HawthorneVillager.com

Hi guys,

Has anyone on here ever tried a cloth diaper service. I'm getting more and more interested in the idea, but I just wanted some input from you guys. I've found three so far; Bear Bottoms, Comfy Cotton and Happy Nappy.

Thanks

I myself have not used cloth diapers, but I know a number of people who have. The consensus seems to be that you definately want one of those services, and that they are almost always fairly good and dependable. The big downside with cloth diapers is that the babies get rashes a lot more often, so you have to be a lot more diligent about changing frequency and skin care.

You won't necessarily save that much money unless you wash your own diapers though. I assume the motivation must be almost completely environmental to go through the difficulties.

We have used both types. I think Happy Nappy has merged with Bear Bottoms. As for cost, I can't say which is cheaper. If you can get coupons for disposable ones, I would say its about on par. We only encountered light diaper rash a couple of times using cloth service, but numerous times using disposable ones. So I have to disagree with the above poster regarding that matter.
It is a lot of work if you wash them yourself. We used Happy Nappy and were very satisfied.
Check online pros and cons, theres lots of info. We did it for environmental reasons.
Good luck and congrats.

I have never used those services I used Pampers, I do know 2 people that use them now and they are both very satisfied with the clothe diapers. If I knew that the cost was around the same I would defiantly used them, I just assumes it was expensive. I would not do this for environment reason,(although that a plus) I feel that a cotton diapers, has to be better then filler lined with plastic plus who know what chemicals are used to make the filler so absorbent. I don't know anything about diaper rash, but I can't see clothe diaper causing rashes (maybe it's the detergent used). If you do find this an issue bathing the baby in 1/4 cup vinegar diluted in the bath will take diaper rash away. I always did this with my daughter and it works like a charm.

I've considered washing them myself, but after I did some research it just seemed a bit overwhelming. There are so many different types of products out there that it just became a bit too confusing.

Would you say that the diapers that you buy yourself are a bit more absorbent and better fitted than the Chinese Pre-Fold ones that Comfy Cotton supplies?

I use cloth, and I wash the diapers myself. Honestly, I have found it very easy. Toss diapers in wash, cold rinse, hot wash, cold rinse, dry. You just have to make sure you use a detergent that is OK for cloth - steph at babywearboutique sells one.

I am not a fan of prefolds, except for the first few weeks. I find prefolds on bigger babies are more prone to leaking if you don't get them on just right, and I never managed to master that part. But I make my own diapers, so I'm able to customize to be exactly how I want (I make All-In-One diapers, that are basically exactly like disposables except instead of throwing them away you wash them!). These are the diapers I use : http://purplelizarddesign.blogspot.com/ ... stash.html

The only time I ever get leaks is when I leave her in them too long and they get full.

On the rash issue, I actually find my second baby, the cloth diapered one, has WAY less rash issues than my first baby did (and the first was in disposables). The lining in my cloth diapers is a high tech athletic wicking fabric, so she actually stays really dry and rashes aren't a big issue.

My main thought is I've seen a few studies along those lines, but every one was either funded in some suspicious way (ie the $ could be traced back to disposable diaper manufacturers) or failed to take into account the full picture (ie not including the cost of manufacture of disposable diapers - sure, washing them takes water, but how much water is used in the process of making each disposable?). Or in one case, made ridiculous assumptions, like including in the costs of cloth diapers the electricity used to iron them. Now I'm sure someone, somewhere, irons their cloth diapers, but that's just weird.

Now, I have read and it seems reasonable to me that if you live somewhere where water supply is an issue, cloth may not be the best choice. But if you live somewhere where space in the landfill is an issue - well, disposable diapers REALLY add up. My first was diapered with disposables and IIRC correctly there was pretty much a garbage bag of nothing but diapers every other week.

A diaper service is, I imagine, worse than washing at home - the driving the diapers around, the big industrial washers with super hot water, etc.

I was the first born, and my mom quickly realized I couldn't be exposed to disposable diapers. She switched me to cloth, and just did it for my brother and sister as well. As an adult, I still have allergies to some of those down-there products.

My kids will be cloth-diapered - it's not that hard to to take care of, and in combination with BF'ing you can save a LOT of money, it's better for the environment, and in my case, better for your child. I'm going to do the trial first to see which product I like better. My babies will have a few plastic diapers lying around for babysitters and longer trips where I can't access the washer/dryer.

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Wow, thanks for all the great info guys! I would really love to buy a do-it-yourself diaper system, I just have to convice my wife! She wouldn't mind trying the diaper service, but when I mentioned that we can buy our own cloth diapers she thinks that it's going to be too messy and stinky.

Our baby is due on January 2nd, so I still have some time to convince her. Maybe we'll visit your store babywearing_mama and you can help me change her mind.

Paul - literally whip it off the baby, dunk it into a bucket with solution or the toilet and plunk it into the wash. Couldn't be easier.

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