18 Aug
Goodbye (for now) Cloth Diapering
We’re saying goodbye to a cute little bum covered in this…
and saying hello to a lot of coupon clipping for diapers and the diaper genie for containing odors (or something just as good).
We’re giving up cloth diapers for our time in Chicago, and I’m really sad. The reason it took us so long to find an apartment is that I was holding out hope that we could have a washer/dryer in our apartment, but that just wasn’t an option based on what we found. We have laundry facilities in our basement, but there are two reasons why I’ll be converting to the dark side of diapers (ha! I really don’t judge anyone who chooses to use them, really I don’t!).
First, I don’t feel right about washing the massive amounts of poop and pee that we put in our own w/d in a community set of washers. I’m just not committed enough to change our habits, and I think sometimes we need to think about what others would say if we are going to share a space with them. Just like I don’t play DDR late at night or early in the morning for the sake of my neighbors, I don’t want to be washing my dirty diapers in the same machine they will be using without their knowledge (I guess I could post a sign, but then everyone would hate me and I want to be liked you know? 
) Yes, he will still poop and pee so much that it gets on clothes and blankets, but it will never be close to the volume we are putting through the washer right now.
Second, I will be living something like 30 floors up, and though we have an elevator, I don’t want to be visiting the laundry facilities every other day. I want to keep the house up, and blog, and edit photos, and cook, and sometimes sit on the couch with TH and watch 30 Rock. I can’t do any of those things while I’m sitting in the basement waiting for the diapers to dry.
I would love to do a diaper service, but if we want to graduate debt-free that isn’t something that fits in our budget. I’m going to keep the 6 gDiapers we have in medium and large, and we have some disposable inserts for those, and you’ll probably see those show up in photos from time to time (I refuse to take pictures of him just wearing a disposable diaper, I think they look really ugly). We’re also thinking about getting some bigger Thirsties covers in white and putting them over the disposables.
At least while we’re living in our new fabulous new high rise apartment, we’re going to be a disposable family. I love, love, love cloth diapering though. And if the reasons I listed above weren’t issues for me I wouldn’t be switching. If you’re curious about them, you should try the 21 day cloth diaper trial program from Jillian’s Drawers. I just sent mine back and I loved it! Very easy, and with tax and shipping cost us like $30. Now when we go back to cloth in a few years, we know what kinds we want to buy (or maybe we’ll try it again to see what new CDs they’ve come out with since then).
I have so many questions about disposables though!
1. If you have a long and slim baby (T1 is like 90th percentile for height and 50th percentile for weight) what type of diaper do you like best? Where do you buy them? Do you use coupons? What is your coupon system for diapers?
2. What made you choose a certain diaper brand over the other (bazillion) options?
3. Do all disposable diaper parents use diaper cream? We don’t with our cloth but I’m not sure if he just isn’t prone to rashes.
4. Do you have a diaper genie or equivalent diaper oder management keeper?
5. We’re thinking about buying some more Thirsties covers, and putting them over the disposable to help prevent blowouts, since he’s never (ever!) had one in cloth. Has anyone heard of people doing this?
Also:
I'm a farm-raised almost-crunchy stroller-pushing picture-taking lifestyle-blog-writing gastronomy-obsessed divine-seeking thrift-store-combing cheese-inhaling pavement-pounding laughter-sprinkling lover of individuality and taking chances.
My daughter is also in the 90th for height and 50th for weight and the diapers that work best for us are Pampers. We very rarely have blowouts (maybe once a month if that) and she only had a rash once and that was while we were using a different brand. Good luck!
1I love that you are eco-friendly, and realistic. I know some people would probably say “if you cared enough you would do it” but honestly - you’re taking care of your family, and THAT is what is important.
Honestly, I get so many ideas and inspirations from you. Home birth, cloth diapering, and all of those food books (which I am loving reading right now. I never would’ve considered these things had I not heard of them from you.
2We LOVE huggies! They are a little bit cheaper than Pampers, but work just as well (in my opinion!). There are always 3 dollar off coupons online for them. When I do find them, I print as many as it will let me and stock up.
We just throw our dirty diapers in a normal trash can with a lid. We just empty it everytime we take out the kitchen trash. We had some fancy diaper pail and I don’t think it ever worked for us.
My son rarely gets rashes using disposables. If I do see one starting, I usually just use powder and it goes away. I do always have some rash cream on hand if it starts to look bad. I don’t think you need to use it everytime unless he is rash prone.
3My biggest factor in diapers is how easy it is to put on. Some diapers have the strangest fit and I can’t stand messing with the dang thing trying to get it on well enough so he won’t pee out. For me, Huggies are so annoying and the only reason why they were used at all here was because I wasn’t going to waste an open pack of diapers. I really love Pampers and Luvs. I’m the same with wipes, I only like the ones that I can pull out easily, without getting four wipes stuck together all coming out at the same time.
Brady is 2 months and has had no signs of diaper rash so far and I haven’t used any cream. I did however just start putting a little on his bum at night because sometimes a little poo sneaks out but its not enough to wake him - this way he will hopefully stay protected.
I also dont have any dirty diaper disposal besides the trash can and haven’t noticed the smell once. I don’t know if the fact that he is breastfeeding makes a difference though - I’ve heard the’re poo is less smelly.
Good luck!
4That makes so much sense and I admire your flexibility. It’s all about priorities!
Plus I’m secretly happy that you’ll soon be posting all your research so that when I have my own kiddies soon, I’ll be able to check back for BOTH sides of the story
5Welcome to the Darkside!
Now you are talking my language…I had never considered doing the cloth diapering in a 100 billion years. I used to by Luvs because they were the cheapest of the “Big 3″ (Huggies, Pampers, Luvs) and I thought did a good enough job. Really, if the blowout is bad enough, not even the best diaper on the planet is going to help *that*.
Now we use the Costco brand Kirkland diapers and I’m very happy with them. I haven’t calculated the per diaper cost in a long time but 1)we are at Costco weekly so it’s super easy to pick up a pack 2) they seemed to be a very good deal (like I said, haven’t punched the numbers in awhile so I don’t remember) They seem to work JUST as well as those other brands (Pampers and Luvs were my favorite), don’t feel “cheap” like some store brands can, and I’m overall very happy with them.
Hopefully you have access to a Costco there, if not - I used to go on BabyCheapskate.com where they clue you in to good diaper deals (sometimes using coupons, sometimes not). The person who runs the site advises that a really good deal on diapers is when they run about 10-14 cents a piece (last time I checked the site awhile ago) - when you see a deal like that, stock up as much as you can afford. Even consider getting the larger sizes at that price since baby will use them eventually.
As for diaper pails, I used to like them, but I’m kind of not anymore. Right now I just use plastic bags to contain the smelly ones and put them in the big dumpster…however you are 30 floors up. So, hmmm….
My boys only need the occasional diaper cream - not often at all though. I’d always thought kids in disposables were *less* likely to get rashes (that disposable lining really contains wetness well), but I could be wrong about that.
Good luck in all that - and boo to having no W/D (despite your killer view).
Katy Reply:
August 18th, 2010 at 4:16 pm
Okay, I tried to look on BabyCheapskate.com for their conclusive ‘if the price is this much, stock up’ list, but can’t find it. But here’s a link to the 101 page in case you’re interested:
http://www.babycheapskate.com/category/essentials/basics/
Katy Reply:
August 18th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Seriously, I’m replying AGAIN to myself?
I have seen the Diaper Champ and I think if I were to get a new diaper storage device it would be this BECAUSE you don’t need to buy special bags for it and it seems easier to use (the few times I’ve used one). Otherwise I still like my no fuss way of just bagging that yucky thing and putting it a lidded trash myself.
Cait Reply:
August 18th, 2010 at 8:31 pm
You can get the Kirkland (Costco) diapers on Diapers.com! I used to nanny for a family who did this because they didn’t have easy access to a costco.
I don’t know anything about diapers but I’m glad you’ve made a decision you feel right about for you and your family.
7I don’t have much to say since I don’t have a kiddo of my own, but I wanted to point out that I think you used the wrong word in this sentence: “We’re giving up disposables for our time in Chicago, and I’m really sad”. I think you meant cloth diapers? I’m sure with a gazillion things going on this week you don’t need me to point out a typo/error but I thought it would be clearer if it were fixed. Happy moving!
8This is a diaper question, but how many w/d are in the basement of that building?! I can only imagine the pile-ups you may run into with so many people and a limited number of machines.
9Our daughter is 4 months old and long and lean like T1. We use the Target brand and haven’t had any issues. (I started with Pampers and loved those, but tried Target because they are much cheaper and they’ve worked fine. They’re about $0.14/each for the ones up to 14 lbs) Some people complain because Target has designs that sometimes show through her onesies, but it doesn’t bother me much. Her current diapers have big green and blue polka dots.
We’ve only used diaper cream a handful of times, so no issues there…and blow outs really aren’t a problem, either. Of course now that I say that, I’m sure I’ll have to do a midnight sheet changing tonight.
We have a Diaper Champ, and only have to empty it 1-2/week, but our daughter is breastfed. As she’s just starting to get into rice cereal, I can already tell that the diapers are about to get much smellier! I agree with Katy that Diaper Champ is a good option, because you don’t need special bags.
Good luck!
10Jane is 95th percentile for height and was for awhile high in the percentile in weight, but that has gone down. I am a strong believer in Pampers. I don’t like Parent’s choice-I find them to be too scratchy and I dislike Huggies; they just don’t seem to fit right. Pampers to me, is where it’s at.
I also, only put baby powder and diaper cream on Jane when it is the diaper she will be in while she is sleeping. She really doesn’t get a rash that often unless she eats something acidic, or the time she had the runs (that was fun
).
11Sorry that you are givin up your cloth diapers! I truly admire you for doing them for this long. You’re such a devoted and wonderful mother! As for diaper advice…
I have used huggies (movers) since about 4 months, they seem to hold the most for nights and stay in place the best when crawling and learning to walk, they are also softer than many other brands. I print out coupons online or order bulk amounts through diapers.com we own the diaper genie II and I swear by it! Get the bigger one, it holds more and conveniently has a foot pedal for opening and closing. Finally I use cornstarch baby powder and rarely use creams. If a bad rash occurs (which is common for both mine while teething) then I use calmoseptine because it numbs their bum so there isn’t pain…
Good luck! It will be great!
12We use the Huggies Pure & Natural diapers, and I LOVE them. I haven’t found anything else that I like as well. They’re soooooo soft. And because there’s WAY less “stuff” in them, we haven’t dealt with diaper rash since she was brand new. We have Boudreaux Butt Paste to use in case of a rash, though, and I love that, too.
13I have a Diaper Genie Elite and LOVE it. It keeps the nursery smelling good and is hand free to use. I know some people don’t like it because you do have to buy Diaper Genie refills for it. I have found that the containers hold a lot of diapers and I always stock up on the refills when they are on sale at Babies’r'Us.
We currently use the Costco brand diapers, Kirkland and love them. I have tried Pampers as well and really like those. Although I have heard from several friends that their new Dry max gives babies rashes. Huggies are TERRIBLE for boys. Don’t know why but every friend I have that has tried Huggies and has a boy consistently had blow-outs and wet-throughs.
14I don’t have a baby, so I don’t have anything useful to offer and am no help at all- sorry
But I have to say, T1 is looking so chubby compared to earlier pictures! Gah he is adorable.
15We use Huggies from Costco. Every other month or so they have a coupon for $6 off, or $9 off if you also buy their wipes, and I think it comes out to something like 19 or 20 cents per diaper. We stock up and buy a few boxes and it always lasts us until the next coupon…plus I like never having to think about running out of diapers since we buy 400 at a time. Eli uses 3-4 diapers in a 24 hour period, so honestly it’s not that expensive. Though, I have recently splurged and bought Huggies Overnights for nighttime because he was soaking through the normal ones, and I definitely think they are worth it.
I didn’t want a diaper genie. I didn’t like the idea of keeping dirty diapers in there for days. We usually just throw whatever diapers are in his trash in a plastic grocery bag whenever we’re heading to the car and toss it in the dumpster on our way out. We obviously don’t have to do this unless he has a dirty diaper though. Sometimes we stick the stinkier ones in a bag right away and stick it outside our door until we go down. That obviously would depend on what your trash disposal situation is like though.
Eli never has had a problem with diaper rash, and I’m guessing if T1 hasn’t so far he probably won’t either. I’ve put diaper cream on maybe 3-4 times when he has woken up with a dirty diaper that had been in there for a while. I don’t think that had to do with the diaper though, I think that was the poo :). In terms of blowouts, Huggies has been the best for us, but because Eli’s thighs are SO skinny he does occasionally blowout the leg holes if I don’t change him fairly quickly.
Good luck!
16My sister nannies for a couple in NYC that uses organic diapers and instead of wipes they only use a rag or papertowels with olive oil. Very natural and according to them prevents diaper rash
17OK so I don’t remember heck of a lot about diapers (it has been a while since I working full-time as a nanny). BUT I just couldn’t leave without saying that I think THIS post shows one of the things that I like about you the most. … is that weird to say? I just am really impressed by your choice to change. It has NOTHING to do with if I like cloth or disposables, but I know that you really did prefer the cloth and had really researched it and come to the conclusion after a lot of though. YET you still are flexible enough to change your practice when you realize your situation warrants a change. I think that is very impressive. You seem like you’ve really thought a lot about what life in Chicago will be like and how it would impact those around you and come up with a new plan. I just thought you should know I find that very impressive and commendable
18In my experience, Target diapers are the very best and cheapest! And you don’t need a diaper genie or something similar. Just put it in a bag and take it out with the regular garbage, which you’re probably doing often anyway. If you’re concerned about being green, buying a big new plastic contraption that only has one use isn’t very eco-friendly. Good luck!
19I got my cousin the 7 Generation eco-friendly diapers and she really, really liked them. They are chemical/chlorine free, and supposedly the bio-degrade. I’m sure they’re on the more expensive end though.
20Do not worry Jenna. Disposables have been nothing but great for us! We use 7th Generation because I like the material and they fit him great. And they are chlorine free and non toxic if that floats your boat. Finn is 3 months, 12 ish pounds 24ish inches so similar to your guy I think. He has NEVER gotten diaper rash. I think its because of the home made wipes solution I make. I use cloth wipes and put them in a wipe’s warmer and cover them with:
Essential Oils Wipes
2 drops Tea Tree Oil
2 drops Lavender Oil
2 TB baby wash
2 TB baby oil (I use burt’s bees apricot)
2 cups Water
1 vitamin E Cap
Using a container or spray bottle with a tight lid, mix all ingredients, cover and shake to blend. Cut open vitamin E caplet and squeeze into the water, and add essential oil drops. Mix well in a spray bottle or your wipes box. Spritz on wipe before using if in spray bottle. Swish solution around over wipes if using a wipes box.
Diaper Champ, its the best. No solid foods yet so no smell.
Good luck!
Jackie Reply:
August 20th, 2010 at 11:44 am
My son’s name is Finn too!! Short for Finnian
My daughter is also long and lean. I use the Target brand diapers during the day, and Huggies Baby Dry diapers at night. My daughter sleeps through the night, so the night diapers have been very helpful. The Target diapers are a lot cheaper than the others, and I haven’t had any blowouts with them.
I have a Diaper Champ that also seems to work well. I picked that one because you don’t have to buy their bags… I use small garbage bags or bigger shopping bags if I have them.
Good luck with the transition!
22Jenna,
We use Huggies Little Movers. Huggies has Snug and Dry as well as Little Movers, but I think the LMs are a little better once the baby is crawling and walking. You could use Snug and Dry for T1 for a little while longer though I am sure.
I use coupons a lot! I have recently started using them for groceries as well as baby products. Huggies provides a lot of coupons if you sign up for their mailer online and then they are mailed to your home. There are also a lot periodically in the different online coupon websites.
When my twins were infants we used Pampers, but the older they got the less I liked the Pampers. I don’t think that they hold as well and I think they smell bad. That is just my opinion. We never considered store brand diapers. My theory was that if I don’t use store brand toilet paper for my private areas, I wouldn’t use it for them either. However, I do hear really good things about Target brand diapers.
Neither of my children have ever had diaper rash. The only time that we have ever had to use diaper cream is when they have been ill and had diarrhea. In which case I use diaper cream to PREVENT sore bottoms.
We have a diaper genie but I don’t think it’s all that great. My plan is to switch to a stainless steel trash can that will seal the odor better.
I don’t have any advice about blowouts because we don’t really have a problem with that!
My last advice is to consider GoodNite diapers once T1 gets old enough. They are amazing. My daughter was wetting through every night (which was upsetting me a lot as you can imagine!)until we switched and now she has not had any trouble!
Good luck!
23Heather
Have you thought about the hybrids? My baby isn’t here yet, but I, like you, live in an apartment with community laundry facilities and won’t be doing cloth for the same reasons as you. However, there are these great disposable inserts for gDiapers and other brands of hybrids that are still chemical free, biodegradeable, and MUCH more eco-friendly. I have many friends who’ve had issues with the Pampers and Huggies and the chemicals they’re using to make them - rashes, severe allergic reactions, etc.
Here’s a link to one good website for info, I know there are more!
http://www.kellyscloset.com
I plan to try the gDiapers and possibly the Flip diapers. Read the reviews too - many of the inserts are better than others and can be used interchangeably with the different covers.
GL!
Jenna Reply:
August 18th, 2010 at 8:51 pm
We have the gDiapers, and they really don’t hold poop well. In fact they suck at it. It doesn’t ever get on his clothes, as the outer cover holds it all in, but a lot of it gets on the plastic cover that’s inside, and sometimes it gets out of that and gets on the cloth.
I actually want to use them, but the cost per disposable insert is greater than the cost of a disposable diaper so we’re going to switch.
Based on the video on YouTube that I just watched, I think you should give Flip diapers a try! I think I would like them a lot better. I do like that you can get black gDiapers though
Jackie C Reply:
August 18th, 2010 at 10:08 pm
Thanks for the info on gDiapers! I’ve been reading some similar things about them today, so I’m going to try something else I think. A friend of mine just got her shipment of Flip diapers today - I’m going to see what she says about them. I will let you know!
That’s such a bummer you don’t have your own washer/dryer! When we were looking for an apartment to move into here I INSISTED on having one with a w/d because I was planning on using cloth diapers with this baby. But we were lucky since we were moving to a suburban area, as opposed to an urban one (where the chances are SLIM because of space). We actually just use cloth when we are home all day, whenever we go out I use a disposable just ’cause it makes things easier. We use the Huggies Pure and Natural diapers and LOVE THEM! I had no idea they existed, but someone gave them to us when our little one was born; I wish they had been around with our first one. And they’re great because they’re made out of organic cotton, making the constant transition between cloth and disposable easy on his little tush. Oh, and the print on them is very subtle; I HATE the bright prints on most disposables, they show through clothes and are obnoxious and not cute. And we don’t use a disposable diaper pail this time around; no matter what brand you get, after awhile they retain the funkiness and just smell horrible. We just put the dirty diapers in a grocery bag and put it in the kitchen bag since that goes out every couple days, as opposed to the longer time it’d take to fill the pail bag up. And when we’re out and about I use the little bags they make for dog poop for the dirty diapers as a courtesy so we don’t stick up any public trash cans. And the Boudreaux Butt Paste is the BEST diaper rash cream. Our boys hardly ever get any sort of rash, only if they have diarrhea, and that stuff really works. Hope that helps!
25Pampers! I’ve tried 7th Generation and Nature Baby Care and had blow outs with both. Never with Pampers. We’ve had one case of diaper rash in 7 months and we don’t apply cream at every diaper change. Just if things look a little red. I use the Disper dekor and love it.
26I don’t have any babies, so no advice on diapering. However, I did want to point out that you probably won’t need to sit downstairs with your laundry. Not sure if you’ve lived in a building like this before? Most high rise buildings that I’m familiar with (including my own) with doormen and such tend to be the types of places where people just leave their laundry going. You do run the risk of someone taking your stuff out of a washer or dryer, so that’s annoying, but if that bothers you, you can minimize those occurrences by watching the time carefully. I don’t think this would really affect your diapering decision, but I thought you’d want to know just for your normal quality of life while laundering!
27We like Pampers (although they changed the style I believe since we used them) and the Sams Club brand. Both work great and have few leaks.
As for discarding diapers, we always just used plastic bags from stores and tied the diapers up in those and put them in the regular trashbins. That way they get taken out more regularly than in a diaper genie (which dont hide the odors too well in my opinion).
28The gal at under $1000 per month talked about how she used the wonderwash like a diaper pail and when it’s filled she just washes the diapers and hangs them to dry.
http://under1000permonth.blogspot.com/2010/01/cloth-diaper-questions.html
http://under1000permonth.blogspot.com/2009/11/xxv-laundry-and-carrot-cake.html
There are a couple of links where she talks about her system.
29Don’t waste your money on a Diaper Genie. We had one and stopped using it because, as noted above, it begins to smell after awhile and is just a hassle. Much easier to just throw the diapers in with the rest of your garbage. Bag the poopy ones if they smell. Otherwise, they’re fine in the garbage.
30We used huggies. We didn’t have problems with blowouts but I mostly bought them because that is what they sell at the costco near us… and it is relatively cheap for a massive box. If T1 gets a diaper rash the best thing I have found is Desitin. It has 40% zinc oxide in it where other zinc oxide creams have a lot less. We only use it if they get a rash though.
31I don’t have diaper advice, though I recommend A & D ointment for diaper rash, which is what my momma used on my very sensitive bum.
Also, check out retailmenot.com for diaper coupons (And lots of others!)
Good luck making the conversion.
32I am a huggies fan!!! We buy them at Costco in bulk- they are the cheapest that way. Lincoln rarely gets rashes but we wipe his butt with desitin when he does and the rash really is gone over night like the tube says!! You can try diapers.com for diapers but they aren’t really a good deal unless you have a coupon or it’s your first time buying from them. Good luck. Welcome to the dark (but much easier side!) Oh, blowouts aren’t really a big deal after you start the little man on solids. But huggies have done fairly well with the blowouts. I tried all the diapers and he has blownout in all of them but huggies the least. Just try them all, you’ll find your own brand that works best for you. I am excited you are moving to Chicago. Remember when we went there and drug all our luggage across the city in a big train. Please don’t do that when you move.
33My girls haven’t been in diapers in about 4 years, but I started off with Huggies, then gradually switched over to Pampers for a few reasons… One, I found TONS of coupons for Pampers online and two, I found that they DID hold a bit better than Huggies. (I did have girls though, so I’m not sure how well they work for the boys!)
As for a Diaper Genie, I had one, and used it for all of 2 or 3 weeks. It smells just like every other garbage can full of diapers will. Only diff- the Diper Genie bags look like a big sausage link of poopy diapes! lol. We used old plastic grocery sacks to throw them out as needed.
My oldest had bouts with diaper rash whenever she was sick, and our pediatrician recommended Resinol cream after Desitin, A&D, etc. didn’t work at all. I had to ask for it at the pharmacy, but no Rx is needed. It always cleared any rash up almost overnight(or prevented one from showing up). It’s a really versatile cream- I still buy it to use on scrapes, bug bites, etc.
34My sister has had 3 skinny babies, so I’ll ask her about what diapers they use and get back to you!
35Unfortunately the shape of your baby matters. I started with 7th Generation, and my son peed right through them. Then I tried Nature Babycare and they also didn’t contain the pee or poop. So although it was a major compromise I went with Huggies Pure and Natural. They really are just as bad for the environment as the regular ones, but they are softer, use organic cotton, are hypoallergenic (basically means free of lotions and perfumes-a number of diapers are), and they contain aloe and vitamin E. I wish they were chlorine free, but they aren’t. My boy is a year old, but he is super skinny and the fit is very good for him.
36The price is higher with Pure and Natural, but Target has them on sale ever few weeks and I stock up. Target has the best price, even compared to diapers.com. I use a Target credit card and after spending so much I get a 10% off for the day coupon and I also stock up when I use that.
About diaper disposal—personally I can’t get over the wastefulness of a diaper genie. I don’t mean to be critical of other’s choices, but individually wrapping each diaper in plastic is not something I can get behind. My sister uses the Diaper Champ, which doesn’t individually wrap each diaper. But I didn’t want to buy yet another baby specific plastic thing we wouldn’t need after a few years. So I have a regular covered waste basket in his room. We carry the poop diapers to the kitchen trash, which gets emptied very frequently. The pee diapers stay in his room and that trash gets emptied about once a week. I threw a room deodorizer in there and it helps a lot. My son’s room certainly doesn’t smell.
Now that my son is older and eating real food his poop has gotten more solid. The other thing we do is flush as much of the poop as possible. It cuts down on the smell, and we feel better about putting less poop in landfills, which is technically illegal but not enforced when it comes to diapers.
Of course, what works for one doesn’t always work for another. Good luck in finding what is best for you!
Is the diaper service really more cost prohibitive than disposables? On average how many diapers do you use in a day? From what I’ve read diaper services and disposables seem to be about the same price. Is it an area issue?
37Honestly, you just have to try and find the brand that works best for your baby. My first, I could use Pampers and Luvs with no problems. Baby number 2 peed right thought them EVERY TIME. Turns out she is a fast pee-er and it just did not soak up fast enough. She did great with Huggies. DD1 could not use huggies as they didn’t fit her right and she would poop through them.
So get a bunch of coupons, try different brands and go from there. Then stalk the coupons like mad!
38Have you heard of Elimination Communication? Check out this website: you seem to know T1 very well and it might be an option between cloth diapering and disposables
http://super-mom.com/diaper-free
39Oh, and don’t waste money on the Diaper Genie and buying their special bags. We used a Diaper champ with some stick ups in it and it worked great! But in the end we used a homer pail in the garage on the first floor that worked just as good.
40You should try to wrangle some free samples. If not I would suggest buying the smallest packs of various brands until you find ones that you really like because every baby is different and what works for one baby doesn’t for another even if they are the same size etc.
Look into diaper services because a lot of them offer different packages and can be quite cost effective.
I think putting a diaper cover over a disposible sounds like it might be very warm and might create an environment that is ripe for rashes.
What about flushable systems? I thought that G diapers were the flushable/compostable insert system.
41Is there a reason that you can’t continue to use gdiapers with the disposable insert instead of cloth inserts? Or use disposable liners with the cloth diapers/inserts? I guess that doesn’t eliminate the issue of pee in the washers/dryers. I got the impression from reviews and the website that Gdiapers can be reused several times with clean inserts before needing to be washed.
ded Reply:
August 22nd, 2010 at 10:44 am
g diapers are the most expensive option on the market even more expensive then biodegradable and chlorine free diapers. i assume if they are trying to live debt free it would be very hard over time with the gdiapers.
I can definitely understand the decision. Having to go 30 floors to do your laundry is not a fun thing. Well at least you have laundry on site.
43I like the idea of putting something cute over the disposables, I don’t know if it’s practical or not but it sounds prettier.
I love how considerate you are of your neighbors- so many people wouldn’t think of how that would affect others using the machines. You’re too cute
44I am a fan of Huggies Snug and Dry. We have tried every brand of diaper there is and that brand works the best for us. I haven’t had a blow out since we started using them when she was 4 months old (she is 2 now and we are working on potty training but that is besides the point). To save money we buy Walmart Brand diapers (parents choice) for nighttime. They are thicker and absorb a lot of urine during the night. They only leak when I don’t change it as soon as she wakes up, but that’s because she pees a lot at night. We put our diapers in a bag and tie it up at night and put it in our garbage. I keep the diaper “bag” on the back steps. For our apartment however, we tried a garbage in the house, even tying them in a bag before throwing them away and the odor was hideous. I just would do the diaper “bag” and put it on our balcony and take out at night. But if you can’t do that, then I would recommend some type of odor blocking apparatus like a diaper genie. As far as the diaper rash cream, I use it only when needed. My daughter sometimes gets bleeding diaper rash when she eats certain things like citrus. I always use corn starch baby powder though. It helps keep her dry and helps prevent diaper rash. Good luck!
45So sad about no longer cloth diapering. I”m not even TTC, and I’m looking forward to it! I know my SIl (who has a 6 month old and would never cloth diaper) orders pampers for her long and lean son from diapers.com.
46Hi Jenna,
I totally understand… I live in an apartment building with shared laundry too, and we love our apartment, and hope to welcome our first child here… We want to cloth diaper (I do desperately, for eco-reasons,) but I would never want to feel like I was imposing our ‘mess’ on the other residents.
As such, I’m saving up for a ventless washer / dryer - The LG ones get the most amazing reviews, and we have friends that have it. They roll it in and out of their closet to use it, and another friend has installed it directly under their sink - so many options!
You can get cheaper ones, but these seem to be the best - and you can sell them after you move, and you should be able to reap at least 50% of your cost back - so many people want them!
Just something to think about - i know it’s a bit of money, but the convenience of not having to do laundry all the time might help swing it!
http://www.lg.com/us/appliances/washer-dryer-combos/index.jsp
47Molly probably isn’t considered long and slim, more like a chunky monkey, so I can’t help there. We do use coupons sometimes, but since she’s little and growing so fast we can’t take advantages of a lot of the deals we see. Babies R Us typically offers a good deal when you buy two huge boxes of diapers, but I worry she’ll outgrow them mid-box and they’ll be wasted. So, I try to look for grocery store coupons, or you can buy diapers on Amazon, too, for good deals if you’re planning ahead.
We chose Pampers Swaddlers, mostly because we were gifted so many at my baby shower that we didn’t buy a diaper ourselves until she was a month and a half. It was also what the hospital used, which doesn’t mean much but it leaves an impression. Only one blow-out so far, they’ve worked really well for us - plus they are available anywhere if you run out in the middle of the night.
We use diaper cream a lot, always at night before she goes to bed since she may be sitting in it a while. I use it almost everytime I change her, but that’s mostly because the idea of sitting in pee is gross to me, and the diaper cream is supposed to create a barrier between pee and skin, which makes me feel better.
We have a diaper genie, which works well, although her diapers don’t really stink yet (don’t know if that’s different for formula babies). The downside is you have to buy special bag inserts for it. Lots of parents have told me they just have a designated trash can, and save grocery bags/newspaper bags to wrap the individual diapers in before they throw them away. That is more convenient, but seems like more work.
Sorry you’ll have to give up cloth. But thanks for the awesome Jillian’s Drawers link - next summer when I’m not working I really want to switch to cloth, but I have no idea what to pick, so this seems like a great idea.
48Our sons are only a week apart and are almost the exact same size! Your son is very, very cute.
Huggies DID NOT work for us, he was constantly peeing all over himself and having blow-outs. Luvs and Pampers (however, we avoid the Dry Max because they gave him blisters!) are definitely my favorite disposable brand.
We have a Diaper Genie Elite, and while it’s great at containing the smell, I hate needing to purchase the refills. If I were to do it again I definitely would have gotten a pail that could use regular trash bags (Diaper Champ I think is what it’s called?).
49Though I am not a mom I have a wonderful nephew that I love dearly and in a few hours will have another. Their parents (my bro and sis-inlove) are still trying to decide what is best as far as diapers for them. So when I saw this article on a fabulous friend of mine website I just had to share….
http://mommygoesgreen.com/2010/08/seventh-generation-diapers/
Hope your move goes great.
50