Switching to Cloth Diapers – Part 1
There’s a lot of information out there on the subject of how to get started with cloth diapering. However, I haven’t seen a lot of good information for people who want to switch from disposables to cloth diapers. I think those who switch from disposables need slightly different information than those who are planning to cloth diaper from the beginning. So, let’s begin with the initial purchase of cloth diapers meant for those who are switching.
1. Buying Cloth Diapers
I recommend doing some research first to find out which type of diaper you might be interested in trying. There’s a lot of styles out there and the prices vary from a couple of bucks to $200+ (I heard the most popular fitted diaper sold for at least that much at a Hyena Cart auction). Just google some cloth diapers and you’ll find a ton of information. Remember not to panic – you’re not buying a house after all :-)
If you’re switching from disposables to cloth diapers, I do NOT recommend buying a huge number of cloth diapers. We had very few cloth diapers in the beginning and we started off slow. The diapers we had back then were quite inexpensive compared to the popular brands. I wasn’t a fan of those diapers, but thanks to my research, I decided to stick to cloth diapering because I knew there were better cloth diapers out there. The first cloth diaper I bought myself was a bumGenius 2.0 pocket diaper. I was amazed how nice the diaper looked compared to what I’ve seen before. I couldn’t believe how easy this diaper was to use. It’s as easy to put on as a disposable! With this diaper though, you do have to stuff the pocket with an insert before use. The AIO/AI2 diapers do not require any stuffing.
There’s a chart on The Diaper Jungle website that describes the four major types of cloth diapers used today. Most people who want to switch to cloth, would probably be most comfortable using AIO/AI2 or pocket diapers. Those diapers will cost you a bit though, but remember that you’d be paying a lot more for disposables in the long run. I’ve probably spent no more than $400-500 on my 21 month-old daughter’s cloth diapers and I have A LOT of diapers. I actually sold some of my used diapers online, so I probably got at least $150-180 back. I’ll have more on the subject of selling used diapers in a later post.
So, once you’ve decided which type of cloth diapers you’d like to try, it’s time to find out where to buy those diapers. If you want to go with mass produced diapers then your local baby store might have those. If your local baby stores do not carry cloth diapers, then use a search engine to find online cloth diaper stores. If you’d rather buy WAHM (Work At Home Mom)-made diapers then you might want to check out the following sites:
Remember to try different diapers and not to buy too many the first time you purchase them. I also recommend trying different doublers and/or inserts. You want to find out which diapers and doublers/inserts work best for you.
In the next post, I’ll talk about washing cloth diapers. It’s not as hard as you think!
Tagged as: baby diapers · cloth diapers · disposable diapers
