Do you cloth diaper to save green or go green?

[linusmom]

Just wondering if anyone else besides me cloth diapers primarily to save money. Time after time, when people find out that I cloth diaper, they extol my environmentalism Not that I think we don’t need to be good stewards of the earth, but I’m honestly not all that worried about it.

 

[captaincatholic]

I like that it saves money, and we probably started out that way, but I became addicted! I love fluff!

 

[Augusta_Sans]

There’s a third possibility–some people might cloth diaper because it’s better for babies, regardless of what is better for the planet or the pocketbook.

 

[lada]

Both, plus ( and most importantly) the fact that it’s healthier for the baby. I had some really cute and kind of pricey diapers before it was all said and done, but I still spent a lot less than I would have by doing disposables for all the kids.

 

[Cracker_Mom]

Just wondering if anyone else besides me cloth diapers primarily to save money. Time after time, when people find out that I cloth diaper, they extol my environmentalism Not that I think we don’t need to be good stewards of the earth, but I’m honestly not all that worried about it.

I only used cloth diapers & mostly did because we saved a huge amount of money. Plus it was easier on the babies: less diaper rash.
My youngest is now 16 so those days are past…

 

[tapiocapudding]

DH and I live in a high rise with coin laundry so with the cost of laundry we went with a diaper service instead. The price was comparable to disposable diapers but our diaper lady gave us a discount to test out some of her diapers and inserts so we pay a bit less than we would for disposables. So our decision had more to do with the benefits to baby and the environment rather than to save money.

 

[linusmom]

Wow! We have no diaper services left in my area. The last one closed when gas prices spiked in '08.

 

[LongingForLight]

Originally it was for the environment first, money second (with the twins), but I quit because the changes themselves were so time-consuming (with twins, that extra thirty seconds to a minute while you are changing a cloth diaper with the other baby screaming next to you can be torture, especially repeated 20 times a day). Now it’s all about the Benjamins with this baby, although if money weren’t an overriding concern, I would still probably want to cloth diaper for the environment. Health of the baby has never been a concern for me, as my children have never had problems w/ diaper rash, etc.

 

[Corki]

There’s a third possibility–some people might cloth diaper because it’s better for babies, regardless of what is better for the planet or the pocketbook.

My kids are older now but that was my main motivation at the time.

 

[tundramom]

My oldest daughter is expecting my first grandbaby so my diaper days will begin again, albeit in a different capacity…

My kids always got diaper rash WITH the cloth diapers. I tried and tried… different detergents, no detergents, ad infinitum. All three of my girls wore disposables (they are 20, 14 and 12) but boy did they get potty trained early.

I find it curious that all of you seem to be of the opposite opinion on the diaper rash.

Steph

 

[lada]

I find it curious that all of you seem to be of the opposite opinion on the diaper rash.

Steph

It’s not the diaper rash that concerns me, we had more of an issue with rashes with cloth, especially when we experimented with detergents. Once we got a good system, and found out which detergent to use, we rarely had a problem.

My concerns health-wise have more to do with exposure to the chemicals and toxins in disposables, which are there to absorb odor and wetness. Disposable diapers “off-gas” just like a plastic shower curtain does and there have been links made to exposure to the chemicals in disposables, and asthma. The plastic part of a disposable does not allow the baby’s bottom to breathe and has been linked to male infertility, as the testicles get too hot when air is not allowed to reach them.

 

[CatholicSam]

We cloth diaper for fun! I think they’re so cute, and diapering with cloth is, imo, just more enjoyable. With sposies you’re dealing with a piece of trash (I care not about the environmental impact–there’s enough environmentalism these days without me), but with cloth, it’s just more… pleasant. It’s like an art/hobby (cloth) vs. a chore (sposies).

So I started for fun (and to look into EC, which ultimately didn’t work out), but now I do enjoy the saving of green. A neat side effect! CDing is so easy, especially with a completely breastfed baby. I don’t know why I thought it would be such a pain in the neck before. It sure has an undeserved horrible reputation.

Our babies occaisionally get rashes in cloth and in sposies, so that’s never been a factor for us.