So after much thought, I've decided to unload the diapers I don't like or work well on Bubba. Kinda exciting, but kinda not. I mean, what if no one wants them? I know I'm not going to make my money back on any of them, but what if I get hosed? I guess I can control that one, but still...
Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting some money back so I can buy more of what I do like, and try out some cheaper Cartoon diapers (which I've totally bought already. But hey, they were like, $3 per diaper through a co-op).
Here's the cut list:
Swaddlebees Simplex OS
BumGenius 4.0's
Kissaluvs Marvels OS fitted
GroVia NB AIO
And I've already sold my GroVias! I got pretty close to what I paid for them, and if it weren't due to shipping costs, I would have made everything back. So I'll take making 95% of my money back!
Showing posts with label cloth diapers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cloth diapers. Show all posts
April 25, 2013
January 3, 2013
Cloth diaper review: Swaddlebees OS AIO
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| Swaddlebees Simplex OS AIO Monster print |
Most of the reviews given loved the fact that the soaker part wasn't completely sewn in and that it had a stay-dry side to it, as well as just a regular cotton side, which is the same cotton the inner fabric is made of. I was drawn to the cotton inner, because I really believe that when babies can't feel when they're wet, it takes longer to potty train later on. And all of my pocket diapers have stay-dry inners, much to my dismay. So while I won't be replacing all my pocket diapers, I at least wanted to add a few diapers that don't have a stay-dry inner.
Anyway, the soaker. I had wondered how one would take out this soaker to be washed, and saw that there was no need to fish it out... that it would agitate out in the wash cycle. Score. Anyway, these diapers got great reviews on function as well.
I loved the prints, too. My favorite was the Dino, as we have a burp cloth made from the same print, but in flannel. I wanted to match. Alas, on Black Friday, that print sold out pretty quickly. I settled on a new print, Monsters, which is cute, too.
So once it arrived, I quickly prepped it (as quick as diaper prepping can go, anyway). The feel of it is a little different than I expected. The inner cotton is thick and kinda stiff. The outer layer is more plastic-y than fabric-y. It feels cheap. But at the same time, it feels substantial... if that makes sense? Anyway, point being, it doesn't feel like any of my other diapers.
Once it was done prepping, I noticed something... the soaker didn't agitate out. I'd intentionally left it in on a clean load, just in case it didn't come out (then I wouldn't worry that it didn't get clean). I figure it would agitate out in a top loader with lots of water, but not a front loader with far less water per load. So I'm a little disappointed that I have yet another thing to fish out of a dirty diaper. Yeah, I could leave the soaker out and have the stay-dry side facing up, but I like the fact that he feels wet, and I like the fact that he doesn't like feeling wet. And I can live with it seeing as though I have to fish inserts out of the pocket diapers all the time anyway.
As far as functionality, it works just fine. He's worn it a handful of times and pooped in it a few times as well. No leaks or blowouts. Due to the nature of a OS diaper, it's kinda bulky on the small setting for the rise, which is where it is on Bubba. We'll see how it holds up the older and bigger he gets.
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| Hmmmm... I dunno. Matthew @ 5.5 months, about 17 pounds |
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| Sorry it's blurry. Wiggly babies make getting clear pictures difficult. |
All in all, I can't say it's my favorite diaper, but it serves its purpose. I can't help but feel that this will be resold at some point though.
November 27, 2012
Black Friday damage
I told myself that I wouldn't go overboard, and would just get the necessities... like sizing up the diapers I really like, and most importantly, a diaper sprayer. I will not start Matthew on solids without one, because I refuse to "dunk and swish"... where you literally dunk the dirty diaper in the toilet to get the poop off.
Anyway, DH and I recently received some extra money, and we took a small portion of it for ourselves. We call it "fun money". I decided to use some of mine on cloth diapers. DH doesn't understand how in the world that could be fun, but trust me, I had a ball! He just shrugged his shoulders because I had fun buying things our baby will poop and pee in.
Unfortunately, the diaper sprayer I'd been eyeing sold out super fast, so I'm still sprayerless. I've tried to buy this darn sprayer a few different times, and every single time I go to buy it, it sells out! It's like I'm not meant to have one, and I'm doomed to a life of dunking and swishing. But if I have to pay full price for one, I will. My mistake is that I wait until they go on sale, and it seems as though others are, too. No more. I figure I have 2 months to get one, as that's when Matthew will be 6 months old, and when I want to start him on solids.
On to diapers....
Most of my existing stash is solid colors, and everything I sized up followed in that path. But there were a few new diapers I wanted to try out, and there I picked some fun prints. I'm very excited to try them out!
Fun, huh? DH is especially going to love that last one. He has a thing for dragons. The side snaps might throw him off though. Oh well. That's the price you pay for having an awesome diaper!
And as always, I'll review once I've gotten a good feel for how they work!
Anyway, DH and I recently received some extra money, and we took a small portion of it for ourselves. We call it "fun money". I decided to use some of mine on cloth diapers. DH doesn't understand how in the world that could be fun, but trust me, I had a ball! He just shrugged his shoulders because I had fun buying things our baby will poop and pee in.
Unfortunately, the diaper sprayer I'd been eyeing sold out super fast, so I'm still sprayerless. I've tried to buy this darn sprayer a few different times, and every single time I go to buy it, it sells out! It's like I'm not meant to have one, and I'm doomed to a life of dunking and swishing. But if I have to pay full price for one, I will. My mistake is that I wait until they go on sale, and it seems as though others are, too. No more. I figure I have 2 months to get one, as that's when Matthew will be 6 months old, and when I want to start him on solids.
On to diapers....
Most of my existing stash is solid colors, and everything I sized up followed in that path. But there were a few new diapers I wanted to try out, and there I picked some fun prints. I'm very excited to try them out!
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| Rumparooz G2 One-Size Pocket |
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| Swaddlebees One-Size Simplex AIO |
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| Peachy Green Solo Luxe AIO |
And as always, I'll review once I've gotten a good feel for how they work!
August 27, 2012
First month in cloth diapers (picture heavy)
The first week & a half of Matthew's life, he wore disposables, and I was okay with that. After all, I was laid up after having a c-section (so I wouldn't be doing laundry for the time being), DH had *just* learned how to change diapers and we were both learning how to be parents. Yeah, I guess we still are learning that last one, but you know what I mean. I kinda also wanted to wait until his cord stump fell off, and thought that a week & a half was sufficient. Me <---- rookie.
Anyway, after the pack of diapers the hospital sent us home with ran out, it was decided to keep on with the disposables for a few more days, as I was still having a lot of difficulties getting around and disposables are easy. So DH went to Walmart and bought a pack. Which lasted a grand total of 3 days because Matthew poops a lot. But I'd said when he bought that pack that when it was done, we'd be doing cloth... after all, we had newborn diapers to use, so why not use them? So what if his cord stump hadn't fallen off yet? So with great trepidation, I strapped him into an infant-sized prefold and cover. I immediately doubted the decision to do cloth. And I do mean IMMEDIATELY. They were so so so big and bulky on him. It surprised me because going in, I knew that cloth diapers were bulkier than disposables and the thought didn't bother me at all. But when I saw it in action, combined with the fact that Matthew was screaming his head off, I had the first of many post-partum freak-outs that involved tears. And it wasn't just the prefolds that were big and bulky. His XS Bum Genius AIO's were that way, too. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures because it depressed me that much.
I felt so incredibly guilty that I had to talk and push DH into doing cloth only for me to end up hating it. I felt buyers remorse when I thought of the hundreds of dollars I'd spent on them. I felt bad that others had gifted us cloth diapers, and they might not be used. I felt like a horrible mother because Matthew usually doesn't fuss during diaper changes, yet here he was, freaking out. And later, when he didn't sleep at all because of the change, it made me seriously consider making DH go to Walmart and get more disposables. I admitted all this to DH, and he was supportive about doing whatever I wanted to do. He didn't make me feel bad about thinking of quitting so soon. So I made the decision to keep on cloth for a few more days and re-evaluate.
Over the next few days, I became okay with cloth, even though I still hated how bulky they were on him. I mean, cleaning them is easy. Actually putting the diapers on him is easy, too... just not as easy as a disposable. But one thing still bothered me a lot... enough to go back into disposables for a bit. As his cord stump still hadn't fallen off after 2 weeks, it was common to see blood on his diaper covers from where it had rubbed up against his cord. I didn't want it to become infected because it wasn't properly drying out, so DH went and got another pack. We also received more from my in-laws, so we had about a week & a half's worth of disposables, with the hopes that Matthew's cord would fall off in that time. It did.
But that brief break made me think that disposables weren't that great either. Matthew developed diaper rash pretty much as soon as we put him back in them. It didn't get bad, but that may have been because we started putting on the cloth diaper-safe ointment before every change. But I found it telling that he didn't get the rash until he went back into disposables. He also now hated to be changed, as where after that first day in cloth, he became okay with cloth. Could have been because of the rash. Who knows? Anyway, point being, after those disposables ran out, we went back into cloth, and haven't looked back. He also grew a lot so they don't seem *as* bulky as before, so that helps. It also helps that DH now really likes cloth and is excited to see how much money we'll save at the end.
So given all that, here's what I've found I like and what I don't like.
What I like:
I actually really love prefolds & covers now. Yeah, they'll always be big & bulky, but when it comes down to it, they're the only diaper I haven't had a leak from. Not a one.
Thirsties covers. I have covers from Thirsties and Bummis, and I vastly prefer Thirsties. Reasons why are listed under Bummis in the "selling" section. But other than those reasons, I do like how Thirsties has the Duo Wrap covers, which will last longer on Matthew than just a single sized cover since there are 3 different sizes you can snap to. I do have one Thirsties cover in size XS and one in small, and they both work great, too. But in their case, it's either they fit, or they don't.
Cloth wipes. I made about 20 of my own, flannel on one side, stretch terry on the other. They're the bomb, although I do need to make more since we tend to run short, what with Matthew still needing about 12 diaper changes a day.
Eh.... I can do without, but they're not horrible:
Pocket diapers. At this point in time, they're still a little big on him, so we get the occasional leak from around his skinny thighs. We'll give it some more time for him to grow into them. We have FuzziBunz OS Elite, BumGenius 4.0, Kawaii Baby, Lotus Bumz and FuzziBunz Perfect Size small. But so far, he's only tried out the FuzziBunz OS Elite. BTW, in the pic above, the snaps that adjust to the thighs are not set to their tightest setting. I re-snapped them after the picture was taken.
Bum Genius NB AIO's. The fit is fabulous. However, he gets leaks out the top, which is weird, because the waist is tight enough, the inner fabric isn't wicking out, the rise is just fine and we point his penis down. Could be we have a super soaker on our hands?
Kissas fitteds. They work well, but going along with the super soaker suspicion, these get completely soaked very quickly.
Sad to admit, my RagaBabe AIO. He must be super excited to wear it, because every single time I put it on him, he poops in it within 5 minutes. And I'm not even exaggerating... 5 minutes, tops. Every time. So it might work awesomely, but if he keeps this pace up, he'll out-grow it before I get to find out if it was worth the money or not.
What I'll definitely be selling:
Bummis Super Brites covers. The top part of the cover folds down easily, and so the velcro becomes exposed. The velcro on them is sturdy, which means that it's stiff. And it usually ends up rubbing up against Matthew's bare tummy and leaving red marks, which I do not like even if Matthew doesn't seem bothered by it (see pic above for said red marks). The PUL material is also noisier than I'd like... to me, it almost sounds like a plastic bag. The covers themselves work fine in that they've prevented leaks. But that's not reason enough to keep them when we have other options.
Grovia NB AIO's. Again, the fit is fabulous. But the way they're constructed (serged edges), it wicks any urine/runny NB poop right onto anything his diaper area is touching. So with this diaper, you pretty much have to change the diaper after an hour, tops, or else you're changing his clothes, your clothes, bedding, blankets and/or cleaning furniture. Too much work for only an hour's worth of "protection" IMHO. There are no pictures of him in this diaper, because he's only worn two of them once, and that was long before I considered taking pictures of him in his diapers.
So that's the run-down of how things stand at this point. Although we're starting to experience the dreaded "stinkies", much to my dismay. I think it's a build up of detergent. Can't comment much on that yet, because I'm still trying to find the best way to strip the diapers. Blue Dawn dish soap didn't work. I'm now trying baking soda. If that doesn't work, I'll order some RLR. As always, I'll update when I think I got it figured out.
Anyway, after the pack of diapers the hospital sent us home with ran out, it was decided to keep on with the disposables for a few more days, as I was still having a lot of difficulties getting around and disposables are easy. So DH went to Walmart and bought a pack. Which lasted a grand total of 3 days because Matthew poops a lot. But I'd said when he bought that pack that when it was done, we'd be doing cloth... after all, we had newborn diapers to use, so why not use them? So what if his cord stump hadn't fallen off yet? So with great trepidation, I strapped him into an infant-sized prefold and cover. I immediately doubted the decision to do cloth. And I do mean IMMEDIATELY. They were so so so big and bulky on him. It surprised me because going in, I knew that cloth diapers were bulkier than disposables and the thought didn't bother me at all. But when I saw it in action, combined with the fact that Matthew was screaming his head off, I had the first of many post-partum freak-outs that involved tears. And it wasn't just the prefolds that were big and bulky. His XS Bum Genius AIO's were that way, too. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures because it depressed me that much.
I felt so incredibly guilty that I had to talk and push DH into doing cloth only for me to end up hating it. I felt buyers remorse when I thought of the hundreds of dollars I'd spent on them. I felt bad that others had gifted us cloth diapers, and they might not be used. I felt like a horrible mother because Matthew usually doesn't fuss during diaper changes, yet here he was, freaking out. And later, when he didn't sleep at all because of the change, it made me seriously consider making DH go to Walmart and get more disposables. I admitted all this to DH, and he was supportive about doing whatever I wanted to do. He didn't make me feel bad about thinking of quitting so soon. So I made the decision to keep on cloth for a few more days and re-evaluate.
Over the next few days, I became okay with cloth, even though I still hated how bulky they were on him. I mean, cleaning them is easy. Actually putting the diapers on him is easy, too... just not as easy as a disposable. But one thing still bothered me a lot... enough to go back into disposables for a bit. As his cord stump still hadn't fallen off after 2 weeks, it was common to see blood on his diaper covers from where it had rubbed up against his cord. I didn't want it to become infected because it wasn't properly drying out, so DH went and got another pack. We also received more from my in-laws, so we had about a week & a half's worth of disposables, with the hopes that Matthew's cord would fall off in that time. It did.
But that brief break made me think that disposables weren't that great either. Matthew developed diaper rash pretty much as soon as we put him back in them. It didn't get bad, but that may have been because we started putting on the cloth diaper-safe ointment before every change. But I found it telling that he didn't get the rash until he went back into disposables. He also now hated to be changed, as where after that first day in cloth, he became okay with cloth. Could have been because of the rash. Who knows? Anyway, point being, after those disposables ran out, we went back into cloth, and haven't looked back. He also grew a lot so they don't seem *as* bulky as before, so that helps. It also helps that DH now really likes cloth and is excited to see how much money we'll save at the end.
So given all that, here's what I've found I like and what I don't like.
What I like:
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| Unbleached Indian Prefolds, infant sized from CottonBabies 6 weeks, 11 pounds |
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| Thirsties diaper cover, size XS 4 weeks, 9 pounds. |
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| Thirsties Duo Wrap cover, size 1 4 weeks, 9 pounds. |
Cloth wipes. I made about 20 of my own, flannel on one side, stretch terry on the other. They're the bomb, although I do need to make more since we tend to run short, what with Matthew still needing about 12 diaper changes a day.
Eh.... I can do without, but they're not horrible:
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| FuzziBunz OS Elite, smallest setting 4 weeks, 9 pounds |
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| BumGenuis NB AIO. 3 weeks, 8.5 pounds |
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| Kissas fitteds, size 0 4 weeks, 9 pounds |
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| RagaBabe Easy AIO, size small 5 weeks, 10 pounds. |
What I'll definitely be selling:
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| Bummis Super Brite cover, size small 6 weeks, 11 pounds |
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| Grovia NB AIO |
So that's the run-down of how things stand at this point. Although we're starting to experience the dreaded "stinkies", much to my dismay. I think it's a build up of detergent. Can't comment much on that yet, because I'm still trying to find the best way to strip the diapers. Blue Dawn dish soap didn't work. I'm now trying baking soda. If that doesn't work, I'll order some RLR. As always, I'll update when I think I got it figured out.
May 16, 2012
Crunchy thoughts
So I kinda feel like a hypocrite. Remember when I wrote about the reasons why I wanted to use cloth diapers on my baby? That 2 of them were that I didn't want chemicals next to my baby's most sensitive parts, and that I wanted to reduce my involvement in putting disposables in the landfill? Well, recently while on the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt, I came across a few online stores that make "mama cloths", and it got me thinking.
Mama Cloth is basically a menstrual pad made out of, you guessed it, cloth. And honestly, up until very recently, was something I thought was a little too crunchy, even for me. I mean, don't most women just want to forget that AF even happens? Who needs a reminder of it when it comes time to wash them? Yeah, I know the same can be said about cloth diapers. But somehow I think mama cloths are in an entirely different category of gross. Anyway, back to my thoughts.
Why shouldn't I use them? After all, pads end up in the exact same place as disposables do, AND they're made mostly with the same chemicals. Why would I willingly put that against my most sensitive parts when I won't with my baby? It's a pretty big double standard. Not to mention that the cost savings would be pretty significant, too. So they've become something I could actually see myself using. But the thing is, when I get AF, while I do wear a pad because of leaking, I'm mostly a tampon girl. So then that brings me to another crunchy product: menstrual cups.
I've known about these for a few years after seeing discussions about them on various message boards. And even though I see women rave about them, I cannot see myself using them... especially if I'm out and about (because you're supposed to rinse them out before reinserting). Can you imagine being in a public restroom and seeing someone come up to the sink and rinse one of those bad boys out and then go back into a stall? Gross! I will absolutely not be *that* person. Yeah, I suppose I could use tampons when out of the house, but isn't the point to not buy that stuff anymore? And unless I'm in that 6-week time frame post-partum when you shouldn't put anything up your hoo-ha, I will not use just a pad for AF. I spent the first 5 years of my AF-getting phase of life not even knowing about the existence of tampons, and it is something I'd rather just forget and not experience again.
So after all that rambling, I guess what I mean to say is that I think I might be a little crunchier than I first thought since I'm considering using mama cloth in place of disposable pads. But I still have to research how one goes about washing them, and if there are any with a waterproof layer. It still does seem gross though, so I don't know. I shall have to think more on it.
April 26, 2012
Fluff, pt. 4
And now the part that almost all cloth diapering mama's are prone to... addiction. Addicted to buying cute new prints or trying out a new diaper just for the hey of it even though their stash is perfectly adequate.
When I first started amassing my NB-6m stash, I didn't think it would happen to me because I always knew that we wouldn't be able to afford to go hog wild on it, and besides, I thought that I just wouldn't be someone who drooled over every new print or color that came out.
Yeah, I was wrong. I fear for what will happen should we have a girl, because there are soooo many cute girl diaper prints out there. Not as many for boys, but some have tempted me a bit. And it's especially hard now that we're doing the Dave Ramsey thing, because I just can't justify spending money that technically doesn't need to be spent yet. Yeah, down the road when we need to size the diapers up, we'll have to spend the money, but until then, it's silly to spend money on diapers we might not even like when we get to that point.
My one exception though just happened by chance. I had gotten a little birthday money from family, to be used at my leisure on anything my little heart desired. And not one to just blow through money like it's going out of style, I held on to it for a while. Then one day on a whim, I submitted my name to the overflow list for the most recent RagaBabe stocking at the time. And by some miracle, I got the chance to buy one!
To those not in the know, RagaBabe diapers are some of the most sought-after diapers on the market, partly because they're so hard to come by, and partly because of the awesome reviews they've gotten. It's a small company, so their inventory is always limited to how much their small operation can pump out within a given time-frame. On days that they restock their website, they diapers are sold out within minutes. And not everyone has the time to stalk the shop on these days, so you have to be pretty lucky to come by one if you're not hard-core (I'm not. Honest). Anyway, just getting my hands on ONE RagaBabe became a desire, even though I totally don't need one. But man, did I want one badly! So when I got the chance to buy one, it made me super happy to know that I had the money for it and that I didn't have to rearrange the budget to do so, because RagaBabes are also in the upper price range for diapers.
I honestly have a hard time paying anything over $15 for a diaper, so to pay $28 for a RagaBabe (including shipping) was a little painful. But I figured that I'm only buying one, and if it doesn't work out, I can easily resell it and make all my money back. See, RagaBabes' resale value is in the rare category of "everyone wants one, and they'll pay out to get it". If you look them up on eBay, you'll see that used ones commonly go for over $40 or more once all the bidding is said and done. So I could possibly make a profit off of it. If I don't like it anyway. If I happen to love it, I'll be keeping it. And locking up my debit card because then I'll be wanting more.
It's a slippery slope.
When I first started amassing my NB-6m stash, I didn't think it would happen to me because I always knew that we wouldn't be able to afford to go hog wild on it, and besides, I thought that I just wouldn't be someone who drooled over every new print or color that came out.
Yeah, I was wrong. I fear for what will happen should we have a girl, because there are soooo many cute girl diaper prints out there. Not as many for boys, but some have tempted me a bit. And it's especially hard now that we're doing the Dave Ramsey thing, because I just can't justify spending money that technically doesn't need to be spent yet. Yeah, down the road when we need to size the diapers up, we'll have to spend the money, but until then, it's silly to spend money on diapers we might not even like when we get to that point.
My one exception though just happened by chance. I had gotten a little birthday money from family, to be used at my leisure on anything my little heart desired. And not one to just blow through money like it's going out of style, I held on to it for a while. Then one day on a whim, I submitted my name to the overflow list for the most recent RagaBabe stocking at the time. And by some miracle, I got the chance to buy one!
To those not in the know, RagaBabe diapers are some of the most sought-after diapers on the market, partly because they're so hard to come by, and partly because of the awesome reviews they've gotten. It's a small company, so their inventory is always limited to how much their small operation can pump out within a given time-frame. On days that they restock their website, they diapers are sold out within minutes. And not everyone has the time to stalk the shop on these days, so you have to be pretty lucky to come by one if you're not hard-core (I'm not. Honest). Anyway, just getting my hands on ONE RagaBabe became a desire, even though I totally don't need one. But man, did I want one badly! So when I got the chance to buy one, it made me super happy to know that I had the money for it and that I didn't have to rearrange the budget to do so, because RagaBabes are also in the upper price range for diapers.
I honestly have a hard time paying anything over $15 for a diaper, so to pay $28 for a RagaBabe (including shipping) was a little painful. But I figured that I'm only buying one, and if it doesn't work out, I can easily resell it and make all my money back. See, RagaBabes' resale value is in the rare category of "everyone wants one, and they'll pay out to get it". If you look them up on eBay, you'll see that used ones commonly go for over $40 or more once all the bidding is said and done. So I could possibly make a profit off of it. If I don't like it anyway. If I happen to love it, I'll be keeping it. And locking up my debit card because then I'll be wanting more.
It's a slippery slope.
April 21, 2012
Fluff, pt. 3
April 11, 2012
Fluff, pt. 2
A few days before Thanksgiving, I started seeing women post Black Friday deals from cloth diaper retailers online, and it made me want to buy sooooo badly. But as I've mentioned, I didn't want to buy anything until I was out of the 1st trimester. And as I was in the early days of my 6th week, I wasn't even close to the end. Then I started to think. Thinking of ANY big sale holiday other than the after-Christmas sales, that would come before my baby was due in July. The only one I could think of was Memorial Day, and something tells me the sales on cloth diapers aren't going to be as awesome as they would be on Black Friday. And I love saving money, so it was almost a no-brainer. I would be buying most of my newborn-6m diaper stash on Black Friday. The idea is to buy when almost everything is on sale, and hope it lasts size-wise until next Black Friday, when I can buy the next size up. *Side note: DH keeps forgetting that I haven't bought ALL the diapers the baby will ever use, and it's getting annoying having to explain every 2 weeks that I want to find out what I like before I commit to a full stash*. Onward....
So I did my research and decided what I needed to buy and looked around for good sales. And I found some super awesome sales at a few places! I saved a good chunk of money, and it makes me happy. :) For the infant stage, I decided to do mostly prefolds and covers, and fill out the infant stash with a few all-in-ones (AIO) and perfect size diapers. The One-Size (OS) diapers have a bigger weight range, so they'll last longer. I don't consider them a newborn diaper though, because unless my baby is 10+ pounds at birth (shudder), they won't fit right away. But I got some anyway, just to see what they'd be like.
I won't know until we get into it, but something tells me DH won't want to mess with prefolds at all, hence me getting some newborn diapers you'd put on like a disposable.. meaning an all-in-one with velcro closures. But I didn't get too many since the baby will be super little only so long and it'd kinda be a waste of money. After that, then he can use pre-stuffed pocket diapers. I'm just looking forward to seeing how every type of diaper actually functions on my baby... and selling any that I don't like.
Which leads me into the reasoning behind me not buying any WAHM (work at home mom) diapers. It's good to support WAHM's and their diapers are super cute and pretty reasonably priced. BUT... their resale value is usually pretty low, and almost every diaper I buy, I buy with the thought that I may not like it and will want to resell it. Let's face it, name-brand anything always has a higher rate of return than off-brand. The cloth diaper resale industry is the same way. So most of my diapers are the "name brands"... BumGenius, FuzziBunz, GroVia, Kissaluvs, Bummis and Thirsties. I do have a few "off-brand" diapers, Kawaii and LotusBunz, but I did not buy those. The first was included as a bonus with a purchase, the second I won from a giveaway contest. Yes, I will still use them, and yes, I will try to resell them if I don't like them. But I don't think they'll sell as easily as the name-brand ones will, and they'll probably go at a price that will just barely cover shipping.
Yes, there are lots of moms out there who buy used diapers. It's very cost-effective, if you can get over the ick factor. I can't get over it, so it's very unlikely that I will ever buy a used diaper, even though most sellers take good care of their diapers and keep them clean. I just look at it this way... would I *ever* buy a used swimsuit or used underwear for myself? HELL NO! I realize that adult private parts are more apt for infections and other gross things, while with baby private parts, it's usually just poop and pee. But I still can't bring myself to do it. And the double-standardness of this subject doesn't escape me. I just figure that if there's a market for it, and I have products for said market, I may as well take advantage of it. No, it's very unlikely I will make all my money back, or even profit, if I resell everything I bought. That's actually very rare. The rate of return is somewhere between 50%-80%, depending on what you're selling. So that's what I'll shoot for.
So that'll do it for this round of cloth diaper talk. I'm working on another post that will run down my NB-6m stash, and there'll be pictures, too! I'll publish that probably in a few weeks. Fun times!
So I did my research and decided what I needed to buy and looked around for good sales. And I found some super awesome sales at a few places! I saved a good chunk of money, and it makes me happy. :) For the infant stage, I decided to do mostly prefolds and covers, and fill out the infant stash with a few all-in-ones (AIO) and perfect size diapers. The One-Size (OS) diapers have a bigger weight range, so they'll last longer. I don't consider them a newborn diaper though, because unless my baby is 10+ pounds at birth (shudder), they won't fit right away. But I got some anyway, just to see what they'd be like.
I won't know until we get into it, but something tells me DH won't want to mess with prefolds at all, hence me getting some newborn diapers you'd put on like a disposable.. meaning an all-in-one with velcro closures. But I didn't get too many since the baby will be super little only so long and it'd kinda be a waste of money. After that, then he can use pre-stuffed pocket diapers. I'm just looking forward to seeing how every type of diaper actually functions on my baby... and selling any that I don't like.
Which leads me into the reasoning behind me not buying any WAHM (work at home mom) diapers. It's good to support WAHM's and their diapers are super cute and pretty reasonably priced. BUT... their resale value is usually pretty low, and almost every diaper I buy, I buy with the thought that I may not like it and will want to resell it. Let's face it, name-brand anything always has a higher rate of return than off-brand. The cloth diaper resale industry is the same way. So most of my diapers are the "name brands"... BumGenius, FuzziBunz, GroVia, Kissaluvs, Bummis and Thirsties. I do have a few "off-brand" diapers, Kawaii and LotusBunz, but I did not buy those. The first was included as a bonus with a purchase, the second I won from a giveaway contest. Yes, I will still use them, and yes, I will try to resell them if I don't like them. But I don't think they'll sell as easily as the name-brand ones will, and they'll probably go at a price that will just barely cover shipping.
Yes, there are lots of moms out there who buy used diapers. It's very cost-effective, if you can get over the ick factor. I can't get over it, so it's very unlikely that I will ever buy a used diaper, even though most sellers take good care of their diapers and keep them clean. I just look at it this way... would I *ever* buy a used swimsuit or used underwear for myself? HELL NO! I realize that adult private parts are more apt for infections and other gross things, while with baby private parts, it's usually just poop and pee. But I still can't bring myself to do it. And the double-standardness of this subject doesn't escape me. I just figure that if there's a market for it, and I have products for said market, I may as well take advantage of it. No, it's very unlikely I will make all my money back, or even profit, if I resell everything I bought. That's actually very rare. The rate of return is somewhere between 50%-80%, depending on what you're selling. So that's what I'll shoot for.
So that'll do it for this round of cloth diaper talk. I'm working on another post that will run down my NB-6m stash, and there'll be pictures, too! I'll publish that probably in a few weeks. Fun times!
January 17, 2012
Fluff, pt. 1
For a while
now, I've been pretty interested in going cloth instead of the socially-accepted disposable route. Never in a million years did I think I would actually have to start researching brands, building a stash AND get my husband on board for it. It was just one of those "I'll think about it when it happens" things, and I didn't expect it to happen, to be honest.
Well, it happened. But imagine my surprise when DH asked me what we were going to do in terms of diapering. I thought I was going to have to bring it up and then have to talk him into it, providing cost analysis spreadsheets and everything. I said cloth with no hesitation, and though he didn't say no, he did ask why.
For starters, it'll most likely be cheaper than disposables. I've read many pro vs con blogs about it, and the general agreement is that it'll save anywhere from $200 to $1,000 for the first baby (depending on which brands you choose for both), and even more for other babies that will follow, since most will be reused. That's a lot of $$. Sure, the investment up front is hefty, but there will be fewer purchases after, so it'll equal out.
Second, I like the fact that cloth diapers aren't filled with the chemicals disposables have. We are already a semi-"crunchy" family, so the less chemicals that get involved, the better.
Third, I feel better knowing that the roughly 8,800* diaper changes this baby will have over a 3 year period at an average of 8 changes a day, almost none of it will end up in a landfill. Definitely can't say that about disposables. (*of course this all depends on the baby and when it's potty trained)
Fourth, when we're done with kids and diapers all-together, we can resell the gently used ones. No, we won't get all our money back, but it ensures that they are still being useful and it'll help cut the costs of diapers for whomever buys them. What we can't sell, we can recycle.
Fifth, there are studies out there that babies who wear disposable diapers are a lot more likely to develop consistent diaper rash over those who are diapered in cloth. Now that might be because babies in cloth get changed a lot more, but it could also be that the materials & chemicals in disposables wick necessary moisture & oils away from the baby's skin, leaving it dry and irritable. As a side note, I heard on NPR a few months ago that due to the bad economy, disposable diaper sales are down. They also noted that diaper rash cream sales are sky-rocketing. There aren't fewer babies, so that means that parents are trying to save money on diapers by leaving their babies in dirty diapers longer than they should be. And it results in their babies getting diaper rashes. That saddened me.
Sixth, while it still happens in cloth, the number of "poo-splosions" are pretty low due to the fact that most cloth diapers have elastic in the back to help keep the poop in. And if the diaper fits correctly, it shouldn't come out the leg holes either. Going along with poop, skeptics always say "but you'll get poop on your hands." Unless you're the bestest diaper changer in the entire history of the planet, yes, you will get poop on your hands at some point, whether the baby is wearing cloth diapers or not.
Seventh, it is unlikely we will ever run out of diapers, so making emergency runs to the store won't be necessary. This is a big one, because I live in an area of the country that gets blizzards more than I'd care to admit. Being snowed-in with no diapers does not sound fun at all.
Eighth, cloth diapered toddlers tend to potty train sooner on average, because they don't like to feel wetness, and cloth diapers don't have the stay-dry advantage disposables have. Sure, there are kids who take their time potty training in cloth, but on the whole, it's faster by at least a few months.
So far, there are only 2 downsides to using cloth that I can think of. One is the fact that I actually have to wash them and we got a new front-loading washing machine literally a week before I found out I was pregnant. When washing diapers, the more water the better, so a front loader isn't ideal. But there are plenty of moms out there who successfully wash in a FL, so I'll just cross my fingers and hope for the best. The second one is that cloth diapers are a lot bulkier than disposables, so pants will need to be sized up to accommodate the big butt! But it'll be worth it when one considers all the pros I listed above.
Now as I tout my decision of cloth, I realize that while the baby is in the hospital, it will be wearing disposables. That's fine, as I don't want to bring home dirty diapers and have to start laundry right away (this is something I don't want to leave for DH... don't wanna ruin the diapers straight off since they have a super special wash routine). In fact, when we start traveling around, we might use disposables, depending on where we go and for how long. So I'm not totally adverse to using them. I would just like to keep the usage to a minimum.
And unrelated to the topic, yes, I did change the look of my blog again. The last one looked cool, but it had a weird formatting issue that I couldn't fix, and it bothered the heck out of me. I can't guarantee this one will be a long-term solution either, but for now, I'll see how it goes.
now, I've been pretty interested in going cloth instead of the socially-accepted disposable route. Never in a million years did I think I would actually have to start researching brands, building a stash AND get my husband on board for it. It was just one of those "I'll think about it when it happens" things, and I didn't expect it to happen, to be honest.Well, it happened. But imagine my surprise when DH asked me what we were going to do in terms of diapering. I thought I was going to have to bring it up and then have to talk him into it, providing cost analysis spreadsheets and everything. I said cloth with no hesitation, and though he didn't say no, he did ask why.
For starters, it'll most likely be cheaper than disposables. I've read many pro vs con blogs about it, and the general agreement is that it'll save anywhere from $200 to $1,000 for the first baby (depending on which brands you choose for both), and even more for other babies that will follow, since most will be reused. That's a lot of $$. Sure, the investment up front is hefty, but there will be fewer purchases after, so it'll equal out.
Second, I like the fact that cloth diapers aren't filled with the chemicals disposables have. We are already a semi-"crunchy" family, so the less chemicals that get involved, the better.
Third, I feel better knowing that the roughly 8,800* diaper changes this baby will have over a 3 year period at an average of 8 changes a day, almost none of it will end up in a landfill. Definitely can't say that about disposables. (*of course this all depends on the baby and when it's potty trained)
Fourth, when we're done with kids and diapers all-together, we can resell the gently used ones. No, we won't get all our money back, but it ensures that they are still being useful and it'll help cut the costs of diapers for whomever buys them. What we can't sell, we can recycle.
Fifth, there are studies out there that babies who wear disposable diapers are a lot more likely to develop consistent diaper rash over those who are diapered in cloth. Now that might be because babies in cloth get changed a lot more, but it could also be that the materials & chemicals in disposables wick necessary moisture & oils away from the baby's skin, leaving it dry and irritable. As a side note, I heard on NPR a few months ago that due to the bad economy, disposable diaper sales are down. They also noted that diaper rash cream sales are sky-rocketing. There aren't fewer babies, so that means that parents are trying to save money on diapers by leaving their babies in dirty diapers longer than they should be. And it results in their babies getting diaper rashes. That saddened me.
Sixth, while it still happens in cloth, the number of "poo-splosions" are pretty low due to the fact that most cloth diapers have elastic in the back to help keep the poop in. And if the diaper fits correctly, it shouldn't come out the leg holes either. Going along with poop, skeptics always say "but you'll get poop on your hands." Unless you're the bestest diaper changer in the entire history of the planet, yes, you will get poop on your hands at some point, whether the baby is wearing cloth diapers or not.
Seventh, it is unlikely we will ever run out of diapers, so making emergency runs to the store won't be necessary. This is a big one, because I live in an area of the country that gets blizzards more than I'd care to admit. Being snowed-in with no diapers does not sound fun at all.
Eighth, cloth diapered toddlers tend to potty train sooner on average, because they don't like to feel wetness, and cloth diapers don't have the stay-dry advantage disposables have. Sure, there are kids who take their time potty training in cloth, but on the whole, it's faster by at least a few months.
So far, there are only 2 downsides to using cloth that I can think of. One is the fact that I actually have to wash them and we got a new front-loading washing machine literally a week before I found out I was pregnant. When washing diapers, the more water the better, so a front loader isn't ideal. But there are plenty of moms out there who successfully wash in a FL, so I'll just cross my fingers and hope for the best. The second one is that cloth diapers are a lot bulkier than disposables, so pants will need to be sized up to accommodate the big butt! But it'll be worth it when one considers all the pros I listed above.
Now as I tout my decision of cloth, I realize that while the baby is in the hospital, it will be wearing disposables. That's fine, as I don't want to bring home dirty diapers and have to start laundry right away (this is something I don't want to leave for DH... don't wanna ruin the diapers straight off since they have a super special wash routine). In fact, when we start traveling around, we might use disposables, depending on where we go and for how long. So I'm not totally adverse to using them. I would just like to keep the usage to a minimum.
And unrelated to the topic, yes, I did change the look of my blog again. The last one looked cool, but it had a weird formatting issue that I couldn't fix, and it bothered the heck out of me. I can't guarantee this one will be a long-term solution either, but for now, I'll see how it goes.
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