I was anti cloth diapers for a long time for the sole reason that people who cloth diapered were usually so aggressive about doing it. It was annoying to have to listen to them tell me all the reasons why I shouldn't be using disposables and how I was ruining the earth and whatever. Once they shut their traps and just let me look on my own and in my own time, I have switched over to the Bumgenius Elementals completely and have never looked back. I do it because it saves me so much money (especially since I bought them in excellent used condition) and that works for me. But I agree, people need to calm down about their opinions on them-and every other debate like this (natural birth for example). Cloth diapering will sell itself when people realize how much money they can save for a little bit extra work. :) And like you said, it's not like you don't ever use disposables on occasion. Great post!

We used cloth diapers for our two children, and found them to be less of a hassle then disposables. ( we never ran out of diapers, and had a lot less clutter)

We used Kissaluvs from birth and then switched to a combination of Imse Vimse diapers (the AIOS, Terry contours, fleece contours and wool diaper covers) and fleece pocket diapers.

We tried just about all of them out there but this was the system which worked best for us.

THE product for washing? Definitely Sportwash (you can find it in hunting and sport stores).

Also, cloth wipes (double-sided fleece velour), home-made wipe liquid and a diaper wipe warmer worked brilliantly. Much more effective than disposable wipes.

Glad you're having such a good experience so far. We've been doing cloth for almost 14 months, with occasional disposables for travelling, and it's been just fine. Like you say, you're already doing extra laundry, so what's one more load?

If there is one downside to cloth, it's dealing with rinsing out solid food poop. After much pestering, my husband agreed we could get a diaper sprayer. We bought the BumGenius sprayer and are really happy with it. It makes rinsing poop diapers SO much more pleasant. I highly recommend it!!

I was a no-way-in-heck-would-I-ever-use-cloth type of girl...until my second son was born with severe food allergies. It took 18 months, countless specialist appointments and more prescription strength hydrocortisone than I care to admit, to realize that my son's bleeding, raw, scarred behind was a result of the disposables. We tried bumgenius at toddlerhood and never went back to disposables.

Cloth is not or everyone, but they are a miracle for us.

we cloth diapered our daughter for about six months before she potty trained, planning on cloth diapering sister in a few short months. we used the flip system (www.cottonbabies.com) which we liked. yes, people get militant, just like everything else on parenting sites.
here's a helpful link for all the crazy abbreviations... i wish i'd had this years ago! :)
http://clothdiapers.blogspot.com/2009/07/do-you-speak-cloth.html

Cloth diapering is one of those things that I would've loved to have done when my kids were in diapers, but I had twins and the number of diapers I thought I would need would've cost me far more than I could afford with two newborns on the way. Not to mention the thought that doing more laundry than I already was stressed me the eff out and my (now ex-)husband was strictly against it. Still, if I had the chance to do it again, I'd go with cloth.

We've been cloth diaper our daughter since birth and we love it! It ends up being about two more loads of laundry a week. I'm not a zealot about it (or anything really). We buy about one box of disposables every two months for overnight trips and for long days spent at the zoo or fair or something.

Don't forget about cloth swim diapers! Sooooo much cheaper than the disposable ones.

We use bumgenius as well and love them. We also still use disposables at night (when Son was 18 months old he started waking in the middle of the night because the wet diaper bothered him) and for sitters. We find that a garbage can with a lid (the step kind that you can open without hands) works really well to keep odors at bay. And for solids we like the diaper liners. It's an added cost, but our toilet didn't work well with a sprayer.

We used FuzziBunz with child #1 and loved them. But when we used them with child #2 (4 months now) they seemed to give her a terrible diaper rash. When I switched to the Seventh Gen disposables, the rash got better. I've talked to one other mum who's had the same problem- maybe the fleece just generates too much heat for some babies? So I'm exploring alternatives- gDiapers with cotton inserts seem to work well. The gDiapers flushables clogged our 100 year old house's plumbing twice, making my husband (the toilet unclogger) extremely frustrated.

Unfortunately, all of the daycares we've looked into (including the one our sons currently attend) do not deal with cloth diapers. (as in, not allowed, you must supply disposables) I'm wondering if anyone else has had that experience or is that just a central TX thing?

I think it's great that people choose to cloth diaper. But, if people are drying to decide between the two, I just wanted to say that most kids in disposable diapers don't get diaper rashes either these days. It sounds like luvn2oxfrd's son had an allergy, but disposable diapers stay very dry to the touch. I'm not saying disposable diapers are better, but I did want to defend them against the accusation that they cause diaper rashes.

I adore cloth and used them till about 10 months (Fuzzibunz) but unfortunately they started to leak at night despite stripping, etc. and I just haven't gotten around to buying more Thirsties (which work beautifully at night).
I too get really irritated at the militants but just tend to ignore them nowadays. We did disposables the first couple of weeks as well and I'm using them now with no diaper rash or redness to speak of. I much prefer cloth but it's just not in the cards at this point. We're working on potty training anyhow so I don't see the point in buying more.

So, smells... The solids haven't gotten us, but I always have a strong urine smell in the wet bag. (Right now we are using a wet bag inside a diaper genie that was given to us.) I do a cold water rinse of the wet bag when I do the diapers but don't put it through the wash cycle. I found that soap was always on the wet bag and was concerned it was going to damage the diapers making me have to strip them more often. Any advice on how to combat the urine smell?

EmilyCH have you tried Bac-Out or Bumgenuis Odor Remover spray? Just spray each diaper when you change your baby/ before you throw it in the diaper pail.

We are expecting a baby and excited to be cloth diapering this time around.. We'll be using Bummis AIO & Softbums.

When my daughter was about 5 months I started using bum genius all in ones on her. I received 6 as a gift and would use them all in a day and then do laundry at night. I eventually bought another 6 so I could go every other day. They worked pretty good for us, although my daughter did get rashes here and there, so I would just let her go naked a little while between changes. I did cloth to save money on diapers, and I think I did save since I didn't buy a ton of the bummies and I didn't buy any of the extras like wet bags or special detergent. I went back to disposables when my daughter was 16 months because I had another baby and I was just too whooped. Since then I've gone back and forth. My oldest is now potty trained (hallelujah) and I'm using the bummies again on my almost 2 year old who's interested in using the potty now.
I think the best thing for getting the urine smell out of the diapers is to leave them out in the sun to dry. It bleaches stains out too. I found that in the winter when I couldn't put them out to dry they would retain the stink a lot more.

EmilyCH- getting rid of the stink is something every one has an opinion/ experience on... depends on your water/ insert/ diaper type/ making sure you are washing with the proper wash, getting all the soap out... some swear by rocking green ammonia bouncer, some swear by bleach, etc. etc. i just stripped my old diapers, and was advised to wash once cold with whatever detergent you normally use, then hot wash with 1 tsp Dawn dish soap, then wash 2-3 additional times with NO detergent on hot wash... I have a friend who swears by this, and mine smelled much better after this. i think i threw in an extra rinse or two for good measure. good luck! :)

oh, and i did this for my wet bags, covers, and inserts, washed all together... i just made sure i air dried the wet bags and covers. :)

We're just about done with diapers entirely now (our youngest is potty training), but cloth diapers were great. We used a combination of Kissaluvs with covers and Bumgenius. A sprayer is a must, and actually very handy to have in general (for example, targeted spraying down the tub if the toilet's nearby). I can count on one hand the number of blowouts we had with our two kids in cloth.

No need for a fancy Diaper Genie, even when the solids start coming. We just used a simple step-lid kitchen trash can with a wet bag liner; kept it next to the toilet. We had two liners; just throw it into the washer with the diapers, and it's all good.

Like most other people, we did use disposables for going out, long trips, or when depending on the care of others. We also tended to use them at night. But even so, at worst we broke even, we'll come out ahead when we resell them, and the landfills definitely came out ahead.

@LBH We cloth diaper at home, but our (otherwise excellent) daycare refuses to consider cloth so we use sposies at daycare. One solution that has worked for some people is using something like Grovia or BumGenius Flip Hybrid diapers that have a reusable shell & disposable inserts. Our daycare wouldn't consider those either, but I've heard of people having success at other daycares.

Getting rid of urine smell is not difficult -- but be sure that it's not your detergent that it is causing it in the first place! We use a bio detergent that is free of all additives, whiteners, scents, etc. that coat the fibers, and we have not had more than the very occasional need to "strip" them. To strip them, I wash them 2x in very hot water, and that usually gets out any built up detergent. If you've got detergent build-up, it will definitely cause stink. You want to use a very minimal amount of detergent (a small capful or a couple tablespoons of powder), and if you use too much it will build up and not get totally rinsed out, which will then cause stink. The more detergent, the stinkier they get. Wash your diapers in hot water (covers and inserts) until there is absolutely no bubbles from soap. You can throw in some baking soda on the last rinse. You can also lay then in direct sunlight for several hours to remove smells and stains. That has always solved our odor issues.

We used cloth diapers (first infant pre-folds with covers, then BumGenius One-Size and FuzziBunz) from the day we brought our daughter home from the hospital until today (2.4 yrs and potty training) and have had a great experience. We used a great site called Nikki's Diapers for our initial combo-pack to try out the different styles, then added more here and there as we went along.

For the author - we don't have the type of toilet that can accommodate a sprayer, and I found it was simpler to use flushable liners than worry about scraping or spraying. Just flip the diaper over the toilet and flush. The bigger and wider ones are the best, because if you can stick it out of the leg holes a bit it won't shift around inside the diaper.

I have always found disposables to be expensive, stinky, trash clogging (we pay for our trash output), leaky, and generally unpleasant (sweaty bum, rashes - yes my kid got rashes as a baby when she was in disposables).

I'm not militant, and actually few of my friends and acquaintances even know about it. I got tired of the aggravating comments and decided that much like breastfeeding - it was too touchy of a subject (huh?) in mixed company. But anyway I enjoyed it, even living in an apartment with shared washers and dryers!

We also used disposables for the first few weeks (birth weight was 6lbs 12 oz, so it was definitely a size issue... though I may invest in newborn cloth the next time around). We also still use disposables for nighttime because we were getting an ammonia stink in the morning. :( But a 40 pack lasts a loooong time at that rate, so I feel ok about it.

Anyway, I tried almost every style of diaper out there -- all in ones, pockets, fitteds, etc. -- and ended up loving just plain old prefolds the most. Over 12+ months, they have held up the best and are pretty easy to use with a Snappi. Interestingly enough: they are also hubby's favorite.

As far as the poo... we have a dedicated poo spatula next to the toilet. Gross? Yes. But, as I remind my toddler every time he goes: everybody poops. So there it is. I guess it's no more disgusting than a sprayer, which I avoided because sprayer + my lack of coordination = likely spraying poo all over the place...

I've toured 3 daycares so far in Central Ohio. 2 of the 3 said they'd have no problem using the cloth. Ohio allows the use of cloth diapers, so it isn't prohibited. Some daycare providers choose to not allow them though.

I really wanted to use cloth diapers. Unfortunately, we had the opposite problem than most people have. Out daughter got terrible diaper rash as soon as we started using them at about 10 months old. We tried switching detergents, using different liners and even changing her hourly, but her little but just could not handle them at all. We only used the organic bumgenius because I did not want to use synthetic fibers and then could not afford to buy new diapers to try. Now she is back in the 7th generations and we had to sell all of or cloth diapers. If we have another, one, I will definitely try cloth again because I know so many people who use them with no problem.

I ADORED my cloth diapers, until the baby started solids/crawling. Now I am dealing with: rinsing solid poo (diaper sprayer didn't work, so now I SCRAPE, which believe me, is not fun); stains that WILL NOT COME OUT, despite several rounds of sunning, bleach, lemon juice, oxiclean, you name it; HORRIBLE smell from the diaper bag, and leaks that won't stop. I was a total cloth diaper evangelist until them. Also, she gets diaper rash way worse in cloth than in disposables. I'm ready to give up, 10 months in.

We got the infant with bleeding diaper rashes from foods I ate. Disposables ended up being the lesser of all evils, rash-wise, for her so we let it go and bought those biodegradable chlorine-free ones from Sweden. Hoping our next one isn't That Baby again so we can go cloth.

I share that because to me, anyway, I expected to be the one choosing between disposables and cloth, not having an issue that forced my hand. Lesson learned!

I agree that the aggressiveness over cloth diapers has gotten way out of hand. I can feel my neighbor (a disposable mom) cringe every time I hang our CDs out on the line, which makes me feel terrible.

We loved Kissaluvs for the newborn period. We did a rental, which worked out wonderfully. We never had a single blow out in them.

Then we did prefolds before going to BumGenius one-size organic cotton all-in-ones (I think now called Elements). Prefolds were nice, but the BG AIOs are definitely nicer. It’s literally as easy and convenient as a disposable, and you never have to buy another size. My daughter is approaching potty training, and they still fit her and are ready to do another stint with her coming sibling.

We use disposables at night, since they do keep the bum dry and the pee in.

About solids poop: Do NOT get a tight container, like a diaper genie or tupperwear. You’ll have much less stink if you just get a loose fitting lid for your current can. We have a cheapo, plastic, flip top garbage can. You can also get flushable diaper liners, which save you the mess during the sticky transition phase. But after than, the poop is pretty easy to remove. We usually just use a bit of toilet paper and pick it up.

And you don't *really* need a special detergent, you just need one without specific types of ingredients. We use Planet for diapers and the rest of laundry.

@ek76: I totally hear you, but disposables gave my daughter a rash. Ironically, the Pampers Sensitives were the worst. We had better luck with the cheaper brands, and eventually she did outgrow it. But it was ample motivation for us to stick with cloth diapers. It's something for parents to at least be aware of. If we weren't already using cloth most of time, we wouldn't have known it was unusual.

I have a supply but have had a hard time getting started. It kind of bugs me that I'm expected to wash the diapers like 9 times or something before use. One of the brands I got even said without detergent so it's not like I could throw them in with my other loads to get this pre-washing out of the way. Is it really neccessary? I started trying it on the weekends and they usually leaked which I guess means I'm doing it wrong or maybe because I only prewashed 3 times. I hope to try again but my other issue will be getting my husband on board. Once he is used to something it's hard to get him to change. He is used to disposables and he is home with our some during the week so....outlook not so good.

I love this post! Just last week, I wrote a similar one for The Shopping Mama (see it, here: http://theshoppingmama.com/2011/07/thoughts-of-a-cloth-diaperer/). We also use BumGenius and LOVE them. We waited a few weeks to switch from disposables to cloth and couldn't be happier. We don't have the luxury of a clothesline, though, and are coming up on some issues with lingering stinkiness after washing. Anyone with any advice?

Had a very similar experience in cloth diapering with our first - disposables as a newborn, cloth most of the time, with disposables for travel/special circumstances. We used fuzzibunz perfect size - which have several sizes with the variety of snaps and lasted us from about 3-4 months until potty training at 2. I thought that my husband was going overboard with the gear by ordering a sprayer and a bucket that fits on the toilet (I think it is called the potty pail), but it was a brilliant move that made cloth diapering much better for us - poo messes were so easy to deal with.

It wound up being a lifesaver after we moved and were no longer a dual-income house. I was so grateful not to need to buy disposables each month.

Expecting our second child soon and looking forward to cloth diapering again, as it worked out really well for us, and all we need to buy are some new shells (the elastic in our diapers is done) but all the other supplies - liners, wipes, bucket, sprayer, pail and wetbags are still in great condition.

I too get annoyed with the militant parents (not just about diapering, they are everywhere). What works for someone, doesn't work for everyone. Find what works best for you. There are sooo many options out there, which I think is great.

For anyone who is on the fence about going cloth, I strongly recommend finding a local baby store that carries a few different brands of cloth diapers. I found it very helpful to actually see and handle the different options before deciding which system to use. Our favorite local store even holds a monthly class to introduce customers to cloth diapering.

Like others, we started with Kissaluvs and Thirsties for the newborn stage but have since been using mostly BumGenius AIOs. We keep the dirty diaper bag in a metal trash bin with a lid that we picked up at IKEA, which has worked fine (although now that the baby wants to pull up on it, I'm not so sure. I can't see how that would be any different with another diaper bin, though). Thirsties makes a pre-wash liquid that we've been using with a cold rinse to help get out any stains and bacteria before washing the diapers on hot with Charlie's Soap.

I try not to make a big fuss about our cloth diapers, especially since all of our friends use disposables, but they have worked very well for us. I'm looking forward to reusing the diapers on our next child.

We made the switch to cloth with our first son (now 4.5yo), who broke out from every disposable that we tried on him. The rashes were awful, and nothing cleared them up until we made the switch to Bum Genius OS pocket dipes at about a year old. We started our second son with disposables until he was big enough to fit our BGs and had the same rash problems with him...apparently, we produce super-sensitive little people. :( Our third baby is two weeks old, and has been in cloth (Bum Genius, Fuzzi Bunz, and Gro Via) since her very first diaper, without so much as a speck of diaper rash (both boys had reactions to disposables within days of birth). We're incredibly thankful for easy to use, convenient modern cloth diapering options that keep our babies' bottoms comfortable and pain-free. :)

we've been using bumgenius with our son since he was born (well, actually we had the same issue with fit and used disposables and kissaluvs for the first few weeks, then switched to bg). we moved when he was 6 mo old, and were lucky enough to have found daycares in both our previous town and now our new one that allow cloth diapers.

our son is 17 mo old, and since he started getting solid poo we've been using the liners--we buy multiple packs of the bummis flushable liners on amazon and love them. we also use a cheap plastic flip-top trash can with a wet bag for the dirties, and wash the wet bag with the diapers (we dry it in the dryer with the inserts, while the shells line-dry). We use disposables at night, since he was peeing through the cloth at night, and for travel. His diaper rash comes and goes, and isn't any better or worse in cloth. We've had good luck using the Weleda diaper cream that's cloth diaper-friendly.

We've also had trouble with a very strong ammonia smell from the urine in the dirties, so I'm going to look into stripping this afternoon. We use Allen's all-natural detergent, so hopefully all we'll need is a good strip.

I look at this site daily but never registered until today because of this post. I am a cloth diapering single Mommy who works full time and I LOVE cloth diapering!

When I was pregnant and spoke of my intention to cloth diaper I got simialr responses to when I talked about natural child birth and an organic crib mattress - eye rolls and comments like yeah lets see how long THAT lasts. My lil' one is 9 months old and I cloth diaper about 98% of the time.

Because I have to justify why I would ever cloth diaper I tend not to mention it unless it comes up. I do not preach but I do tell them why when people ask.

The extra laundry is not that much of a hassle but I do have a washer and dryer at home. I love Rockin Green detergent. The bulk of my stash is Bumgenius Elementals AIO One size because I like that they are organic, are as easy as disposables and grow with my lil one. I have some Non organic BG 2.0s and I just put a Babykicks hemp/cotton liner in there. For overnight I do the 2.0 and a Babykicks prefold.

I have only ever purchased used diapers and liners for the following reasons: cheaper, reuse is my middle name and you dotn have to wash the over and over to prep! I love re-diaper.com and have also had good luck on craigslist.com.

I would also not suggest puting a lid on a diaper pail...traps in the stink....

Again - I love cloth dipes!!!!

Has anyone gone with a diaper service and been happy with that option? Our first baby is arriving this fall, and that's what we're signed up for--a choice we made largely because they offer a combo compost and cloth service where we just have to put everything into one bin (and we don't have to pre-rinse, which seemed like a plus for when we start solids). But the big downside is that the only option for cloth is prefolds. Not sure how to feel about this, or if we should just try it and see. We will have two parents working full-time, and are nervous about how we'll handle the extra baby laundry (independent of diapers!) given that we barely stay on top of it now, so this seemed like a reasonable way to try cloth given that it's pretty affordable in our area...but having second thoughts as I read that everyone loves the AIOs!

I'm surprised that no one has suggested combining Elimination Communication (EC) with cloth diapering. With our first, we EC'd from birth, using Bum Geniuses between potty breaks (yes, babies instinctively prefer to use a potty over going in a diaper, especially poop!) and I think I only changed about 10 poopy diapers in 8 months thanks to EC. We started travelling back and forth to Europe after that and switched to disposables because of it but thankfully our daughter was fully potty trained by 2. Now expecting our second baby and looking forward to a repeat EC/cloth diapering experience. Great post, thanks for sharing :o)

Emilych-- to get the smell out wash everything with Sportwash. It is marketed as a detergent for hunting clothes -- it gets ALL scents out so that the prey does not smell the hunter. It is genius on cloth diapers!

As well, Sportwash restores fleece, so if your Fuzzybunz leak or smell, this is what you should use.

As for poo scraping/ rinsing, Imse Vimse sells a flushable paper liner which comes in rolls that works brilliantly. And it doesn't clog septic systems.

We use sized Fuzzi Bunz, purchased mostly used. I prefer the sized version because it is less bulky. Plus, you can reuse them or sell them because each diaper is in better condition. Few to no blowouts, very cute bottom, and liked by husband and nanny both. We lived in an apartment bulding with shared laundry for most of the time and it still wasn't a hassle. We use Charlie's Soap and love our diaper sprayer.

Plus, both kids have potty learned traditionally (I refuse to say "early) very easily and without fuss using imse vimse training pants. Worth the extra expense to be done with diapers at 2.

I've spent a total of $250 on diapers for two kids.

Cloth diapering can be confusing. I recommend using a service like Jillian's Drawers that lets you try a bunch of different kinds to see what you prefer. Diaper choice is really really personal.

your experience, Richard, is very similar to our own. we chose to do disposables for the first few weeks of our daughter's life, and then transitioned to cloth. we still utilize disposables when we're out of the house, though that's starting to shift into cloth as well with the recent purchase of a small wetbag. though our daughter is only 4 months and has yet to get solid food, i look forward to continuing this trend in our household through her poddy training and through however many more children we choose to have.

i think it's sad that there are so many "sides" in the world today. i respect that no everyone can accommodate a cloth diapering lifestyle and that not everyone wants to go disposable. there's no right or wrong as long as the baby (and family) is happy, healthy, and enjoying life!

We used cloth for about the first 6 months of my son's life. I can't remember now what brands we used, there were a few. I absolutely loved the look, so cute. We didn't think they required an extreme amount of effort. A little more work than disposables, but not too much. We did have issues with diaper rash though. I don't know if it's because I couldn't get them clean enough, I tried everything, they seemed clean. There are no diaper services in my area or I would have used one. He ended up with extremely bad diaper rash, I decided to give disposables a try and it went away almost instantly. Switched back to cloth and it came back, etc. So we stuck with disposables.

Looking back I wish we hadn't spent so much money on cloth diapering. Not only the starting costs, but the electricity and water and detergent for washing them. Not to mention the extra work involved. We spend about $20 a month on diapers now (We use Target's Up&Up brand, which I have found works MUCH better than Huggies or Pampers and costs MUCH less! I have been using them for over a year, not a SINGLE leak!)

Just wanted to share my experience, hope no one takes offense to anything I said.

Thank you for such an amazing, non-fire-and-brimstone post. I appreciate that you respect what works/doesn't work for other families. When we were weighing the options for our family on this topic, I couldn't find anything that wasn't totally charged and filled with the the judgmental comments one way or the other. It was overwhelming and frustrating to say the least. I wish I had read your reasonable and rational post before we had our baby (although I guess it's not too late!). Anyway, thanks again for the words of wisdom.

Well this comment is sure to get lost at the bottom, but I feel like sharing today!
We are just starting to get back into cloth diapering at 7 months (we have an Olive too!). We made the transition-to-cloth slowly from birth but about 2 weeks into being on an all-cloth regimen (save for night-time), she developed a HORRIBLE, stubborn rash on her hip (of all places!). I knew almost right away that it was due to the cloth diapers, and being an overly-anxious first-time mom, rather than try other options in cloth, ran to Target and picked myself up a package of Pampers (with every intention of going back to cloth after the rash went away, of course!).
Well.. 5 months later we're still putting Lolly in disposables. BUT! My first order of Bum Genius and Flip covers is en route and should be here in a few days when we'll start CDing again, hooray!
Here's to a better outcome and no rashes this time!
Oh yeah, FWIW - After we switched back to disposables, her rash went away completely and she hasn't had one since. I'm hoping that a new regime of CDing (we were using fitteds, now we'll try prefolds and hemp inserts) will keep her rash-free. Economically and Ecologically, cloth-diapering wins, hands down. But you have to do what's right for YOUR family, and no one knows what that is but you.

artoak - I used a diaper service for the first 3 months of my sons' life. We used disposables for the first 5 days, then switched over to the pre-fold service 100%. We really loved it. We moved to a place that did not have that service available, or we might have kept it up a while longer. In the end, I liked using some of the other options (Fuzzibunz were our favorite), but having someone pick up the diapers and deliver a stack of clean ones was really great in the those first sleepless weeks!

diaper service part 2 - I forgot to mention that it was more economical with a tiny baby to do the diaper service than to buy a bunch of size 0 diapers. The one size fits all options may have improved for tiny babies since my son was born (6 years ago) though.

We love out gdiapers, we use them with prefold cloth diapers inside and it has been working great for 15 months now. The prefolds I picked up at yard sales and kids consignment stores which saved us even more money.

We chose to cloth diaper our first child as well (she's now 8 months) and we LOVE it! We did opt for a service which has been so convenient, affordable and just amazing. It was a little scary to take that leap when we brought her home from the hospital, but after a few days (and some good laughs) we had the folding down and never looked back. I second your point about diaper rash. Our daughter has only had diaper rash once and that was because of an allergic reaction which caused severe diarrhea. I hardly ever use diaper cream, and besides that one bad day she's never had so much as a red speck on her bum.
What I've found most interesting however is that the aggression and lecturing I've found is from people who *don't* cloth diaper. Man! The lectures! It's all the same too - cloth diapering causes diaper rash, and I'm basically just letting my kid sit in her own poop/pee all the time. The opposite couldn't be more true, but I never really get a chance to offer my side of the story because the people I've encountered are so anti-cloth its kind of a one-sided argument. I do think you have to change your kid more often when they wear cloth, but ultimately - isn't that a good thing for any diaper wearer?
Anyway, I totally respect either choice. Its just that cloth was right for us. We do put her in disposables for nighttime and when we're on trips however. While convenient, I have to say after using both, I do prefer cloth in the end.

I'd like to echo cat's comment- EC, or elimination communication is just about as uncrazy in real life as it sounds crazy in real life. Anyone can do it-- working outside the home or not-- full time part time, you name it. It's a much greener way to approach diapering than disposables or cloth. Visit www.diaperfreebaby.org.

Lovely post.
Re: daycares: they may consider gdiapers with the disposable inserts. Our daycare told us that cloth diapers were illegal here in CT (this may or may not actually be true), but they were willing to use the disposable inserts. While at home, we just used prefolds inside the gdiaper covers, and BumGenius at night.

When it comes to smell, we started putting vinegar in the soap section during the soak cycle and the smell was gone after one run.

This is so far down, I don't know if anyone is still reading, but I thought that i would share our experience with cloth because it hasn't been covered yet. We cloth diaper our little one and we use a LAUNDROMAT!
Our criteria for diapering were that it had to be cheap, have minimal extra accessories/equipment, and not require more laundry trips than we already make.
We decided on prefolds and bought an initial batch of 36 diapers ($36), 1 each of 4 different brands of covers (approx $50), 1 snappi ($3), a Bummis wet bag ($15--pricey but totally worth it), and a Diaper Dekor diaper pail ($40). Initial investment was just shy of $150 and has lasted us into our son's 7th month. We just bought a batch of 15 diapers in the next size--which we expect to last until he is potty trained--($30), another 4 covers (Thirsties Duo Wrap fit him best--$50), and 3 more snappis ($7). That brings the investment total to $231. We may buy a few more prefolds if the smaller ones are completely ineffective in the larger covers.

We did not buy any other accessories and do not plan to. A few weeks ago I made some washable wipes by cutting some old flannel into rectangles with pinking shears and putting them in an old wipes box half filled with plain old water. If i'm feeling sassy, I add a few drops of essential oil. We are considering trying some flushable liners when his poop requires that.

Our diaper routine is as basic as it gets: at changing time, we toss the prefold and used wipe into the wet bag in the diaper pail, give the cover a quick wipe (if it ever gets a little poop on the edge, we hand wash in the sink), and leave the cover out to dry until the next change.
The laundry routine is just as basic: We do laundry once a week at the laundromat. All the diapers and the wet bag go in one load. They go through 1 (one!) cycle on hot with a tiny bit of Tide (!) Free and Clear (which is our usual detergent) and then into the dryer. We are open to buying special soap if it becomes necessary, but so far Tide is fine. Covers go into our regular laundry, also once a week. I often use white vinegar in the rinse cycle. It costs a total of $3.75. Every 6 weeks or so i give them an extra hot wash with no detergent--extra $2.25.

Seven months in, it all works great. Not much extra work, very cost effective, and no big issues with smell/mess. There will always be some smell--they're steaming hot packages of urine and feces after all--and there is an extra step if you're dumping poop into the toilet or if you have to hand wash a cover, but we have our routine down and don't feel that it's particularly onerous.
We started at about 4 weeks because of size and getting over the initial craziness of first-time-parenthood. For nights and trips where we have to pack suitcases, he wears disposables--for everyone's ease and comfort. Target brand is super cheap and works very well for us.

Sorry for the length. My hope is that someone will find this info helpful because when we were researching we found very little discussion of how this works with a laundromat.

Wonderful post! We starting CDing our daughter at 11 months old. We switched since she had constant diaper rash no matter what we did or what brands we chose. Cloth diapers cleared it right up. And I've enjoyed the savings since. (our daughter is now 26 months) We primarily use BumGenius, which we bought new, but we also bought some used FuzziBunz (they were from a good friend who had used them for her two daughters for a total of 4 years) and some GroVia's. I was never a huge fan of GroVia's, they leaked for my tall, skinny girl and I've sold most to others. My daughter has now been in daycare for 1 month, and I forgot how expensive disposable diapers were! She's in CDers on the weekends and at night, and we're still going through TONS of diapers, and even though we're using Earth's Best, the rash is back. :-( Thankfully, her sleeping at night in the CDers seems to help the rash subside a bit. I don't blame anyone for not wanting to CD, but I personally love it, the savings, and the rash prevention for our daughter, plus, there is just something lovely about diapers hanging on the line to dry. :)

All-in-Ones fit a lot of babies, especially if the parents are petite. But though the All-in-Ones do fit most, they do not fit ALL babies.

And prefolds stand up to washing, mostly better. Buying different-size covers is not that hard. And then, you leave stained covers behind when buying the next size. Also, you can wash the covers on delicate cycle if not too messy. Saves on buying covers.

We are lucky to live in a city that has a cloth diaper service company (Seattle). So, our dirty diapers were picked up and we got new, lovely cloth ones each week! :)

I also ran a daycare for a period of time and only used cloth diapers. A bit of investment in the wraps, because different wraps fit different bums. But, overall the cloth was GREAT for all the kids - less diaper rash and healthier bums!

I've heard so many people with such great cloth diapering stories. I was totally into the idea before my son was born and got all set up before he arrived. The whole process was exhausting and messy for me. As for him, he actually had more of a problem with diaper rash (unless I changed his diaper every 30 minutes or so) with cloth diapers than with disposables. So the cloth diapers have since spent their days packed away in a box and I'm hoping that we'll get along better with baby #2 someday! It's actually quite funny, I planned on having a natural birth, nursing as long as possible and cloth diapering, but somehow I ended up with a c-section, formula feeding and disposable diapering. Amazing how babies can have plans of their own. :)

I cannot stand aggressive cloth diaper users. I made the decision to try them because I wanted to and because my parents used them on me back when it was just pins and folds. I'll be damned if anyone else is going to tell me how I should manage my child's bowel movements, for sure.

Kid's not here yet but we're going with gDiapers for a while.

they are great! we love them but use a disposable for night sleeps

Used cloth diapers (motherease and a mix and match of various second hand dipes found at local thrift shops) for both our children.

My experiences:
1. super easy in general. Two extra loads of laundry per week. But like the post author, we had a high efficiency wahser (but did sometimes take to the apartment complex dryer)
2. we used a garbage pail with lid as our diaper pail and soaked in water/vinegar. Smell was never an issue, even with solid food. Dry outside in the sun for extra antibacterial and bleaching.
3. Biggest benefit to cloth diapers, for us - no blowouts. Not a one. All the poop stayed IN the diaper. And every time we used disposables (for travelling etc) we'd have a blowout probelm, even following the suggestions of other disp. diaper folks. We have since heard that blowouts are relatively common among the disp. crowd, many of whom are amazed to ehar that it doesn't happen with cloth.
4. cost - we spent about $200 total on all our diapering supplies for two children. That was a mix of new and used diapers and motherease's 'grow with baby' type of system. Even when you factor in the cost of laundry detergent, water and electricity, that's a heck of a lot cheaper than what we would have spent for 5 years of disposable diapering.

Different strokes for diffrent folks, but for us they were amazing. I don't push them on anyone, but if people ask my opinion on diapering, i'll tell them that we had a fabulous exp. with cloth and would go right back to cloth if we had another child.

oh, and we had no problems with daycares - two different daycares in Vancouver (BC) were quite happy to take on our cloth diapers, as long as we brought a pail and took them home every day.

I'm using cloth for my second baby now, mainly organic Bumgenius & itti bitti d'lish. I used cloth till my son was nearly 2 when he started leaking through. it saved me hundreds, was good for the environment & I find cloth much nicer to touch than paper nappies/diapers.

Once I started solids I added flushable liners. The Imse vismse (or however its spelt) ones are washable too, so I just kept washing them till they fell apart or they were flushed the #2 with not much trouble at all.

My daycare used them without trouble, thats why I use all in ones, if the carer just put it in the bag that's fine.

Smells have never been an issue for me, hot wash with some antibacterial wash occasionally.

For those who use flushable/disposable liners this just means they will pass the U bend. It does not mean it will actually break down. Ask a plumber if you don't believe me. Certain toilet papers do not even break down easily. I found that out the hard way $400 dollars later from a local plumber.

To those who use BumGenius what detergent do you recommend?

We used cloth with our first, and now, with second also. He inherited some of the diapers from his sister, and they are still great. Almost all of our diapers are home made by me. So this, and not ever buying disposables made our choice a economic one. But money was not a reason at all. I'm allergic to disposable pads, and I use cloth myself. That made cloth diapering the only option in my head while expecting. We don't have fitted cloth diapers here, all I knew were traditional flat diapers. I newer knew any other kind until I googled for all the ways to fold a flat diaper. I instantly got hooked to fitteds, and made a whole bunch. PUL covers were bought online and we manage(d) really fine with 25 fitteds and two covers in appropriate size. Washing was never a problem, two or three extra loads a week. Stinking is dealt with by keeping used diapers inside washing machine. When it fills up, it's time to do the laundry ;-)

CD'ed for 2.5 yrs on one, about to start on another:

All you need are the diapers (we used BumGenius, LOVE!), BioKleen's BacOut Spray (available at natural food stores), a bucket with a lid and a handle (we used the bucket that Tidy Cats litter comes in), soap of choice (we used Charlie's Soap and then All Free-and-Clear when Charlie's was out of our budget), and a willing partner.

WILLING PARTNER IS CRUCIAL! If my husband hadn't been on board with CD'ing, we'd have never lasted.

My first babe will be 21 in a week. The cloth diaper phase was in it's infancy. I used basic cloth diapers, pins and plastic pants with her. Washed and hung them out to dry, often. By the time the second came, covers with velcro closures were popular, he just ripped them off. We finally found some in Seattle with a buckle. Silly boys...

@beia and Emily CH. If the kiddo gets a horrible rash after using bac-out, make sure you do a few extra rinses on the diapers. The bac-out is enzyme-based and if it doesn't all get out, it can cause some kids to react.

we have been cd'ing our 13 month old twins since they came home from the hospital - first in preemie covers w/ preemie prefolds (which are now great clean up cloths) and now in the cottonbabies flips. we found the flips to be economical and i second the opinion that we're doing SO MUCH MORE laundry than ever before that the diapers are no big deal. as for the solid poops, we also have a spatula by the toilet, but i have to say that most of their poops just fall right off. we're scraping very few, and it's just not a big deal. if people are worried about CDs because of the poop, it's worth trying it out. even with twins, and the various prefolds, covers, flips, and wetbags, we probably spent about $350 on everything. at around 25 cents for each disposable diaper, we would've spent an estimated $1400 on disposables in their first year. the flips should fit them until they are potty trained and we've been very happy with how well they work.

i hope people keep asking daycares, as they may become more open to it when they realize how many of their charges are wearing them at home and how easy it is to deal with. some of the daycares around us will allow them no question, others would do it with a doctor's note.

We love cloth diapering, although like many use disposies on trips and overnight (baby sensitive to feeling wet). I have good mama and bum genius. If we did it again, I would do all bum genius all-in-one as they are as easy as a disposable, but we love the cuteness of the goodmama [when my first one arrived in the mail, my DH said "This is so cute, I am excited to do diapers." I imagine a disposable diaper has never made a man say that!]. On smell...definately make sure that you are using less soap (sounds counter-intuitive, but that much soap isn't really needed in any of your laundry) and make sure that it is completely rinsed out. I pre-rinse to make sure any remaining "mess" is loosened. Every once in awhile when I notice lingering smell, I add vinegar to either the diaper load or to clean out the washer. In the diaper pail, I just added a lid (I use the miniature metal trash can from world market) and don't have a problem at 11 months. Yay cloth diapering!

I started using cloth diapers part time with my baby when he was just under six months old. There are many things I like about them - the cute patterns, great for the environment, etc. I was worried it would be a huge hassle, but it really wasn't. Only a little bit more work than disposables. I also worried about leaks, but haven't had any.

However, I bought pre-folds with covers and the biggest drawback I've found is the bulkiness. Almost none of his clothes fit over them, but since it was spring when we started and we were only using them at home, we've been able to get by with only putting a t-shirt and the diaper on him. Once he started crawling, though, I felt really bad about putting him in such bulky, cumbersome diapers, and started using them only at nap times. With the summer heat, I've found that he also gets really hot in there, and now we're hardly using them at all. Perhaps the all-in-ones or pocket diapers would be less bulky, but I'm not sure I'm ready to make another big investment like that. We've still saved the landfill from many disposables this way, and we'll have these diapers to use with our future babies, however that works out.

I'm always tempted to try out cloth diapers for money-saving reasons, but here's my concern: What if I fork out the $350-ish dollars to try them out and then end up HATING cloth diapering? (I'm due with my third baby next month--disposable diapers have always worked out fine for us, other than that I hate paying for them.) I don't want to see $350 go down the tube. Anyone know if there is a good way to do a trial on cloth diapering that doesn't involve a big investment?

Love our applecheeks diapers. They are two size so we could use them with an under 7 lb baby no problem.

We use disposables when we are out because we have one of those rashy kids, and if she's wet for...5 minutes...it's horrible bleeding rash time. So fun.

@ChefMissy

Depending on where you live, you may be able to try a variety of cloth diapers to see if it works for you. A retailer in my area offers an 'experiment to own' trial program. There is a very reasonable rental fee for a variety of diapers. If you don't like any of them, you aren't out much. If you do like them, you get a partial credit on additional purchases.

http://diaperlab.com/visit/experiment.php

You can also borrow, buy used on ebay/craigslist, etc. Any used diapers will be clean, so honestly, it is no different than used clothing for your child.

Costco occasionally sells GroVia and Thirsties online (and has the lowest price on diaper detergent I've ever seen).

I got some BumGenius from target.com (not at a super low price, but it was easy to register for them as a gift).

@ChefMessy: We play to try out Jillian's Drawers, although I'm sure other places might do something similar - they offers a diaper trial where you get 3 weeks to try out a variety of diapers and if you don't like them, you can send them back and get almost all of your money back - I think you're out maybe $20 total.

http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/products/clothdiapers/tryclothfor10/tryclothfor10

I work in a cloth diaper store and also teach cloth diaper classes and help our customers troubleshoot. I've cloth diapered all three kids and spent less than $1000- and that was partly because I try everything we carry and make some "fun" splurge purchases. I started when my oldest was 10 weeks old to clear up his rashes. It worked. I am passionate about cloth diapers, but I don't think that it has to be an all-or-nothing type thing. I am a single mom of three, working full time and cloth diapers don't run or consume my life, they are something that fits into my life.

My kids are now 5 and 8, but both were cloth diapered as babies, and we used a service, which I adored. As a working mom, I truly appreciated having clean diapers show up at my door every Friday morning! If you're in Southern California, look up Dy-Dee Diaper Service. They are a small Pasadena company who will get to know you by name. They are absolutely lovely. When my boys were about 18 months old, and using far fewer diapers, I switched to Fuzzi Bunz and hemp inserts (all purchased on eBay).

An awesome aspect of cloth is that it absorbs liquidy infant poops SO WELL. No blow outs. Yay cloth!

I have been using cloth since day one, my son is now a year old and I still love them! I love them on hot days when I can just put him in that and no other clothing and its like a whole outfit! lol. I love taking him for pictures in them, I love saving money, I love that he never gets rashes, and I love being able to help the planet in some way because I know I am not as green as I should be! We buy all our cloth diapers at www.dextersdiapers.com she has great personalized care and really gave me the time I needed to help get started. It was so overwhelming at first but she really helped!

Figured I'd chime in waaaaay down here.

I'll admit to being rather militant about the issue of cloth v. disposables - WHEN ASKED. I try not to force my POV on others unsolicited, but if the subject comes up and I am invited to share my opinion, I give it. Unapologetically:) I so think that more people should TRY cloth diapers. There is an initial period of trial and error with washing methods, changing frequency, folding methods, etc...but once you've got your system down it really is as easy as disposables - easier, IMO, since there aren't any late-night emergency runs to the drugstore for disposables if you've run out! Of course, there are sometimes real, valid reasons to choose disposables - no regular access to laundry facilities (been there), persistent rashes (it happens) or uncooperative daycare providers (ugh).

As for cost, we've been using plain 'ol pre-folds for 15 months now, all of them purchased used for very little. They're easy to use with a Snappi and either waterproof cover or a wool soaker. We use the cheap-o gerber vinyl pants now that the boy has outgrown his Pro-Rap and Kawaii Baby (both excellent brands) PUL covers, and just as often put him in a recycled wool soaker (a whole 'nother discussion) that I can make for about $1 or less from thrifted sweaters. Diapers are all washed in homemade laundry powder (borax, castile soap, washing soda) that costs me about 5 cents per load. If you're not up for that, Charlies Soap is excellent stuff and also very economical. Never had a problem with smells. We soak in cold, wash in hot with vinegar in the rinse and then do an additional rinse with cold water at the end.

Also, I've found that when we do use disposables (while travelling), they seem to always leak! Maybe because we're buying the cheapest brand we can find?

Finally, I should add that the cloth diapering community on the web is reeeeally expansive and the information so abundant that it can be overwhelming. While I'm grateful that it has become popular to CD again, I am sometimes frustrated that there are now so many products, accessories, pre-sprays, liners, different detergents, specially-formulated rash creams and the like that cloth diapering can seem unnecessarily complicated and expensive to a newcomer! MOST OF THAT STUFF IS UNNECESSARY. Prefolds. Desitin. Wool soakers. Gerber pants. A pail. That's about all you really need. The extras can be fun, but don't feel like you can't get by without a closetful of gear. Go ask your mom or your grandma what worked for them:)

Happy diapering, guys. This stage lasts only so long!

I appreciate the low-key views expressed here. We too thought about cloth diapering, but since we live in rented apartments with a separate laundromat, it just wouldn't work for us. We are also poor college students who don't have a lot of upfront money at any given time, so throwing $350-400 in the beginning was a big deterrent. So far, we rarely have problems with diaper rash (only diarrhea-caused), so I just thought I'd make that point.
Perhaps we'll reconsider when we move into a house with our own washer-dryer and a salary-paid job. Although, how do people who are going "green" with cloth diapers explain the amount of water you have to use between flushing, rinsing and washing? That's my one big hang-up.

I heard one person say they chose gDiapers, has anyone else used them? The option of a disposable/compostable liner reeally appeals to me, but what makes BumGenius so widely preferred? No baby yet, just interested...

Chefmessy: Jillian Drawers offers a deal specifically for folks like you. You get an assortment of cloth diapers to try for 21 days and if you don't like them, you return them (used!) and they refund all but the $10 shipping fee. Here's the link: http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/products/clothdiapers/tryclothfor10/tryclothfor10

For those who use disposables at night because of leaks, I suggest a wool wrap, they tend not to leak as they are so absorbent. A little bit of work as you need to use a special wool wash and to relanolise them on occasion, but worth it not to be woken at night with a leak! For those who really want to go for it, you can knit your own apparently!

I'm pretty sure childcares aren't allowed to refuse to do cloth diapers. They don't have to rinse it and do all that, but they shouldn't be able to refuse to change it and toss it in a waterproof bag to send home (which is really no different from changing a disposable and trashing it).

Cloth diapers can be necessary because of medical conditions (allergies to synthetics etc.), and environmentalism or simple living might be part of someone's religious beliefs. The childcare would have to find a way to do it if either of these were the case, so any policies that forbid changing cloth diapers are actually discriminatory.

Personally, if I were paying out-of-pocket for a childcare, I wouldn't want my child's mind to be shaped by someone who isn't open to different families and cultures doing things in different ways (and who can't problem-solve and step out of their comfort zone a little). I realize though that not everyone has a lot of options if they need childcare during non-9-to-5 hours or are using vouchers and have limited places that take them.

A suggestion for those afraid to make the investment in an entire cloth diapering system--why not try a service first? I did that with my babies and loved it. I loved having something super-soft and natural against my babies' skin, and we used extras for burping cloths all over the house. Once a week the bag of dirty diapers (which you could not smell, ever) went away and a new stack arrived on the front porch. And that was before there were many good cover options on the market, so I can only imagine that they are better now.

I cloth diaper old school by using unbleached cloth diapers trifolded as inserts and diaper covers. It's going brilliant. I never run out of diapers and his tushy is adorablle in these things!

I just want to say what an adorable little baby! :)

Thank you, we love her no matter what she is wearing!

no kids of my own, but after working in childcare for 13 years, i started to be very conscious of just how many disposables i'd changed and thrown away. when my best friend and wife asked me to nanny their son, i couldn't think of a better opportunity to try cloth. though i did it on my own dime, and though they chose not to use them at home, it has been a very rewarding experience to learn the ins and outs of cloth (mistakes and all!). i'm sure i'll use it for my own children someday, or if i foster. :)

i think cloth diapering isn't even on a lot of modern parents' radar nowadays, so many don't even get the chance to consider it.

@klo29 - I live in an apartment with shared washer/dryers and on top of that, I am actually only allowed to wash on Wednesdays and Sundays. It was only 1 extra wash load per day. I would wash all of our clothes, and then last load the diapers. It worked (works) out brilliantly.

I breastfed and you don't need to rinse breastmilk poop, so that wasn't an issue. When solid food poops came we used a biodegradable/flushable liner. So that wasn't really any problem.

For us, the upfront costs were not as high since we asked our family members to buy us BumGenius diapers off our Amazon Baby Registry. They were very, very skeptical but are such good family that they did it anyway :-) So in total my husband and I received about $200 worth of gifted diapers and supplies, and we paid for another $200 on our own for wet bags, extra covers, pre-folds, etc. and then maybe an additional $100 over the next 18 months for a couple new covers etc.

Where we live (EU) a 50 pack of Huggies costs $25. Non-brands cost about half that. When she was tiny she could go through 6-7 diapers a day, and now at 2.5 years old, she still uses about 3-4 diapers a day (potty training isn't as easy as I thought!). So if you add that up over 29 months, we would have spent somewhere around $2,175 for premium disposables, and $1,044 for non-brands. Even with the 2 extra loads of laundry, I would take a slight increase in my electricity (our wash use is billed to us) over the 4,000 diapers we would have thrown away by now.

But again -- do whatever works for you...!

I'm just in research mode as we haven't adopted a baby yet and this is a really helpful post. We love the idea of cloth diapers and have this sense that it's better for the environment but I must admit I'm stunned by all the water that's required making it a less appealing environmental choice (over the bio degradable options)

One poster said instructions are to prewash 9 times (to make more absorbent I'm assuming?) And then hannah_a said: "i just stripped my old diapers, and was advised to wash once cold with whatever detergent you normally use, then hot wash with 1 tsp Dawn dish soap, then wash 2-3 additional times with NO detergent on hot wash... I have a friend who swears by this, and mine smelled much better after this. i think i threw in an extra rinse or two for good measure. "

Yoikes! We'll researching. Thank you all for your words of wisdom!

We have used Gdiapers since birth and they have been really fabulous. The fit is amazing, the staff unbelievably helpful and we love the flexibility. We use the diposable inserts while travelling but the cloth at home. I got started for about $350 for everything (all sizes) but my initial outlay was under $200 for the newborn and small sizes. The used market is excellent and you could buy most of your stash easily used. For the first four months I used only six of the pants, twelve of the little hammocks or pouches and about 24 gcloth. I am convinced that because of the three part system (as opposed to most which are two) you end up doing less laundry. I know people who have two pants....and just rotate back and forth, how frequently you want to do laundry is the most relevent factor to how much you buy. I do laundry about every five days. Once we started solid food, I also bought the liners, which are MUCH better than bummi or other rolls you can find out there and we don't need a diaper sprayer.

One of the nice things about cloth is how early the kids potty train. Oldest (13) was a full time sposie baby. He was three years, nine months old when fully trained. Middle child (5) was in cloth 90% of the time, and was fully trained at 30 months. Youngest (2) never had a sposie on him, and was fully trained at 18 months.

Also, to do this really cheap ($100 or less) buy some fleece, and make little shorts. Get a couple of Snappis. Thrift some wool sweaters (cashmere is NIIICE) and make little shorts out of those. (I did this by hand before I learned to sew. Took me three epis of Mad Men to make four pairs.) Buy some lanolin and a bunch of floursack towels at Wallyworld. Look online for tutorials on diaper cover making, lanolizing, and flat folding. You now have a one size cloth diaper system for under $40. If you want to get really fancy, get a few hemp inserts for nighttime, and make sure to use the cloth covers,and spend another $50 on the one size, MIC pocket dipes on eBay- Sunbaby. Those are great for traveling.

After buying and reselling a zillion things with Middle Child, we landed on this system and kept it for Youngest Child. The advantage is that everything is one size- it all fits from birth to training, except the covers, but those are cheap because they are thrifted/homemade- and it all dries really, really fast, like 20 minutes on an outdoor clothesline, or an hour on an indoor clothesline with a fan.

I love, love, love the sheer number of options available for diapering these days! Not only do we have everything from Pampers to biodegradeable disposable dipes, but also a ridiculously fabulous array of cloth diapers. We're on kid #2 and have used all kinds: diaper service prefolds , disposables, pockets, cotton and synthetic AIOs, flats, prefolds, PUL covers, wool covers, and fitteds.

I'm a SAHM to my two boys so I have the luxury of choosing whatever system works best for me, which currently is: 1) flat folds with Thirsties covers for at-home use, including naps (they wash up better than anything and dry in no time at all, also make fantastic burp cloths - and folding them is not rocket science), 2) bumgenius AIOs for night sleep and for short trips outside the home, 3) disposables for packing in the diaper bag (less bulk!) and for when I'm too lazy/sleep deprived to bother with the flats.

A note about potty training: early potty training was one of the reasons we chose cloth for my first, but since we mainly used prefolds with him, I think he actually got accustomed to the feel of a wet diaper. When we started potty training him at 2.5 yrs, he didn't seem to mind at all the feel of either a wet dipe OR wet underpants. Go figure! :)

One thing I love about cloth - I'm reusing everything for my second, and plan on selling my stash when we're done. Except for the flats - they make awesome cleaning cloths.

8 months into kid #2, with two in dipes and a third on the way, I finally convinced my husband to go cloth (we use SoftBums) and haven't looked back! My only concern in the beginning was the amount of laundry, but I quickly realized that a couple of extra loads a week was still far easier and quicker than the trek to the Big Box Diaper Store had been. We keep a large wetbag in the laundry room for the used diapers...no odors, and I just toss the bag and contents right into the washer.

The added bonus to cloth diapering is that I just sold 24 used diapers on ebay for $250! Nearly 2/3 of what we paid new. Good Luck!

We use BumGenius and love them, but I have one small tip. After way too many nights of leaky diapers, changing pjs, changing sheets, we figured out that our son doesn't leak at night in disposables. So we use one disposable a night and problem solved.

In Columbus, OH, we were only able to find one daycare that took cloth diapers. They're a Montessori school, so maybe try some of those? Part of the Montessori Method is early potty training.

We are happily diapering our 18 month old with BumGenius. My husband required A LOT of convincing, and it finally came down to the expense of probably 2 kids in cloth vs 2 kids in disposables. Even with the coin op machines we use (shared in basement with neighbors) it is MUCH cheaper.

The main drawback for us is laundry. We do a load probably every 5 days or so, and they need to be washed twice. We then line dry them in our apartment. It is time consuming. We also started with disposables until my son fit into the BGs. I dream of starting a newborn in cloth, but it would mean buying a whole set of tiny diapers which we would only use for a few months. (I do realize you can get these used though, and I probably will look for them when we have a second on the way.)

Another plug for cloth swim diapers: So easy! And unless you get a poop (which we haven't, so far) you can just wash the diaper in with your regular laundry. I totally recommend it even if you aren't doing CD regularly.

Hi Eliza, I only just revisited this page and on the off chance you will too, I wanted to tell you that diapering your newborn can be super cheap. Just use flat-fold diapers and a pull-on waterproof pant (like Dappi nylon taffeta, available in cheap 2-packs).
-The usual flat-fold diaper is just one square of cloth 27"x27". You probably already have a bunch in the form of flannel receiving blankets, and if not you can usually find them for $.25-.50 ea. at thrift stores. You can also use flour sacks from Target/Walmart, also super cheap. You can even just cut up old jersey sheets or large clothes (shirts, skirts) if the material is cotton. Jersey doesn't ravel so doesn't require hemming.

-here's a video for a pinless newborn diaper fold: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=cx7bmXuj5tM
-An origami fold might also leave the umbilical free, but will require a pin or snappi. You might be able to just tuck the ends in under the legs, but I don't know. In any case, it should only be a $5-$15 investment, and those flat-folds are one-size.

Whoops - correction, the pinless diaper fold is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIIUg9ic7bA&feature=grec_index

the previous video requires a pin. Also, if you do use jersey you probably wouldn't even need 27" squares, as it's quite stretchy.

I received about 20 cloth diapers as a Christmas gift before my daughter was born because I'd mentioned cloth diapering. When she was born I started with disposables, and then we traveled, and then we moved, and then...it just never seemed like a good time to switch to cloth, although I did test them out a couple times.

Disposables, while being expensive and bad for the environment, are also fantastic at holding liquid (this morning I actually weighed an incredibly wet diaper and determined that it was holding exactly 1c. of fluid!) and wicking it away from the skin. Four months now and no diaper rash to speak of. Her 1 yr old cousin who wears cloth has had a wicked diaper rash that required a visit to a pediatric dermatologist who said that these terrible rashes are becoming more common again now that more people are returning to cloth.

Sooo....maybe someday I'll get around to cloth. All the laundry and hot water involved helps me justify my disposable diaper habit a little bit.

Here's my two cents: http://lifebygrace.com/?p=494