Tell me about cloth diapers...

[prettyinpink]

and more importantly how you convinced your husband that it was the best choice?

We can not seem to come to an agreement on this. He says sure go for it but your changing all the diapers. From everything I've read its not that complicated and not all that gross. I think he is kind of being a wimp.

[twoslicehilly]

He is being a whimp. It's totally easy. I convinced my H by showing him how much $$ we would save, and the diaper sprayer. I loved that I never ran out. If I was running low, I just threw a load in the wash and went on with life. I loved that they were cuter, I loved that were fluffy and not pressing a bunch of chemicals that no one is really testing onto her reproductive parts all day.

[ilovelamp]

How much money on average can you save? What if it's like diarrhea how do you get it off before putting it in the washer?

[meltoine]

theecofriendlyfamily.com/2011/12/clothdiapers-good-bad-honest/

Ditto everything Ojo said. And also, just because disposables are more common doesn't necessarily make them the default choice. There's no reason why your preference is any less important than E 's just because it isn't standard. I know some couples where the mom uses cloth when she changes the kids diaper and the dad uses disposables, or at let they started out that way. Almost every one eventually ran out of the disposables and the dad said "well this isn't so bad, and I definitely dont feel like going to target right now at 11pm. I guess I'll use the cloth" and just stuck with it from there.

[meltoine]

community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/ShowThread.aspx?PostID=48640290#48640290

The CD board on TB is generally exempt from the TB crazies. This is a good compilation of basic CD info posts.

[meltoine]

Plus, if you CD, you might get a super cute photo like this when you have to figure out how to carry both your kid and your CD laundry across the house.

[brandienee]

Ha! Cute!

[prettyinpink]

Jun 26, 2012 8:40:22 GMT -5 @ojo said:

Jun 25, 2012 23:53:33 GMT -5 prettyinpink said:

and more importantly how you convinced your husband that it was the best choice?

Have you looked up any local cloth diaper stores? Joe and I already knew we'd use cloth (that's what we used in my house growing up and I changed lots of diapers, so it was nothing new to me), but he was overwhelmed by the different types of diapers. We went and visited a store so he could see them and goof around with them on a doll and he immediately developed a preference for snapless fitteds. Snaps intimidate him, but he actually really likes snappis and pins because he can't mess them up and they seem faster to him. Letting him choose a style of diaper for when he's in charge of the changes helped him feel like he has just as much say as I do.

First off I will tell you the idea of a sprayer terrifies him. But I love the idea of finding a local cloth diaper store and taking him in and having him check everything out. I think showing him the cost saving would help too. The man is all about saving money. We don't typically use paper products and its mainly because E loves not spending money on them. I love that we aren't impacting the environment.

Thanks ladies!

[ilovelamp]

Super cute picture! When I imagine CD, I see the baby from the Rugrats running around with cloth tied or pinned on. Is that what really happens?

[prettyinpink]

Jun 26, 2012 8:58:25 GMT -5 meltoine said:

theecofriendlyfamily.com/2011/12/clothdiapers-good-bad-honest/

Ditto everything Ojo said. And also, just because disposables are more common doesn't necessarily make them the default choice. There's no reason why your preference is any less important than E 's just because it isn't standard. I know some couples where the mom uses cloth when she changes the kids diaper and the dad uses disposables, or at let they started out that way. Almost every one eventually ran out of the disposables and the dad said "well this isn't so bad, and I definitely dont feel like going to target right now at 11pm. I guess I'll use the cloth" and just stuck with it from there.

Thanks Mel! I can see that happening if we go cloth for me and disposables for E. That makes perfect sense.

[twoslicehilly]

Im curious to know the reason behind the diaper sprayer fear?

[prettyinpink]

Jun 26, 2012 9:31:47 GMT -5 twoslicehilly said:

Im curious to know the reason behind the diaper sprayer fear?

He is terrified of the idea of having to deal with cleaning out the poop and couple that with the idea of spraying it out he is just plain scared. I got asked last night how many diapers I've actually changed because they are gross when they are runny messes. I just kind of looked at him and walked away.

[meltoine]

You only need the sprayer once the kid starts solids. BM and formula poo don't need to be removed before washing. And once they're eating solids the poo is more, um, solid, so it kind of just plops off. I use my diaper sprayer once a week or so. Everything else just plops off into the toilet.

[prettyinpink]

Jun 26, 2012 10:34:48 GMT -5 meltoine said:

You only need the sprayer once the kid starts solids. BM and formula poo don't need to be removed before washing. And once they're eating solids the poo is more, um, solid, so it kind of just plops off. I use my diaper sprayer once a week or so. Everything else just plops off into the toilet.

Okay this might help in his decision. Either way I really love the idea. At the moment I'm looking into the Flips so that we can do the disposal liners for E and the cloth for me.

Thanks for all of your help ladies!

[prettyinpink]

And Mel, that picture of N is pretty much the cutest thing ever.

[meltoine]

Aw thanks!

Lamp- those kind are available and a lot of people us them. You can also get diapers that have absorbent layers inside and waterproof outside so they're all one piece, just like disposables, but you put them int he laundry instead of the trash.

[amaristella]

For DH it was the price tag. Plus, you should warn him that even with disposables he will sometimes have to clean poop. Explain to him "blow-outs" and then tell him that they're more common with disposable than with cloth (not sure if that's actually true, all my evidence is hearsay).

[ilovelamp]

Wow that is a lot of money you are saving, I had no idea! We aren't producing offspring for a while but when we do I will consider this fo sho.

[Dumbledork]

Eh, poop is poop. He's going to have to deal with it either way. Breastmilk poop is no biggie because it can go in the washing machine. When she moved on to solids we got the flushable liners to go in the dipes. If I were to do it again, I'd rather have a sprayer than the liners. Or maybe a combo of them. The liners were good for the ones that were pb consistency, but eventually it'll be solid enough to just roll out of the dipe. I would never toilet-swish though. My mom did it once bc she didn't know about the liners and it turned me off that particular part of cd forever.

We used pockets. If you keep an eye on mommy-discount websites, you can get most types of cd pretty cheap.

K was grossed out when I first suggested it, but I showed him the cost difference and reminded him he'd be gone for the first year. He just shrugged and said "True. I don't care, whatever you want." When he came home he just got used to them.

[amaristella]

Oh, if you really want to get fancy with it...

I started reading about using cloth diapers in conjunction with EC (elimination communication). This website was eye-opening to me and lead me to start doing research on the subject to see if it's something I'd ever like to do. I certainly like the premise of the idea.

www.diaperfreebaby.org/

[prettyinpink]

Thanks so much ladies!

[drunkpeggy]

I'm way late to this party but show him the savings...I think that was the biggest factor in T's decision.

Also it's been our experience that you don't need a sprayer...I think I've swished one diaper in the entire year we've been CDing. When Sophia was exclusively breastfed we didn't even need to put the poop in the toilet because it was water soluble and washed away in the laundry. And as far as laundry goes...I think we did laundry 3 times a week when she was a tiny infant and going through a ton of diapers...now we're down to maybe twice a week if we really stretch it.

I have a couple posts on my blog about why we chose the diapers we did, a spreadsheet that shows the costs of everything, and preparation instructions on the diapers we chose.

[prettyinpink]

J I read everything in your blog before I posted this

Last night he looked at me and said "I don't know why your still trying to convince me, go for it I just don't want to deal with the poopy diapers" I'm sure he will get over it eventually but at least he said yes. The money part was a big thing for him too.

[kcd0531]

::::::sigh::::::: I read threads like this and I want to make the switch to CD. Now that we're 3mos. into EJ's life; I'm hoping/wondering if I can get K on board…