When my husband and I decided to use cloth diapers on our son there was a mixed reaction…from “Are you freaking kidding me?” to “Cool!”. And the reactions were followed by questions…”Are you freaking kidding me?” to “is it hard?” to “does it really save money?”
Well, here is the nitty-gritty of it. Once upon a time I was a proud, disposable diapering momma of 4. I never once thought of putting them in cloth diapers. Why you ask? Well, after helping my mother change my baby brother's diaper some 26 odd years ago I had absolutely NO interest in cleaning any more poop out of diapers so they could be washed. I call it the "poop factor." And cleaning poop out of diapers ranks right up there with cleaning up vomit. Okay, not a pretty picture...but hopefully you get my point.
Okay, Okay…you ask…what made you decide to go with cloth diapers? Well,, my husband, my family, and I have been trying to do things that are better for the environment. We recycle, reuse, re-purpose...etc. But, we knew we could do better. So, when we found out we were expecting #5 we briefly touched on the topic of cloth diapers...but then came the "poop factor" and I proclaimed a "Hell NO!"
“You said ‘no’…but are doing it? How confusing!”
It really all started to turn around when I joined PregnancyWeekly.com with other mommies-to-be. (this is a great recourse if you are expecting! You are grouped with other mommies-to-be that are due the same month as you are!). Anyway, one of the mommies on the board shared some interesting information she found on a product called gDiaper.
Now a gDiaper…what an interesting concept. Basically what it is, is…a hybrid diaper. There are 3 parts to it. A cute outer shell known as a gPant…these come in a variety of colors that they change on regular occasions and can be quite addicting in collecting! Next is the snap-in gLiner…a waterproof barrier that holds the next part. It works almost like the old fashioned vinyl pants. These first two parts are reusable. Then there is the gRefill and the gCloth. The gRefill is a disposable liner that takes the place of a disposable diaper. It is a one-time use and flush. Yes, you read that right…it is flushable. –Or- you can compost it! The gRefill is 100% bidegradable and unlike a traditional disposable diaper it breaks down in a matter of weeks rather than a few generations from now! If you would like to skip the whole disposable scene you can use the gCloth which is a reusable cloth insert that you pop in the gLiner and wash when dirty! Kinda cool!!!
Needless to say…it grabbed our attention. We began to research how it really worked and found lots of videos on youtube.com that showed some really cool stuff.
We decided to go with the gRefill (they hadn’t came out with the gCloth just yet) and started purchasing the gDiapers off Craigs List. One mom told me that she used the everyday Gerber pre-fold diapers in her gDiapers instead of the gRefill and it worked great. So, we discussed the whole cloth vs. gRefill disposable. The topic of the “poop factor” came up again.
Then we found flushable liners made by Kushies. All this was, was a roll (toilet paper looking) of super thin liners that go onto a cloth diaper. When baby poops, he poops onto the liner. You just pull the liner off and flush! No rinsing poop off the diapers…so once again our curiosity was peaked and we discussed it further.
We decided to use Gerber pre-folds in the gDiaper. After all…this will allow us to go green AND save money too! Then they came out with the gCloth…even better!
So, we did the math. For aproximatly $110 we could get 6 gDiapers, gLiners and 12 gPants. That was the gBundle. We figured we would need a minimum of 24 gCloths to do laundry quite a bit. Add another $60. Well, I don’t’ want to do laundry EVERY day…so let’s make it a total of 36 gCloths…that should let me do laundry every other day…so, we were looking at a grand total of about $200.
WOW! That’s a lot for some diapers. But, we did the math. A package of diapers about $20 (we use Huggies only…sorry, some brand loyalty there). On average we would go through 1 package of diapers every 4 days or so. So, we are looking at about 6 packages of diapers a month…or $120/month for the first 2 months…then possibly dropping after that. So, the first two months alone would cost about $220. Then every month there is an additional $75 to $120. So after 2 months the gDiapers would have already paid for themselves. And the small go from like 8lbs to 14lbs.
But, if Gerber pre-folds work we can save even more money. For 12 pre-folds it is about $12. So, we purchased 4 packages…$48. We saved even more by getting our gDiapers off Craigs List. So for about $200 we purchased some small, mediums, and larges AND some gRefills.
Now, what we didn’t know was that gDiapers don’t work for EVERY baby. We used the Gerber pre-folds and had serious leaking issues. (I know a few women who have had NO issues with their pre-folds in the gDiapers). So, we ordered 2 packages of the gCloths…those didn’t work so well for us too. We were at a loss of what to do.
Well, I didn’t want my pre-folds to go to waste so we purchased some Happy Hineys One Size Diaper covers and a couple of Snapies (kinda cool and they replace old fashioned diaper pins!). The gCloths didn’t go to waste…we line the pre-folds to keep the diapers from rubbing my sons “bits” and provide extra absorbency. Works out GREAT!!!!!
So, through trial and error we have totally switched to a cloth diaper.
Night time created its own issues. The pre-folds just didn’t hold up for my wee man. So, we purchased some Happy Hineys One Size Pocket Diapers; these allow me to put extra absorbent padding and have worked like a dream! We can go 12 hours without having to change him…not that we have had to do that often.
So, our success thus far has given us the courage to purchase our daughter (who occasionally has night time accidents) into a re-usable pull-up. She is actually too big for a standard pull-up. So, she tears the side out when she pulls the down. Under-jams…or whatever they are called…are just too expensive. So, once again we did the math….for the price of one package of pull-ups we could get one re-usable pull-up. We got her the Happy Hiney Training Pants. These have worked really well! We use the gCloth in these too. And my daughter loves them!
In the end it has really worked out. While gDiapers didn’t meet our expectations….they gave us the courage to jump head first into cloth diapers. And we are loving the cloth diapering world! My son is 3 months now and has not had a diaper rash (even in this heat we have been having). While the start-up costs are higher…in the end…we are saving a small fortune in diapers….and being green while we are at it!
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