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By Alyssa, January 8, 2010 11:57 pm

If your first response to this post’s title was “Ewwwwhhhhh,” raise your hand.  When a friend asked me if I was going to use washable diapers, my response was exactly that.  Of course, my view of cloth diapers was somewhat jaded at the time.  At eleven years old, I was considered mature enough to change my youngest brother’s washable diapers.  Several times a day, I wielded two-inch safety pins near my brother’s abdomen trying fasten that darn white cloth and struggled to pull his plastic bloomers up.

Cloth diapers have come a long way since my childhood.  It took my friend throwing a “diaper shower” for me to do the research.  The plastic bloomers have been replaced by a micro-fibered diaper shell that attaches to itself with snaps or Velcro (No more pins!) and the liners are either biodegradable or washable depending upon the brand.  After seeing a few friends use them and realizing I would save money (You’ll see this cheapskate… ahem, frugal theme throughout my posts), I decided to find a brand to use.  Here are my results after comparing a few:

BRAND	PRICE*	PROS	CONS
Blueberry Blueberry	$32.95	Diaper shell is a one-size-fits-all snap system with a variety of shell colors and patterns. Snaps are more durable when laundering. Includes a micro-terry/hemp combo insert.	Way too expensive for me, but top of the line when it comes to cloth diapers. Snap system can be confusing for care-givers unfamiliar with cloth diapers.
gDiapers gDiapers	$16.99**	Great compromise between disposable and cloth diapers as the shells fit either disposable, biodegradable inserts or cloth inserts.  Shells come in a variety of colors and patterns.	Expensive as new shells must be purchased as baby grows and shells are sold separately from liners (Liner packs cost $12-50 depending on type). Velcro tabs may wear down with laundering and scratched the skin of my friend’s baby.
Fuzzy Bunz Fuzzy Bunz	$17.95	Diaper shell is a one-size-fits-all snap system with a variety of shell colors. Snaps are more durable when laundering. Includes a terry cloth insert.	Expensive as new shells must be purchased as baby grows. Snap system can be confusing for care-givers unfamiliar with cloth diapers. Every friend of mine that used these said they leaked horribly.
Happy Heiny Happy Heiny	$18.95	Diaper shell is a one-size-fits-all Velcro and snap system with a variety of shell colors and patterns. Includes two microfiber inserts, one large and one small.	Velcro tabs may wear down with laundering. Every friend of mine that used these said they also leaked.
BumGenius BumGenius	$17.95	Diaper shell is a one-size-fits-all Velcro and snap system with a variety of shell colors. Includes two microfiber inserts, one large and one small.	Velcro tabs may wear down with laundering.
* Prices found on diapers.com
**Shell Only

After reviewing my options, I decided to purchase BumGenius 3.0 diapers.  I’ve been using them for over a year and still love them.  Zeke’s slight diaper rash disappeared immediately when I made the switch from disposables and the small insert with the larger insert works perfectly overnight.  I didn’t think about their ease of use until dropping him off at the church nursery a few times.  Some of the snap diapers literally come with an instruction manual, but my diapers are as simple as disposables.  My Velcro fastening tabs do look a little worn at this point, but they are still functioning so I’m not complaining.

My reason for switching to cloth diapers wasn’t the environment, but my budget.  Sure, disposable diapers only cost about $.30 each, but at an average of six diapers a day for a year, that’s $657 out of my pocket! After shopping around for a deal on my cloth diapers and receiving a few as gifts (Thanks, Grandma!), my total cloth diaper expense was $150 and Zeke can use them until he potty trains.  I wish I hadn’t waited until he was 3 months old to make the change because according to my calculations (10 diapers a day cuz newborns poop a lot), three months of disposable diapers cost me over $270.  I know if we have any more kids, I will be requesting a diaper shower to boost my current supply.

Feel free to ask me your questions, as I’ve probably researched them. Here are some additional notes I couldn’t fit into the post:

-Most diapers require laundering with perfume-free, dye-free detergent and washing with an extra rinse cycle.  I find my homemade detergent and our front-load washer’s “sanitize cycle” works beautifully.

-Cloth diaper micro-fiber shells do not work as well at deterring waste if diaper rash ointments are used.  If you do use an ointment, place a cotton rag in between baby’s bottom and the diaper shell.

-Disposable diapers sit in landfills for over 500 years.  Yikes!  Using cloth diapers gave me the relief that my great-great-great-great-great grandchildren won’t have to deal with my kiddos dirty diapers during their lifetime.  Hubby, on the other hand, feels no guilt when buying a pack of disposables for camping trips.  I guess 30 diapers in the landfill is better than the 2,200 we would use in a year.

-If one of you brainiacs comes after me for an incorrect budget analysis after calculating the water and electricity cost for each load of cloth diapers I wash, well… you may find yourself with a load of baby poo on your front porch.  Just sayin.