When I found out I was having triplets, I started calculating how many diapers I would need to purchase in a year. Not a good idea when you need to keep your stress level in check.
I think the average is 8-10 for the first several months and then goes down to 7-8. I’d do the math for you, but everyone has their own average per day, and we all use different diapers, so the per diaper cost varies.
Cloth Diapers, they've come along way baby!
What I can tell you is that cloth diapers have come-a-long-way-baby! Velcro has replaced the use of pins, they come in a variety of great colors and patterns, and there is a bunch of companies that make them and they have cute names like: BumGenius, FuzziBunz, Happy Heinys, Rump-a-rooz, Kushies, etc…
BumGenius has 2 types of diapers, all-in-ones (AIO), and one size fits all (OS). The OS are probably their top sellers, so I purchased a few because they grow with your baby and would save me more money. They are designed very ingeniously, but I hated stuffing the diapers. What I mean by that is the OS is more of a shell or pocket diaper, and as your baby is an infant, the insert is smaller, so you wash the diaper and insert, and then need to stuff the insert back into the diaper before use. Well, I hated having to stuff the insert into the diaper after each washing and that was only for one child.
So I went with the AIO, which come in XS, S, M, L, and XL. The AIOs have sewn in inserts, but still have a pocket in case you need to double up on the inserts. This comes in handy if your baby pees a lot, long car rides and overnight as they get a bit older.
These are cloth diapers that you wash yourself, not through a service. I was looking to save money, so I knew I would have to get my hands dirty!
You can read all about bumGenius at http://www.cottonbabies.com/index.php?cPath=98.
So what else will you need to get started?
- A toilet sprayer to get the poop off the diapers
- A wet bag or some type of bag to put the dirty diapers in when you are out-n-about
- A diaper pail
- THE recommended laundry soap (no Tide Free will not work).
The toilet sprayer I use was purchased through cottonbabies.com and it was very easy to assemble and works great.
Spraying Diapers is EASY!
Cleaning the poop off is tricky at first, but after a few times, it’s simple and you don’t have to touch the poop at all. Just hold the diaper over the toilet, turn it inside out and hold the ends of the diaper. This exposes the inside of the diaper and all you do is aim and spray.
I only rinse the poop diapers, the ones with pee go directly into my diaper pail. I use a diaper champ and it holds all the stink in. Since I have triplets, I wash my diapers once a day, but my friend with a singleton said she has to wash her diapers every other day, otherwise she ends up having to run an extra wash load to make sure they don’t stink.
So what’s up with the stinky diapers? It’s YOU! The diapers don’t stink unless there is something in the diaper making them stink. I’ve read so many blogs that talk about cloth diapers stinking, well let me tell you that if your diapers stink, you are doing something wrong. It’s either the laundry soap, or you’re not getting the poop off.
Either way, rest assure that they can be fixed and even if they start to get stinky, you can get the stink out. First, pay close attention to the recommended laundry soap. If you don’t want to buy the recommended laundry soap, don’t bother getting the cloth diapers because you will be wasting your money. Tide Free, Dreft, and most of the detergents that say they are for sensitive skin or fragrance free are not on the recommended list. If you use these detergents they will leave a residue in your diapers and make them stink. And I don’t mean they smell like pee or poop, they smell FUNKY!
So rinse the poop off, I mean all the poop, wash with the diaper’s manufacturers recommended detergent, and wash according to the manufacturer’s suggestions.
http://www.charliesoap.com/
I use Charlie’s soap now. I tried to use Dreft and Tide Free, and a few other detergents from the supermarket, but all left my diapers smelling funky. I purchase Charlie’s soap from Amazon with free shipping and that is all I use on all my clothes now. No I’m not an environmental freak, I just want the cloth diapers to be clean, and the added bonus is that I get to help the environment at the same time.
Oh yeah, one other thing and it’s a BIGGIE!! — When the babies grow out of the diapers, I list them on Craigslist.net and the local bookoo, and sold each for $12. I take good care of the diapers and they didn’t have any stains, but I never imagined that I would get 75% of my money back from selling used diapers.
Post if you have a question, because I’m sure someone else has the same one, or please post if you use a different brand of cloth diaper, and what your experience has been.
Best of luck and happy diapering!
Sue
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