First Significant Purchase

And I am just giddy. Nevernomind the 4 large Tupperware storage containers of baby clothes and other paraphernalia I have stored, acquired at garage sales over the years at $1 here, $.50 there. Probably the main reason I named my blog as such, as I was stockpiling onesies years before we conceived because, One Day I Will Have One Too! And by gawd, baby clothes are awfully pricey, so let's stock up now!

Thanks to Young House Love's recommendation, I am pretty sold on doing cloth diapers. I would think back in the day, that cloth diapers were mostly done for environmental or traditional reasons. They sure looked like a lot of work; with the pins, the folding, the stuffing, the fit, the laundry, etc etc ad nauseum. However, with the advancement in technology of cloth diapers (how is that in the same sentence?) , the use of cloth diapers today is nearly identical to those of disposables, except you simply launder and reuse them. Of course this depends on what brand and style you purchase, they all vary to an extent. Sure, I feel better about not filling landfills with yet another ton of disposable, takes-1000-years-to-decompose diapers, but that's not the main reason I'm going with this method. If it was the only reason, I certainly wouldn't be doing it. Cost and ease of use are the main motivation(s). Ok, and maybe cuteness as well.

The average cost of disposable diapers and wipes (of course, depending on the child) from birth to potty-trained is approximately $3000. You take a look at one box of swaddlers and the cost doesn't seem that significant, but when you consider box after box after box over the course of years, well then it surely can add up. I can't really give you an 'average' of what the investment of cloth diapers is, due to the fact that styles vary so much which affects the cost. But I can give you what my investment will be, based on my chosen brand and style: bumGenius Elemental Organic One Size All-In-One with Snaps.

I didn't pick the 'Organic' option because I'm one of those people that only buys organic everything blahblahblah (because I'm really not). I picked that one because it was the only style that was One Size AND All In One AND with Snaps (as opposed to Velcro). Cloth diapers in recent years came in 'sizes' (Sm-Md-lg), that you had to keep buying as the child grew. This kind of defeated the 'economical' and 'environmental' purposes to me, even though you still would be using less than will disposables. The 'One Size' has rows of snaps on the front that allow you to adjust as the child grew. I can't imagine a diaper that can fit a newborn AND a full-size toddler, but that's what it says it does (pounds recommendation: 7- 35 lbs), so we will see!

Also cloth diapers of the past had various degrees of 'stuffing'. Some had a separate interior layer with a plastic 'cover', and some were 'pocket diapers', where you had to stuff another soft layer on the inside. Sounds pretty taxing for a lazy person like me. Who would want to deal with that, with a brand-spanking new newborn or squirmy toddler? Not I. I can see exactly why some people throw in the towel after a month or two.

Enter the All-In-One. No separate covers, no layers to stuff. Functions just like a disposable, except after removal, instead of just tossing it into the trash like a disposable, you rinse out the inside briefly (with the use of a handy sprayer attached to your commode tank) and then toss into the laundry. From what I've read, then you do a load of cloth diaper laundry every other day or so.

Oh yea, the Snaps. Cloth diapers mostly come with velcro or snaps these days. I read many a review on various styles, and most people seem to prefer the snaps. The velcro usually ends up wearing out in the wash and pilling, and the snaps are harder for the child to remove than the velcro, once they gain dexterity.

And the cost? Well I shopped and shopped online, and it seems I found the best deal at ThanksMama. The average cost for the exact style I wanted was around $24-$25 per diaper. Plus shipping depending on the site. Thanks to an online coupon I found, I got a package of 6 for $20 per diaper, plus free shipping. In another month or so, I will probably order another 'stash' of 6-8, for a total of 12-14. I've heard a good number to have is 12. Total investment= less than $300. (versus $3K!) Of course, that doesn't take into account wipes and whatnot, but I could make them myself, but am not sure yet if I will.

I really like the colors that bumGenius offers (Sweet, Grasshopper, Twilight, Clementine, etc); they are mostly subdued nursery colors and gender-neutral. I went with the greens, yellows and oranges, as we won't find out the sex until next month, and I would want these to be able to be passed down to subsequent chill'rens (more savings!). Though it was hard to resist the 'Blossom' and the 'Zinnia'.

Now I'm not an entirely unreasonable person. I'm not thinking "I MUST cloth diaper I WILL cloth diaper". I know with a new baby that all bets are off and you just don't know what is going to work until well, they are happening. Got to roll with the punches. This may not work at all, he/she may not quite fit into the diapers yet, power outages, etc. Therefore, there will be a box or two of swaddlers as a backup. 'Cause you just never know.