Guest Post by Christina Robertson
Parents, did you know that you will spend over $2000 on disposable diapers per baby? If that money was invested carefully for 18 years, it could pay for your child’s college tuition.
Cloth diapers have exploded on the baby scene in the past decade. Modern cloth diapers are not like the ones that your grandparents used. Once you get the knack of it, they are as easy to use as regular disposable diapers.
A cloth diapering system requires an initial start up cost, which can be as low as $200, which is less than 10% of what you would spend on disposable diapers. The diapers can even be used as rags after your baby is potty trained.
For parents that are halted by the upfront cost, a lot of cloth diaper stores online offer 30-day money back guarantees. If the diapers don’t work for you, just send it back for a refund.
On top of the cost savings, cloth diapers are greener than disposables. In America alone, parents are throwing away over five garbage bags full of diapers every second! These tiny plastic bombs filled with poisonous toxins will stay in our landfills for the next 500 years.
How Do I Get Started?
You’ll need to decide which path you’ll take on the cloth diapering route. The most economical is a combination of a pre-fold diaper and a diaper cover. More convenient but more expensive is an all-in-one diaper. The Cadillac of cloth is the pocket diaper.
A pre-fold is a rectangular shaped piece of cloth made of cotton. This is placed around the baby, and then secured with the diaper cover. They are a bit harder to use, because there are different techniques of wrapping the pre-fold around the baby. There is a slight learning curve, but easy to master after practice.
The all-in-one has the pre-fold sewn into the diaper cover, making it very easy to use and most like a disposable. These diapers are typically a little bit more expensive than the pre-fold route, but more than pay for themselves in convenience. The only downside is that it takes longer to dry.
The pocket diaper is the newest sensation to hit the cloth diapering world. The cover has a pocket that is stuffed with a absorbable insert which can be removed before going into the wash. Some models can be resized as your baby grows.
Still Curious?
Start with the Cloth Diaper Chooser to help you pick a diapering system. It’s a short six question quiz that will get you started in the right direction. Also try a Google search for cloth diapers to check out the numerous forums and blogs. Facebook is also a great resource to get any questions you might have answered.
Christina Robertson is a writer for Cloth Diapers. She is a mother of 3 and loves saving money and finding ways to go green.