cloth diapering Archives

Convincing Dad to Cloth Diaper

October 18, 2012 by Larisha Campbell 3 Comments

*Disclosure: Affiliate Links contained in this post. You purchase like normal, but we receive a small commission for your purchase.

Convincing Dad to Cloth Diaper…

Seems for many like this is a tough thing. For us it was a very simple decision. While Andrew had never considered or even heard of cloth diapering, I had him on board with how much money it would save us. For others though, I know they don’t have it as easy as I did convincing their soon to be new dads to plunge into the cloth diapering world. While he does joke around and say “is this how you use them” as you can see in the pics below, he’s definitely on board!

Money Saving Cost – This is hands down usually the easiest way to convince dad. The average family will spend $2000-2500 on disposable diapers PER CHILD. There are many considerations (such as brand and style) that go into cloth diapering, but the average family will spend between $400 and $800 on cloth diapering from birth to potty training. Additionally, many times cloth diapers can be used for additional children or re-sold to someone looking for used cloth diapers, which brings down the total cost even more. One thing I will say, the hardest part about money saving cost with cloth diapers is that even though you have enough, you continue to want more because you just can’t say no to cute fluff!

Health– One of the best ways to convince dad after how much money you will save is that it will help by exposing the baby to less harmful chemicals. Disposable diapers have many chemicals in them. One of the most harmful is Dioxin, which has actually been called the most toxic of all cancer-link chemicals by the EPA. Dioxin is ever banned in most countries across the world, but not the US. Disposables also contain polyacrylate and tributyltin.

Environment– One baby is disposable diapers produces up to one ton of waste from birth to 2 years old. Because a majority of cloth diapers keep everything out of landfills, it’s easy to see how it’s much better for the environment.

Smelly– Some believe that because you are not throwing away that diaper that it will become smelly. However, the typical family leaves disposables diapers in the trash to be thrown away up to a week. I don’t know about you, but I’ve opened a trash pail with dirty diapers inside and it has almost knocked me on my feet. The great thing about cloth diaper smell is that it is almost non-existent. Most cloth diapers are laundered within 2-3 days and any poo is flushed down the toilet, not allowing smell to build up over time.

Dunking– One of the infamous myths of cloth diapering is that you still have to “dunk” diapers in the toilet. This actually isn’t true at all. Most poo comes off fairly easily and can just plop into the toilet. Additionally, as cloth diapering has evolved there are now diaper sprayers that help with problems that you may have.

Laundry– This was actually the one question Andrew raised. Won’t poop be left in the washing machine? No worries. A small amount of poo may be left on the diapers after spraying or “plopping”; however, this is no more than would be left on if you used disposables and had a “blowout”. Speaking of “blowouts”… many cloth diapers contain “blowouts” that many parents face with disposables, therefore laundry is cut down in that aspect because there are less clothes to wash when a blow out may have occurred if using a disposable. There is absolutely no worry about poo being left in the machine. If your diapers are clean before drying, so is your machine!

If he’s semi on-board, but not quite all the way, suggest that you buy a few. My biggest suggestion for a borderline dad is an All-in-one (AIO) diaper or try out a diaper loan program.

If you cloth, was it hard for your to convince dad?

If you don’t cloth, what was your reason for not considering?

LooHoo Dryer Balls Review & Giveaway

October 16, 2012 by Larisha Campbell 14 Comments

*Disclosure: We received these products free of cost to facilitate this post. Thoughts and opinions 100% our own. Affiliate links contained in this post. You purchase like normal, but we receive a small commission.

About the company:

LooHoo Wool Dryer balls are a playful, simple, & sustainable alternative to dryer sheets that helps protect your family’s health and the environment. They help conserve energy and save money, ideal for all laundry, and made in Maine, USA, using 100% wool.

I had heard of wool dryer balls from a group of local mamas that also cloth diaper. For many cloth diapering moms this is a great alternative because you cannot use softeners or dryer sheets with cloth diapers for fear of ruining them.

For this LooHoo dryer balls review, I was sent the “Classic Pack” and I have to admit I was a bit skeptical. Even after speaking to the local mamas about how wonderful they were, I just didn’t “get it”. How were these “wool balls” going to help? And knowing how frugal I am, I had a hard time wrapping my head around paying $26+ on 3 dryer balls (especially when it is recommended to have 6-8 minimum).

I threw a load of clothes into the dryer and I put in all of the dryer balls. I have the worlds slowest drying machine and typically my clothes take at least an hour and a half to dry. With the dryer balls it took about 75 minutes with my first load. With the second load I used the dryer balls with it took a little less than that. This made me pretty happy.

Picture of LooHoo Wool Dryer Balls in the laundry

What I was really excited about was when I threw a load of towels in to dry. Towels are a nightmare of mine and take forever to dry in our apartment dryer. I typically have to turn my timer to an hour and a half (the longest timed setting) and then come back again and add at least another 30 minutes. I turned the timer to 90 mins and went about what I was doing. To my surprise when the timer went off and I went to check, everything was completely dry. I wish I knew if I could have turned it on less, but I will just have to check again next time!

LooHoo Dryer balls are also supposed to help with static in your clothing. Again, I was skeptical. How can these little balls help with that? I have tons of tank tops that I have been wearing throughout my pregnancy. Whenever I pull them out of the dryer, they are always stuck together. It’s so annoying. I had 5 of these tank tops in one of the loads of laundry I did. I was very surprised that only one of them still had a lot of static. I’m not sure why that one did, but they fact that the others didn’t, made me really happy.

LooHoo clearly makes an excellent product and you are getting what you pay for. Reducing drying time by more than 30 minutes each load and not having to buy dryer sheets and/or softener anymore, clearly outweigh any cost comparison you can imagine. If you are still wanting the scented smell you get from softeners, a few drops of essential oils are great with the dryer balls.

Buy It: You can purchase LooHoo wool dryer balls from their website or directly over on Amazon.

Disclaimer: I was sent a product free of charge to write this review. The opinions and statements in this post are 100% my own and were not influenced by receiving a free product. We’re Parents!? is not responsible for the delivery of any winner’s prize.

Prepping Cloth Diapers for a Newborn

October 4, 2012 by Larisha Campbell 10 Comments

I have just about 6 weeks left in my pregnancy and until yesterday I had no motivation to prep anything. The only thing that we had done was put the furniture together, travel system, and washed her bedding. That’s where it ended. Then I woke up yesterday and had a sudden urge to clean. The start of my “nesting instincts” I suppose. I started by cleaning the house and doing laundry. Put together the baby bath tub. Then I stood there, looking. I had this heaping pile of cloth diapers that needed to be prepped to be used. I have been avoiding this since I starting buying cloth diapers. It terrified me to prep though I’ve asked tons of questions about how to do it and even read it on my own numerous times throughout my pregnancy.

So finally, with a little motivation from some local moms, I worked up the courage and pulled out all my diapers. Removed the inserts from the ones that had them inside already. All of my diapers I have right now are pocket diapers and prefolds with covers. I was ready to start our prepping cloth diapers.

So how do you prep your cloth diapers? I’m no expert by any means (this is just my first time doing this) but I’ve put together a little list of helpful tips solely based on the types of cloth diapers that I am using. This is only when prepping diapers for the first time.

Prefolds

You should wash them a minimum of 5-6 times in hot water. This will move the natural oils that the prefolds are made from. You should dry prefolds between each washing. It will take up to 10 washes before prefolds reach their maximum absorbency; however, leaks shouldn’t occur if properly prepped 5-6 times.

Pockets (also the same process for AIO or AI2-though I don’t have those)

Many pockets just need to be washed one time
You should dry them once in the dryer to seal the PUL and after that sun drying or air drying is fine
You should read the washing instructions on individual brands in case they make alternative suggestions for their diaper

Always make sure you are using a cloth diaper safe detergent and follow the suggested amount of detergent on the package. Using too much detergent can cause a build up and affect absorbency.

I am not an expert in cloth diapering. All content in this post are my opinion. We’re Parents!? is not responsible for any defects or issues caused by these instructions. Water types and washing machines vary and any issues you may have should be taken up with the manufacturer of your diapers.

Top 5 Best Cloth Diaper Accessories for a Newbie

October 2, 2012 by Larisha Campbell 4 Comments

*Disclosure: Affiliate links contained in this post. You purchase like you would normally, but we receive a small commission.

One of the first decisions I made once I found out I was pregnant was to cloth diaper. Among many reasons, I knew that it was going to be a better investment for us. What I didn’t know was that there were many “accessories” that I also needed to consider investing in for my cloth diapering journey as well.

Below is my list of the top 5 best cloth diaper accessories that new parents will need:

#1: Earth Mama Angel Baby Bottom Balm. Most commercial “butt creams” are not compatible with cloth diapers and because of this you will need a cloth diaper approved one. I love Earth Mama products so I highly recommend buying this brand, but other cloth diaper friendly butt cream will work as well.

#2: Hanging Wet Bags. Some people opt for diaper pails. But I have 2 hanging wet bags. You need two do you still have an extra when one is in the laundry. A smaller sized one is also good to keep in the diaper bag. You use these for putting your dirty diapers in until laundry day, then the bag and all can go right into the washing machine.

#3: Cloth Diaper Friendly Laundry Detergent. Many “regular” detergents have additives that over time will cause build up on cloth diapers and not rinse out completely. Eventually this will cause your diapers to leak over. It’s best to protect your investment and just use an approved cloth diaper friendly detergent.

#4: Cloth Wipes. It only makes sense if you are going to use cloth diapers that you use cloth wipes as well. It’s much easier to just use the wipes and throw in your wet bag with the dirty diaper rather than having to remember to put one thing in the wet bag and the wipe in the trash if you are using disposable wipes!

#5: Wool Dryer Balls. Just like with the laundry detergent, softeners and dryer sheets can ruin your cloth diapers. The alternative is to use wool dryer balls. The more you use, the faster dryer time. The great thing is this isn’t JUST a cloth diaper essential, but if used all the time can drastically cut down on drying time, saving you costs on energy and electric. Read our review of LooHoo Wool Dryer Balls.

This is just my Top 5 List of must have cloth diaper accessories that I have found that I will need so far.

If you already cloth, what is your top 5 items??

Cloth Diaper Stash…We love FLUFF :)

July 27, 2012 by Larisha Campbell 2 Comments

I just wanted to give a quick update on how cloth diapering is going so far.

We let everyone know a few weeks ago that we decided to cloth diaper. I’m pretty sure everyone thought we were joking. That seems to be the reaction we have gotten so far. Even at our baby shower over the weekend, the only comments we heard were “I can’t believe you’re doing this” or “That is so gross”. However, I was very happy that people actually bought what was on our registry and we only received one pack of disposable diapers. I have heard stories where people try to force disposables on parents and I’m glad that our family didn’t do this.

Obviously our little girl is not here yet so we have yet to be able to try any of our diapers out yet, but how can you know look at this pic and not smile. Cloth diapering is far from the plastic pants that my mom used to put on me.

My fluff stash!! 🙂

So this is our cloth diaper stash so far. We have decided on a mix of pocket diapers and prefolds with covers. I would like to add a few All-in-Ones (AIOs) to our stash at some point, but we will probably only be ordering some more prefolds and see how this goes in the beginning.

So far we have 6 Sunbaby diapers. 5 BumGenius. 5 Just Simply Baby. and 3 Flip Covers with 10 prefolds. I will spend about another $15 on some more prefolds and still be at just over $200 total for all of these diapers. Essentially, if everything works out, I would never have to buy another diaper, just about $20 on bigger sized prefolds. However…..

The number one thing I have learned so far is that the most difficult part is NOT ordering more. No, I don’t need anymore, but they make the most adorable prints that it’s so hard not to buy more!! Still, the average family spends over $2000 to diaper in disposables from birth to 2 and even if I spent another $500 on cloth, I wouldn’t come close to this amount!

Moms that already cloth—what are you favorite brands of diapers??

Moms that don’t cloth—would you be willing to try if you have another baby?? Why or Why not?

Am I an Eco-Mom?? My decision to cloth…

July 7, 2012 by Larisha Campbell Leave a Comment

I’ve never been extremely eco-friendly. While I do recycle and recently started my own garden…it really ends there.

Then I became pregnant.

Almost immediately I started considering cloth diapering. Where these ideas came from… I have no idea. But halfway through this pregnancy, I am diving head first into learning everything cloth diaper.

And let me tell you…it’s hard…these aren’t my moms cloth diapers with just some folding and pins. There’s prefolds, all-in-ones, all-in-twos, one size, fitteds, covers, pockets…overwhelmed yet…I sure was am.

So why do I want to? (The four main reasons)

It saves a ton. The average cost of disposable diapering until age 2 is $2000. The average cost of cloth the entire time a child is in diapers is approximately $800. Plus if you have more than one child, you can continue to reuse the cloth diapers, yielding an even bigger savings.
It’s healthier for baby. Many people don’t realize that there are harsh chemicals in disposable diapers that cloth simply don’t have, including dioxin and polypropylene, amongst others.
Convenience. Ever run out of diapers and are stuck leaving a dirty diaper on your child until you can gather find everything your keys you need get to the store? Never again. You can never run out of cloth diapers…though you may need to do a wash.
Prevent waste. In addition to just making yourself feel better about protecting the baby, you will help the environment by eliminating up to one ton of waste that is estimated to come from every child’s disposable diapers by age 2. Plus a diaper taskes approximately 500 years to decompose.

The first reason, is really all I needed. I’m very frugal spending aware, especially as we are trying to save for our downpayment for our first house. Which is essentially how I convinced my fiance to do it with me. His initial thought was literally, “Hell No! I’m not touching poop”. After explaining the modern convinces to cloth diapering plus the savings, he was all in. Thank God!

While the average cloth diaper costs anywhere between $5-$25, the initial shock was overwhelming. However, the more I read, it’s recommended for 2-3 dozen diapers for newborns-6 months and as little as 6-8 once older, depending on your washing preferences.

There’s also no more “dunking” associated with cloth diapers like many people initially assume and the adorable bright colors and prints are to die for!

Do you cloth? What are your favorite brands? This is just my initial post on how I came to my decision to cloth. I will be posting a lot more once I start to build my stash and obviously once the baby is here, so I can update everyone on how it’s going!!

Updated: Read more on Cloth Diapering

5 Cloth Diaper Accessories You Need

A look into our Fluff Stash

Our Eco-Friendly parenting Journey Updated (2015)