Diapers...cloth vs disposable

Hello to you. The points you've made are all very good ones. Each type of diaper has its "time and place." I did use both kinds, since they were just coming on the market when my third child was born, and for all the reasons you stated. But cloth was still "king" back then. Thank you for your insights. Karen

Just 20 years is all, lol. was quite a change in those 20 years, the big one i was 18 when i had the first one & 38 when i had the 2nd one. I'm proud i have them both.

Hello my friend. Now, I must say your children are well spaced apart :) Most parents today do love the convenience and time saving factors of disposables. They had no such thing when my first two were born! Options are good lol. Karen

A lot changes in just a few years. I noticed this when there were 5 years between my 2nd and 3rd daughters, so yes, twenty years would have brought far more changes! I am happy for you that you have your two :) Kids and grandkids are one of the greatest blessings God gives. Karen

Hi Karen,sorry for the delay,I had an answer for you the other day,but was interupted,and lost it,so lets try again. thank you for the kind words,Yes,some school age kids can be very hurtfull,even if they don't know it. I found that you can save between $3000.00 and $5000.00 dollars over the time most children are in diapers,in our time,that was no more than 2 1/2 years at most without medical problems. It takes about 30,000 trees destroyed each year just to supply North America with disposable diapers,not counting pull-ups. Only about 2/3 of all disposables get to the landfill sites,which by the way,not only the plastic does not decompose there,all matereal that is dumped there is so covered,that no air gets underground and worms do not breed there,so no decomposition of any kind happens. the other 1/3,are dumped in parking lots,beside someone elses house or just out the car door onto the street or highway. these diapers do decompose at a pretty quick rate,(those that are not torn apart by animals) and spread the contents all over the place,and pollute the streams and rivers with bacteria. How is that for a few facts? there are more,but I figure this should make people think about the harm they cause by using disposables. Many Blessings.

Wow, Mac...that is some powerful information. I would think it would make many people reconsider...or at least use cloth as often as they could. I fully get the "convenience" of disposables, but could never justify the cost and loss of forests. Thank you for taking the time and trouble to share all of that. :) Karen

Hello Mac. The extra "work" was just not that much extra at all, and even factoring in prices to launder the diapers, the savings in money per month would be phenominal, especially in today's economy. What are some of the things you found in your study? I would love to know those facts. Thank you for your response and insights. Karen

Hello Deepak...I see the sense in disposables for traveling or attending functions. I didn't mind using cloth diapers most of the time for the reasons mentioned. While most of today's parents find the disposables the best way for them to go, I do know there is a resurgence or call for them to think of cloth instead as a way to both save money and be kind to the environment. We will see if that catches on or not Karen

Hi Karen! Your 'idea' and 'thought' of using cloth diapers is an excellent one and I wish that today's parent consider using it seriously so as to save the environment and money. If they restrict the use of disposable diaper, it will be good for mankind. Deepak

Hi Deepak. I think that being kinder to the environment is one of the biggest reasons to give the cloth diapers a try. Even though the coverings are plastic, it takes few of them, since we just wash and reuse them. So much less going into landfills of things that are not bio-degradable! Karen

Hello my friend PeacefulWmn9 Ji, Old concept of bring children was hygenic, when we compare with latest, though it may be time saving without any trouble for young mothers, but as a grand-mother, I feel old is gold. May God bless you and have a great time.

I agree :)

Hello my friend. I also stitched the cloth diapers for my oldest children, but bought the cloth ready-made diapers for my third and youngest. It was just how we did things then. Even though disaposables had come into the market when my youngest arrived, I stuck with the cloth diapers. Karen

My daughter probably had a diaper rash .... once or twice in the 2+ years she wore diapers. Near the end of diapers, she did NOT like being wet and she would say something right away. Disposable diapers don't FEEL wet when they are peed in, so I took that to mean she knew she peed in it and didn't like sitting in pee, even if she didn't feel it. It was a great way to introduce using the potty. Another thing - if you are used to using disposables, you can tell just by looking at them if the baby peed in it, or by poking the diaper. While some people wait too long between changing diapers, please don't assume everybody does just because it's possible. Some babies get upset if they are wet or dirty, others don't.

You're right about knowing when a disposable is ready to be changed. It gets saggy and heavy feeling to the touch lol. Diaper rash wasn't a problem with my kids, even though they wore cloth diapers. I think a gentle laundry soap, like Ivory Snow, and a thorough rinsing really help avoid irritations that can lead to rashes.

Hi Dlr. There were no disposable diapers readily available when my two oldest daughters were young either. By the time my third baby came along, they did have disposables, but I still used cloth for the same reasons you did. Thank you for expressing your input here. Karen

There are lots of cloth diaper places online - and you can find them on ebay as well =) I never bought any, I am a disposy mommy, but I did get plastic pants in prep for potty training. I have since given them all to a friend to put over her daughter's swim diapers, I never did get use out of them. I got a bag of pull-ups from a friend and my daughter used about 3-4 of them and then we were done. I think I got the plastic pants at Walmart, they are made by Gerber and had little flowers and hearts and dots on them. Super cute, they wouldn't have even needed to be covered up. Warning though, a lot of the custom cloth diapers are expensive. Many people try to state that you make your money back because you reuse them instead of throwing them away, but I fail to see why people do not count the time cost, the cost of water, extra electricity to run the washing machine, dryer, and the detergent. The diapers do not wash themselves for free. I'm not a laundry maven, and I really dislike most housework. My goal is to have as little of it as possible and do what little I have as QUICKLY as possible.

Wow! That is super great that your little one took to potty training so quickly!

Hi Magik. When my own daughters were little, the cloth diapers and plastic pants were readily available. For my second daughter, I made them myself from white flannel. I imagine they would now be available online, and as people become more and more serious to use earth friendly products, perhaps they'll also make a comeback in the stores. At least you tried Karen

You've made such excellent points on the reasons in favor of the disposable diapers, Mommyboo. For some, the home environment is a more urgent cause than the planetary one. It is where we live and what we have to deal with each and every day. And yes!! One gets to know that heavy, sagging of a diaper that needs changing LOL. My daughters have always used dissposables on the grandkiddos. Have a happy day... Karen

Hello Lynn. Most moms/parents who work outside the home these days seem to prefer the convenience and work-saving properties of the disposable diapers. Many do still have a few cloth diapers on hand for use as "burp cloths," etc. Have a lovely day. Karen

Hello K. There seem to be two lines of thought here. Disposables are convenient and save a lot of time and work. Cloth, while making more work, does cost far less over time and are more earth friendly. Cloth is bio-degradable, but plastic is not. So it really just boils down to personal preference. Karen

Yes, Ann, very practical. My youngest was born a number of years after my first two daughters, and by the time she came along, they did have disposables available. I used them when going away, and then only the cloth diapers at home. :) Be well, and be happy! Karen

Hi Dory. When my first two children were babies, cloth was the only option. By the time I had my third daughter, disposables were coming into the market. I used both for her. The disposables when traveling, the cloth the rest of the time. It was a nice compromise! She, too, had allergies to many of the disposables, so I had to try several brands. Thank you for sharing your preferences and insights. Karen

Hi Yoga...I, too, would go with cloth again if I had babies today. I forget the exact numbers, but statistics show that there are billions of disposable diapers in land fills and such, and the plastic is not bio-degradable. Ack! Karen

Hi Dorann...care to share the horror stories? I used them and cannot think what would create a catastrophe from cloth diapers lol. They are more work, but do save on money and are "environment friendly." Thank you for sharing your input, and have a lovely day! Karen

LOL! They are definitely more work, even if you use a diaper service. I priced 2 weeks from a diaper service when I was considering giving that as a gift for a baby shower. I decided against it and instead bought a gift cert for custom baby birth announcements and 3 packages of size 1 and 2 disposables lol. A lot of the new ones are actually very cute, they have a folded insert and they velcro or snap shut, but I still shudder at the idea of the extra laundry, having to soak them in a pail (instead of just tossing them in the trash), and it would seem they are bulkier which means it would make lumps under clothing. I know that the OLD ones you had to fold up yourself and use safety pins, and THAT seems horrific to me. Talk about time consuming.... by the time someone who was all thumbs and had never diapered a baby before got the diaper on, the baby would have peed all over it again!

Oh yes, the new ones do look a lot cuter and eliminate the need for nerve-wracking safety pins. Back in the day, we just did it routinely, since it was the only option. My grandkids have been raised on the disposables, which I have noticed when caring for them, do cut out a lot of work.

Hello Indah...yes, I can certainly appreciate how much better disposables would be when traveling, especially on long trips or vacations. Thank you for expressing your choices Karen

Hi Kryzell. Sometimes convenience, when one is a very busy mother, is worth the extra cost of things that are disposable, as it would also be if your baby sleeps better and longer. I don't think "guilt" enters into it...it just depends on one's own lifestyle and personal preferences Karen

Hi Sub...it was a couple of generations back that here in the US, cloth diapers were the only option for moms. But then along came disposables and most people switched to them for the convenience. I never knew of anyone in my own era that did have help to wash out the cloth ones...we just did it as part of the natural routine of childcare back then. Karen

Hi Klw. Cloth was the most common way to go when I was raising my kids, and however convenient disposables may be, cloth is still the cheapest and most environmentally kind way to go. The extra work was a given, even for those of us who worked outside the home, at one time. Karen

Hello Fifi, and welcome to MyLot :) I think you've discovered a nice balance by using both cloth diapers as well as disposables. It's good to live in a world of choices, yes? And for sure, cloth IS cheaper and more earth friendly. Karen

Hello Hm...yes, given how busy your family is, I can see why disposable diapers would make more sense for you. There are services, or were, that deliver clean diapers, and pick up dirty ones, etc., but I think that might be costly. It's good for each of us to go with whatever works best for us. Karen