It’s not just about being eco-friendly
Becoming a new parent comes with so many decisions. Which car seat is going to keep my baby safest? How long should I keep them in the bedside bassinet? Do we sleep train? If so, when?
Of all of the decisions, one of the ones that was easiest for me to make was the decision to cloth diaper. I was so sure of this choice that my mom bought me some cloth diapers (flats and pre-folds - she didn’t know about anything beyond rubber pants) long before I was even pregnant.
Many people who don’t cloth diaper see it as simply a way to be environmentally friendly. It’s like recycling or taking public transport or using reusable grocery bags. But just like all those things, cloth diapering has benefits outside of being eco-friendly.
Cloth diapering is budget friendly.
While $15 for a diaper seems like a lot when compared to $0.30 for a disposable, cloth diapers that are properly cared for can last through potty training and can even be used for future siblings. At those prices, a cloth diaper only needs to be worn 50 times to justify its cost. That’s less than once a week for a year.
Many cloth diapering parents build a stash that will last at least two to four days before needing to be washed, meaning they will hit that magic number in three to six months. With most babies in diapers for at least two years, the additional upfront cost is long in your rearview mirror by potty training.
There are endless cute designs to choose from.
Clothes shopping is one of the first things many new mothers are excited for when they find out they’re pregnant. Tiny pants, tiny shoes, bows, hats, sunglasses. Imagine getting to add diapers to the list of adorable things.
Cloth diaper designs are endless, making it easy to express your or your babe’s personality. One way I helped get my husband on board with cloth diapering was to buy diapers I knew he would be excited for our son to wear. We have certain diapers that I save for when he changes our son so he gets the excitement of putting him in prints like bats or jack o'lanterns or dragons.
The same diaper can fit most babies.
Many modern cloth diapers feature a variety of snaps used to adjust the size of the diaper as the baby grows. Kinder pocket diapers can fit babies from 7 to 60 pounds thanks to their three by five rise snap pattern that helps the diaper grow with your baby. Every other brand I own only has a three by three rise, so I’m happy to have such a huge Kinder stash that I’m not worried about my son growing out of.
This also means no trying to return boxes of diapers your baby grew out of before they could use, or trying to find room in storage for them to try to save them for a possible sibling. Another way cloth produces less waste!
Absorbency can be customized.
With cloth diapers, there’s no need to buy separate “overnight” diapers when your baby starts sleeping through the night. Simply add more inserts for a more absorbent diaper. Kinder sells four different kinds of inserts that can be mixed and matched to find what works for your baby - day or night.
Kinder’s inserts provide options that work with any baby. Their 4-layer bamboo and lightweight 4-layer bamboo inserts are great options to start out with because they’re flexible to fit small babies and are the most affordable option.
The 4-layer hemp cotton and 6-layer bamboo hemp cotton are more rigid and not recommended for babies under 10 pounds, but they’re more absorbent than the bamboo inserts, making them a great option for older kids and heavy wetters.
You’ll never run out of diapers.
Maybe you didn’t make it to the store when you meant to, or maybe the Amazon delivery is late. Whatever the case, with cloth diapers, you don’t have to worry about running out. Simply throw a load in the wash and you have more diapers.
Motherhood has created so many more things I have to constantly be thinking about, whether that’s when my son last napped or if I have any pacifiers left that haven’t been dropped on the floor. I’m so thankful cloth diapering has taken away the stress of having to know if there are any packs of diapers in the closet.
It doesn’t have to be all or nothing
Of course there are drawbacks and deterrents to using cloth diapers. Some people don’t want to carry around dirty diapers when they’re out of the house for a while or deal with washing when on vacation. Sometimes it’s hard to find the right combination of inserts to last through the night.
The great news is that cloth diapering doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Using disposables part time doesn’t eliminate all the benefits listed above. You can choose to only cloth diaper during the day. Or even just a couple times a week. With that in mind, it doesn’t have to be a scary transition.
As much as I love cloth diapering, I love it even more knowing it’s okay to use disposables if I need to, for whatever reason that may be.
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