cloth diapers 2.0

Back when Avery was a baby, I wrote a post about cloth diapering here and we even when so far as to video tape the process. Now that Avery is 22 months old, and we have another booty to diaper, I felt it appropriate to make this post: cloth diapers 2.0. Meaning, we've done it for a almost two years and we are now doing it with two booties. I can honestly say, I still love it. We have nothing to compare it too however, so I won't say they are better than disposables, but I'm going to assume they are cheaper. I know this because we have spent a total of $28 on diapers for Eliza which was more wipes (12 flannel ones) and another shell (because I can't find the 5th one we used when Avery was a baby.) So in preparing for Eliza's addition to our family, we didn't need to buy any diapers because we had all the diapers from Avery. Pretty sweet if you ask me.

When we tell people that we use cloth diapers, we get interesting looks. The only reason we like it so much is because from day one, when both girls came home from the hospital, it's the only thing we have used. I think if we started with a box of disposables, we probably would have gone that route. So if advice can be given about having success with cloth diapers, it would be this: use them from the beginning! Once you get used to it, it's a lot better. I'll be honest, last night when Eliza wet through her jammies and soaked the diaper and shell, I would have liked to just throw the diaper away, but those moments are few and far between. In the hospital they provide disposables and I'm not that crazy about cloth diapering that I would bring them to the hospital, but in the beginning when we would see if a diaper was wet, we would open it up and feel the diaper with the back of our hand. We both did that in the hospital with the disposables (because we are so used to cloth) and the nurse looked at us funny. "Is the line on the front yellow or green? That's how you know it's wet or not." Ohhhh, nice. We looked like weirdos.

They say that cloth diapered babies potty train sooner because the kiddos are more aware when they are wet and we can attest to that. Avery will tell us if she's wet and will either ask to go on the potty or to be changed. She also doesn't like to poop in her diaper anymore, which after cleaning hundreds of poopy diapers, I'm so glad that she tells me before! I could probably write a lot about potty training, but I really don't know what I'm doing at all. As our pediatrician said, "keep it light, keep it fun." So we act real chill about it. Avery sees right through us I'm sure. It's hard to act chill when she pees or poops on the floor in the kitchen.

I took these pictures to show what laundry day looks like, which happens with the diapers every other day. It was every third day before Eliza because Avery didn't dirty as many diapers because she would use the potty throughout the day, but now that the baby is here, the bag is getting full quicker. We have to "wet bags" that when full go into the wash so we don't have to take dirty diapers out of the bag which is nice. The bag has a zipper on the bottom and after going through the wash, the diapers and wipes all come out. For drying, we hang the shells because we want the velcro to stay strong.

This isn't all of it, but it's what we get after a wash.
Here's is a breakdown of costs:

• The diapers with the green trim are for Eliza (once for Avery) and we wrap the cloth around her and snap it in place with these small plastic snappies. We bought 2 for Avery and use the same two for Eliza. They cost $6
• The green diapers cost $24 for a dozen. We bought 2 dozen. Cost: $48
• The red diapers cost $32 for a dozen. Again, we bought 2 dozen. Cost: $64
• The wipes are about a dollar each, and we have 2 dozen of those as well. Cost: $24
• The night diaper is something we added when Avery was sleeping longer and drinking more fluids throughout the day. It's huge, as you can see and we also put a red diaper in there for extra absorption. Not pictured is this wool diaper that we put over the night diaper. Wool is wonderful and is magical. Avery never wakes up having wet through her diaper anymore thus saving time of changing sheets every morning. We have 5 night diapers at $3 each. Cost: $15
• The wool diaper is costly, but a great alternative for nighttime. Cost: $40
• We have two laundry bags for when one is in the wash, another one is available to start filling up. We bought two for Avery, and then replaced them after Eliza's was born after 20 months of use. Each cost $17, and we have bought 4. Cost: $68
• We have small wet bag that goes in the diaper bag for changing diapers when we're out. It zips so keep smells away. Cost: $20
• The shells are my favorite part of cloth diapering. I just think they're cute. We bought 5 size one (6lbs-18lbs) shells that Eliza currently wears, and we have 8 size two (up to 40lbs) shells that Avery uses. They have snaps on the front so you can adjust as the baby grows. They each cost $15 and we have 13 total. Cost: $195
• We got a sprayer for the toilet to spray off the poop and that cost: $30
• Total cost: $510

When you see that total, it seems like a lot but this will last for both girls, and for any other kids we hopefully have in the future. I'm sure they'll be random small costs down the line, but so far, this is all it took. I googled "diaper costs from birth to potty training" and I found this: 

The average cost of disposable diapers for ONE CHILD from birth to potty training is $2444.70.

I think that might be on the high side because this same website said cloth diapering costs $800. Ken and I just might be cheap too. Who knows? But if that price is doubled, we're close to $5,000 on diapers for two kids. That's something like $4,500 we don't have to spend. And think when we have more kids, that's just money in the bank! 

Boo-yah. 

In conclusion, cloth diapering is the way to go. Now Ken has all this extra money to buy me diamonds.