Cloth or Disposable Diapers.

While doing your test,please be sure to take into account each week,on how much money is being saved compared to buying the disposables. a study I took many years ago,showed that the normal saving for the two years it normally takes from birth to full potty training is 3,000.00 to 5,000.00. Plus the environmental savings as well. thank you for starting with cloth.

As a new mom, you will really need to make a choice as far as what is easier for you in the long run. You will see what works and what doesn't pretty quickly, and also where you will receive help and where you won't. I am not a cloth advocate but I did go thru diapers for 3 years and bottom line, as much as environmentalists will go on and on about disposables in landfills, there is the issue of time, electricity, water, and chemicals if you decide on cloth. Also, I would change your baby, even a poop-splosion with a disposable but I would be very hesitant to deal with cloth, just because you don't take it off and throw it away. I'm not a big fan of poop no matter the age of the individual who pooped, and I'd rather not have to touch it more than once on the way to the trash can. Sorry. I also wouldn't want to spend any time soaking/washing any extra laundry, so unless you're having a diaper service, that's going to be a tough thing for a new mom. I always felt like I didn't have enough hands, enough hours in the day, and I was tired just getting basic things accomplished, never mind having a spotless house and dinner ready every night, heh. Another thing I've learned as a mom is that keeping things maintained is the important thing, not perfect. As long as you keep things to the level where you can pick up quickly or get out the door quickly at any given time, that's what matters.

Mac - there is no way I spent 5K on diapers, so I'm not sure who conducted this test. Did they use a test subject who bought the most expensive diapers for the entire length of the study, and whose child didn't stop using diapers until he/she was five? I found some very good quality inexpensive diapers and I bought them in large boxes, I think usually 126 to a box. Sometimes I had coupons or deals so they were less than $14 a box. When my daughter was smaller, they were about 140 to a box. From my figures.... 10 boxes would last me quite awhile. That's what, $140? It's not like I was using 14 diapers a day either lol. Let's say $28 a month... approx $336 a year? Hmmmm. About $1000? TOTAL? Thumbs down to those folks who claims it costs $5000! LOL!

More convenient? What is more convenient about something you have to keep up on vs just buying a package of something already there that doesn't have to be maintained, washed, etc? That's like comparing convenience from a nice set of dishes to a stack of paper plates when you're expecting 20 people for a bbq. Sorry but I'm taking the paper plates. I do not feel like loading my dishwasher 2 times after the bbq! Not only is that a huge timewaster for ME, that's also a lot of water and detergent and electricity to run it, and then I have to unload it and reload it again... nope. Not a good time.

I think in the end it costs about the same. Washing clothes costs money you know.

And you know what else I only learned like last week. Disposable diapers are Compost-able! So it doesn't even pollute. When you do toss them that is.