloth diaper with huge pins holding it together. They also think of “what a mess!” and “What do you do with all the poop?!” That is not case with cloth diapers today. Thank God for good ole’ American Capitalism and Invention cloth diapers have a come a long way baby!

With the  birth of our baby boy a few years ago we looked into what to do for diapers. After a little research it was relatively easy to look into choosing some form of cloth diapers for him. There are a number of advantages that we saw for both our children, family and the environment.

What We Like About Cloth Diapers:

-Less impact on the environment

-Long term savings of cloth versus disposable

-The advantage of getting the kiddos out of diapers sooner

What is a Modern Cloth Diaper?

First, they are not the diapers you think of from the ’70s. They are not held together with monster sized safety pins. They do exist but I am sure not in use by many. There are a number of great cloth diaper companies out there. Out brand of choice is FuzziBunz. They are simple to use, easy to get on and off. They wear very well, and have lasted for over two years with changing a very hungry boy about five times a day. We have about 20 pairs of Fuzzibunz. The other component is the liners for the diapers. Modern cloth diapers have a liner that is absorbent of the pee and poop. These liners are designed to fit in the diaper but in reality and being lazy we usually just put them in the appropriate area. And also in reality we also double up the liners. The liner can vary in size and material. We have both a hemp and polipropeline/fleece type. The great thing about the cloth diapers is that they will grow with your kids. We have had the same set of diapers from infant to toddler. They have adjustable elastic in the lining that you can expand out as they get bigger.

So lets take a look at each advantage.

First the “Environmental Impact” of diapers. As you know we live in the country but also mindful of the crazy chemicals that are put in to all the cleaning and detergents that we use on a daily basis. The cloth diapers are certainly the way to go. Cloth diapers also force you to take care of the poop in a more sanitary manner. This manner is disposing of it down the toilet. There is debate that this is even the case for disposable but I found inconsistent articles on this. Either way it is better for human waste to go down the toilet.

When it comes to savings, cloth diapers are the biggest bang for your buck. We invested over $500 in reality with the purchase of the diapers and liners. There also is the added cost of electricity and water (perhaps gas too) that you will tack on by cleaning the diapers. And you will have to clean them almost daily if your kids are changes as much as ours. The added cost of the utility bills was pretty nominal and not enough that I even noticed. We do have the advantage of having an Energy Star or high efficiency washer to do the cleaning. We run the diapers on their own wash with extra settings of ‘sanitize’ and ‘heavy soil’ set. We are pretty diligent about running the ‘clean’ cycle on the washer about once a month to make sure the washer is clean. But all that said we have had no issues. Overall compare how much one spends on disposable diapers on a monthly basis and an investment of $500 bucks is pretty cheap.

The last point of getting the kiddos out of diapers quicker has proven to be a myth. The argument is logical in that disposable diapers are so advanced that kids do not feel the sensation of being wet. And, with cloth diapers they will feel wet to a degree and want to stop ‘feeling wet’, thus using the potty. Perhaps it is just him but our son has still yet to transition to using a potty as much as we have tried. We have taken the approach of ‘He will use it when he is ready’. We are about to resort to take the approach of ‘He needs to use it now, and we will bribe him with whatever it takes.’

Overall we are very happy with the cloth diapers. Some of the hemp liners have started to wear badly. Some of the diapers have shown wear and tear. FuzziBunz has been wonderful in replacing their faulty diapers with brand new ones. They have been a wonderful investment and one of the best decisions we have made. People are very pleased and amazed when the witness us breaking them out for a diaper change at a party or with company.