Cloth Diaper vs Disposables

   This is a blog post that has been sitting here waiting to be written, and I kept putting it off knowing it was going to take a while to write!!! But today I had a dear cousin ask a few questions about cloth diapers and disposables. And although this is one of those topics that is really a matter of opinion, and is different for everyone. I think the more info you can grab hold of and have to think about when you are looking into it the better. So I am finally getting around to writing my experience in the diaper world.

     So maybe its where I live or maybe its just a time we are entering, but the cloth diaper is a very interesting subject!! A lot of people here in Germany cloth diaper and wouldn't have it any other way. But don't get me wrong there are some who still would never do it as disposables are so much easier. Then there are the few of us who can see it both ways. I have to say I am not die-hard either way, I can see the benefits of either way. So to start with my opinion, that is where I am gonna start, a list of pros and cons for each way. Than I will tell you our experience, and how I feel about it going into another child!!

Cloth Diapers:

Pros: cheaper

environmentally friendly

cute designs

Cons: More laundry

Harder to do when your out and about

The trial and error phase

Disposables:

Pros: take off and toss

Easy to bring along

works from day one

Cons: more trash to take out

Takes forever to decompose

Hard on sensitive skin babies

    Alright now that all being said where do I stand and which do I prefer? Well this is how I am. I am lazy as you all know from my "about me" section. And that being said if I fall off the cloth diaper band wagon and go back to disposables I tend to stick with disposables for the whole case. Which causes me to forget about my beautiful clothes!! I have also quit cloth on occasion for traveling because face it on a week long trip 14-18 diapers is just not gonna cut it and when you are in Europe traveling its really hard to find a washer that you can wash diapers in every night, and you don't entirely wanna carry dirty diapers around with you while you are out and about. So I have had my fair share of disposable use. But that being said, every time I go back to clothes and sit and wonder why I ever quit? Because I LOVE them. They are just as easy to put on as disposable, and especially around the house they are great for her to wear!! I do worry when I go out that they will leak as I get distracted and don't check them as often as I should. But we are getting better the more I do it. 

This image is not my own. I claim to rights to it.

    My favorite part is how much money I save. This is our major go to when we are broke and can't afford diapers because they are always there, they will fit her probably until she is 3 and completely potty trained, and you don't need a ton as long as you are willing to do laundry every or every other night. Which frankly I am doing laundry anyways. And my favorite part? The designs!!! We are big fans of pockets and use Alva or Sunbaby because they run around 5 dollars a diaper. And they are the cutest freaking things I have ever seen. Pocket are great, I just wash them and stuff them so when you pull them out of the drawer its literally like using a regular diaper. Dustin was against it at first but has gotten used to it and as long as I stuff them before hand he has no complaints. We do have a couple all in one's that my mom got us at a used baby supply sale, and I like them well enough but they are velcro and I have problems with them staying hooked. So an All In One with snaps would be great as it would be exactly the same as a disposable only you wash them. The only thing with them is if you have problems at night with leaking with a heavy pee'er you will not be able to double up as the inserts should not touch the skin, the microfiber is rough on skin.

  Now to answer a couple questions. Do you save money? YES YES YES. Normal people have a stock of about 40 diapers and if you go the brands we do that is only about 200 dollars. Which is about 8-10 cases of diapers depending on what disposable you choose to use. Which is about 5 months worth of diapers??? so considering these diapers will last you around 3 years per baby and can be used for more than one kid I say heck yes it will save you money!!!

This image is not my own. I claim to rights to it.

What Brand? We love Sunbaby and Alva. They have the cutest designs and are really cheap. And we have had no issues with leaking outside of the trial and error stage of deciding which buttons to snap it to and how to wash them and all that fun stuff. They have boy and girl designs and frankly I don't even mind when Kyra runs around in just her diaper when she has them on it is so cute!!

Disposable inserts? Not really worth it. If you are breastfeeding you don't even need to rinse out the poop before washing it as its all natural ingredients!! I still did cuz for some reason sticking poop into my washer was weird to me. But when you get to more solid poop you just knock the majority off into the toilet and rinse it in a sink or tub than toss it it. And I haven't had any staining issues. The disposable inserts wont save you much money as you will just be throwing them away... and can cause the pee to leak, also if they do just go pee and not poop you still have to put a new one in so your gonna use a lot of them, so I wouldn't even bother. I don't know as far as formula and the possible discoloration it may or may not give them...

Washing? I know this wasn't a question specifically asked but something I feel like I should touch on as its a big part of the process. I am only gonna give you what I do there are many different choices and ways to do it and people will swear by other ways.

1. Place diapers in a basket or bucket or straight in the washer during the day, I do mine every night so I just throw them in the washer during the day( but if you do every other day or have other stuff to wash a basket will do) 

2. I was them on cold wash, warm rinse. With a smaller than normal amount of detergent. You don't wanna use to much it can build up and cause the inserts to not absorb the urine like they should. ( I just use none scented Tide)

3. During the rinse cycle take a peek in, if there is still soap bubbles you're gonna wanna run another rinse (like a said soap build up is BAD!!!)

4. Drying, this one is opinion based depending on what you think works best for you. Some people think using the dryer can wear down the elastic etc...but I have had no issues as of yet so I use the dryer. I just do like I normally would. NEVER use fabric softener in the wash or the dryer sheets as it makes materials water resistant. An obvious thing you don't want your diaper to be!

Tips? Two that I have learned from other moms: Wool, and fleece repel moisture. So they are great to have the kids wear with cloth diapers during the trial and error phase and at night it will keep leaky diapers from going anywhere but the diaper region.   And 90% of stains can be sun bleached out, if you have stains on either diapers or clothes from poop, after washing them hang them in the sun for a few hours and they will be gone. On clothes you can even splash lemon juice on the area to make it work even faster!!

Opinions? Well I feel like either way you go there are benefits. We have gone back and forth between the two and have found good reasons to use both. I think I prefer the cloth because I am home all the time and its just as easy for me. I plan to do only cloth when we have another baby as we have spent a lot of money on diapers we could have been spending else where!!! I hope this has helped you in making your decision easier. Feel free to share this where you please and maybe somewhere a long the time line it will help someone else too!!!