Diapers

Diapers: short for too many choices!

Here’s the down-low: You have 2 primary choices, cloth and disposable, and we’ll discuss them in order.

Cloth

Cloth diapers are absolutely the cheapest and most economical way to diaper your child.

By the numbers (0-9 months):

  • Disposable: ~8-10/day @ $3/day
  • Cloth: ~10/day @ $2-4/week for extra laundry (~3 extra loads), all costs included.
    • Initial outlay for 3 dozen pre-fold diapers: $144
    • Initial outlay for 6 diaper covers: $78
    • Total: $222 for all-new diapers (you can get used for about 1/4 of this)

Basically, you have ALL the diapers you’ll ever need paid for within about 2.5 months, even including laundry costs. They’re not expensive.

The problem with cloth diapers? There are so many options, I almost gave up even before I started. Plus, how do you get them clean!?

We settled on the simplest, tried-and-true method of cloth diapering: pre-fold (you have to fold them; don’t ask why they’re called “pre-fold”) diapers and covers. While they do take some getting used to, They’re really not hard. We keep some disposables on hand for middle-of-the-night feedings, baby sitters and trips when we don’t want to / can’t deal with laundering dirty diapers.

How to fold pre-fold diapers: YouTube – BummiesClothDiapers

Bonus: pre-fold diapers are AWESOME for cleaning, using as burp cloths, and anything else you can think of. When you’re done with diapers, use them as rags, dishcloths, hand towels, auto repair, etc.

Excellent video on cost: YouTube – TweedleTee10 (6 min)

And another on all the types & styles of reusable diapers: YouTube – ObbsandLala (8.5 min)

Disposable

Starting off, you’ll probably want to use disposable diapers. The hospital staff will probably put your baby in one, and they’re certainly convenient. Plus, newborn babies are small, and cloth diapers will look like twice the size of your child.

The other nice thing about the Huggies brand of newborn diapers is that they have a yellow line that turns green when they’re dirty, which is super helpful–just look at the outside of the diaper and you know when they need to be changed.

We still use disposables at night, as they’re a lot easier to change in the dark.