# Cloth diapers are so expensive!!! ADVICE PLEASE!?



## JadeCrusader

Thank you so much in advance for advice!!!!!

I can't believe the prices on these things. I found one for $13, and that's cheap! For just one!! I dunno, maybe only super rich people buy the cloth, or else I'm doing it wrong... Can someone give me suggestions? I just can't seem to figure out how I'm going to drop enough money to buy at least 24 of these.

I found some multipacks that say they contain 6-12 diapers, but I see they aren't fitted, they're just flat sheets. How hard are these to use? Are the super expensive diapers actually worth that exorbitant price?

Any tips are definitely welcome.


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## buttonnose82

at first glace they appear expensive, but now go look at the price of say a packet of pampers and work out how much it would cost for say 24 birth too potty cloth nappies and how much it would cost too have a child is disposables till around 2.5 years :)


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## buttonnose82

oh and remember you can use cloth for 2nd, 3rd, 4th children or sell on (on average they have a resale value of 50 - 75%!


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## mumeee

Flats/terries/prefolds whatever you want to call them are the most economical option but there is a learning curve with them. Once you've mastered it, they're not difficult.

The more expensive fitteds I personally think are worth they money for their ease of use and superior absorbancy without the bulk you would get by doubling up terries.

As for the price, I'd suggest you break out the calculator! In UK money, as that's all I can comment on, leading brand disposables used birth to potty training would cost circa £1000 (20p per nappy, 5k changes birth to potty). I spent £250 all in, including wipes, buying nappies at £10-15 per nappy for a full time use stash. Much cheaper, even when you factor in washing costs which only come in at about £30. The savings are huge when you reuse the nappies on subsequent children too.


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## Tacey

The savings definitely mount up over the lifetime of the nappy, as others have said, although it is a heck of an outlay at first, I agree. Would you consider pre-loved? They are entirely hygienic although it can be hard to get your head round at first. Bear in mind some people don't get on with a particular type, or don't carry on altogether so you can often get virtually unused nappies. Another option is buying one every time you can afford it, and going part time until you've got a full stash.


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## Hanskiz

I second the above poster - buy preloved! :thumbup:

Also, prefolds are dead easy to use if you just pad fold them into a velcro fastening wrap. You can even pre-prepare them for going out so they are (almost) as easy as an all in one style nappy. There are a number of wraps which are designed for use with prefolds like this which are not too expensive (Thirsties, Bummis, Flips). I would get a bulk load of prefolds and cheap wraps, and then top up with preloved all in ones, pockets etc. That way you will have enough without too much outlay. 

Also, you don't have to buy them all at once. You can buy as you go, topping up gradually so it's not so much in one go. 

Cloth nappies are sooooo much cheaper in the long run, not to mention better for the environment and quite a lot of fun too!!

Good luck!!


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## Rachel_C

You really just have to look to the longer term for cloth nappies. We're such a throw away/want it now society that many of us have forgotten how to buy quality so that it lasts and how sometimes we have to save up for things. As a quick example of how cloth pays for itself, if you take what is a fairly expensive nappy in the UK e.g. £15 (there are lots of nappies that are MUCH cheaper) and say you use it once every three days (to allow time for washing and air drying), that £15 nappy will be used around 120 times in the first year. So divide the £15 by the 120 uses and it works out that you've paid under 13p per use. Disposables are 15p or more, so you've already saved in the first year. The average length of time a child is in nappies is 2.5 years... so imagine the savings then!


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## JLFKJS

You can find pockets on ebay for as cheap as 5 dollars per diaper with free shipping


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## fluffpuffin

you will also be able to sell them on when you're done with them so will make some of the money back.


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## mandarhino

Check out diaper swappers. It is good US based site with loads of preloved cloth diapers for sale. It is a good way to pick up diapers on the cheap.


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## Aunty E

I think Terries are so easy to use and fold, but you do have to learn the knack and most people seem to be really scared of it. I did a video and posted the link on here somewhere of how to do my favourite fold and then folding onto my toddler.


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## hot tea

Kawaii diapers are very cheap. I have some kawaii one size pockets and they work great for me.

I have used cloth since birth this time around, and I can tell you it is already a HUGE money saver for wallet. Babies poo and pee a lot. I have to wash every day at the moment, and that is quite a few diapers. I used disposies with my first son and they were a much bigger pain in the ass and money killer.


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## Liesje

I calculated that I would have to use each one 250 times (that's before counting washing or the work involved) in order to break even... I'm not that hopeful one would even last 250 uses...


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## hot tea

How do you figure? After elastics go they are easy to replace.

A kawaii diapers goes as cheap as 7 per diaper new.


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## mamawannabee

I used ebay, they have cheapies that you can get for around 5 dollars each, often with free shipping. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Free-Shipping-10pcs-U-PICK-BABY-CLOTH-REUSABLE-NAPPIES-10-INSERTS-/170735370368?pt=AU_Nappies&hash=item27c09f0080 These are my favorites we've gotten, but for a little less money we also got these, which aren't bad, just not as soft https://www.ebay.com/itm/10PCS-BABYLAND-Baby-Washable-CLOTH-Diaper-Nappies-10INSERTS-/320784179589?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ab03a2185#ht_4809wt_932

I've also got lots of prefolds and some thirsties wraps, which are much cheaper, just a bit more challenging to use.


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## Liesje

hot tea said:


> How do you figure? After elastics go they are easy to replace.
> 
> A kawaii diapers goes as cheap as 7 per diaper new.

Where do you get Kawaiis? I'm in Ontario...

I was just thinking since each one is $20, from what I've seen, and a disposable costs $.08, it's a lot of work to break even.


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## hot tea

That depends on the size of the disposable. As your baby grows, the amount of diapers is smaller too. 

https://www.theluvyourbaby.com/

I bought 10 for around 100 dollars, free shipping. They are AWESOME. Totally recommend only buying the minkies. Love them. 

Oh, and black friday deals are on. If you want some cloth, buy now. You rrally cannot beat those prices.


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## hot tea

https://www.theluvyourbaby.com/luxury-package-clearance-sale-12-os-snazzy-minky/

TWELVE DIAPERS FOR 67 DOLLARS??? Am ordering...


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## LittlePants

Good quality traditional nappies (I prefer bamboo squares to cotton, and cheap cotton ones are not up to the job) are the cheapest way, and actually aren't that hard to use, once you've done a few. They are the best IMO, as they fit superbly whatever size your baby is, they wash brilliantly and dry quickly. I don't think the ebay cheapies shaped nappies actually work out economical in the long run, as you need to buy better inserts, and they wear out, and will probably not even last one baby. But good quality shaped nappies are well worth the outlay, as well. You will save what you spend on disposables i about 3 months, once you have a full set.
What I always recommend to someone on a budget is to do it gradually. Buy just one nappy to begin with. Every time you use it, drop 20p (or whatever a disposable costs in $) in a sealed container. You'll soon have saved enough to buy a second nappy. Continue doing it, and the pennies will save up even more quickly, every time you buy one. You'll be surprised at just how quickly you manage to accumulate a full set, without even noticing the cost.


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## fluffpuffin

$0.08 per disposable nappy? that seems very cheap. here I calculated the cheapest unbranded nappies are around £0.10 per nappy and that's on special offers. now I guess if you buy all your cloth full price then it could work out quite expensive, but if you look around for offers you can pick up great deals on cloth. I bought most of my bumgenius and flips really cheap on offer and paid a fraction of the price. you just need to shop around. and as I pointed out before you can sell them on as there's a preloved nappy market, so you make a big chunk of the cost back. or just buy preloved in the first place, then it's cheaper again.


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## Chasesmommy

go preloved! I just bought 12 Bum Genius AIO's with the inserts for $80. They are in great condition and I'm pretty excited about them.


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## Rachel_C

Liesje said:


> I calculated that I would have to use each one 250 times (that's before counting washing or the work involved) in order to break even... I'm not that hopeful one would even last 250 uses...

How did you work that out?!


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## Rachel_C

fluffpuffin said:


> and as I pointed out before you can sell them on as there's a preloved nappy market, so you make a big chunk of the cost back. or just buy preloved in the first place, then it's cheaper again.

I'd love to see somebody try to sell on a disposable afterwards :rofl:. I think I usually get at least 50-60% of the price I paid back after we've used them, and more like 90% back if I bought preloved in the first place.

It's also worth remembering that although you may be able to find dirt cheap disposables they may not work for your LO so you would have to buy more expensive ones.


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## Liesje

Rachel_C said:


> Liesje said:
> 
> 
> I calculated that I would have to use each one 250 times (that's before counting washing or the work involved) in order to break even... I'm not that hopeful one would even last 250 uses...
> 
> How did you work that out?!Click to expand...

If a cloth diaper is $20 and a disposable one is $.08, 20/.08=250.

...if I calculate laundry, one load costs roughly $.48 in water and electricity (that's off peak, almost double during peak times)... Which would be the price of 6 disposables on its own... It doesn't seem like that much of a money saver for someone only planning on having one kid...


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## Wantingbbbump

I will be making my nappie covers to save money but I will also be buying 2~3 cloth nappies a month because I am starting off with ones I made. There are videos on youtube on how to make them and patterns you can get for free online. I am even making some that will be small enough for a newborn by taking a old unused disposable diaper/nappie and using that as my pattern so I will have some that will fit the way I want them to as my babies are 6~7 pounds at birth.


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## Liesje

Rachel_C said:


> It's also worth remembering that although you may be able to find dirt cheap disposables they may not work for your LO so you would have to buy more expensive ones.

Who is to say one won't have to go through several types of cloth ones as well to find one that works for them? Doesn't that eat into the savings?


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## sixbillion

Check out sunbaby diapers!


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## NDH

Wow 8 cents for a disposable? I've never seen disposables for less than 21 cents each - and that's store brand on special. Keep in mind that disposables get more expensive as you move up in sizes too. It does sound though like you may not find cloth cheaper for you, but bear in mind that financial reasons are only one of the many (usual) benefits of using cloth. 

Even though I was planning on using cloth before I knew about MCNs (terries and pins - though don't have many in my stash now) I still sat down and calculated the cost comparison for myself rather than relying on ones that exist online. I got the cost of 6 brands of disposables with the normal price and usual sale prices when I could find that information and calculated the average as well as the cheapest option. And for cloth I used full price rather than sale price or buying preloved and used several brands - both one size and sized options and even if I didn't use them for a second (or third or fourth) child or resell afterwards it was still over $1000 savings (about $400 cheaper than disposables at the most expensive cloth option). That's with laundry expenses too - which were about what you calculated and really don't amount to all that much total expense. And cloth is even more expensive here - generally costing around $30 each for new.

But if you've done the math and are confident that you will only be spending 8 cents for disposables than preloved or two parters are going to be your only equally inexpensive options and you'll have to decide if you were interested in cloth only for the expense or if the environmental and benefit to baby are reasons enough to still sway you to cloth. For me it was a combination of the three reasons with the cuteness factor being a lovely perk. 

Even if I wasn't going to be saving money in the long run though I would still use cloth.


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## hot tea

Liesje said:


> Rachel_C said:
> 
> 
> It's also worth remembering that although you may be able to find dirt cheap disposables they may not work for your LO so you would have to buy more expensive ones.
> 
> Who is to say one won't have to go through several types of cloth ones as well to find one that works for them? Doesn't that eat into the savings?Click to expand...

Buy a few different types. Easily resell those that don't work for you. Get your money back and buy the ones that work.


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## 17thy

To be honest, I've spent maybe $100-150 on our entire stash, and we've traded and gotten free diapers ect and that's since she was 2 months old (she's almost 13 months). We have plenty. Disposables can be $100-150 a MONTH. You have no IDEA how many diapers your child will go through. Mine goes through a ton still.

Plus we will only have to have newborn diapers for the next baby (but i've learned how to make cloth diapers over the past 10 months so that will be cheap).


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## 17thy

Liesje said:


> Rachel_C said:
> 
> 
> It's also worth remembering that although you may be able to find dirt cheap disposables they may not work for your LO so you would have to buy more expensive ones.
> 
> Who is to say one won't have to go through several types of cloth ones as well to find one that works for them? Doesn't that eat into the savings?Click to expand...

There are lots of places and TONS of other cloth diapering moms that will trade for free with you. So that you both can try a new diaper.


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## Rachel_C

Liesje said:


> Rachel_C said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Liesje said:
> 
> 
> I calculated that I would have to use each one 250 times (that's before counting washing or the work involved) in order to break even... I'm not that hopeful one would even last 250 uses...
> 
> How did you work that out?!Click to expand...
> 
> If a cloth diaper is $20 and a disposable one is $.08, 20/.08=250.
> 
> ...if I calculate laundry, one load costs roughly $.48 in water and electricity (that's off peak, almost double during peak times)... Which would be the price of 6 disposables on its own... It doesn't seem like that much of a money saver for someone only planning on having one kid...Click to expand...

But cloth nappies don't all cost $20 and those disposables are very cheap (and possibly won't work for your LO). You can get prefolds for a couple of dollars each and with a couple of wraps, that would be all you needed. And I'd say that a nappy costing $20 (Candian $, I think that's where you are? That's around £12) would definitely last 250 uses. For a lot of people, that's only one year's use - most decent nappies, plus a lot of cheapies, would last 2 years if you were laundering them properly. But if you don't believe the costs, that's your choice! I can tell you that by the time I've cloth nappied my two girls (and lots of the nappies have been expensive ones) I will have saved around £1200. I would have saved just less than half of that with just one child. That's a decent saving in my eyes :)


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## Rachel_C

hot tea said:


> Liesje said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Rachel_C said:
> 
> 
> It's also worth remembering that although you may be able to find dirt cheap disposables they may not work for your LO so you would have to buy more expensive ones.
> 
> Who is to say one won't have to go through several types of cloth ones as well to find one that works for them? Doesn't that eat into the savings?Click to expand...
> 
> Buy a few different types. Easily resell those that don't work for you. Get your money back and buy the ones that work.Click to expand...

Exactly :) If you buy preloved in the first place and try them and they don't work, you sell them on for the price you paid so only lose the postage, which is the cost of several disposables - and you'd have tried the nappy several times anyway so no loss.


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## lindseymw

Wow $0.08 per nappy? That does seem too cheap! 

One thing I would like to point out (Not sure if it the same for everyone though)....I used sposies for the first couple of months before switching to cloth. I found that I was having to change LO's bum more frequently with Sposies than with Cloth so I was using 1.5/2 times more sposies than cloth in a day, which over a year or two obviously adds up!

Sposies cost me £10 per week, Cloth altogether including reusable wipes, wet bags, bucket etc have cost me £200. Looking back, I could have saved about £50 but being a cloth newbie, I didn't know what I looking for/how many I needed etc. I have Bumgenius Flips which I use over night & ebay cheapies which I use during the day. I have basically broke even in 4 months, so from now on it's all a saving!


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## Liesje

lindseymw said:


> Wow $0.08 per nappy? That does seem too cheap!

Those are for brand names also, so I'd imagine that the off brands/store brands would be even cheaper... I'd love to believe that cloths are cheaper because I hate throwing money away, but I really don't want to be in the business of bartering used poopy diapers to save a few bucks lol, plus shipping everything in and out of this country costs tons of money at customs... the only ones I'd buy would be what I find in stores, so I don't have to buy 20 to save on shipping and try them one at a time to see which ones work best.


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## fluffpuffin

well it's your choice at the end of the day. if you can get sposies that cheap. for me I had other reasons for using cloth as well not just money saving, though I did save a lot of money by using cloth. I didn't like having a smelly dustbin full of pooey nappies and I didn't like to think of buying something that gets just chucked in the bin when I'm done with it. plus my girl gets rashes in sposies.


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## lucy_x

mamawannabee said:


> I used ebay, they have cheapies that you can get for around 5 dollars each, often with free shipping.
> 
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/Free-Shipping-10pcs-U-PICK-BABY-CLOTH-REUSABLE-NAPPIES-10-INSERTS-/170735370368?pt=AU_Nappies&hash=item27c09f0080 These are my favorites we've gotten, but for a little less money we also got these, which aren't bad, just not as soft https://www.ebay.com/itm/10PCS-BABYLAND-Baby-Washable-CLOTH-Diaper-Nappies-10INSERTS-/320784179589?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ab03a2185#ht_4809wt_932

I only use these, They are brilliant, and then when you have some spare cash you can start bulking your stash up a bit with more expensive ones...But if like me you want cloth purley for the money savings etc and mot just the prettyness factor these do brilliantly. Mine also dry in 12hours overnight. 

Iv spent £70.00 total... No need to spend more, I dont have a wet bag (use a carrier bag) and i use wet wipes. Oh and a £1.00 bucket from a diy shop. (Amaris nappies dont smell :shrug: so didnt need something with a lid lol.)

The money savings isnt just what did it for me. I found a list of all the harmful things in sposies and the things they could do. and it made me cry, Yes cry.
(ok i was hormonal haha) not only that but did you know eight million nappies are thrown out everyday??? shocking.

Oh and the rashes she got in sposes....Discusting..her skin used to peel away from her bottom, she would cry for hours on end, awful.

Iv spent £70.00 on the cloth i have atm (not including pretties iv bought seperatly usually as a present for myself lol i dont count those as i dont use them very often) i have 20 nappies. I wash every 2 days. So in 12 months thats £5.83 on nappies a month, A wash costs 11p here, so a wash every other day would be £1.65 a month. powder is £2.99 a month. Drying them costs nothing..... Can someone point me in the direction of whre i can get some sposies for £10.47 a month here? id be spending 3 times that if i didnt use my cloth...


Actually those figures have made me realise how much i love my cloth...im off to buy more haha


https://www.happybums.co.uk/content/nappyfacts.asp
https://www.babiesnappies.co.uk/2008/06/19/scary-sposies/


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## Aunty E

I'd have spent about £150 on nappies and wraps if I'd stuck to terry squares. Honestly though, it sounds like you don't want to use cloth and I'm not especially up for persuading you. I doubt you can find disposables that cheaply, but if you can, use them. I personally don't like the idea of the landfill full of nappies from my baby, but then I don't recycle a lot, so I'm not exactly green either. I hear so many people say they meant to use cloth and found it too much bother. I've never found it a bother, it does save us money and sposies are gross IMO. But if you don't feel the same, don't waste time and energy on it. Babies are hard enough already.


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## Liesje

Aunty E said:


> I'd have spent about £150 on nappies and wraps if I'd stuck to terry squares. Honestly though, it sounds like you don't want to use cloth and I'm not especially up for persuading you. I doubt you can find disposables that cheaply, but if you can, use them. I personally don't like the idea of the landfill full of nappies from my baby, but then I don't recycle a lot, so I'm not exactly green either. I hear so many people say they meant to use cloth and found it too much bother. I've never found it a bother, it does save us money and sposies are gross IMO. But if you don't feel the same, don't waste time and energy on it. Babies are hard enough already.

I've lived in both Europe and North America and unfortunately, here the lifestyles and the economy are geared much more towards gluttony and wastefulness rather than conserving resources or the environment (not that I agree with it, but it's just the way it seems to be here)... Quite the culture shock... 
With a little bit of effort, you can even get disposables for free here... Just from writing the companies, I've already scored about 800 free diapers. 
I'm not particularly a fan of using disposables either (chemicals, toilet training issues, etc) which is why I'm trying to look for alternatives that will work for us.


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## Menelly

One of my really good friends swears by Sunbaby diapers as well. She's used them for 2 kids so far. Calculating, I can get 36 diapers plus 48 inserts for $248.00. I can't imagine how you're going to get disposables for less than that. /shrug


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## Hanskiz

Liesje said:


> Those are for brand names also, so I'd imagine that the off brands/store brands would be even cheaper... I'd love to believe that cloths are cheaper because I hate throwing money away, but I really don't want to be in the business of bartering used poopy diapers to save a few bucks lol, plus shipping everything in and out of this country costs tons of money at customs... the only ones I'd buy would be what I find in stores, so I don't have to buy 20 to save on shipping and try them one at a time to see which ones work best.

From the sounds of it you're not really interested in using cloth at all and I'm not going to try and persuade you. I personally use them more for environmental reasons than cost, but if it's purely a cost thing and you don't believe it is cheaper then just use disposables.


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## 17thy

Hanskiz said:


> Liesje said:
> 
> 
> Those are for brand names also, so I'd imagine that the off brands/store brands would be even cheaper... I'd love to believe that cloths are cheaper because I hate throwing money away, but I really don't want to be in the business of bartering used poopy diapers to save a few bucks lol, plus shipping everything in and out of this country costs tons of money at customs... the only ones I'd buy would be what I find in stores, so I don't have to buy 20 to save on shipping and try them one at a time to see which ones work best.
> 
> From the sounds of it you're not really interested in using cloth at all and I'm not going to try and persuade you. I personally use them more for environmental reasons than cost, but if it's purely a cost thing and you don't believe it is cheaper then just use disposables.Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing. Not to be rude OP, but if you can't shell out $150-200 (plus whatever shipping) for diapering your child until they are potty trained maybe you can't afford a child. It is NOT that expensive when you are going to be paying $1500+ on disposables until they are potty trained. So instead of finding all the negatives about cloth diapering how about finding some positives?

I was 17 when I had my first child, and we cloth diapered from 2 months old and we haven't spent more than $150-200 on everything. And I can promise you we will never be using disposables again. Using cloth is very beneficial in a number of ways and if you don't want to put the time and effort into finding cloth diapers you like (i got flips and prefolds, BG 4.0s, Blueberry OS and I haven't looked back since) then just put your time and effort into writing the disposable diaper companies so THEY can diaper your baby for you. 

It just seems like you want the whole process to be free. Well.... here's something for you, since this IS natural parenting and all. It's called EC (Elimination Communication) and it is completely free. You won't have to buy a single diaper. Oh, but then you have to put time and effort into reading your child's elimination signs and trying to set up a routine without diapers. 

:dohh: EVERYTHING you do is going to take time and effort. Nothing is free.


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## Hanskiz

17thy said:


> Hanskiz said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Liesje said:
> 
> 
> Those are for brand names also, so I'd imagine that the off brands/store brands would be even cheaper... I'd love to believe that cloths are cheaper because I hate throwing money away, but I really don't want to be in the business of bartering used poopy diapers to save a few bucks lol, plus shipping everything in and out of this country costs tons of money at customs... the only ones I'd buy would be what I find in stores, so I don't have to buy 20 to save on shipping and try them one at a time to see which ones work best.
> 
> From the sounds of it you're not really interested in using cloth at all and I'm not going to try and persuade you. I personally use them more for environmental reasons than cost, but if it's purely a cost thing and you don't believe it is cheaper then just use disposables.Click to expand...
> 
> I was thinking the same thing. Not to be rude OP, but if you can't shell out $150-200 (plus whatever shipping) for diapering your child until they are potty trained maybe you can't afford a child. It is NOT that expensive when you are going to be paying $1500+ on disposables until they are potty trained. So instead of finding all the negatives about cloth diapering how about finding some positives?
> 
> I was 17 when I had my first child, and we cloth diapered from 2 months old and we haven't spent more than $150-200 on everything. And I can promise you we will never be using disposables again. Using cloth is very beneficial in a number of ways and if you don't want to put the time and effort into finding cloth diapers you like (i got flips and prefolds, BG 4.0s, Blueberry OS and I haven't looked back since) then just put your time and effort into writing the disposable diaper companies so THEY can diaper your baby for you.
> 
> It just seems like you want the whole process to be free. Well.... here's something for you, since this IS natural parenting and all. It's called EC (Elimination Communication) and it is completely free. You won't have to buy a single diaper. Oh, but then you have to put time and effort into reading your child's elimination signs and trying to set up a routine without diapers.
> 
> :dohh: EVERYTHING you do is going to take time and effort. Nothing is free.Click to expand...

I think EC could be the way forward!!!


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## 17thy

Hanskiz said:


> 17thy said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hanskiz said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Liesje said:
> 
> 
> Those are for brand names also, so I'd imagine that the off brands/store brands would be even cheaper... I'd love to believe that cloths are cheaper because I hate throwing money away, but I really don't want to be in the business of bartering used poopy diapers to save a few bucks lol, plus shipping everything in and out of this country costs tons of money at customs... the only ones I'd buy would be what I find in stores, so I don't have to buy 20 to save on shipping and try them one at a time to see which ones work best.
> 
> From the sounds of it you're not really interested in using cloth at all and I'm not going to try and persuade you. I personally use them more for environmental reasons than cost, but if it's purely a cost thing and you don't believe it is cheaper then just use disposables.Click to expand...
> 
> I was thinking the same thing. Not to be rude OP, but if you can't shell out $150-200 (plus whatever shipping) for diapering your child until they are potty trained maybe you can't afford a child. It is NOT that expensive when you are going to be paying $1500+ on disposables until they are potty trained. So instead of finding all the negatives about cloth diapering how about finding some positives?
> 
> I was 17 when I had my first child, and we cloth diapered from 2 months old and we haven't spent more than $150-200 on everything. And I can promise you we will never be using disposables again. Using cloth is very beneficial in a number of ways and if you don't want to put the time and effort into finding cloth diapers you like (i got flips and prefolds, BG 4.0s, Blueberry OS and I haven't looked back since) then just put your time and effort into writing the disposable diaper companies so THEY can diaper your baby for you.
> 
> It just seems like you want the whole process to be free. Well.... here's something for you, since this IS natural parenting and all. It's called EC (Elimination Communication) and it is completely free. You won't have to buy a single diaper. Oh, but then you have to put time and effort into reading your child's elimination signs and trying to set up a routine without diapers.
> 
> :dohh: EVERYTHING you do is going to take time and effort. Nothing is free.Click to expand...
> 
> I think EC could be the way forward!!!Click to expand...

:thumbup: We do EC part time, and my daughter is 12 months and I think she will be completely potty trained within the next 4-5 months. Took a lot of "time and effort" lol.


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## Liesje

17thy said:


> Hanskiz said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Liesje said:
> 
> 
> Those are for brand names also, so I'd imagine that the off brands/store brands would be even cheaper... I'd love to believe that cloths are cheaper because I hate throwing money away, but I really don't want to be in the business of bartering used poopy diapers to save a few bucks lol, plus shipping everything in and out of this country costs tons of money at customs... the only ones I'd buy would be what I find in stores, so I don't have to buy 20 to save on shipping and try them one at a time to see which ones work best.
> 
> From the sounds of it you're not really interested in using cloth at all and I'm not going to try and persuade you. I personally use them more for environmental reasons than cost, but if it's purely a cost thing and you don't believe it is cheaper then just use disposables.Click to expand...
> 
> I was thinking the same thing. Not to be rude OP, but if you can't shell out $150-200 (plus whatever shipping) for diapering your child until they are potty trained maybe you can't afford a child. It is NOT that expensive when you are going to be paying $1500+ on disposables until they are potty trained. So instead of finding all the negatives about cloth diapering how about finding some positives?
> 
> I was 17 when I had my first child, and we cloth diapered from 2 months old and we haven't spent more than $150-200 on everything. And I can promise you we will never be using disposables again. Using cloth is very beneficial in a number of ways and if you don't want to put the time and effort into finding cloth diapers you like (i got flips and prefolds, BG 4.0s, Blueberry OS and I haven't looked back since) then just put your time and effort into writing the disposable diaper companies so THEY can diaper your baby for you.
> 
> It just seems like you want the whole process to be free. Well.... here's something for you, since this IS natural parenting and all. It's called EC (Elimination Communication) and it is completely free. You won't have to buy a single diaper. Oh, but then you have to put time and effort into reading your child's elimination signs and trying to set up a routine without diapers.
> 
> :dohh: EVERYTHING you do is going to take time and effort. Nothing is free.Click to expand...

I'm not the OP and I never said I can't afford cloth diapers, I was more eluding to the fact that I can't afford to waste my time every day to save $600 over the life of a child. (that pays for a little more than a week of daycare around here).
...and I wasn't really looking for anyone to "persuade" me, I was more looking for solutions that other people may have found if they faced the same problems. 
I don't see why so many threads around here seem to turn into who's right and who's wrong and passing judgments... Can't people just offer solutions if they have them or just move on if they don't??


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## Menelly

I agree with the last few posters. It seems like you aren't really looking for info on cloth. Maybe we're wrong. /shrug


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## Hanskiz

Liesje said:


> I'm not the OP and I never said I can't afford cloth diapers, I was more eluding to the fact that I can't afford to waste my time every day to save $600 over the life of a child. (that pays for a little more than a week of daycare around here).
> ...and I wasn't really looking for anyone to "persuade" me, I was more looking for solutions that other people may have found if they faced the same problems.
> I don't see why so many threads around here seem to turn into who's right and who's wrong and passing judgments... Can't people just offer solutions if they have them or just move on if they don't??

And a number of people have offered some very sound suggestions and advice. At every turn you have said that you think cloth is too expensive compared to disposables and too much hassle so it's clear that you're not really interested at all. If you can get free/ really cheap disposable nappies and are not too fussed about the environmental impact then that is obviously the right decision for you. Nobody is judging you. :flower:


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## hot tea

Liesje said:


> Aunty E said:
> 
> 
> I'd have spent about £150 on nappies and wraps if I'd stuck to terry squares. Honestly though, it sounds like you don't want to use cloth and I'm not especially up for persuading you. I doubt you can find disposables that cheaply, but if you can, use them. I personally don't like the idea of the landfill full of nappies from my baby, but then I don't recycle a lot, so I'm not exactly green either. I hear so many people say they meant to use cloth and found it too much bother. I've never found it a bother, it does save us money and sposies are gross IMO. But if you don't feel the same, don't waste time and energy on it. Babies are hard enough already.
> 
> I've lived in both Europe and North America and unfortunately, here the lifestyles and the economy are geared much more towards gluttony and wastefulness rather than conserving resources or the environment (not that I agree with it, but it's just the way it seems to be here)... Quite the culture shock...
> With a little bit of effort, you can even get disposables for free here... Just from writing the companies, I've already scored about 800 free diapers.
> I'm not particularly a fan of using disposables either (chemicals, toilet training issues, etc) which is why I'm trying to look for alternatives that will work for us.Click to expand...

I find that we are actually much, much more Eco friendly here. I am moving to holland wih my Dutch partner and I can honestly say they are not very environmentally aware. Here it is in vogue to be. Here it is easy! 

What about the kawaii diapers? Those ARE cheap. And free shipping after 70 dollars.


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## Hanskiz

17thy said:


> :thumbup: We do EC part time, and my daughter is 12 months and I think she will be completely potty trained within the next 4-5 months. Took a lot of "time and effort" lol.

I'm hoping to try it with this baby - gutted I didn't do it with my daughter now that I'm battling with potty 'training' (although having read the Diaper Free Baby has helped with conventional potty training too). Are there any EC groups on here?


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## hot tea

I am interested in EC as well!


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## Rachel_C

Liesje said:


> I'm not the OP and I never said I can't afford cloth diapers, I was more eluding to the fact that *I can't afford to waste my time every day* to save $600 over the life of a child. (that pays for a little more than a week of daycare around here).
> ...and I wasn't really looking for anyone to "persuade" me, I was more looking for solutions that other people may have found if they faced the same problems.
> I don't see why so many threads around here seem to turn into who's right and who's wrong and passing judgments... Can't people just offer solutions if they have them or just move on if they don't??

Well I think we'll have to agree to disagree here. If you haven't ever tried cloth nappying, you really don't know what you're talking about. If you think cloth nappies are a waste of time, that's your choice to believe that. For the record though, cloth nappies take me around 5 mins to 'do' every 2-3 days (on top of putting them on baby, which takes the same time as a disposable). If less nappy rash, saving money (however little you consider it to be), less chemicals in touch with your LO's delicate skin, more choice for a better fit for your LO, fewer leaks, softer materials for LO, less waste etc isn't worth 5 mins every 2 days, well you're probably gonna have a lot of time on your hands with all the things that aren't worth you doing.


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## Liesje

hot tea said:
 

> What about the kawaii diapers? Those ARE cheap. And free shipping after 70 dollars.

I saw those and quite liked them, but are they available in any stores in Canada or just online?
There are so many different types and features that I have no idea which one is for what application LOL
It would be nice to be able to buy one of each type so I could see which one _the person wearing them_ might prefer ;)
Do they prefer different ones in the summer/winter, day/night?


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## Dragonfly

The ones I have cost £2.50 each on ebay and padding for 10 double pads was £9.99 compared to the £6.56 or more for a pack of nappies.


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## Joyzerelly

I really like Diddy Diapers, they're cheapish and really my favourite nappy. I will be using all of my nappies from my toddler for my next and although cloth nappies do require a large initial outlay, they are a LOT cheaper than disposables in the long run. 
Try buying one or two at a time and also try buying preloved nappies. I have many second hand nappies in my collection, in fact most are.


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## StarlitHome

We started our stash with a gift of cloth diapers - I'd put them on my registry for my baby shower. DH's aunt got us some, the flat-folds kind and a velcro wrap (dappi) and some dappi inserts. They're fairly cheap on Amazon. 
When We were ready to start using cloth exclusively, we bought two more velcro wraps. $5 each.
Then we decided to get some pocket diapers - we got Sunbaby ones. $60 (shipping included) for 12 diapers and 12 inserts. They come in cute patterns and colors, they're BTP, and we love them! Just ordered 6 more to pad out our stash.
We are _not_ wealthy at all, and we couldn't see the reason in shelling out $8-15 per week, every week, for disposable diapers until Molly is potty-trained. It makes far more sense to us to spend just under $100 and have diapers that will last the whole time, and maybe even for our next child :thumbup: 
Of course, you will make the best decision for you. Just giving my experience. :flower:


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## lisaf

I spent a lot more of my time dealing with poop explosions from disposables than I spend washing my cloth stash, lol!

Hidden cost to disposables = stained clothing that is ruined, lol!!!
:haha:

I have never seen disposables that cheap, and we had issues finding ones that fit well, so even if they're cheap they may not work well for you. Then our guy outgrew them before we expected and I had a TON of diapers that we couldnt' even use and I had to give away... more wasted money.
Plus wipe costs... with cloth you can use re-usable wipes.

If you do daycare though, you have to make sure they're willing to deal with your cloth or else your savings will disappear.


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## JadeCrusader

Wow! Thanks for all the suggestions! Sorry I didn't get back sooner to participate in the discussion. I found some great deals on ebay and I also did really like the Kawaii kind too, mostly because they're a bit cheaper than the sunbaby kind. This really helped out in clearing things up for me!!

Thanks again!! :D


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## JadeCrusader

Oh, also, about how many cloth diapers would I need for one child for the course of his/her "diaper-hood"? :)


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## Rachel_C

If they're one-size nappies, I'd say to get maybe 16 to start off with. You will probably find that they don't fit that well for the first 6 weeks, and once they do LO shouldn't need changing 10 times a day like a newborn so you can get away with less of them. That would be washing every other day for my 15 week old, maybe every day when they're younger and using more nappies. If you're buying only one or two kinds, I would only buy 2-3 to try out before you buy any more, just in case they don't work for your LO.


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## Aunty E

It's true - exploding sposies = ruined clothes! I can never get over how little disposable nappies actually keep in :( The kids were in disposables when the MiL was here last week and aside from the hideous nappy rash they've both got, I've still got a nappy bucket with vests and tights soaking in napisan in the bathroom because she just shoved the pooey clothes in the laundry basket where I didn't spot them for DAYS :growlmad:


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## Rachel_C

Aunty E said:


> It's true - exploding sposies = ruined clothes! I can never get over how little disposable nappies actually keep in :( The kids were in disposables when the MiL was here last week and aside from the hideous nappy rash they've both got, I've still got a nappy bucket with vests and tights soaking in napisan in the bathroom because she just shoved the pooey clothes in the laundry basket where I didn't spot them for DAYS :growlmad:

Eek!

My youngest is 15 weeks now and I think we've only had one poo leak, when I'd somehow managed to put the nappy on really wonky and even then it was only a tiny bit of poo. In contrast, my oldest was in disposables for the first 10 days of her life and seemed to have a poo explosion every day!


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## lisaf

Rachel_C said:


> If they're one-size nappies, I'd say to get maybe 16 to start off with. You will probably find that they don't fit that well for the first 6 weeks, and once they do LO shouldn't need changing 10 times a day like a newborn so you can get away with less of them. That would be washing every other day for my 15 week old, maybe every day when they're younger and using more nappies. If you're buying only one or two kinds, I would only buy 2-3 to try out before you buy any more, just in case they don't work for your LO.

I went with one-size diapers since I started at around 4 months old. Because I am not home during the day, I had to get enough diapers to last me 3 days. I have to have the daycare bag packed at night, so I needed another 'days' worth of diapers to have handy. 
Just something to think about if you won't be home to handle the laundry during the day or have to use a childminder. Don't worry about stocking up until they're needed, but sometimes you need more than the recommended amount that works for other people.


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## 17thy

Hanskiz said:


> 17thy said:
> 
> 
> :thumbup: We do EC part time, and my daughter is 12 months and I think she will be completely potty trained within the next 4-5 months. Took a lot of "time and effort" lol.
> 
> I'm hoping to try it with this baby - gutted I didn't do it with my daughter now that I'm battling with potty 'training' (although having read the Diaper Free Baby has helped with conventional potty training too). Are there any EC groups on here?Click to expand...

Ahaha I don't know, the closest thing would be the natural parenting group I believe. I've gotten ridiculed for mentioning in other parts of BnB.... anything out of the norm makes peoples heads explode for some reason lol. :haha:


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## Aunty E

Some people do EC who hang around on the natural parenting boards. I'm not sure it's worth the time and effort personally, but then I haven't bothered potty training yet, since Imogen just did several large wees on the floor and couldn't care less the one time I tried her in training pants :haha: I'm lazy ;)


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## vespersonicca

We buy everything used. Let other people buy new! Often times they get things they decide they don't like or don't fit right and sell them cheaper.


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