Serving God and Family: Cloth Diapers--What we use and why

When Sofia was 3 months old we switched from disposable diapers to cloth diapers. I must say it was a very wise decision. My good friend had her third child 2 months after I had Sofia. I was able to watch her use the cloth diapers on her daughter before we switched. She was gracious enough to give us our first batch of Chinese Prefolds. After trying them out for a few days I realized how easy they were to use. Malachi and I, slowly began to build our supply up and found that we actually were saving tons of money by purchasing cloth rather than the packs of disposables.

Cloth diapering has come along way since I was a baby, and especially since my parents and their parents were babies. There are so many different types of cloth diapers that are designed to suit any sized cloth diapering routine.

I would say we have spent $500 or $600 on cloth diapers since Sofia was 3 months old. That is a huge contrast in what we “would” have spent if we had stuck with disposables!

When we decided to switch we had lots of negative criticism about how our electric bill and water bill will most definitely sky rocket. I must say this is a common misconception and is totally based on ignorance. Our electric and water bills have stayed the same. So there was NO increased cost because of washing the diapers.

So what do we use?

We use Chinese Prefolds (we buy these through Baby Naturale) and custom made Diaper Covers (we buy these through Wigglewormbottoms) for when we are at home. We use Fuzzi Bunz with Terry Cloth inserts (we buy these through Nurtured Family) for nighttime wear and when we are out of the house for long periods of time. There are so many different selections of cloth diapers that you will ultimately have to decided what will work best for you and your budget.

Initially it will seem like you are spending a lot of money. However, in the long run you will actually save thousands of dollars depending on when you start cloth diapering.

Now I know some of you are concerned about cleaning the diapers and what to do with the poop. On each cloth diaper website it will give you washing instructions. I must say switching to cloth diapers is a decision that should be reached AFTER you do your research. No one can make an educated decision without first getting all the information. It may also bother some people to have to deal with poop, however, it doesn't bother my husband and I because well, it is our daughter! We are privileged enough to wear comfortable cotton underwear on our butts, so why should we put paper that is loaded with chemicals on our baby's bottom?

“All You Need To Know About Cloth Diapers”

Very Baby (Frequently Asked Questions)

Baby Naturale (Cloth Diaper Information)

Green Mountain Diapers (How To Use Cloth Diapers)

Tammy's Recipes (Cloth Diapering)

Jillian's Drawers (Diapering Resources)

Punkin Butt (Cloth Diapering 101)

Nurtured Family (Information on Pocket Diapers)

All of the above sites have an abundance of information you will need in deciding what kind of diapers to buy, how to care for the type of diapers you purchase and how many to buy.

One Cloth Diaper site I have just loved is the one I use to buy custom made diaper covers. Wiggle Worm Bottoms is the best site I have found yet! If you don't have the time or the know how to sew your own covers, this site is a great alternative! If you choose to order these custom made covers you will need to sign up on the Yahoo Group in order to know when Amy has opened the site for new orders. Here are a sample of the covers I have ordered from Wiggle Worm Bottoms--

One other thing that has been very useful are “Wet Bags”. These are used when you are out and about and need something to put dirty diapers in. I have ordered only one and it has been the best thing to have when we are out of the house for awhile. These bags can be washed right along with the diapers. I also love that you can order matching changing pads. We order our custom made “Wet Bags” at Snap-EZ. This site also has a selection of cloth diapers for sale. We bought the Large wet bag in this pattern:

Cloth diapering is definitely NOT what it used to be. Malachi and I have loved using cloth diapers and can't fathom switching back to disposables. There is information on the chemicals used in disposables that have been linked to Toxic Shock Syndrome. This was yet another reason we decided to switch. Also, on some packages of disposables the instructions actually say to “flush the poo before disposing of the diaper”. We actually had a package of diapers with this “WARNING” on the side of the package. Seemed to us that it defeated the “convenience” of the disposables. There are also many chemicals in disposable diapers that most consumers are completely unaware of.

The chemicals that make the disposable diapers SO absorbent are:

Sodium Polyacrylate: This is the chemical, added in powder form to the inner pad of a disposable, that makes it super-absorbent. When the powdered form becomes wet, it turns into a gel.

Properties:

It can absorb up to 100X its weight in water (1).
It can stick to baby's genitals, causing allergic reactions (2).
Reported to cause severe skin irritations, oozing blood from perineum and scrotal tissues, fever, vomiting and staph infections in babies (2).
When injected into rats it has caused hemorrhage, cardiovascular failure and death (4).
Banned from tampons in 1985 because of its link to Toxic Shock Syndrome (1).
Has killed children after ingesting as little as 5 grams of it (5).
Causes female organ problems, slows healing wounds, fatigue and weight loss to the employees in factories that manufacture it (6).

Dioxin: This is the chemical by-product of the paper-bleaching process, using chlorine gas, in the manufacturing of diapers.

Properties:

It is a carcinogenic - cancer-causing chemical (3).
The EPA lists it as the MOST TOXIC of all cancer-linked chemicals(7).
In small quantities it causes birth defects, skin/liver disease, immune system suppression & genetic damage in lab animals (2),(5).
Banned in most countries, but not the United States (6).

TRIBUTYL TIN (TBT) - An environmental pollutant, considered highly toxic, that spreads through the skin and has a hormone-like effect in the smallest concentrations.

Properties:

It harms the immune system and impairs the hormonal system (6, 3).
Speculated that it could cause sterility in boys (6).

TO DYE FOR?

"Damage to CNS (Central Nervous System), kidneys and liver can be caused by dyes found in some disposables."

Source: "Diapers. Disposable or Cotton?," Ginny Caldwell.

(The Above information was sited from Very Baby “An Apple A Day”. There is a complete list of the resources they used to compile this data)

Baby Naturale has information as well on disposable diapers in there section “What are the components of a disposable diaper?”.

I do encourage parents to do their own research into disposable diapers vs. cloth diapers. Malachi and I were both amazed at the health hazards of using disposables. We do understand not all families can or will change over to cloth. I have to say, from our own experience it has been the best decision we made, not only for our budget but for our child's health.

Switching to cloth doesn't have to be expensive. Just do the research and find what works for your family. If you have small children in daycare, from what I understand, most daycare centers will not allow cloth diapers. This is mainly because most people use disposables. Since I am a stay at home mother, using cloth exclusively is the best for us. If and when Sofia needs to be watched by someone else, they will either use the cloth diapers, or we don't let her stay with them. It is as simple as that. Most of the people who have watched Sofia just need a quick little lesson on how to use them, and that's it. We have yet to leave her with someone where I wishes were not honored. If that were ever the case, we just wouldn't leave her in that persons care. We use this same process with people who are not like-minded as we are, as far as Christian morals and values are concerned.

Recently we took a trip to Washington State. We ended up buying a pack of disposables. I stood starring at them with my mouth opened for the longest time. I was just in shock at how expensive they were and you have to THROW THEM AWAY! So basically $20 down the toilet, quiet literally! So next time we travel, we will stick with using cloth diapers, no matter how “convenient” disposables seem. They sure aren't convenient on our bank account!