Those who cloth diaper...

[Deleted]

Was your DH on board with cloth diapering from the beg ginning? How about your family?

I'd really like to cloth diaper with baby #2 (we found out this morning that we are having a girl!!) and DH wants nothing to do with it.

He agreed to go to a class with me. There is a local baby boutique that teaches all about cloth diapering, so at least that is a step in the right direction.

The problem is that our family thinks it is crazy to cloth diaper and we have no close friends who have CD either.

If your DH was against it at first, how did he change his mind, or did he?

[Deleted]

My DH is a cheap guy who was easily persuaded by the cost savings.

This is actually in the FAQ on the cloth diaper bump board, I think.

Does he actually change diapers? The other half of it was I was going to be home for a year, so while he helped when he was home I did most of the changes and all of the laundry. If I was doing the work, his opinion just didn't matter that much. If he REALLY hated it enough to go buy some Pampers, he could have.

[Deleted]

Congrats on a girl!

H was against it mainly bc he just thought it would be a lot of work. I just ignored him. ha. I bought a few pockets and once he saw them he was a little more on board, and then as I showed him the different types (the AIOs, prefolds, etc) he became more interested. Basically he was willing to try it but I think he figured i'd give up on it. DS is 3.5 months and H LOVES cloth diapering - prefolds with covers are actually his favorites. He is the first to recommend it to our friends who are expecting, etc.

I think it sounds much more intimidating than it actually is, so going to a class is a good start imo.

[darnkatz]

My H was totally on board with it. My family thought we were weird, but I didn't really care. They don't live that close to us anyway, so it's not like they watched her at all.

Cost savings can be really great, and you can't beat not having all that waste. Pocket and all-in-one diapers are extremely easy to use, especially if you get velcro instead of snaps. If you are willing to do more diaper laundry, you don't even have to buy a ton of diapers, either. Personally, we bought second-hand and from Etsy, so we ended up spending less than $400 total for two years worth of diapers. BUT, my DD was also very small, so she fit into diapers for a long time.

[Mrs.Syntax]

At first, my DH was against it. But his resistance didn't last long when I showed him how much disposables cost versus a stash of prefolds and covers. He got 100% on board after doing the math. I SAH so he never has to do any of the laundry, but when he's home he probably changes more diapers than I do and he doesn't mind the cloth at all.

[Brie]

Congrats on the girl!

We obviously haven't started yet, but DH has been on board from the beginning. He was CDed as a baby and the ILs see it as the norm, so it wasn't unusual to him. I mentioned the cost savings and he was totally sold. Both ILs are totally supportive and think it's really cool how much things have improved since they did it 30 years ago.

My mom tried to CD both kids and failed, so she is very negative about it. I am very nervous about her coming to help after the baby because she thinks it's absolutely ridiculous that we're even trying it and I'm pretty sure she'll try to sabotage it at every turn.

[smiley]

Aug 28, 2012 12:33:51 GMT -5 @lazerus24 said:

Was your DH on board with cloth diapering from the beg ginning? How about your family?

I'd really like to cloth diaper with baby #2 (we found out this morning that we are having a girl!!) and DH wants nothing to do with it.

He agreed to go to a class with me. There is a local baby boutique that teaches all about cloth diapering, so at least that is a step in the right direction.

The problem is that our family thinks it is crazy to cloth diaper and we have no close friends who have CD either.

If your DH was against it at first, how did he change his mind, or did he?

I don't have any children but when I was pregnant (before my miscarriage) I mentioned to DH that I wanted to cloth diaper. He looked at my like I was crazy. I did a bunch of research on the benefits of cloth diapers and what regular diapers can do to the skin etc. and why they are not environmentally friendly. I presented this info to DH and he immediately changed his mind. It probably helps that he never does laundry so that wouldn't be on his plate.

[Deleted]

This is all good stuff ladies, thanks. Smiley, I am so sorry for your loss.

I think I will get together some information about all of the good things that come with CD'ing and present it to him again.

I told him about how much money we will save, but our DS is three now and been potty trained for a year. I don't think DH quite remembers how expensive buying diapers will be.

We are toying with the idea of me SAHM, so the majority of the work will be on me anyway.

Ultimately, we will CD. I'd just like if DH would be ok with it and not complain. Ha.

I am looking forward to the class and I hope he will come around.

The recommendations for the brands is great too! I'd like to register for CD's.

[Deleted]

Aug 28, 2012 12:39:44 GMT -5 Brie said:

My mom tried to CD both kids and failed, so she is very negative about it. I am very nervous about her coming to help after the baby because she thinks it's absolutely ridiculous that we're even trying it and I'm pretty sure she'll try to sabotage it at every turn.

That's frustrating about your mom, Brie. I hope she realizes CDing has gotten way easier in the past 20+ years.

[Deleted]

DH never was. I had to do all the diapering myself. If he was alone with her, he used disposables (which we always had bc she had to wear them for daycare).

My mom and MIL hated using them but they were on board.

[jennlin]

my h wants nothing to do with the laundry..but i know he will give in, eventually. the cost savings and the cute prints (he won't admit it, but he loves our little girl in hello kitty) is what made him cave.

[cep1976]

My H had never changed a diaper before we had our kid, so he didn't have any preconceived notion they disposables would be way easier or anything, so he was on board from the beginning. He liked the cost savings, and actually didn't care for disposables for the short time we used them.

Our families have been nothing but supportive. They figure our kid, our choice. Plus we were both cd'ed as kids.

[froggy76]

My DH was on board right away and he is almost as obsessed with CDs as I am. He does half the laundry and he's the one sunning the diapers on weekends. However, I could definitely do it without his help. If you can just get your DH to agree to use the CDs when he changes diapers, that's probably enough. If you use pockets or AIOs, it's really not any different than putting on a disposable.

My mom and sister were negative about CDing, but they know I don't really care what they think (and I don't live near them, anyway.) MIL CD'd, but things have changed so much that she is clueless when it comes to putting a CD on DD. Otherwise, I didn't really talk about it too much with other people and I don't know many people IRL who CD.

Good luck and congrats on your little girl!

[ejpint]

We obviously aren't using them yet, but I've been talking about them with H since we started TTC. He was very opposed when he thought it was going to be old fashioned cloth and rubber pants, but when I showed him a BumGenius and told him it would SAVE MONEY (magic words), he was all on board.

[thoseareradishes]

We are still TTC, but when I brought up CDs, my H was on board pretty quick due to the cost savings. I worried my family would make fun of me, and they did a little until I explained they are a lot different then they were 30 years ago when I was wearing them.

Husband isn't quite on board for pre-folds and covers yet, I think he likes the pockets. I'm willing to try pockets but I worry about keeping them clean- they seem to have more stink issues from what I've read, depending on your water (hard vs soft) and detergent.

[anonnani]

We've decided to cloth diaper this baby and he wants nothing at all to do with changing diapers but it isn't deterring me, lol. I purchased several BG covers/ inserts already and have a pretty good stash just waiting for her arrival (plan on using disposables till she is out of newborn size though b/c she is going to be very small). The way I see it is if they are there and there is nothing else to use he has no choice and will hopefully get used to it quickly (though I'm sure there will still be a lot of complaining)

[ohgillian]

Aug 28, 2012 12:36:26 GMT -5 @tokenhoser said:

My DH is a cheap guy who was easily persuaded by the cost savings.

Same. I said it was cheaper, and the discussion was over.

[coleyv]

My husband was a little against it when I first mentioned that I wanted to cloth diaper. However, I showed him a bunch of research I had done and he was quickly on board, especially after seeing how much money we would save and that it really wasn't that much more extra work than disposables. We also took a class which was helpful because it does seem a little overwhelming at first.

We're only a month into it but it's been even easier then we had anticipated. My husband will tell anyone who will listen how great cloth diapering is.

[MadamePresident]

We haven't started yet, but most of our friends do it, so my husband sees it as normal.

I think many people somehow imagine that cloth diapers = stinky dirty diapers sitting around forever polluting the air. They don't see that while they do require a little bit more work, they are a good option.

[Brie]

Aug 28, 2012 14:21:37 GMT -5 gravytrain225 said:

My very green SIL claims that cloth diapering is actually worse for the environment based on the hot water and electricity used to wash the diapers. I've never looked into this, does anyone think she is missing something? I always see the fact that they are environmentally friendly as a pro to cloth diapering.

I would rather use more water, which is a renewable resource, than use something that will sit in a dump for hundreds of years.

CDs aren't environmentally perfect, but very few things are.

[sjh722]

Aug 28, 2012 14:21:37 GMT -5 gravytrain225 said:

My very green SIL claims that cloth diapering is actually worse for the environment based on the hot water and electricity used to wash the diapers. I've never looked into this, does anyone think she is missing something? I always see the fact that they are environmentally friendly as a pro to cloth diapering.

My super-green friend told me that it depends on where you live; if you live in an area with scarce water supplies, like the desert, then disposables are more environmentally friendly. We're in the midwest so water's not as much of a concern here and CD work out to be more environmentally friendly even when you consider the electricity/water.

[Deleted]

Good to hear that so many DH's came around.

[ohgillian]

Aug 28, 2012 14:43:31 GMT -5 sjh722 said:

Aug 28, 2012 14:21:37 GMT -5 gravytrain225 said:

My very green SIL claims that cloth diapering is actually worse for the environment based on the hot water and electricity used to wash the diapers. I've never looked into this, does anyone think she is missing something? I always see the fact that they are environmentally friendly as a pro to cloth diapering.

My super-green friend told me that it depends on where you live; if you live in an area with scarce water supplies, like the desert, then disposables are more environmentally friendly. We're in the midwest so water's not as much of a concern here and CD work out to be more environmentally friendly even when you consider the electricity/water.

I have also heard that it depends on where you live and what the resource issues are there, but I personally CD more because I like putting just cotton up against my baby's bum. I don't want to wear plastic underwear, so I assume that he doesn't either.

[jinnifah]

Aug 28, 2012 12:36:26 GMT -5 @tokenhoser said:

My DH is a cheap guy who was easily persuaded by the cost savings.

Yes this. One look at my excel spreadsheet and he was convinced. It also helps that I went with one of the easier options (pockets) so it's just snap-on, snap-off. I'm also 100% in charge of washing them (because I'm anal) so he doesn't see any extra work

[Saudade]

Aug 28, 2012 14:21:37 GMT -5 gravytrain225 said:

My very green SIL claims that cloth diapering is actually worse for the environment based on the hot water and electricity used to wash the diapers. I've never looked into this, does anyone think she is missing something? I always see the fact that they are environmentally friendly as a pro to cloth diapering.

It very much depends on where you live. If you live in an area with a water crisis (LA for example) then you would be doing more harm than good. It would also be more expensive.

I live in MN and have seen a $1.50 increase per month in the water bill.

I never had to convince my DH. We both decided it was what we wanted to do. Both of us were cloth-diapered as children however we have gotten some flack from his much younger sister for it being "gross" and said we wouldn't keep up with it.

[kangaroo11]

Aug 28, 2012 16:22:30 GMT -5 Saudade said:

It very much depends on where you live. If you live in an area with a water crisis (LA for example) then you would be doing more harm than good. It would also be more expensive.

Darn. I'm still undecided on what to do, but I know DH will freak if our water bill goes up! We're having a January baby though and our water usage is less then, if we get decent rain. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[Deleted]

People also forget the environmental impact on MAKING disposable diapers. So in addition to being in the landfills, the energy and water used for production is going to be higher than constantly reusing something that was made once.

[drloretta]

Congrats!

DH wasn't interested, but he wasn't firmly against it. I was going to SAH and do 90-95% of the diapering anyway, so I just did it and he said, "Go for it." We had disposables around, so he typically used those until fairly recently. In the last 6 months it finally clicked that cloth was super easy and he usually slaps one on DD now. Even though he wasn't terribly interested, he did appreciate the $ savings.

My parents aren't into it, and MIL won't change a diaper period. We have disposables around if they're here. But they're far away, so it's not like I'm relying on them to diaper my child.

Both SILs CD'd, so they were supportive. Since we moved to New England I've met more CDers.

[csquared]

We switched to cloth when DD was about 6 months. It took some convincing, mostly that it wouldn't be too overwhelming in terms of laundry (I work full time, have a shitty commute, he travels a lot, etc.). He agreed to try it and we never looked back. Cloth is so easy now that in terms of changing a diaper, it didn't matter to DH if he was putting a cloth or disposable on her. And since he knew I felt better about cloth, that's what he reached for. Yes, the laundry responsibility fell to me, but he was honestly afraid that he would ruin the diapers by washing them incorrectly, so I washed the diapers and no one really cared. Our daycare accepted cloth which was fantastic. I just sent clean wet bags every day and brought home dirty diapers each night. DD was fully potty trained by 25 months and I think being in cloth helped in that regard as well.

[curbsideprophet]

There is also the impact of the solid waste entering the environment from disposable diapers. I am guessing the number of people who flush solids from disposables is pretty low.

To answer the original ?, DH was not as excited about cloth as I was. However he was willing try it and was not going to fight me on it. He saw the benefits fairly quickly and is happy with our choice to use cloth.