Sound Off: Do You Prefer Cloth or Disposable Diapers?

It’s safe to say that most of you had to make this decision for your children: Should I use cloth or disposable diapers? Both have upsides and downsides, including cost, environmental impact and of course, keeping your baby’s skin free from diaper rash. While there are a multitude of opinions available on which method is best, ultimately, it’s the decision of the parents. So which did you choose?

Here’s your chance to Sound Off! Tell us why you chose cloth or disposable diapering. Did you have a brand you preferred? What influenced your decision?

Comments

Disposable all the way for me.
I know it isn’t environmentally friendly at all, but I am a working mom that can barely keep up with the regular laundry and who has a fabulous daycare that would never, ever allow cloth diapers.

- Mom2boys on November 11th, 2008

I prefer cloth diapers because they are easy, natural, and most importantly they keep the poo in. I hate diaper blowouts and with cloth, it’s very rarely ever an issue. I love rumparooz, bumgenius, and blueberry. Cloth also has the cuteness factor.

- Valerie on November 11th, 2008

I used disposables with my first 3, but switched to cloth with my youngest daughter when she was 8 months old. She was getting awful rashes, & red marks from the elastic in disposables. I started off with prefolds & covers, but now use Goodmama fitteds & wool exclusively. I wish I had known there was more out there than Gerber prefolds, pins & “rubber” pants when I was diapering my other kids.

- sonja on November 11th, 2008

I am using cloth diapers for the first time with my third child. I wish I had done it with the other two. It’s not nearly as much work as I thought it would be and I am glad to not be sending another child’s diapers to a landfill. That’s the main reason I am doing it…to make less trash.

- Tres Hijos on November 11th, 2008

I proudly and lovingly cloth diaper my 14 month old! If someone had told me (and I believed them) that it was this easy I would have cd’d the first one too. My reason for starting this time around was twofold, environmentally and because of a sensitive baby bottom. My son has a super delicate little bum, he had bad rashes all the time so I decided to take the plunge into the CD world. I knew that I wanted it to be as easy as possible as to not create an excuse to return to disposables, initially we tried the gDiaper only to encounter the same rashy bottom again! So I moved on and bought 18 bumGenius One Size pocket diapers and have NEVER looked back, I wash every two to three days and have no problems besides the occasional ammonia smell. That can be remedied with a hot water bleach soak in the washer though. I have also found that the less soap the better and I do a rinse first to get as much of the urine and feces out of the water as possible before I begin the washing regime. I used Claudia’s Choices detergent and it has proved to be the best for the dipes. Good luck and happy deciding, but for the record-I’d never switch back to the disposable.
a

- Alisha on November 11th, 2008

I chose to use cloth with my daughter after using disposables with my son and battling diaper rashes for 3 years. Cloth is not like it used to be, I use pocket diapers which go on just like disposables. I feel good that I am not putting tons of diapers in the garbage and not putting dangerous chemicals, which disposables are made with, near my baby’s skin.

- Judy on November 11th, 2008

We used disposable the first time around, and when it was time for potty training daycare insisted on pull-ups – we saw it as the easiest option, but when I think of all the garbage I really regret it. And then there’s the expense. Lots of our friends have used cloth and its not that difficult. So, if there’s a second, baby, I’m committed to using a combination of cloth and more eco-friendly, unbleached disposables, like seventh generation – the option is there, and the extra expense is minimal – I think its irresponsible not to go this route, and am surprized that the bigger diaper companies are not phasing in more eco-minded options.

- jacqui on November 11th, 2008

Well, we initially chose disposables because there simply isn’t anywhere to buy cloth diapers around here. However, we’ve since switched to cloth diapers and never looking back! For us the use of cloth diapers isn’t about upsides and downsides, because they’re all upsides! They’re cheaper, greener, and we’ve NEVER had issues with rashes! I bought an inexpensive pattern for a one size pocket diaper and made my own! They go on exactly like disposable diapers, and they’re just as easy! Instead of taking them off and throwing them in the garbage, you take them off and put them in a diaper pail, and throw them in the wash! I don’t deal with poop anymore than I used to with disposables (use a flushable liner. It catches the poop, and you flush it away) Best of all I have not had a single poop blowout since we’ve started using them! (NOT EVEN ONE!)

Disposable diapers were introduced in the early 60s. So that’s about 3 generations of babies in disposable diapers. The average baby will go through 6000-9000 disposable diapers from the time they’re born to the time they’re potty trained. Cloth diapers are the 3rd highest consumer waste product, next to newspapers and beverage containers. The difference is, newspapers and beverage containers can be recycled!! Cloth diapers can take 250-500+ years to decompose in a landfill. Multiply that by 3 generations at 8000 diapers each and you’ve got BIG problems!

- Carolle on November 11th, 2008

We started with cloth diapers with my 4 month old daughter but were having to many poopy blowouts. So I researched a lot and found a bio-degradable disposable diaper. It has the convenience of disposables but they are completely environmentally friendly and chemical free. She has never gotten a rash because they are breathable and made from corn. I absolutely love them!!! They have worked great for us. They are the Nature Baby brand and the only place I found them was diapers.com.

- Izabela on November 11th, 2008

I used a mixture with my daughter. A lot of the time I used cloth nappies, but if she was in the care of somebody else, I would often send a pack of Pampers nappies because I found them generally easier to use and other people caring for my daughter tended to prefer them. Honestly, I used cloth nappies only because of the environmental benefit, not because I saw any benefit to my daughter at all. If the ‘green’ effect was the same, I would’ve used disposable nappies alone. I know a lot of people like the reusables, but they just didn’t seem as good (to me anyway) as the others.

- phoebe on November 11th, 2008

I found that a splash of vinegar from time to time keeps the smells away! And hanging your diapers on the line in the sun naturally bleaches out stains!

- Carolle on November 11th, 2008

I have no children but I babysit for a family who uses cloth diapers. Not a huge fan of them. I’m glad when I have to use the disposable.

Fortunately I never have to clean out the dirty ones, I just set them aside for the mom to get to later.

- Mandy on November 11th, 2008

We use disposable. I don’t have time to deal with cloth diapers. I already have enough laundry to try and keep up with between my baby’s and our own.

- Julie on November 11th, 2008

If I had a ton of money and a maid to wash them, I’d do cloth. I am horrible at keeping up with laundry as it is. I do love gDiapers though… kind of the best of both worlds.

- Shannon on November 11th, 2008

I work at a very nice daycare and we have family’s that cloth diaper. It doesn’t matter either way to the center, or to me as a teacher. I think it’s just as easy, we just pop the diapers into either a container provided by the parents or in a plastic bag. Parents grab their child, lunch box, and diaper container. Put them in to soak when they get home I would assume. I would encurage anyone to ask their center about it, I think you’d be suprised how many would be fine with it. I don’t have children yet myself, but I intend to CD when that day comes.

- Emily on November 11th, 2008

We use cloth…the system we chose is way cheaper and I feel better not putting baby on my DD’s bum! When we do use paper (trips, etc.) we go with Seventh Generation–not because they waste any less, but because they are chlorine free. My DH actually prefers using the cloth–thinks it’s easier! And he is in charge of washing, so it’s pretty much the perfect system for me….

- anne on November 11th, 2008

I understand cloth diapers are good for the environment and everything. But as mentioned above, its too much of a time-consumer and a hassle.

- Mandy on November 11th, 2008

Another working mom here whose daycare doesn’t allow cloth diapers.
I would try cloth if I was a stay-at-home. My mom used cloth. However, it’s just not practical for us right now.

- Miche on November 11th, 2008

I’ve used cloth diapers for my first four children and have absolutely loved it. However, now that I’m expecting twins, and have four older kids aged 5- 18 months, I think I will put the twins in disposables. The sole reason: It’s easier when I’m on the go. And I know that with these twins I will be running them around to take the older ones to Gymnastics, Soccer, School etc. I’ll try with cloth at the start, but I have a feeling disposables will be the way to go for these babes.
I have absolutely loved cloth diapers.
Izabela- that sounds wonderful. I’m definately going to check into those!

- Jazz on November 11th, 2008

I have used cloth since the day my son was born, almost 20 months ago. I used disposables for 1 week while on Vacation in FL and Hated it. I love my cloth, I even use cloth wipes. It’s way easy, not more work. The steps it takes to wash them are almost the same as taking the disposables out to the trash, except you don’t have to go outside. When your pail is full you walk it to the washer, dump it in, press a button, viola. yes you have to transfer to a dryer but let me tell you the amount of money I save and the way they work are totally worth it. I have never, ever had a blowout in a Cloth diaper. We like Bum genius the best for our family. All in ones are the easiest of all times, the closest thing to a disposable in cloth. We Love Cloth!

- Giedra on November 11th, 2008

We used cloth diapers for my kids. We went with prefolds and covers. I also used absorbent and waterproof underwear (designed to hold one pee).

We practiced elimination communication with both kids, so by very early on almost all poos went in the toilet so the clean-up with cloth wasn’t an burden for us.

We did use disposables at night but I really regret the choice — one, the waste, and two, it seemed like my kids got used to peeing at night and not noticing, and it was really hard to night-train them.

- Stacy (mama-om) on November 11th, 2008

I can see how some people think that the extra time put into the wash could be a pain, but as a person who has used both, there is very little time wasted in washing. Just pop them in the wash while you watch TV or read a book. We use cloth wipes as well and everything all goes in together, it really is a wonderful choice. I encourage you all to just give them a go, you won’t be disappointed.
a

- Alisha on November 11th, 2008

I was in cloth diapers when baby and i grew up perfectly fine 1! I am so going to go the cloth way and I am extremely environmental. Anyone knows a good and cheap cloth diaper place?

- Molly on November 11th, 2008

I have such respect for those of you who are able to pull of cloth diapers. My mom used them when I was a baby (and she had five of us!) but somehow I can’t imagine being able to keep my baby and the rest of the house clean without plastic.

- Jean on November 11th, 2008

We use g-diapers.
After doing all the research, these diapers are actually the MOST environmentally friendly of all the choices.
They are AWESEOME!
Our daughter had some problems with diaper rash using disposibles, and when we starte with the gdiapers, it completely stopped.

- Mrs. R. on November 11th, 2008

We used Pampers Swaddlers, then Pampers Cruisers, then Huggies regular and supreme, and then Huggies Pull-Ups (with the princesses on them!). Thankfully Anya is almost completely potty trained (she wears the pull-ups at night).

For future children, I definitely want to try cloth diapers. They seem more comfortable and the poop doesn’t gross me out like it did before I had Anya. And now we’re in a house, I have a washer/dryer so that eliminates that issue.

- Danielle, CBB Senior Editor on November 11th, 2008

I don’t have children yet but this is a very interesting discussion for me. I worked at a daycare where all the babies used disposable diapers. They were easier although we had our far share of blowouts and had a baby with TERRIBLE diaper rash. It was awful, poor little thing.

I always thought I would use disposable diapers. They’re easier and less work.

And now my opinion is slowllly changing. Obviously, it’s good for the environment and good for the baby, as well. I see how CD are not that much more work and are actually preferred by many of you to disposable diapers.

Thanks for this Sound-Off! I’m really enjoying reading these comments!!!

- Stephany on November 11th, 2008

gDiapers are a nice middle ground, cloth pants with a flushable liner. Much as I love them, they clogged my toilet. So I bought cloth liners from Peekaboo Bottoms. They are especially made for gDiapers. Now I can wash the cloth, or toss the disposable liners. Two options from the same diaper. Brilliant!

- mama on November 11th, 2008

I use disposable diapers. I’m a single mom and I don’t feel that cloth would work for me. My son rarely has diaper rash and it works for me. Maybe the next time around.

- Kelli on November 11th, 2008

I used cloth diapers on my first child and am using them again with my second, mainly because they are better for the environment. We use Fuzzi Bunz covers (although I don’t always put the cloth diaper in the pocket) and get out cloth diapers from a diaper service that comes once a week. The Fuzzi Bunz go right in with the regular laundry so there’s really no extra work on the laundry front. Cloth diapers do need to be changed more often than disposables and once my kids started sleeping through the night I had to buy Huggies Overnites–even regular disposables wouldn’t hold all night. We have never had problems with diaper rash. Some people say using cloth diapers encourage early potty training because the child can feel the wet. Well, my son was completely potty-trained (no accidents overnight!) at 2 1/2. I say cloth diapers are slightly more work than disposables but well worth it.

- Amanda on November 11th, 2008

My husband would like to cloth diapers when we have children for environmental concerns and the potential money savings as we have more children. I have to say, I initially bristled a little bit because the clean up didn’t seem straightforward to me.

So, for all those cloth diapering moms, how exactly do you clean them up? Do you dump them out, or…? I’m really unfamiliar with the process and interested in whether it would work for me.

- Kerri on November 11th, 2008

We’ve used cloth for our daughter 2.5yrs and our son 4 months. I’m so glad to hear of so many other moms using them too! In terms of clean up, we just put ours in the diaper champ with a water proof bag until it’s time to wash. Then just dump the bag out into the washer and start. If you breastfeed, there is no need to clean off the poop. Once your little one starts solids, dump the poop in the toilet before putting it in the bucket.

My daughter potty learned quickly and pretty much on her own at the age of 23 months…no work to it at all!

- Linzie on November 11th, 2008

I use cloth (bumGenius to be exact) and I love them! I have a daughter who suffers from eczema and many other rashes, and cloth diapers seem to help.

- Kara on November 11th, 2008

We do a mix of both cloth and disposables – leaning towards cloth more.

I find cloth diapering to be very easy and rewarding – but sometimes disposables are a must-have for outings or if your baby has a stomach bug.

I can see how exclusive cloth diaperers love the cost and environmental benefits – and how exclusive disposable diaperers love the convenience of them – but I’m greedy and enjoy the best of both!

- N.S on November 11th, 2008

We use cloth during the day and disposables at night, though now that he’s not such a heavy wetter at night we may try to switch to the cloth.

We use bumGenius one size diapers, which are easy to use, wash and store. They even use them on him at his day care- never had a problem. And diaper laundry is my favorite laundry- it’s the easiest! Especially because we use all the same cloth diapers.

We have another baby on the way and will cloth diaper as well. I hate throwing away disposables! And I’ve seen many people who use disposables let their kids sit in their diapers way too long.

For people who don’t think their care providers will use cloth- just ask! Use something simple like the bumgenius and it’s the same as disposables, you just put them in a wetbag instead of throwing them out! And we use flushable wipes- washcloths at home when he was younger and we used a lot more.

- crg on November 11th, 2008

I also wanted to add that when he was exclusively breastfed, we just put the diapers right in the wash, now we dump what we can off into the toilet and the rest gets washed away.

Everyone is supposed to dump poop in the toilet EVEN DISPOSABLE USERS. Human waste is not supposed to go in the trash. And yet people do it every day.

- crg on November 11th, 2008

Before I had my children I never thought I would use cloth diapers just because of the clean up and extra work I thought would go into it. But right out of college my husband and I became pregnant with our twins. We had college loans to pay off and had just bought our first house. We couldn’t imagine the added expense of having not one but two babies. So we did the research on the best cost effective way to take care of our daughters. We came across the cloth diapers and decided that we would give it a try just because of the money that it would save us in the long run. And I must say I’m so happy that is the way we went. There is a little added work to using cloth diapers, but my daughters never had diaper rashes and we saved money that is helping to give them a better life. With any more children that we have, I will defiantly be using cloth diapers

- Sasha on November 11th, 2008

We did disposible with my oldest and cloth with the youngest.

- Brandi on November 11th, 2008

We used disposable with both. First one was Huggies all the way. Second used Pampers (too much in the hip and bum region for other brands). They are both a little older (7 and almost-5), and we didn’t know of that many options back then. I know it doesn’t sound like that long ago, but I went to a baby shower this weekend, and was amazed by all of the advances in the last 5 years! I always thought of cloth as something I didn’t want to do, with the mess and the diaper pins.

Right now we are in an apartment and so cloth don’t really work as we do laundry only once a week. But, if we are lucky enough to have another one, I would consider cloth once we move into a house (or get our own washer).

- Dana on November 11th, 2008

We use both. Disposable at daycare and when we go out, and cloth at home. It’s worked out really well. I was nervous at first, but between the recurring cost and waste of disposables, the cloth diapers are worth the time and original investment!

- JB on November 11th, 2008

Not a momma yet, but when I am I will most likely cloth diaper, or atleast give it a shot. I don’t berate folks for using disposables- everyone finds something that works for them and their lifestyle- I just know that cding would fit better with what I find important.

Also, can I just add, how adorable cloth diapers can be?! They have some adorable patterns. And they are a lot more cushion-y and absorb more than a disp. (my nephew is cd).

- Jess from Ohio on November 11th, 2008

I remember when I was pregnant, I was buying pink cloth nappies, believing that I was going to help the Earth to be cleaner and greener et cetera when my ‘daughter’ got here- but then my son arrived and so I couldn’t use the cloth nappies (well, I did on his first night actually!) but then afterwards, it just was too much hassle, because I had this demanding baby who needed the toilet like 2x an hour a day! So I did the practical, not the economical, thing of buying disposable Pampers nappies which were absolutely fantastic! I could just pop them into my ‘Mary Poppins’ handbag and be on my way to somewhere with my son when he was a baby.
But to compensate for not using cloth nappies, I do a lot of recycling, and do these little things like wasting water which make a difference.

- babyboopie on November 11th, 2008

Cloth. I used Motherease fitteds along with Fuzzi Bunz. I also used several other WAHM fitteds as well.

- Kris on November 11th, 2008

CLOTH! 100% the way to go. My baby has never had a single sposie on her and she’s never had a single diaper rash. It is two extra loads of laundry a week, hardly any extra work.

Starting solids makes a little splash…my husband said “So this is where cloth diapering gets interesting.” Haha. But a good diaper sprayer attachs to the toilet and works wonders. No poop in the washer.

Environmentally, I feel it is my moral obligation to avoid disposables. What little extra work it is…is worth the effort to not put tons of plastic in landfills. We’ve used Kissaluvs as a newborn and Under the Nile fitteds ever since, with wool covers.

- Elizabeth on November 11th, 2008

Someone asked here how to clean them. I don’t have kids yet (one on the way though !!) and Im going to take a shower and wash them above the sink. I come from Europe and that was the first thing i had changed, the shower head, we are using those with hoses. Not those in-built like they use here. So you can take it and reach above the toilett.

Second, the kids in europe are not so scared of showers like here in north america (of course thats not a 100% rule !) and its also because of the hose shower, you can position it the way it doesnt scare the child like the inbuilt one

They are so cheap and they are sold in the hardware stores and literally will make your life tons easier

- Molly on November 11th, 2008

We use a hybrid diaper. Cloth diapers require tons of water and energy to clean, not to mention the services add in chemicals. Disposables are terrible for the landfills. We found an alternative that you can flush the all natural insert, compost it, or toss it away to disintegrate in 60 days. The covers just go in the regular laundry. Affordable and eco-friendly, not to mention that we have not had a single blow out or rash!

- Aislinn on November 11th, 2008

I NEVER thought I would use cloth diapers. We used strictly disposables for our first child. I really didn’t know there were other options. But after reading about the harmful effects the chlorine in disposables can have on your child (cancer, female infertility, etc), I committed to cloth for our second child and haven’t looked back. I’m shocked at how easy it is and not any messier than disposables at all. I thought I would be up to my elbows in poop, but that’s just simply not the case! Cloth diapers have come along way since I was wearing them 30 years ago! (We use bumgenius and fuzzi bunz.) I might spend an extra 10 minutes/day doing diaper laundry. Plus I am saving so much money! I spent $1800+ on my son’s disposables from birth to potty training at 2 1/2. There is no way I will have spent more than $500 on cloth diapers by the time my daughter potty trains. PLUS I can re-use my cloth diapers on future children or sell them for consignment. I did not make this decision for the environment, but it sure is nice not to haul a giant bag of stinky diapers out to the trash every week. I feel like I’m doing my part. I just wish I would have switched to cloth SOONER!!!

- Rachel on November 11th, 2008

Dear Aislinn, can you post the brand of those diapers you described?

I used all disposables with my first baby, but after reading a lot I will totally use cloth with my second

- angie on November 11th, 2008

I use Nature Baby disposable diapers. The diapers and their packaging are biodegradable and they work so much better than other brands. They are also excellent for sensitive skin. I’m not ready for cloth.

- gigi on November 11th, 2008

We’ve been using Cd’s since my son was about 2 1/2. It started with potty training. He is a heavy wetter at night and would soak through any kind of pullup, and sometimes the biggest (size 6) diapers. I was changing wet sheets every other day if i was lucky. So since i was doing so much pee laundry anyway, with the wet sheets and wet clothing from accidents, it was an easy transition. I too chose to use disposables early on because i was intimidated by cloth, thought it would be too hard, too messy, to time consuming. I kick myself now for not just trying it from day one. It’s not an all or nothing thing. For example, if you work you could do sposies at daycare, but use cloth at night and weekends… For us it is no additional laundry. My son may wake up dry, but if he doesn’t, the wet diaper goes to the laundry room til i’m ready to wash a load, and then i just toss it in with the rest of the clothes and use the recommended detergents. Since we’re not dealing with poo we don’t really need any extra rinses, and its no different than if your child has an accident and you wash the wet undies in with your laundry. PLUS i have made my own cd’s and i havne’t bought a single diaper for 2 years!! Who knows when my almost 5 year old will stay dry at night, but i’ll never have to worry if i have enough super expensive “underjams” in stock! Once you get over the fear, it’s freedom! If i’m lucky enough to have more children i’ll absolutely cloth diaper from the beginning.

- Megan on November 11th, 2008

I use a combination of gDiapers, cloth, and disposable (7th Generation). I love gDiapers, but they don’t get my son through the night anymore so we use cloth at night. When traveling, I use 7th Generation. My son, who is 21 months, has never had a diaper rash. I am not sure if the perfumes in regular diapers cause diaper rash or if it is the type of skin children have but he has never had one.

- MizMolly on November 11th, 2008

Only disposable in my house. No time or patience for cloth.

- Veroncia on November 11th, 2008

We started with Huggies, moved to Pampers and when our son was a few months old, moved to gDiapers. I did try pocket cloth, but the upkeep was more than we could handle in our busy household. gDiapers gave us the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, the boy was soaking through doubled inserts overnight, so we switched to 7th Generation and have stayed with them for the last year. Our son is 2yrs.

- Marie on November 11th, 2008

We are a disposable using family and have never had problems with leakage or diaper rash at all. We use Snugglers!
I don’t think it’s right to judge each other (not that there’s been that here! but there is sometimes elsewhere) based on what we diaper our babies in. It’s all about what is right for your family and your situation. We could debate about waste vs water usage forever.

- tracey on November 11th, 2008

G DIAPERS ALL THE WAY! THEY ARE JUST RAD! MY 2 1/2 YEAR OLD HAS USED THEM HER WHOLE LIFE. THEY REALLY ARE GREAT! GO GREEN…GO G PANTS!

- vennessa on November 11th, 2008

My husband and I are expecting and planning to cloth diaper. Someone mentioned that they made their own diapers and I was wondering where you got the pattern.

- Sarah on November 11th, 2008

::cloth::
we love the money we save, the garbage we don’t create (imagine an entire babyhood’s worth of diapers… it’s a mountain of trash!), and the chemicals we avoid having close to his skin. nowadays, my 2-year-old is learning to potty, but at night & for outings it’s cloth, cloth, cloth!!!

- I-dra on November 11th, 2008

Just a couple years ago, within 2-3 because its since I had my first child, a university did an extensive study and found very clearly one true thing: disposable and cloth diapers have very similar environmental impacts. Even when considering you might use cloth diapers on multiple kids, it still doesnt work out very much in their favor. Water useage, the soap used to wash them (and its production and packaging), and the making of the diapers themselves worked out to about the same overall effect of disposable.

So what to do? They said to pick what you LIKE. In areas where space is a huge concern (like in larger cities), cloth is the way to go. But say if you live in a very dry area such as Arizona, you should lean towards dispoables.

I tried three kinds of cloth diapers, from cheap to very pricey (system type) ones, and a middle one. I did not like any of the three one bit. Either did my daughter. While many babies get diaper rash from the chemicals in disposables, mine got it from being in cloth, no matter how fast I changed her. And I had horrible leak issues with all three types, poop and pee both. Maybe I’m just cloth-impaired, lol.

With my second one I never considered giving it another try.

So I think to each their own and based on where they live.

- AMSJLL on November 11th, 2008

Sarah,

It was me that said I sew my own cloth diapers. I use the KCK One pattern.

- Carolle on November 11th, 2008

Cloth only for us! Not only is it better for the environment, it’s better for your baby. Have you ever SEEN those gross pee-soaked gel balls that are in disposables? The laundry isn’t that time consuming. I work full time and manage just fine! I, too, have a fabulous daycare that was open to trying cloth and they love it, too! My daughter has never had diaper rash and we rarely, if ever, have blowouts. I wish more people were open-minded to giving cloth a try. Our favorites are Bum Genius 3.0s, KCK Ones and Diaper Change.

- Michelle on November 11th, 2008

I used cloth on my last two children…if you have an extra 20 minutes of time, twice a week, you too can use the wonderful cloth diapers of today! They are really very simple to deal with, and I can’t say enough about them. When I switched, I made my own, and eventually went on to have my own diaper sewing business (which lasted for 3 years, and I eventually closed because that became too much for me with four kids). When my kids have children, I am going to recommend they try cloth, and I will make them whatever they want! Since the older girls grew up seeing their siblings wearing some pretty adorable diapers, and saw how easy it was, I think they’ll at least be receptive to the idea.
PS….there’s also cloth for mom too, for that time of the month, and I cannot say enough about them…more comfortable, cheaper, no rashes for mom, and again…easy.

- Lisa on November 11th, 2008

Cloth for us! We used disposables for 4 1/2 months because I hadn’t done the research or even considered cloth. Now that we have completely made the switch to BumGenius 3.0, we haven’t looked back! I can honestly say I prefer CD over disposables. Less waste, diaper rash, money, etc. A TINY bit more work and laundry, but to me there’s nothing like pulling a fresh, soft load of pocket diapers out of the dryer and stuffing them for my little one to wear again. I hate the feel of disposables now and don’t like the chemicals in them – I feel like I’m putting a piece of scratchy paper on him. And you know how babies in disposables always seem to smell like pee? Not the case with cloth! They even hold in the poo smell so you have to be careful not to let it sit! I would encourage anyone to give cloth a try, they are WONDERFUL.

- Sarah on November 11th, 2008

We used disposables for the first year of our son’s life, and then after tons of research, I decided to try out Bumgenius 3.0 pocket diapers (they grow w/your child through snaps so they can be used for future children) and LOVE them! Our son is 18 months now, and we have 18 diapers, which allows me to wash diapers every 3rd day. We’ve had far fewer leaks and blowouts than we did w/disposables, and usually only if there was just too much to be contained. We have a great sprayer that attaches to the toilet and gets all the solid waste off and flushes right down. I agree with the other posts, they are super cute! And really just as easy to use as disposables because they velcro–an important feature IMO. We tried an all-in-one, but it took too long to wash and dry. We also use Method diaper cream, and it washes right out. I urge anyone who is interested in cloth to just give it a try. Get a water-proof bag to hold dirty diapers while you’re out/at daycare (Bumkins has a cute line that are machine washable), and know that you’re not only doing something good for the environment, it’s also good for your child!

- Niki on November 11th, 2008

We used cloth diapers almost exclusively. On the rare occasion that we needed a disposable, we used Seventh Generation unbleached. (When my husband first saw a package of those and read the label, he was shocked to realize the other diapers WERE bleached with chlorine! Yuck!)

Other than the obvious environmental and health reasons, cloth is way more convenient for us. We live in a rural place where we have to take our own trash to the dump. We try to make very little trash because going to the dump is a pain. It is WAY easier to do an extra load of laundry every 2-3 days than to have to go to the dump more often.

Now my daughter is just recently potty trained and I’m selling her cloth diapers. I bought them all used and I’ll be getting a lot of my initial investment back from them.

- Amy on November 11th, 2008

We use cloth and I love it- Thirsties and prefolds are my favorites, but I do like the fitted Thirsties diapers, too.

- amy on November 11th, 2008

Our sons are only 20 months apart, and we went to cloth diapers when the younger one was born.

Mainly to avoid the expense of buying so many disposables for two different sizes.

I was very surprised when the cloth diapers caused diaper rash, which we never had with disposables.

We didn’t even use baby wipes on them after that, just wet Bounty-type of paper towels with mild skin soap on them. Then the miracle potion – plain old Vaseline ! – on their clean skin.

With those two changes, plus back to disposable, we never had another rash.

Of course now they’re in their 20s, so there were not all the different choices in cloth then – just pure cotton diapers and “rubber pants”.

- DiamondGirl on November 11th, 2008

I was really surprised when a friend told me a couple of years ago that she was going to cd her new baby. I thought she was crazy but she told me they aren’t the same diapers our mothers used.

Since I’m curious and crazy about all things baby related, I looked into the new CD options.

The environmental impact may be the same as disposables but CD will save me $1500 to $2000, is better for baby (no icky chemicals next to her skin) and less likely to have blowouts.

My cousin is CDing her newborn and showed me the Bum Genius AIO. Very cool!

I realize it’s possible that CDing may not work as well for me as I expect, but it will be my first choice when I finally have kids.

- Charity on November 12th, 2008

For us, it comes down to what is affordable.

I would love to use gDiapers, but they aren’t available where I am.

It would be lovely to use cloth diapers, but it isn’t possible. Laundromats will not allow cloth diapers to be washed there and the only washer I can get will have to be hooked up through my kitchen tap.If I do get a washer it would have to be energy efficient ($$$) because hydro is something people also have to consider with cloth diapers and it can be very expensive.

I had considered going with a diaper service but with gas prices etc it is way to expensive for me.

Disposables seem to be the best option for us right now. We got them from a wholesaler that some friends reccomended (340 diapers for 40 dollars).

- Aya on November 12th, 2008

100% Cloth diapers on my baby’s bum! It’s only one more load of laundry every 2nd day so it’s not a lot of work. Plus with fitteds and wool covers her skin breathes versus plastic sposies which don’t.

I use Bac-out in the original rinse to keep the stink out. No smelly issues with our dipes. I can’t stand the smell of sposies let alone think of all the chemicals sitting against my baby’s skin 24h a day.

We use bumgenius 3.0 at nights and then goodmamas with wool during the day.

If you’re wanting more information about anything cloth diaper related then there is a wonderful support group made up of other Mamas at diaperswappers.com

- Lorus on November 12th, 2008

For anyone wondering how you wash them:
Just throw them in the washer! Especially in the beginning, when their poop is still runny (well breastfeeding poop is, I dont know what formula poop is like) it will wash off with no problem. Once they start solids, you can put liners in the diaper and just throw that in the toilet, you can use a diaper sprayer to spray the poop into a toilet, or you can just scrape it off (sounds gross I know, but if you have kids, dealing with poop is just something you are used to!)
and then put them in the wash!

After using both, I really dont see any difference in convenience for me. Cloth is just as convenient. So that is why it is hard to understand why people question that, but I guess if they havent used them they dont know. They make cloth that are just like sposies, no stuffing, no folding, just put it on and go. THere are so many different ways to use cloth.
I cant wait to have baby #2 so we can use cloth from the beginning, we started at 5 months with my now 22 month old.

- Heather on November 12th, 2008

I wanted to use cloth with my oldest daughter, but I was 23 and a university student and didn’t have the $$ up front to buy a stash of diapers.

When I had my 2nd daughter, I bought a few different pocket diapers to see what I preferred. I knew there was no way my hubby would even try cloth if it required any effort I now use mostly Fuzzi Bunz. The Happy Heiney’s are nice too, but the velcro keeps coming undone in the wash and they stick to the others diapers. My husband prefers the HH’s becuase they go on just like a disposable (unlike the Fuzzi Bunz which are still easy, but have snaps rather than velcro).

We do keep some disposables on hand for long outings or when she has an extra yucky poop phase

I live in apartment building and have to use a shared laundry machine, and I have had no problem with them not being properly washed. I did have concerns at first about residue from other people soap or dryer sheets coating my diapers. I usually wash and dry a load of towels before hand, so any residue gets on my towels and not the diapers

- KellyO on November 12th, 2008

Cloth exclusively, even on vacation. We are on baby #3 and I can’t imagine any other way!! We also use cloth wipes. The environment is our #1 reason.

- Ilaria on November 12th, 2008

AMSJLL, the study you mentioned was funded by a disposable diaper company….you can google that.

- Ilaria on November 12th, 2008

I used Pampers with both of my kids, and never had any problems with rashes or blowouts. I don’t think I would ever use cloth dipers.

- Bela on November 12th, 2008

Disposable diapers here! Luvs all the way. They are the only brand that holds it all in and doesn’t give my son diaper rash. I can’t keep up with regular laundry, and there is no way my stomach could handle cleaning out poop. Ugh. It makes me gag just to think about it. We considered cloth, but neither my husband or I have the stomach. We try to make up for it by going green in every other aspect of our lives. Kudos to those of you who use cloth! I appreciate that fact that you can & do use them. They help keep our landfills less “full”.

- Cheesehead Girl on November 12th, 2008

I live in a small apartment and don’t have my own washer so I have opted to use a biodegradable disposable diaper. The brand is Nature BabyCare and I found them at Super Target. They almost completely biodegrade after 40 days. They are the best diaper I have ever used. I’ve tried Huggies, Pampers, Seventh Generation, Tushies, 365 Whole Foods Brand. One of my friends used cloth diapers and her kids always smelled really bad. I don’t know if she didn’t wash them right or what but it was gross. I figure these diapers are my compromise and they work great.

- Nicole on November 12th, 2008

We are using cloth on our two kids. My wife made the point that we don’t wear paper/plastic underwear so why should we put them on our babies? It was a lot less work than I thought it would be, even when we go on vacation. We went one step further and try to stick with organic diapers when possible, globalenfant.com has a nice selection of organic diapers. It’s the same store that is linked to the silver Mary Jane shoes that Suri is wearing on a blog from last week. I think we have been happy with our decision to use cloth diapers, plus my son potty trained (except for at night) a lot earlier than our friends’ kids. That made it all worth it for me!

- Johny on November 12th, 2008

Oh here is the link to the store I mentioned that my wife buys our organic diapers at http://globalenfant.com/

- Johny on November 12th, 2008

We used cloth diapers and elimination communication, and it was the perfect combination for us. Our son was out of diapers (during the day) at 19 months, and 8 months later I was finally brave enough to keep him in underwear at night.

- julia on November 13th, 2008

We used disposables with my 2 oldest but when my third was born prematurely and suffered from chronic lung disease I would do anything to relieve her breathing issues. After a friend suggested using cloth diapers, we switched her over and noticed a 50% decrease in meds and hospitalizations. Her doctor actually documented this in her medical records.
Now I would never use a disposable diaper, knowing what is in them, the chemicals and SAP’s. My children mean the world to me and I would never risk their life. For my daughter this was a true risk for us.
Also regarding water it takes 20 times more water to manufacture each disposable diaper you use. So the water usage for cloth is actually less that that for disposables. My daughter was the original Happy Heinys and thanks to her we have been able to help many many preemies and other special needs children through the last 7 yrs. Not to mention all the healthy children who have used our diapers.
Linda

- Linda on November 13th, 2008

I started using cloth with my 1st son when he was 6 months old due to him being allergic to EVER disposable out there, no joke. With my second, I have used cloth from birth. It’s the norm around this house.
I use- Crickett’s Hemp fitteds with wool at night, Fluffymail AIOs, Very Baby AIOs and Happy Heinys during the day and some various other fitted diapers with knitted wool pants as the cover.
While my 2nd was in the NICU I had to use disposables and I choose to use the natural ones. Never again will any of my children wear chemical, toxic diapers on the most sensitive area of their body.

- Christina on November 13th, 2008

When my son was a baby, during the day, I always let him use cloth diaper as it was more comfortable for him. I only put on disposable diapers on him when we’re going out, or when he goes to sleep at nigh so he doesn’t have to keep waking up.

- isacutieisac on November 13th, 2008

I use disposables with my twin girls. i tried several kinds of cloth but both girls wound up with nappy rash from all of them. i tried every remedy suggested to me but nothing worked. Hannah was just mild rash but Nataliah’s was raw and just awful. poor bub was miserable. so i just use huggies disposables and have never had a problem with nappy rash since. i was really bummed that the cloth didn’t work out for us though. i wanted to attempt to introduce cloth again but my big softie hubby wouldn’t hear of it!!!

- EllsBells on November 13th, 2008

The hospital in our city did a comparison study between cloth and disposables, and found that cloth had just as bad an environmental impact as the disposables. Detergent, bleach,gas/electricity used to clean them; it all adds up. The comfort of a good disposable can’t be beat. Also, having tried many types on my 4 children, I would never use anything other than Huggies to stop leaks, etc.

- Eva Kryzanowski on November 14th, 2008

Yes, there have been studies that cloth and disposables have the same environmental impact. BUT do they take into account that MOST cloth diapering families don’t use bleach at all (yuck!), use biodegradable detergent (like Charlie’s Soap) and many hang dry their diapers or use high efficiency washers and dryers? Of course not! Listen, I diapered my first child in disposables (Huggies), but now that I’ve done the research for my second, how could I knowingly let my sweet baby sit in chlorine bleach 24 hours/day for 2+ years? AND cloth diapers are so much cheaper (and cuter)! No judgment, though. Everyone has to make the best decision for their own family.

- Rachel on November 14th, 2008

Has anyone taken into account the energy and water used to produce the disposables and then the gas to ship it ect not to mention packaging. I don’t know seems that cloth would be way less energy no matter what.

- joy on November 14th, 2008

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Story?id=789465&page=1

Here’s an interesting article on research and opinion on this topic… thought I’d share.

We’ve used both. We wanted to CD from the start, but we had no local shop and were completely confused by the selections online. That combined with a tiny, preemie size newborn, we ended up starting with pampers. My first born had TERRIBLE diaper rash with all diapers… disposable and cloth with the exception of pampers which got expensive. Finally we figured out the issue with the cloth… it was in our wash. A big issue with CD is figuring out the best detergent to use for your child and for your water type. By the time my son was born, I was a cloth diaper addict. He is cd’d completely. My daughter was in cloth diapers completely (once we figured out the detergent thing) until potty training, but still CD at night. We moved recently… so we’re figuring out the right combo again. We’ve found that now that my kids are sleeping 12hr nights, they are better off in a disposable at night, but use cloth during the day (my daughter is now in cloth trainers… warning, kids think pull ups are diapers and they really did set her back when preschool asked that she be in them, I eventually told them no more and started sending her in her cloth trainers).

as far as more wash… with two in cloth, I only added one extra wash every other day. When it was just my daughter, I did an extra wash every 3 days only b/c I didn’t want them sitting for any longer than that. During the summer, it’s great to hang dry! I don’t use bleach (don’t use it anyway and most CD sites don’t recommend it, harsh for child’s skin). Vinegar is great for stripping the dipes every so often… and we’ve figured out in our new area that we need to add a little calgon to help wash out all of the detergent residue. We use a natural detergent (Allen’s Naturally).

There are affordable ways to try cloth.. many trial packs (like the one at jillian’s drawers, they have an online site)… A few favs of mine are Crickett’s, Ariana’s Closet, Preston’s pants (especially her fleece pockets)and Eli Monster. Another perk to cloth is that I can support working moms… moms who sew from home! I feel good about that. There are also great sites like diaperswappers where mom’s sell gently used dipes. I know that may gross some people out (my husband is one of them, so we don’t buy used) but many moms do… so in that sense, you can make about 25-50% back by selling your used dipes. Which adds to an issue the research doesn’t include… the reuse of the dipes… I have 6 fuzzibunz that I used for both kids, purchased 2 1/2 years ago. And I continue to use them.

Like with anything, it’s a personal choice. It’s sad that anyone would feel guilty about any of these types of parenting topics. We all do what we can and what we feel is best for our children and our families. I agree with the comment of looking at what is best for your environment. I live in a big city, the less trash and more recycling I can do the better.

- Bridget on November 15th, 2008

I absolutely love Huggies, I have used them on my son since day 1. He has never had a blow out with them or a diaper rash. I used to work at a daycare and those kids were always getting diaper rashes, most of them had store brand diapers too.
I never really thought that so many people were using cloth diapers, wow, I’m impressed. I know that diapers are not good for our environment, but they are so nice and handy to use (would be nice if they weren’t so expensive)…..

- Jessi on November 16th, 2008

I have both – disposables and bumgenius. I was really excited to try the cloth, but unfortunately, it’s a real pain. No matter how many liners I use, my daughter leaks over night, never happens with her disposables. Tossing a disposable in the trash versus scraping, spraying, soaking, washing, drying twice to truly get the cloth dry???? It really is much less convenient and I really wanted to love the cloth

- k1235 on November 16th, 2008

Cloth are much cuter- but disposable are easier and i like them better!!

- Mary on November 17th, 2008

We use bumGenius diapers. Love them! They aren’t your momma’s cloth diapers.

- emily on November 20th, 2008

We don’t have a huge range of the new style cloth nappies in Australia. Mostly cloth means the old fashioned square of material you fold into strange shapes and then pin on and perhaps cover with plastic or thick woolen pants. What we do have in Australia is a huge water shortage/drought problem so we have to weigh up continually washing cloth nappies against creating more landfill with disposables. Of course, we could import the new and improved cloth styles from the US but then you also have to account for air-miles when you consider the green issue. Quite frankly, I’m torn.

- Lilybett on November 20th, 2008

Wow! there are so many great options out there now for cloth diapers. Are there no longer diaper services? When my girls were babies (20+) years ago, I did cloth at home, though childcare insisted on disposable. Once a week the diaper service took the dirty ones and brought clean ones. The only problem was when hubby mistook the bag for trash and had to climb into the alley bin to retreive the diapers – only did it twice before he learned (LOL)

- Lola on November 21st, 2008

I used disposable for my first 11 kids and now for my 12th I decided since I thought that the cloth are much cuter so I just put the cloth over the disposable!!!

- Karri on November 26th, 2008