Adventures in Cloth Diapering: The First Six Months
As a new mom, the end of the first six months is a big deal. This is when everything really changes. Not only is Baby Clemington rolling around like a champion, but he is starting to get a mouth full of teeth and is starting solid foods. And solid foods mean solid poops... Which changes our diapering game.
To commemorate the end of blissful, washable, curry-yellow poops, here is a bit of a roundup of reflections and lessons learned. I'll be covering the basics:
1. A day in the life.
2. Brands and styles.
3. All the savings so far.
Lessons Learned in the First Six Months of Cloth Diapering
This is not a sponsored post, though it may contain affiliate links. All opinions are my own.
1. A day in the life.
A lot of people ask questions about whether cloth diapers are changed more often or are more susceptible to blowouts (aka leaky poop disasters). My answer? Not really. I change baby's bum according to his sleep/feeding schedule. He always rests and rises to a clean fresh diaper as part of our routine. I'm sure I would have done this with disposables as well, so to me it's no different.
04:30pm: Wake up! Diaper change #5.
06:30pm: Post-dinner, Diaper change #6.
08:30pm: Bedtime! Diaper change #7
Obviously this is simplified, and does not account for the superpoops that require immediate changes or the times he wakes up earlier/goes to bed later and needs an extra change. Or those evil nights where he wets through his diaper at 3am. Also worth noting is that of those diaper changes, only one or two are usually poops, so for the 7 average diaper changes we use only 2 or 3 covers.
A typical day of diaper changes:
08:30am: Wake up! Diaper change #1.
10:30am: Nap time! Diaper change #2.
12:30pm: Wake up! Diaper change #3.
02:30pm: Nap time! Diaper change #4.04:30pm: Wake up! Diaper change #5.
06:30pm: Post-dinner, Diaper change #6.
08:30pm: Bedtime! Diaper change #7
Of course, Baby Clemington does not operate like all babies and your schedule may be different. A lot of people ask about our change routine, so I figured it was worth a share even if it isn't a one-size-fits-all solution.
2. Brands and styles.
I started my stash with two brands of pocket styles, and two brands of All-in-one diapers. We have a variety of bamboo and hemp inserts and boosters. You can buy it all on LagoonBaby.com.
Daytime:
My favourite brands for daytime use are AppleCheeks (size one) and AMP (one size "duo" style), which are both Canadian pocket-style diapers with ruffles for leakage protection. I prefer to lay my inserts on top of the diaper cover, rather than stuffing them. The video below is pretty handy.
Admittedly, I would normally have avoided Applecheeks because they require sizing up eventually, but Baby Clemington is a fairly narrow-hipped dude and is still comfortable in the Applecheeks Size One diapers.
If I had to buy everything all over again, I would probably stock up on exclusively AMP Duo diapers.
Overnights:
For the first four months, we used All-in-one's religiously for overnights. Double layered snap-in inserts were a nice touch for a squirmy sleeper. We stocked up on a combination of Lil Helper and GroVia O.N.E. diapers and used both the inserts they came with (which, apparently, is absorbent enough for a toddler). Lil Helper is pretty hard to find now, but you can still find GroVia brand on LagoonBaby.com.
Our current solution is one AMP DUO one-size envelope cover, stuffed with 2 trifold bamboo inserts and a hemp booster laying on top. Baby Clemington goes to bed with a large booty, but everyone sleeps better. This diaper solution lasts for a 12-14 hour night no problem.
3. All the savings.
If anyone ever argues with you that cloth diapering isn't better for your wallet, the environment, or your kiddo.... try really hard not to slap them, okay? Then hit them with this real life knowledge.
- 6 months = ~1500 diapers
- 1500 diapers... = $720
- $570 for disposable diapers (at $0.38 each for the eco-ish disposables we would have used. Non-eco diapers are more like $0.20 each.)
- $150 for disposable wipes (25 packages of 72 wipes)
- 1456 diapers = 1500lbs / 680kg in waste
- Wet disposables weigh around a pound each.
- Once disposables hit the landfill, they keep absorbing rain water etc. Disposables absorb up to 300x their weight in water.
So. In just six months, we kept almost 1500 diapers (1500 lbs of waste!) out of the landfill, and saved over $350 (since our stash was only $350ish). Not bad!
- 6 months = ~1500 diapers
- 1500 diapers... = $720
- $570 for disposable diapers (at $0.38 each for the eco-ish disposables we would have used. Non-eco diapers are more like $0.20 each.)
- $150 for disposable wipes (25 packages of 72 wipes)
- 1456 diapers = 1500lbs / 680kg in waste
- Wet disposables weigh around a pound each.
- Once disposables hit the landfill, they keep absorbing rain water etc. Disposables absorb up to 300x their weight in water.
So. In just six months, we kept almost 1500 diapers (1500 lbs of waste!) out of the landfill, and saved over $350 (since our stash was only $350ish). Not bad!
Did you diapering game change once you introduced solid foods? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!
1 comments
I have absolutely no advice to offer on solid food poops, but kudos to you for this post. Sticking with cloth diapers and proving that not only is it better for everyone but it actually saves you money $$!!! You know I'm totes sharing this one ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments! I love reading them all and will reply when I can.
xo♥clem