Cloth diapers?

[Zep]

Cloth with liners. The liners are cheap, catch the vast majority of the poop, and are disposable. E.g. http://www.bumpybuns.com.au/ClothNappyAccessories/EeneeBiodegradableNappyLiners.html (PS. They are called "nappies" here, not diapers, so I might use the terms interchangeably.)

Cloth is especially good in hot climates because it breathes a lot better than plastic-lined paper. We used just 12 diapers to raise our daughter. These were terry cloth squares which simply folded into triangles and were nappy-pinned (safety-pins). They were quite cheap and only available in white, but these days you can get bright coloured variants with fancy do-ups.

We had a big bucket with a lid full of "nappy solution" (biodegradable bleach) that the used diapers were put in after the liner was flushed. It was my job as "Dad" to fill and empty the bucket each day so they could go through the washing machine, and to do the line-drying bit. Not the world's best job, but hey ho! That's what you get for signing on to be a parent!

However for situations where convenience is desired - travel, visiting, etc - disposables are a better option. I think we used maybe a few dozen total in those years?

 

[GlennB]

^

This is exactly what we did with our first, even to the extent that I ended up with the sterilising and washing business (how did that happen??).

But this was 28 years ago when nappies were just cloth squares. (I did learn an interesting little origami trick whereby you create an extra layer of cloth padding in the 'business area' ). In the end we got sick of buckets of pooey nappies soaking away by the washing machine and switched to disposables for our second baby.

 

[LostAngeles]

We eventually went over to disposable for two reasons, time, and the toxic nature of many of the products needed to clean cloth diapers. Something your friend failed to mention is the short life span of cloth anyway. After a short time they both become threadbeare and out of shape.

I'm 30.

Mom still has the cloth diapers and she uses them as cleaning rags.

 

[Zep]

Simple, fast cleaning trick: Hang the really naff ones on the clothes-line and hose them off into the grass. Then hit the bucket.

 

[Soapy Sam]

I never wear anything else.

 

[Duffy Moon]

The 'no-nappy' option reminds me of the old gag:

What's the difference between a seagull and a baby without a nappy?

One of them flits across the shore.......

 

[fls]

I used cloth diapers for my four kids. They were shaped like disposable diapers with elastic around the legs and velcro closings. A liner which was disposable (but also could be washed and reused) provided a barrier to the moisture and made it easy to dispose of poop. My mother and I made the diapers, but even had we bought them, they would have been much cheaper than using disposable. It was my understanding that as far as environmental impact goes, it's six of one and half a dozen of another. I preferred them for other reasons. I don't know whether they made a difference with respect to diaper rash - my kids didn't really have that problem. They didn't wear out through four kids, but they were very well made and I made minor repairs along the way. This may be different for store-bought.

It should be noted that I was working with all four kids except for short maternity leaves, and for the first kid, the washing machines weren't even in the same apartment building, so it is possible to accomplish this even if you're short on resources. I also travelled with cloth diapers, but only if I was going somewhere with washing facilities (like visiting my parents).

Linda

 

[Schrodinger's Cat]

Well, we have a CostCo membership (not expressly for diapers, but an added bonus if we decided to go that route, which we are currently leaning).



This just sounds like an early form of potty training.

It is. One of my best friends is from the island nation Greneda, and she had all her kids potty trained at just over one year. She didn't really do this for any moral or environmental reasons, it just had been the way things were done where she was from, and so she did it here. Of course at first they were too small to get on the potty by themselves, so as the example listed above explains, she basically taught them to let her know when they needed to use the potty until they were mobile enough to do it on their own. But she loved it, she had her kids out of diapers in no time.

However, though this wasn't her intent, obviously no diapers is the most environmentally friendly way to go. If that's something that's important to you, it may be worth looking in to. My friend said it really wasn't very difficult (but then again, she was blessed with exceptionally low key, calm babies, so it may not be so easy with a typical baby).

 

[Schrodinger's Cat]

I used cloth diapers for my four kids. They were shaped like disposable diapers with elastic around the legs and velcro closings. A liner which was disposable (but also could be washed and reused) provided a barrier to the moisture and made it easy to dispose of poop. My mother and I made the diapers, but even had we bought them, they would have been much cheaper than using disposable. It was my understanding that as far as environmental impact goes, it's six of one and half a dozen of another. I preferred them for other reasons. I don't know whether they made a difference with respect to diaper rash - my kids didn't really have that problem. They didn't wear out through four kids, but they were very well made and I made minor repairs along the way. This may be different for store-bought.

It should be noted that I was working with all four kids except for short maternity leaves, and for the first kid, the washing machines weren't even in the same apartment building, so it is possible to accomplish this even if you're short on resources. I also travelled with cloth diapers, but only if I was going somewhere with washing facilities (like visiting my parents).

Linda

wow, that's very industrious of you! Color me impressed.

 

[Darth Rotor]

We started with cloth diapers. Lived in a city that had diaper services. (Landlord forbade we wash them in the community coin op in basement of apartment, which was an odd tenant restriction, but hey, it's effing California).

Might have worked out except that our daughter reacted to the chemicals in the cleaning agents used by three different diaper services.

The Missus decided to just keep on with disposables when my son arrived.

All four of us kids in my family were cloth diaper babies. Used to help change my little brother's diapers. Not a big deal, but you do have to do some work. Used to help my dad and mom fold diapers that came off the clothesline (before we had a dryer).

Old diapers are great for waxing cars, and other household cleaning tasks.

DR

 

[iknownothing]

I started out with disposables and thought people who used cloth were crazy. I wound up trying some of these http://www.fuzzibunz.com/ and got hooked. Basically, you're going to spend a couple of years changing diapers regardless -- if you pick some of the really cute cloth diapers, at least you get to have some fun with it.

With my second, I used cloth at home, and disposables for overnight or long trips out of the house. Reason was, the cloth is great through about 1 pee and I don't want to leave a baby sitting in a wet diaper anyway, so that's fine for at home during the day. If you're out running errands though, you might not have a chance to change in between pees, so you want the better absorbancy of a disposable. Same with overnight.

the toxic nature of many of the products needed to clean cloth diapers.

I used Tide. Worked fine.

Something your friend failed to mention is the short life span of cloth anyway. After a short time they both become threadbeare and out of shape.

The diapers I bought for my first, and used through my second, were still going strong when she potty trained. If I was going to have more, I'd have kept them for future babies. Instead I donated them to a cloth diaper charity.

Man, modern disposable diapers are amazing.

Modern cloth diapers are pretty cool too!

the cost of cloth diapers, after including either a diaper service or washing at home, was actually slightly more expensive than disposable. And that doesn't even factor indirect costs like the lost time due to the sheer inconvenience of cloth. Cost factors will vary based on location, however.

Definitely true (expensive) if you go through a diaper service. As far as time, it wasn't really a big deal. Adding one load of laundry every couple days was not a huge difference. Especially since they don't really need folding -- I just kept them in the laundry basket.

Pro-tip: if you are going the disposable diaper route, buy in bulk. A costco card will save you about 50% over conventional stores. If you don't have a costco card (or don't live near a costco), walmart or kmart sell in bulk as well.

Better yet, buy generic. I bought Target brand for daytime use and they were just fine. I don't need to spend twice as much just so my kid can have a brand name diaper to poop in.

For overnight though, at least for my son, I did need the special "Overnight" kind that you can only get brand name.

This just sounds like an early form of potty training.

My grandma's generation did this (she was born in 1904). My mom says that her mom & her friends thought modern people are just lazy not to have their babies potty trained by 1 or so. But really, the babies weren't so much potty trained as they were set down on the potty at the right time by Mom, who by 12 months had learned when to expect it. Sounds like a lot of work to me, but definitely better than cloth diapers in a time when you had to haul your water in from the well and heat it over a fire to wash them!

 

[Alferd_Packer]

We eventually went over to disposable for two reasons, time, and the toxic nature of the contents of cloth diapers.

fixed that for you.

 

[Alferd_Packer]

Your friend is much like a diaper. The only advantage to cloth diapers is the cost.

Not really. We has a service for about three months (it was a present)

You had to store the used diapers untill they came to pick them up!!!

in the other hand, unused cloth diapers make great furniture dusters.

 

[Professor Yaffle]

I remember reading some stuff when we were deciding that said there is not much to choose between disposables and home laundered cloth nappies, but that if you use a nappy laundering service, the laundering on a large scale means less energy use overall, which tips the balance in favour of them. We did go with a laundering sevice (which basically loans you enough nappies for the week and replaces them weekly with freshly laundered ones) for my first, but I wasn't impressed with the style of nappies they supplied - they only did prefolds which I found leaked quite a lot when things got a bit runny... Shaped ones might have worked out better. Switched to disposables for baby number 2.

 

[Loss Leader]

Let me make one thing clear: no diaper, however well designed, will protect you from having to deal with lots and lots of poop.

My wife and I use disposables (Pampers). They hold up well to the various tortures to which they are subjected.

 

[pgwenthold]

I
Modern cloth diapers are pretty cool too!

They are undoubtedly better than the old ones, but you yourself admitted they are only good for one pee.

That isn't true for disposables. They hold massive amounts of liquid, and, moreover, keep it away from the skin. You often don't have to change after a single pee, because it isn't causing discomfort or rash problem.

 

[Ixion]

Thank you everyone for all the good information and suggestions so far. This has been a very educational thread. Of course, I am taking everyone's comments into consideration, but there is still plenty of time before we have to make a decision (Due date for my wife is Sept 27). Of course, everyone will have different experiences, so that will also be taken into account.

 

[iknownothing]

That isn't true for disposables. They hold massive amounts of liquid, and, moreover, keep it away from the skin. You often don't have to change after a single pee, because it isn't causing discomfort or rash problem.

True, and like I said that can be good if you're traveling or not in a good place to change often. But I personally feel pretty gross about keeping a wet diaper on a kid if I'm able to change it. (They kind of wisk wetness away, but it still feels icky. And it can cause rash if left too long.) Also, I don't like the look of a kid running around in a diaper so full of pee it's sagging to his knees, so that's not a big plus for me.

But I certainly used plenty of disposables, I'm not against them -- there are times when they are my first choice, and times when cloth is.

I just had fun using cloth. And I felt like it had to be much more comfortable for the baby than disposables. When I put a nice, soft, breathable cloth diaper on a baby it seems like it's so luxurious.

(From personal experience, now that I've started using cloth "feminine hygiene" products they are way more comfortable than disposable pads. There's a lot of woo claims made about them as far as making cramps less severe, but I ignore that. Comfort is my concern.)

 

[Ziggurat]

Your friend is much like a diaper. The only advantage to cloth diapers is the cost.

Well, no. Cloth diapers are better for the environment. The whole 5,000 year thing is probably made up, but the fact that cloth diapers are cheaper is actually the easiest way to demonstrate that they're better for the environment: they cost less because they use less resources. Cost is actually a pretty good proxy for environmental impact (there are exceptions, but diapers aren't really one of them). But that reasoning also suggests (rather obviously) that using disposable diapers doesn't have that big an environmental impact, precisely because they don't cost all that much.

In addition, living has environmental impact. The fact that disposables have more impact than cloth isn't the only thing to consider. Other factors like ease of use and quality of life matter too. You can make up for the impact in other areas of your life if you care that much. Skip a vacation, buy a more efficient appliance, get a minivan instead of an SUV, etc. There's no need to feel bad about using disposable diapers, if that's the route you take.

 

[Uncayimmy]

One environmental impact that is overlooked is volume of disposal. One economy size block of disposables is bigger than the entire set of cloth diapers needed for a single child. You go through quite a few blocks of diapers until they are toilet trained. With cloth diapers, quite a few will still be usable for the next child or sold/given to somebody else to use. It's not easy to estimate the total volume, but I'm guessing dozens upon dozens of cubic feet of disposables to about one cubic foot of cloth. That adds up over zillions of children.

The notion that they are good for only pee is incorrect. They work just fine for poop. I would say the only design advantage disposables have is the ability to absorb a pretty high volume of liquid. I would not say that cloth diapers are limited to a single pee, though. As others pointed out, most cloth users keep disposables on hand for certain situations.

Another "advantage" is that they are attractive. By that I mean they don't look like diapers so much as part of an outfit. See these images hot-linked from my own website.

Then again, we kept our kids in a box, so what do we know?