Remember my recent post about cloth wipes??
Well I’ve been using cloth wipes since I wrote that post, just like I committed to doing.
And now I feel dumb.
It is so much better and so much easier and the smell is lovely.
I am very grateful for the peri bottle suggestion. Ingenious, I tell ya.
My set up a disposable wipes box, variety of cloth wipes, peri bottle filled with Blissful Booty wipe solution.
When I need a wipe I simply squirt the solution on top of the wipes and that’s it!
My husband says he uses more wipes with cloth over disposables but that’s not a problem at all!
Thank you for encouraging me to just do it :)
I don’t know if you saw my photo on the Facebook page about Walmart’s new diaper campaign.
Mabu Baby Eco-Diaper System Wins Fans Quickly as Moms Awestruck To Find Cloth Diaper Option at Walmart!
What are your thoughts?
Personally, I don’t think it is going to affect sales of WAHMs. The family buying these will be clueless about the small homemade cloth diaper world.
Exposure to an alternative to disposable diapers is exactly what we want. Perhaps Mabu Baby Eco-Diapers will be the gateway drug to the cute, colorful, fluffy, small business cloth diaper industry.
Sure I’d rather see Bum Genius on the Walmart shelves but a start’s a start.
There are a couple of stores about 1 1/2 hr away from me but I’m not that motivated to try them. If I receive one to test out I’ll let you know.
Are you ready for Thanksgiving??!!
Mentally, I am totally ready! But, if I sit on the thought of hosting dozens of people in my home then I get a bit overwhelmed.
I need to remind myself that Thanksgiving isn’t about having a house perfectly clean and decorated but about giving thanks for everything I have.
2011 has been a tremendous year and one I should be continuously giving thanks for. The birth of Camden and our new home are constant reminders of how blessed I am.
As soon as the guests leave Black Friday is on the mind. Don’t worry, I’ll have a LONG list of sales for you on Monday so you can start planning your purchases!
Autumn is a wife, mother, homeschool teacher, friend and most important a follower of Christ.
JoAnn Pereira says
A buy, buy, baby just opened by us, Overland Park, Ks. I was super excited to see that they carry bumgenious. Especially since they send out coupons ($5 off, 20% off) like bed, bath and beyond. One diaper with a newborn and one size insert is $17.99 after the coupon its a great deal!
Ann says
I started using a peri bottle too and like it so much better than a spray bottle !
Becky says
what is a peri bottle?
Autumn Beck says
It is a squirt bottle with multiple holes in the top that women usually receive either from the hospital or from a homebirth kit to use after giving birth.
Heather says
The Mabu diapers remind me of g-diapers, which Babies-R-Us carries. (Oh, and I don’t know if this is regional or not, but those are the only cloth diapers for sale anywhere with the exception of Gerber!)
I just went to the Walmart website to see if I could find out the price of these new diapers, and they weren’t on the site yet…. But Kissaluvs were! I like Kissaluvs! Sorry, I just get so excited when I see where cloth is becoming more accessible for regular families! :-)
Clarissa says
They remind me of gDiapers, too. I didn’t reaaly like gDiapers when I used them but am still very excited that more families will be exposed to cloth!
Jocelyn Groff says
Autumn,
My daughter is 8 months old and has been in cloth dipes since she was 2 weeks old. For about a week and half now she has had dry, red inner thighs. We have never had this problem before. She wears prefolds and flats with a Thristies duo wrap cover when she’s awake, Bumgenius 4.0s for naps, and Sloomb fitteds with a Sloomb wool cover overnight. I notices her Thirsties covers were getting too small so we got bigger sizes, but the problem persisted. I am wondering if maybe her skin just gets dry in this weather, because I always get dry skin in the winter, and am constantly putting lotion on my hands. Or perhaps we are leaving her wet diapers on for too long before changing them. Have you had any experience with dry, red thighs? Please let me know your thoughts.
Thanks!
Jocelyn
ps. I’ve been using Peri bottle for my wipes solution ever since my spray bottle broke! Ha :)
Heather says
My kids get red thighs sometimes, and I use coconut oil on them. It doesn’t hurt the diapers but protects about as well as vasaline. I think the redness comes from the fit of the diaper (being too tight,) or sometimes the child could have an allergy to the PLU. You could use wool during the daytime for a few days to see if it really is the PLU. I could probably use some advice in this area too as it’s a problem that I still deal with.
kerin says
I found that my when my little one was about that age (just starting to crawl), he began chafing because of how the diaper fit him around the thighs. We switched from the Fuzzibunz OneSize to the Fuzzibunz Perfect Size, which has a little more give in the “stretchiness” of the elastic and the problem went away.
I know this doesn’t help your issue directly, but it may be chafing from increased activity. Perhaps it’s worth looking into adjusting the fit of the diaper around that area?
Lauren says
Peri bottles is exactly what I use and I love it!
Personally Im excited about cloth diapers coming to Walmart. Our walmart also carries a different brand of prefolds that actually looked pretty decent (im NOT talking about gerber) but they were paring them with plastic pants…I LOLd right there in the store. I’m with you I don’t think it will hurt the WAHMs. To me the most important thing is awareness so that one more baby bottom is saved. If its on Walmart shelves our society will begin to accept cloth as a reasonable choice, bc hey its not weird if Walmart sells, it right!? lol
Landon says
I love reading your posts! All of you have such enthusiasm and great ideas! ok, this is going to sound pathetic and desperate, but I guess I’m both of those :) I was wondering if any of you experienced CD’ers would help me return to CDing? Before my son was born we had all intents and purposes of Cding all the way! I bought a few different brands along with inserts, prefolds (Indian cotton) and covers as well as renting newborn cloth diapers. We were religious aobut it. Problems arose and we were changing little man (litterally little-6lbs.) all the time as he would soak the newborn diapers even with an insert every 30 minutes! He eventually got a fungus and we had to cease the CDs to rid the fungus. We then went back to CDing, and all of the diapers leaked! Plus little one wet through them so quickly–> even with doublers and inserts. And he looked like the Michelin baby; can’t imagine that’s comfortable. Travelling was a mess. My husband and even the dog were not happy with me. All that laundry! When I went back to work as a paramedic/firefighter (I work the night shift so LO doesn’t have to go to daycare-plus no daycare in our area would allow CDs) we couldn’t find a system that would keep him dry and not leak. I feel like i’ve spent a small fortune trying to figure out how to make CDing work. Eventually we had to switch to Earth’s Best diapers. At least they’re a little better than Pampers!!! I’m so discouraged when I look at the pile of CDs and inserts–not to mention money spent! I’ve never used disposable wipes though-I think they’re toxic and use Melaleuca cleaning products or make my own. I’m still BFing LO who is now 9 months old and still small. I think he’s under 25% for weight; plus we’ve been dealing with intense sleep issues for the past 3 months. Needless to way I’m worn out and having to pinch pennies is adding to the stress. I would greatly appreciate any help/advice/support with open ears!! I would be glad to give my personal email address to continue communication.
thank you for listening.
Julie says
Both my kids are extremely heavy wetters. I gave up on using cloth at night and use a disposable with a wool cover to soak up the overflow and change diapers every hour or so during the day. I made my own wool covers with a patern off of ravelry for a free crochet soaker and it works great, it lets a little wetness soak through and lets heir skin breathe to prevent rashes.
Good luck
Natalie says
I’m wondering if the diapers need to get broken in before they will be very absorbant. I had a BG Elemental that I thought wasn’t very good until someone mentioned that she loved hers, but only after washing it about 10 times.
Also, have you used any creams or laundry soaps/detergents that might have left a build up on the diapers? Stripping the diapers might get rid of any build up and allow them to be absorbant.
Those are a couple of things that I can think of. Good luck!
Mary Green says
Your post about walmart got me in trouble. I posted on my blog that the reviews I’d read were not good and the co-founder of Mabu wrote me to ask about the reviews I’d seen. Really I got myself in ‘trouble’ but I was just stunned someone would actually find my post about it. I would like to try them though, just to repost about it, the nearest store with them is 6 hours away.
Serena McPherson says
Candace,
I just had my third baby and diapering her will be free! Apart from the liners I buy (so I don’t have to scrape poop) and detergent which is about $4/mo she isn’t going to cost us anything. I have mostly Fuzzibunz and Bumgenius One Size and they are in great condition after diapering my second baby for 22 months. I highly recommend those brands. My whole stash (30 diapers) costed about $500. If you potty trained your baby at 2.5 yrs that’s just over $15 month! Even if I paid double what I did, I can’t think of how to do that with disposables. There are so many blogs about CDing on the cheap while not sacrificing quality :)
The Walmart thing has me torn. Great to open more people’s eyes to it but I just can’t imagine that the diapers are quality. Can’t you just hear people saying “I tried CDing but they fell apart after a few months and we went back to disposables. Waste of money.”m
Lauren says
oh thats a good point, i hope it doesnt turn more ppl off of cloth due to bad quality…
Amy says
Does anyone know of a place to get cloth pull ups that are as absorbent as a diaper like BG?
Autumn Beck says
the only trainer that will be “as absorbent” would be one you can adjust the absorbency. the new flip trainers can be doubled up…i’m holding off on the recommendation but you can add 2 or more inserts. I really like ecoposh with a 6r bamboo newborn portion added for extra protection. Also, Fuzzi Bunz now has minky inserts that are LOVELY! They are great added to a trainer.
Carisa Thomas says
Kissaluvs Pocket Trainers… we started using them and love em. adjustable absorbancy, pull-up style, very trim…
We also have the new Flip trainer and I don’t like it as much… if the insert slips to the side, the pee goes right out the leg hole. We only use it at home.
Audrey says
There aren’t any Wal-marts in CA that sell these diapers…. Poo….
Stephanie G. says
Meh, didn’t read that article, but I have tried the diaper inserts & they aren’t bad. As a cute CD junkie they won’t keep me from buying cute/WAHM made stuff when I need/want it…but when I get a new diaper in the mail& need inserts, you better believe I’ll grab a pack at WM next time I’m there! :) Shipping costs blow & being able to get it, wash it, and use it all in the same day, ROCKS. :)
I didn’t try their shells because A-I don’t like AI2s, which this technically is & B-I use BG 3.0s and stuff with my own inserts mostly the microfiber towels (thin, yellow) that come in a 3 pack for $4.50 from Wal-Mart. :)
Leah says
I am so elated to see Walmart carrying these diapers. I am not a Walmart fan- I don’t go there, but I know that lots and lots of people do. CD’ing has got to be moving more mainstream if Walmart is doing this- I don’t think they would if they didn’t expect to profit.
After checking out the diaper, it even seems like the materials being used, down to the packaging, are exceptional- bamboo, recycled plastic bottles, and forest friendly packaging. I’ve seen one other line that uses recycled plastic bottles and those dipes go for over $30 per. I’m assuming these are made in China, couldn’t find that on the website, but I’ve ordered a few diapers online that I thought were made in America or Canada, only to look upon getting them and see that they were Made in China.
And to Candace- I live in Dallas (yes it’s Texas, but a big city none the less), and I still have to order almost everything online. Perhaps increased interest and the mainstreaming of cloth diapering will change that!
Landon says
Would you please clarify the peri bottle system? I’ve been using warm water in a tupperware container with a few cotton balls which works very well; however with colder weather here waiting for the warm water wastes a lot of water-no good.
thanks!
Lauren Stair says
a peri bottle is the little squirt bottle they give you at the hospital to cleanse your self with after birth. but any squirt bottle will do (i prefer squirt bottles over spray bottles, much better saturation with less work) You just put whatever solution you plan to use, homemade or bought and fill your squirt bottle. I make a very large batch of homemade solution (only make it every month or month and half) and keep two peri bottles filled one in my diaper bag and one in my diaper changing area. When ready to use just grab your cloth wipe, squirt, wipe, done
Rachael says
I agree that most fitted, non-flat, non-prefold cloth diapers are just too expensive to be affordable for us and anyone on a limited income. And as for the larger, you need this, this and this…. I haven’t used any of it, that I know of. Except coconut oil for the irritated bum, which turns out to be way cheaper than traditional diaper cream anyways!
I’m excited about walmart getting in on the action. That’s what capitalism and a free economy is about.
Jen Harvey says
Couple things: First, you don’t need to feel dumb/stupid/silly! There are a lot of people who CD and use disposable wipes. There are so many (easy) steps involved in CD that some people don’t want to mess with a couple more. I DO have to dig for the peri bottle in my diaper bag when I’m out since I don’t prewet wipes. I don’t mind it, but some moms might. Glad you liked the peri bottle idea. I love repurposing things. :)
As for the cloth diapers in Walmart & box stores goes, I’m all for it. I would like for them to carry popular CD brands (maybe even the ones they sell on their website?). Has anyone thought of contacting them about it? Target sells bum genius, fuzzibunz, gdiapers and Charlie bananas, as well as a couple other brands online, but I have never seen them in the store. If enough moms wrote and requested it, maybe they’d carry them. I wonder if the Real Diaper Association has done any advocating to chain stores? Just sharing my thoughts as I snuggle in bed with my sleepy 7 mo old. (who is wearing a yellow rumparooz, for those who are wondering.) :)
lauren says
hey if the digging for the peri bottle drives you nuts ( i use to and it did me) I found an item I LOVE that streamlined my cloth wipe system for on the go. Its from thirty-one (a home party company) and its called the “fold-n-go organizer” this is a link to their catalog not a specific consultant, so im not promoting anyone here i truly love this product : http://www.thirtyonegifts.com/catalog/page44_45 i actualy have the older version they have revamped it a bit but im sure it would work just the same. I stick my folded wipes under the elastic in the center and my peri bottle in the elastic pocket. fold and tie with the ribbon. The best part is you can slide one wipe and the bottle out without untying and then slide the bottle right back in.
Anastasia says
Sorry I noticed no one checked Target! Someone there DOES know what’s decent at least, lol!
Anastasia says
Thank Goodness I get to Cd girls, so their cute dipes show under their dresses as conversation starters, lol! Yes Walmart.com carries a couple options, babies r us as well, but it can only carry stuff from companies READY to sell to the masses, even “Larger” cloth companies just can’t handle the kind of VOLUME the Box Stores want to be able to “Spread around” Even a larger company like my Fav Blueberry, has only a few employees sewing. If someone goes on vacation they get really behind on Manufacture which goes down the line.
That said my sweetie got bitten by ants which ended up being infected by MRSA so she needed a disposable option for a week. Needless to say that if there WAS a brick and morter in the area it would have been WAAY cheaper to buy a pack of flip or even g flushies. But as it happens there isn’t. And I would have gotten more dipes out of it too! But no worries they are on their way, for week 2! And no I didn’t buy from walmart, I got from a WAHM because she shipped faster & costs less, lol!
Great news on the wipes use! IT really IS so much easier! I personally just use my smallest prefolds to wipe off big messes. And turkey day sales….(sigh) I can dream right?
CDMomma says
Gosh Candace,
Did you not research? I’ve cloth diapered 4 of my own children and 2 nephews. I’ve never used a diaper sprayer or special rash creams. I’ve never had to drive miles just for cloth diapers supplies and I live so rural it’s a 20 mile drive from the farm to the closest small town with a few thousand people to then drive 40-60+ miles to get to a real city. Ordering online is awesome and if you shop smart you can usually get free shipping. I use Eco friendly cleaners for my whole family so diapers detergent is no big deal. Throwing a load in to wash vs having to deal with a ton of disposable diapers to dispose of when you live rural and don’t have trash service makes you realize just how much nasty trash disposables amass to and how horrible the impact is on the earth. An extra load of laundry, even in my large family, isn’t that hard to deal with.
As for cost of diapers. Well, there are options. Prefolds and covers are cheap and last a long time. I learned to sew diapers and have a premium collection for a fraction of the price. EBay and other sites sell used diapers at bargain prices. Again, shop smart.
I have diapers that are going strong on their 3rd child. Well taken care of good diapers do last.
Cloth diapering is like anything new one isn’t used to. You have to put forth the effort to learn how to do it. Then it’s a lot of fun!
Brandy says
I’ve seen the cloth at my local Wal-Mart. It reminds me of the gdiapers or Flip system. Cloth diapering must be catching on if the large chain stores want in on it! It will probably alert people who don’t know much about cloth to cloth diapering. That is a good thing! No WAHM would be able to compete with their prices, but then again, Wal-Mart could never compete with the WAHM’s quality of work I’ve seen on Etsy and Hyena Cart!
Glad to here you are loving cloth wipes! Disposable wipes sting my babe’s skin, and I use the cloth wipes with plain warm water. I just wet the wipe with warm water before I begin changing him. When he was a newborn with frequent poopy diapers, I kept the peri bottle filled with plain room temp water.
Kim says
They look very similar to a gdiaper, with the snap in liner, etc. I didn’t find gdiapers to work that well, so I hope these work better so that people don’t get discouraged.
Jenny B. says
Glad to hear it on all accounts! Funny about the cloth wipes…I actually use LESS cloth wipes than disposables! :)
Kelly Sangree says
I checked Walmart.com, but I didn’t see Mabu – are they trying it out in pilot stores first?
Guess what Walmart.com DID have though – Econobum! And gDiapers, of course. How are gDiapers? I haven’t seen many reviews on CD sites, which seems odd as they’re the most commercially available diaper system that I’ve seen. They’re the only “good” diaper cover I could buy in any Babies R Us, Wegmans, or other commercial stores.
I know, we should be trying to support the local business-person instead of the box stores, but the fact is if it’s in a box store, a few things will happen. More people will see them, the people who like to touch and see products (like me) will be more likely to buy them rather than order sight unseen from a website, and most importantly if someone across the country emails me and wants to know where to buy CDs, I can just say “Walmart!” . I’d love to see CDs in more brick-and-mortar stores. I’ll let you know if they show up at my Walmart!
Rose Lifschutz says
gDiapers . . . we got a bunch from a friend as hand-me-downs. I’m happy with prefolds and fitteds (esp. the ones that I made!), but Hubby LOVES the gDiaper system. With the smalls, we did use the disposable inserts sometimes at night, but mostly we used a tri-folded prefold as an insert. Now that we’re into the mediums, I’m making some flats out of bamboo fleece/terry to use as tri-folded inserts, they’re just as absorbent but less bulky. I would say the drawback of the gDiaper is that it has a very particular fit, which I don’t think would work on every baby. Try a couple before you buy a whole bunch. They really aren’t my favorite fit (sometimes we get leaks but not often) but if it makes DH feel good about changing dipes, then I’m willing to compromise. Plus, they were free, and a slightly ill-fitting diaper is better than none at all.
On the Walmart note, I’m not a huge Walmart fan, but I do think that in general it’s great that CD’ing is becoming so popular.
Emily D says
I have 2 g-diapers, I liked the fit on my slender dd, but a) poop always got on the snap in liner, and sometimes the cloth part too; b) the cloth part would have a urine stink after just a few uses; and c) they wore out really fast- the cloth is pilly and faded (doesn’t affect performance I know, but…), the velcro tabs are curling up, and the snap-in liner thing has separated or delaminated or something and has lost it’s shape.
Kristi says
gDiapers tend to be a love it or hate it product. They were the “gateway diaper” for me (and many others since you CAN buy them at Babies R Us!) I started with two covers and six cloth inserts for my son and used them when I could. But it was a pain in the butt. Then I got on eBay and started buying pocket diapers for $5 or less, almost all of them with free shipping (downside is that they are coming from overseas and routinely take a month to show up!)
Once I got enough pocket diapers I only used the gDiapers as backups since poop always got on the liner and my little boy poops A LOT! Then my daughter was born. I LOVED using gDiapers on her as an itty baby. They fit her so well and were a very trim option! Now that she’s older (11months) I’m back to using the gDiapers as a backup. With her I tend to use flats, prefolds, or fitted diapers and covers.
Candace says
Personally, I’m happy that Walmart is carrying at least ONE brand of cloth diapers. I find that ALL cloth diapers fall into a pretentious and pricey niche that’s pretty inconvenient for the average American family. Please don’t be offended here; I’m not calling YOU or all cloth diaperers pretentious, although I’M guilty of taking on that attitude myself while I cloth diapered for only a few months. Cloth diapering isn’t just inconvenient because of all the additional laundry it creates, but also because of all the specialty products required to use with them as well (detergents, diaper rash creams, wet bags, diaper sprayers, etc.). And of course, NONE of these specialty products are available within a 25 mile radius of my town, or many small towns (for clarity, my town has a population of around 25,000). When I figure up the additional cost of all the extras I’m “supposed” to use with cloth diapers, and the gas or shipping costs of obtaining those extras, plus the cost of cloth diapers (which is outrageously high, especially since most brands don’t last until potty training, even if they are One Size), I honestly wonder if I’m saving any money at all.
Also, I think people who CD should be grateful that Walmart is jumping on this bandwagon. They very well might serve at the catalyst WAHM’s need to generate greater awareness of CDing and therefore higher sales. People like variety. Everyone interested in cloth diapering isn’t necessarily going to limit themselves to the only brand carried by Walmart.
Lastly, isn’t the whole point of cloth diapering to help generate less waste in our environment, therefore creating a cleaner future for our children, while also exposing them to fewer chemicals while they’re infants? Really, anyone who is against Walmart carrying cloth diapers and making them more available to the masses must also be against a cleaner and safer future for everyone…
Autumn Beck says
I haven’t seen many people angry. I am a bit confused though about your arguments. Aside from the plethora of information on this site showing the overwhelming $$ savings by using cloth diapers and the “accessories” you can find it on a dozen other sites. The facts are obvious. I don’t purchase anything local, but instead shop online. I get free shipping which is better than paying gas to drive to a B&M store. Unfortunately, you gave up your search too soon. There are many cloth diaper brands that are super affordable. If an IRL friend of mine that has 6 kids and has a family income of around $32,000 can cloth diaper with a not cheap cloth diaper then I do believe anyone can. :)
I’m not offended at all by your comments. I would really love to see you give cloth diapers another try and start from scratch with your research. I promise it is easy, it is affordable and it does save money.
Liz says
Candace, I don’t think you’re crazy! Although I like cloth diapers and would do it again, I think the projected cost savings are exaggerated. They always price diapers at something like 20 cents a piece. Really, Luvs are 13-16 depending on how many you buy. Plus a disposable lasts more hours than a cloth. And it’s SO easy to get sucked into “needing” more stuff. Doublers, wipes, wipes solutions, diaper sprayers, different kinds of diapers, special rash creams, wet bags, replacement inserts, ect. The problem is, it’s so darn fun! And tempting to get the most perfect and cutest diaper stash on the planet! But the truth is, you don’t really need alot of the fun stuff. You can be creative and make due with alternatives. Use old t-shirts instead of doublers. You can get good at online bargain hunting. Every industry caters to all budgets. If you want to blow a couple thousand dollars on your diaper stash, I’m sure you could and it would be a whole lot of fun! But there’s a way to do it on the lower end.
I always do the math assuming I’m saving 16 cents per cloth diaper usage. Make it 14 considering you do really need some extra stuff. That means my baby has to wear his diaper 128 times to “break even” on the average 18 dollar diaper/insert. And there’s cheaper ones, like Kawaii. Since I do laundry about once every 3 days, that’s about a year to break even. Sure, my Rumparooz are a bit stretched out, but they all made it at least a year! Good luck!
Michelle says
Hi Candace and Liz,
I agree some of the stats do seem a little exaggerated (especially if they are only comparing the super expensive disposables -without sales to the most economical choice of cloth). I have seen some tables that take real prices from the supermarket from several brands. However, I have to disagree with the rationale that the fact that disposables lasting more “hours” should have a factor when calculating the savings. Just because a disposable diaper can hold 6-12 hours of urine, doesn’t mean that you should only change your child every 6-12 hours. In fact the consensus among healthcare professionals is that babies should be changed every 2-3 hours (except for nap/overnight) and even more often for newborns regardless of if you use cloth or disposable diapers.
I also agree that the expenses can get way out of hand too with all that cute fluff and the accessories that while super nice to have, aren’t really “necessary.” But that is part of the “fun” of using cloth. :)
Kristi says
If you do your research you can find that cloth diapers can be super affordable. Much much much cheaper than the $18-22 per diaper cost of most WAHM’s (which, BTW, I make and sell myself, too!) and big brand name diapers.
Most of my original stash for my son was bought off of eBay. I spent $5 or less per diaper with free shipping. I bought them over a few months and we did cloth part time while I built up my stash. At that cost I ended up with a stash of 20 diapers for less than $100! It didn’t take long or much money to have enough diapers to CD full time. I bought them all using money that I earned working once or twice a week for a couple of hours at my local YMCA.
A lot of CD extra’s, like a diaper sprayer, aren’t a necessity, but nice to have. We made our own diaper sprayer for about $20 with parts from a home improvement/hardware store. I made our own cloth wipes from upcycled receiving blankets that we already had around the house (this was my gateway into sewing my own cloth diapers for baby #2!) When we started with wipes I used warm water with a little bit of baby shampoo for our wipes solution. Then I made my own “wipes cubes” from melt and pour soap that I already had.
We didn’t use a diaper pail liner for probably the whole first year that we CD’d. When I dumped the diapers in the wash I would use a cloth with water and vinegar to wipe it out (then toss the cloth in with the diapers) and it was ready to use again. I did end up buying two small wet bags for the diaper bag, but you could just as easily use a ziplock or recycle a grocery sack for the same thing.. I used a grocery sack until we got our wetbags.
You can find great deals at your local diaper service (which is in most big cities… ours is about an hour away, and we visit the city for large shopping trips or when we want to go out, just like most other people who live in small towns.) I used one of our trips up there (a doctors appointment for my son) to stop by and I picked up 2 dozen used prefold diapers for $1 each. Used prefolds from a diaper service are normally in excellent condition. They normally pull them out when they have some slight staining, and the sun can generally pull those stains out if they bother you. Then you just need four or five covers. And if you use natural fabrics you don’t have to worry nearly as much about “CD safe” detergent like you do when you used synthetic fabric diapers (such as pocket diapers.) I DO buy CD safe detergent, but I only use it on our diapers and even with two in cloth I only go through a bag of it ever 4-6 months or so.
And if you really want to go cheap you can easily make your own cloth diapers using free patterns from the internet and upcycle “fabric” that you already have around your house…. Tshirts, flannel PJ’s and sheets, fleece blankets, wool sweaters.. all are great for making your own diapers and fleece and wool covers. So for the cost of thread, elastic (velcro if you choose!) and your time you can make a whole diaper stash!
And PS even though I am a WAHM who sells her own diapers, I still think it’s awesome that WalMart will be selling CD’s (gerber’s not included since most gerber prefold diapers are NOT meant to be used as diapers!) Most people have no clue how easy CD’ing can really be, and maybe if WalMart carries them then that will be an awesome “gateway” to get people interested in the real diapers again!
tarin says
I must disagree with your calculations. Using cloth really does save money. I live in south africa, where we have a very limited selection of cloth diapers available. I therefore, when I started cloth diapering my son 2 years ago, had to order and import everything. I bought cheap one size pockets off ebay for about $5 each including shipping and they have lasted till today. In fact, they’ve outlasted some of the more expensive brands I bought. Sometimes just because something is made in china doesn’t mean its poor quality. In total I spent about $150 on my first stash. Disposables here cost about $30 a bag which lasts about 2 to 3 weeks. I don’t use a separate detergent for my diapers, and simply switched all my laundry to a natural detergent. And since I bought loads of dipes, I only do diapers once a week. We don’t use any of the extras, I use a garbage pail with lid for storing dirty diapers and simply wear reusable rubber gloves to load them in my machine then rinse it out with water and a drop of savlon. We dunk soiled diapers in the toilet to get rid of extra mess and have never used or needed a diaper sprayer. I do use a wetbag for out and about, which I made myself from ripstop nylon and foe. Ultimately, since my son’s birth I have spent (except for the price of the dipes) about $5 extra a month on detergent compared to $30 for disposables. Bottom line is that if you don’t get suckered into the cuteness factor of cloth diapers and simply concentrate on function, cloth diapers can and will save you money
Natalie says
I am excited to hear that Wal-Mart is offering a modern cloth diaper. Many people don’t take the time to research cloth and just assume it is the same as what their grandmother used. I feel like anything that reduces the number of disposable diapers in landfills is a great thing! Once they start using cloth and see the precious covers the smaller companies offer, there will be more demand for that as well.
sharon davis says
it will be interesting to see these, and how they are displayed. A midwest chain, MEIJER, started selling cloth diapers several months ago. they are just hanging on the side of endcaps, but they are there. they sell the wrap for $15, a wetbag for $12 and the inserts are about $10 for a single, and $14 for a double. the inserts are just microfiber with a cotton flannel topped so they are lay in. I haven’t felt compelled to buy them, as i feel for what they are, it is expensive.
BUT if it gets more people to try cloth they will eventually learn about the world of WAM made
Rachel Zylstra says
the good is it raises awareness, the bad is if they are anything like the diapers at Meijer, they are more expensive for really cheap quality. Meijer sells cutey baby and the sizing is really off (runs really small) and after a couple of washes they look terrible. Poor quality diapers just end up giving cloth diapers a worse name then before. That’s what happens when a store buyer who know nothing about cloth buys cloth….
I’d rather see a tried and true diaper at the big boxes.
Texas Momma says
I bought those Cutey Baby diapers at my local grocery store! They are ok, at best. The velcro on the covers is TERRIBLE, I have to put a pair of leggings or other tight fitting bottoms over them to keep them on, and they aren’t good beyond one use despite their claims due to the way the fleece is on the inside. But I really do like the inserts, they’re 4 layers of microfiber vs. 3 in all my others so I use them when we leave the house (just not in a Cutey Baby cover!) because they offer a bit more absorbency. They fit really well in my various pockets and are trimmer than the regular inserts due to their hourglass shape. The wetbag is just ok as well, it works well, it just doesn’t hold the stink in quite as well as my Planet Wise or Rock Bottom Bag. (The smell is by no means overwhelming, there’s just a faint odor if you get up close to the bag, and honestly, who’s going to do that besides me?)
Overall, I wish I hadn’t wasted the money on the covers or the wetbag, but I am glad I have the inserts. But most of all, I’m glad I found them because it got me to try cloth. I might never have discovered how much I love cloth diapers if I hadn’t happened upon the Cutey Babys in the grocery store one day! I, too, would love to see BETTER cloth diapers in stores, because I can see how some people would get discouraged after trying the Cutey Babys. Thankfully I decided to try another brand before giving up & I hope others do as well.
Texas Momma says
Oh, and I forgot to mention I must have gotten them on clearance….they were no where near that expensive & the whole display was gone when I went back about a week later. No one, including the manager, knew anything about them & if my daughter wasn’t wearing one of them while we were there I would have thought I dreamed them up!