Apr 19, 2017

So here’s the thing. I’ve done cloth diapering before and, on the whole, it’s very anticlimactic. It seems like it’s gonna be a big deal and then really it’s kind of just not that hard and mostly just adds a bit more laundry. It’s not even as gross as I anticipated. It’s just sort of… there. 

When we did it before, we bought a set of 11 on Craigslist for around $100. They were used, but in good condition, except they had velcro tabs instead of snaps and the velcro was getting pretty worn out, but still useable by the time we finally decided to sell them again. Really, the only reason we sold them was because I was going through one of my “let’s get rid of all the baby stuff” phases and also because I wanted to sell them while they still had some life left in them. Also, I think we were maybe having some minor issues with leakage and diaper rash. So we did that from the time Olivia was about one year old until she was maybe two and a half? I don’t remember exactly.

There are pros and cons to both disposable and cloth diapers, of course. Disposables, in my not-that-concerned-about-the-earth opinion are really great in every way except for the fact that you have to keep buying them all the time. Otherwise I can’t think of any cons.

Cloth diapers are more work in that you have to wash them and dump the big poops into the toilet to flush them, but even that wasn’t a super big deal. The only times I really really didn’t like doing cloth diapers were when it involved diarrhea. That was probably about as gross as it sounds. But, frankly, even in those cases you still just sort of do your best to get the poop in the toilet and then throw the whole thing in the wash and it all comes out fine anyway. As for the pros of cloth diapering, the main thing is that it’s great to not have to keep buying them over and over again.

Still, that being said, it can be $200-500 to buy enough new cloth diapers to really make it worth your while. Which still comes out cheaper than disposables in the long run, but it’s an upfront cost and it can be daunting to feel that committed from day one. This, in combination with Bryan’s preference to never do cloth diapers again, is mainly why we haven’t done it again since.

But. Every time someone talks to me about cloth diapers it makes me want to do it again. It’s cheaper overall and I’ve done it before so it doesn’t freak me out and there’s just something about that feeling of self-sufficiency that’s strangely satisfying, even if it’s coming in the form of putting someone else’s poop in the toilet. So when Marae and I were talking about cloth diapers this morning while we watched our kids play in the play place at the mall, I knew I was going to come home and look them up again. And I did.

Here’s what I found. To buy 12 brand new bumgenius diapers (the brand we used before and liked) costs around $220. Not bad, but high enough that I’d have to talk Bryan into it. So I checked Craigslist and found a set of 14 used bumgenius diapers for $120. Even better, but I’d still have to drive an hour to pick them up. Then I was looking up cloth diaper pails on Amazon and happened upon these diapers.

They’re Alvababy brand, which I’ve never used, but I’ve heard good things about and I’m pretty sure I had a friend in Ohio who used them and loved them. They look and function almost exactly the same as bumgenius diapers, but it’s only $60 for 6. AND they’re on sale right now for $30 for 6. So, basically, I could buy 12 brand new diapers for $60 total and have them delivered right to my door with our prime shipping. Which I figured I’d just go ahead and do because that’s a crazy good deal. AND THEN when I got to the checkout I saw that we had $54 in Amazon points, so I ended up getting 12 brand new diapers for only $4.09. WHAAAAAAT.

From the reviews it looks like they’re pretty good diapers, so maybe I just bought us a lifetime supply of diapers for only $4? You guys. I feel like I just won at life. But also Bryan still wasn’t excited about it, but I kinda knew that going into it and for $4 I don’t even feel bad, so, the end.