After realizing that I went the whole day wearing my underwear inside-out (despite the 64 trips to the bathroom), I had a sequence of thoughts that led me to consider in great detail our potential diaper dilemma. (how ironic that “dilemma” is a word I can never remember how to spell?)
So here’s the issue, we live in the boonies… FAR from civilization. We love living in the country, but there are a few inconveniences that are associated with it. Grocery shopping and pizza delivery to name a few. But now that I have new little sweet baby poop-machines on the brain, I’ve been thinking a lot about our lack’o’garbage service. We’ve certainly learned the art of what is burnable and what isn’t, and have adjusted our lives accordingly. But diapers… they are not burnable. That’s right, poop doesn’t burn. Not that I’ve tried.
Though I have a distinct memory of my brothers trying to light their farts afire… unsuccessfully.
So we’ve begun considering the idea/possibility/prospect of disposable diapers. But after doing some research, we’re very conflicted about the pros/cons. Being in the family-way-X2, it is estimated that our precious little dainty ladies will be soiling between 800-1200 diapers in the first month 60 days *note correction, and breathe deeply (according to the book Twinspiration!) which I imagine will be overwhelming whether we use disposable OR cloth diapers.
Do ANY of you have any suggestions? Have you used cloth diapers? Does it actually save money, or does the extra cost of running the washer/dryer break you even? Will it make me want to start myself on fire?
If we use disposable diapers, how could we dispose of them with NO GARBAGE SERVICE?? Certainly other parents live in the country, and somehow got by. Certainly other parents have had good experiences using one or the other method. Certainly you feel compelled to share your successes/mishaps. I just need to know. Let’s talk.
I have used cloth diapers for a year with my now 2 year old son and I love them! No matter if I had all the money in the world I would never, ever use disposable diapers again! Cloth is so easy, so cute and you are not putting chemicals against your babies skin.We are satisfied with it and strongly prefer to another for use it.
fantastic article very interesting
Realize this is a very late post but I just came upon your site and love it. I live in Western Iowa, it’s so nice to come upon people online from Iowa. I found your nursery on Project Nursery because we are trying to get our twin girls nursery in order. Yup, the twin girls are 9 weeks now after moving our older two girls downstairs it’s time to get the twins room in order.
I used disposable diapers with my older girls, but with the expense in sight for the twins we looked into and got cloth for the twins. I had a horrible first two weeks after they were born and it was wonderful how many people gave us diapers as gifts so we used disposable for the first bit but after they ran out I started right in on the cloth. We use gdiapers with cloth inserts only. If you’re not squeemish then cleaning them is not an issue. I do a load of wash every day so it’s not any extra time. We do use the disposable liners but only very occasionally. The tiny gdiapers are great for holding in the explosions and not that they have moved to the next size have found the same. I did get some pocket diapers for when they are older. I wish I would’ve clothed with the others but the amount of money we are saving is wonderful and being on a farm we know that running to the store to get more diapers isn’t always convenient. I agree that you need to test the waters so to speak and find out what works, but cloth diapering these days is so much easier than people think.
So I know this is an old post but I believe my experience is still relevant 🙂 I don’t have twins but I have experienced both disposable and cloth. For the first 6 months of my sons life we used Pampers disposables. I don’t know if my son is just an EXPLOSIVE pooper or what but he had blowouts literally every week, at least 3x a week. Which meant I had to get poop on my hands in order to take off the soiled clothes, put on a new onsie, and wash the poop off his outfit and legs. I had never considered cloth, imagining the old-school diapers my grandma used, until my friend on Facebook mentioned it. I researched the different cloth diapers and was fascinated. There’s a whole world out there on cloth diapering that I never knew about!!! I ordered a few pocket-style cloth diapers and tried them for about a week until he happened to be wearing them during his morning poop.
NO BLOWOUT! And it was a crazy banana poop (you will discover that banana poops are very disgusting, black, scary poops). I was impressed. I only had 4 diapers and decided to go to a local diaper shop and get a few more so he could wear them for a full day. Since then I have had maybe 2 or 3 blowouts (it’s been 4 1/2 months). I have discovered that cloth diapers are more absorbent, nicer on my son’s skin, and CUTE! I also calculated how much we were spending on diapers a month and multiplied that by 30 months (for 2 1/2 years in diapers) to see how much we’d spend on disposables and compared that with how much we had spent to get our stock of cloth and found we were saving just under $700 dollars! Not to mention I can use these diapers for the next kid, just like baby clothes. And since my husband and I don’t generate a lot of laundry I usually did a load once a week. Now I do a load 3 times a week but I’d have to do more laundry with a baby any way considering how many bibs and outfits they go through.
As far as convenience, it’s just as easy as disposables in my experience. If it’s a pee diaper I just toss it in this nifty washable cloth diaper pail I found that hangs on the side of the changing table, no putting in the diaper genie and twisting the top. If it’s a poop I dump the poop in the toilet and if it’s a sticky-messy one I spray it with a high-power spray bottle and then throw it in the diaper pail-bag. And you don’t have to run to the store and spend $90+ bucks a month on diapers…which would take a lot of time considering how far you live from town. With cloth you can get one-size diapers that fit from about 7lbs – 35lbs (potty training).
Also, with twins I think it’d save you even more money. So considering the drive to buy diapers every month, how much trash you’d be producing and no trash service, plus the extra money because of twins, I would highly recommend cloth. There are many different styles to choose from. I’d recommend trying 1 or 2 of a diaper before you commit.
I’ve tried pockets with snaps, with velcro, and all-in-ones and have things I love and don’t care for with all of them. My favorite so far are the one-size Fuzzibunz.
GOOD LUCK!
Having used disposables on 3 kids I bought some cloth ones to try with this baby, to see if I could handle it (and for emergencies). I bought pocket diapers, all-in-ones, and the other kind. Although they actually kept the newborn poop in better than the disposables, I found that I was having a really hard time keeping it up, I was just too tired to deal with the extra effort (4 kids under 6 over here).
If you decide to do disposables, I highly recommend joining Amazon Mom at amazon.com…you can get 30% off their diaper prices with the amazon mom discount and subscribe and save (recurring shipments, can be cancelled anytime). There are also amazon diaper coupons periodically in parents and parenting magazines that bring it down even further. (i’ve gotten packages of 150 diapers for $5 before by stacking coupons).
Bum Genius Diapers are amazing! I used disposable for a while and then had some friends who use the re-usable bum genius diapers, I tried them and will never go back! Good luck!
I have used cloth diapers for a year with my now 2 year old son and I LOVE them! No matter if I had all the money in the world I would never, ever use disposable diapers again! Cloth is so easy, so cute and you are not putting chemicals against your babies skin. I wash every 2-3 days and it takes maybe a total of 1 min. to push start and to switch the load from washer to dryer. I use pocket diapers so it takes me maybe 10 min. to stuff them after they are dry. My water bill has never increased because of the additional washing. Bum Genius and Fuzzibunz are two great options for one size diapers that will fit from around 10 lbs through potty training. Washing them is so easy just do a cold rinse, hot wash extra rinse with detergent and a fast warm cycle no detergent. Then throw everything in the dryer on low. I use Rockin Green Cloth diaper detergent http://www.rockingreensoap.com.
Also check out the cloth diaper board on Baby Center. Lots of good information.
After I made the switch some of my friends took notice and wanted to switch as well. I have helped 3 of them switch and they are going on 6+ months now and love it too! Cloth diapers are so different than they were years ago. I am willing to bet anyone with a different attitute says what they say based on old school beliefs and not from actually trying todays modern options.
I would recommended http://www.diaperjunction.com/ and their cloth diaper blog
http://www.clothdiaperblog.com/
I just recently switched my 3 month old to cloth and I LOVE it! Much easier than people think.
When my kiddos were int eh NICU at the University of Iowa the doctors suggested that they should have 8 wet/dirty diapers a day. Realistically both my kids had about 6. Dont get too nervous until they come!
Also, you may want to check out the Toys R Us/Babies R Us diaper deals! They run a special where you can get a $15 gift card when you buy two boxes… if you play your cards right you can get your 7th box free with the cards, the 8th box discounted with the remainder of the cards, buy your 9th box at reg price adn get your tenth box free usign the rewards program that they offet (buy nine boxes, get the tenth free via voucher). Works like a charm and you can stock up two boxes at a time. I suggest Pampers Swaddlers because they are the softest and have a line that turns when they are wet! perfect for quick checks and mommys sanity!
Also, you may want to google birth, baby and beyond in cedar rapids and call the owner. She ahs amazing advice for the debate!
Cloth diapering is awesome! If you want to see my stash of diapers http://www.simplyatomic.net and message me there with any questions. I seriously love it and how much money it has saved us!
Cloth diapering is awesome! If you want to see my stash of diapers http://www.simplyatomic.net and message me there with any questions. I seriously love it and how much money it has saved us!
Wow no wonder anonymous posted as anonymous. Yuck, the me generation, that’s quite a stereotype and offensive. Isn’t it our generation that is bringing back cloth diapering to care for others in the future? The previous 2 generations used disposable.
On to cloth diapering, I can’t wait to cd! I have even gotten J on board! My thought process on it is that I would rather pay a big amount upfront than a much bigger amount over the years slowly. I love the thought that I could have 4 kids that would all use the same diapers for one upfront cost.
If your on a septic system I wouldn’t use the g diaper, if something went bad that would be a HUGE expense. If you are on a well and get free water why not cloth diaper, water is one less thing to pay for.
I used disposables. I don’t have a big opinion on the diaper discussion. But I would highly recommend using cloth for cleaning up messy bottoms. My babies did not have diaper rash.. and I believe that is because I have not put a diaper wipe to any baby bottom. A cloth and warm water does a fine job, no chemicals required.
I used disposables. I don’t have a big opinion on the diaper discussion. But I would highly recommend using cloth for cleaning up messy bottoms. My babies did not have diaper rash.. and I believe that is because I have not put a diaper wipe to any baby bottom. A cloth and warm water does a fine job, no chemicals required.
http://www.diaperjunction.com/
Best website, ever. They have great “green” options for diapers and other stuff for baby.
whoa. all i can say is people have some opinions about poop alright! 🙂 glad to see your site getting so much traffic!
whoa. all i can say is people have some opinions about poop alright! 🙂 glad to see your site getting so much traffic!
Hi, I never had twins but I did have 7 children with, at times, 3 in diapers. I loved my cloth diapers and feel that they are more comfortable for the baby. I guess that is something that most people don’t care about in this “me” centered generation. It is all about what is “easy” for “me” and what is best for “me”. I never thought about them being more comfortable than disposibles until one of my children took off running one day when I was going to be lazy and put a disposable on her. She ran all over the place and I couldn’t get her to stop. I finally asked her what was wrong and why was she running away. All she could say was, “Hot, Hot, Mommy! Pin diaper, pin diaper!!”
Hi, I never had twins but I did have 7 children with, at times, 3 in diapers. I loved my cloth diapers and feel that they are more comfortable for the baby. I guess that is something that most people don’t care about in this “me” centered generation. It is all about what is “easy” for “me” and what is best for “me”. I never thought about them being more comfortable than disposibles until one of my children took off running one day when I was going to be lazy and put a disposable on her. She ran all over the place and I couldn’t get her to stop. I finally asked her what was wrong and why was she running away. All she could say was, “Hot, Hot, Mommy! Pin diaper, pin diaper!!”
If you are in Des Moines some time, stop in to Little Padded Seats in Valley Junction (closed on Sunday and Monday). They sell all kinds of cloth diapers, everyone who works there has used them, I believe and if you look at their website, littlepaddedseats.com, you can find Saturdays when they offer a free CDing 101 class, which we found very informative, plus you can ask all kinds of questions and you get a coupon for I think 20% off your next purchase. And of course, if you are in town, you could stop by or we could all go out to dinner. 🙂
Here is a link to some a cloth diaper blog. It is a mom of twins who makes her own cloth diapers. She has a post on there about the cost savings (incl. washing), and her husband wrote a post about his reluctance, and how much he loves cd’s now. I can’t comment on her diaper’s as I’ve never used them, but They sell out in minutes every time she has a stocking.
Here’s the link:
http://twinkietush.blogspot.com/
P.S. I love your blog!!!
I thought I’d chime in on the debate. I have a 13 month old that I have been using disposable diapers for, but for the past week he has had a beat red, painful rash on his thighs and privates. I am switching to cloth asap. I put a cloth in his disposable diaper just to keep the chemicals away from his rash for now, and it already looks SO much better! For $100 I can buy two dozen prefolds and 5 covers (I’m buying the Thirsties Duo Wraps because they grow with your baby, you don’t have to buy a new size each time they get bigger.)
If you can, just spend $25-$50 a month on buying cloth diapers and you will have PLENTY by the time your LO’s are due. Since you have twins you should probably get 4 dozen pre-folds and 8-10 covers. Check out the Cloth Diapering board on Babycenter for more info: http://community.babycenter.com/groups/a16235/cloth_diapering
I would really recommend cloth. I have have 20 friends that have done it and swear by it. most people that actually do it love it. one friend had twins and swears by cloth. they are more absorbent, fewer blowouts, are definitely better for the environment (sorry whoever up there said otherwise), and create less diaper rash. i would recommend checking out these sites to learn more:
http://www.theclothdiaperwhisperer.com/
http://jilliansdrawers.com/
http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2008/01/cloth-diapering-is-it-worth-it.html
http://www.clothdiaperaddiction.com/
I have twin girls and used disposable diapers. I’ve never used cloth diapers so I can’t comment on the time it takes to care for them properly or the money you might save. I DO know that especially in the beginning, you will be very tired and anytime your babies are sleeping you should be sleeping too (of course, twins don’t always sleep at the same time). We used to use our plastic grocery shopping bags to dispose of the stinky diapers–tie the bags up and put them in the trash barrel in the garage. Congratulations to you and your husband! Twins are such an amazing journey, and I love reading your blog!!
gDiapers.com Check them out. They are a hybrid diaper and very environmentally friendly. You can get them on Amazon and it saves tons of money. Amazon has 2 day delivery and always has sweet coupons. I love reading your blog…I think I stumbled upon it from a friend of a friends. Best wishes to you and your little bundles of joys!!
And it was your sweet mommy that came to teach me how to fold cloth diapers so that I could use them. She was such a good neighbor!!
Hey…just so you know, diapers do burn. We’ve burned our share. I did try to dump the poop in to the toilet as much as possible, so it was disposed of better…but they burn.
I’ve used cloth and disposables. I liked using cloth and have had two kids in them at the same time. It’s very do-able and there are some really cute, sweet diapers covers, etc. out there now that make them not so yucky looking. ;0)
Wait a minute! Did I say 800-1200 a MONTH?!? Our numbers for the first 8 weeks (when we really had to count daily) averaged 8-12 per baby, per day…
for the first 8 weeks, that number is right…not that many in the first month…
Breathe deep! 🙂
Wait a minute! Did I say 800-1200 a MONTH?!? Our numbers for the first 8 weeks (when we really had to count daily) averaged 8-12 per baby, per day…
for the first 8 weeks, that number is right…not that many in the first month…
Breathe deep! 🙂
Hey Bethany! You are HILARIOUS in your posts, I just love them!
On the diaper number estimate…hand to heaven, that’s what we used, and we were NOT overzealous changers. Hopefully, you’ll have lesser numbers…
Our pediatrician (as our two were small) mandated we count soiled diapers on each (and in each refuse variety) to make sure they were getting enough nutrition and staying hydrated…
part of that could be that we were BFing…and couldn’t “measure” how much was getting in ’em.
On the disposal tip, like the idea of bagging separately (if going with disposables) and taking them WAY out back til you make dump trips.
Cloth diapers (according to Dr. Greene the “Green Pediatrician”) are no less detrimental to the environment than disposables (the energy outlay and cleaning products take a toll)…and hand to heaven, anything we could do to get more opportunity for sleep (as in not having to do crazy quantities of twin-created messy pants laundry), we did!
You all will figure out what works for you!
I personally did not use cloth, however, I wish I would have. I have many friends who used cloth and said it saves them bundles. To save on doing laundry each day and keep the house smelling fresh, just dump the poo down the toilet and throw the diapers in a 5 gallon pail full of soapy water. When the girls decide it’s nap time (and you decide you have enough energy to do a load) grab some gloves and move them from the soapy water to the washer. Sounds easy enough?? Another thing to consider is that at first, cloth may cost more. However, the sizes last for a very very long time, so once you get the stock you have them forever! AND they are WAY cuter then the silly disposables.
Hope that helps- As far as if you went disposable- I have NO ideas for you on how to get rid of them.
bethany,
here’s one of the YHL cloth diaper posts. You can look up way more, of course. I don’t know if this will link properly so you might have to copy/paste this link.
http://www.younghouselove.com/2010/08/the-much-requested-cloth-diaper-post/
bethany,
here’s one of the YHL cloth diaper posts. You can look up way more, of course. I don’t know if this will link properly so you might have to copy/paste this link.
http://www.younghouselove.com/2010/08/the-much-requested-cloth-diaper-post/
i used cloth with my son, and loved them. but i don’t know what it would be like with two. sorry,not a lot of help. lol good luck.
A friend of mine uses cloth — she claims it saves her money and doesn’t add any more time than an extra load of laundry or two. Of course, she doesn’t have twins, so maybe that would be a pain?
A friend of mine uses cloth — she claims it saves her money and doesn’t add any more time than an extra load of laundry or two. Of course, she doesn’t have twins, so maybe that would be a pain?
Honest? A close relative in the same predicament (no garbage service) put the diapers in a separate bag and disposed of them while filling up at the gas station. (Not saying I condone it. Just sayin’!) They also frequented our garbage can, being we never came close to filling it ourselves.
My husband and I live out in the country, and while we don’t have kids, we do accumulate a lot of trash (we run a wedding venue and also sell a line of “Beyond Easy” breads, dips, mixes, etc.). There are two options for us country folk: One is call Waste Management and ask them to drop off a small dumpster for you, you fill it up, you call them, they dump it and viola! it’s empty, obviously this costs, but since you aren’t paying for water/sewer/trash pickup it’s reasonalbe. Option number two is FREE, yes free! We are allowed to take our trash to the city dump ourselves, as long as it’s not a large appliance, it’s free…this is the option my penny-pincher husband choses. The down side is it collects in your garage/out-building until you take it to the dump!
Good luck! Love your blog congrats on your babies and as soon as I can pry the checkbook out of my husband’s hands without him realizing, I will be contacting you to do a backspash! If you like, check out our wedding venue http://www.StoutsSerenityAcres.com Best of luck, Jenni Stout
My husband and I live out in the country, and while we don’t have kids, we do accumulate a lot of trash (we run a wedding venue and also sell a line of “Beyond Easy” breads, dips, mixes, etc.). There are two options for us country folk: One is call Waste Management and ask them to drop off a small dumpster for you, you fill it up, you call them, they dump it and viola! it’s empty, obviously this costs, but since you aren’t paying for water/sewer/trash pickup it’s reasonalbe. Option number two is FREE, yes free! We are allowed to take our trash to the city dump ourselves, as long as it’s not a large appliance, it’s free…this is the option my penny-pincher husband choses. The down side is it collects in your garage/out-building until you take it to the dump!
Good luck! Love your blog congrats on your babies and as soon as I can pry the checkbook out of my husband’s hands without him realizing, I will be contacting you to do a backspash! If you like, check out our wedding venue http://www.StoutsSerenityAcres.com Best of luck, Jenni Stout
I also have had two (boys!) in diapers and I find that estimated diaper number incredibly large!!! (even given the fact that newborns use more diapers….which is true- however their diapers are tiny and come more to a package and you can squeeze more into a garbage bag 🙂 Realistically it’s most def under the 200 mark. personally, I could never even fathom the amount of work that would go into the whole cloth diapering business- especially now with my boys tearing around the house destroying everything! that being said…i have a friend who swears by fuzzibunz and there are even “gdiapers” out which you can actually flush! Now me- I would be more of a “target-brand-save-some-money-keep-my-sanity-drive-huge-garbage-bags-of-diapers-to-the-dump” kind of girl myself 🙂 good luck!! and congrats!
I also have had two (boys!) in diapers and I find that estimated diaper number incredibly large!!! (even given the fact that newborns use more diapers….which is true- however their diapers are tiny and come more to a package and you can squeeze more into a garbage bag 🙂 Realistically it’s most def under the 200 mark. personally, I could never even fathom the amount of work that would go into the whole cloth diapering business- especially now with my boys tearing around the house destroying everything! that being said…i have a friend who swears by fuzzibunz and there are even “gdiapers” out which you can actually flush! Now me- I would be more of a “target-brand-save-some-money-keep-my-sanity-drive-huge-garbage-bags-of-diapers-to-the-dump” kind of girl myself 🙂 good luck!! and congrats!
I have some thoughts, having used both, but think a conversation may be easier than typing it all. Pros/cons for both abound…that’s for sure!
katie: we actually don’t have garbage service at all! i know, hard to believe. 🙂 i’ve thought about the diaper service idea, but haven’t looked into it at all. i don’t know if they would come all the way out to our house.
val: THANKS 🙂
ambyland: that’s encouraging! perhaps it will be less of a mess than we thought! though i know newborns need to be changed more when they’re tiny, so it might be a larger number in the beginning. a small price to pay!
katie: we actually don’t have garbage service at all! i know, hard to believe. 🙂 i’ve thought about the diaper service idea, but haven’t looked into it at all. i don’t know if they would come all the way out to our house.
val: THANKS 🙂
ambyland: that’s encouraging! perhaps it will be less of a mess than we thought! though i know newborns need to be changed more when they’re tiny, so it might be a larger number in the beginning. a small price to pay!
I have 2 kids a year apart and i have never used even close to that many diapers. we never use more than 2 boxes a month so thats less than 200.
Congratulations on having twins. That is really exciting.
I have 2 kids a year apart and i have never used even close to that many diapers. we never use more than 2 boxes a month so thats less than 200.
Congratulations on having twins. That is really exciting.
I don’t have twins. I don’t live in the country. And I don’t have any advise or suggestions. Sorry. Just wanted to tell you that I get a kick out of your posts. I’m sort of in love with your sense of humor. Keep writing…brings a smile to my day. Oh and CONGRATS on the babies!
When my twins were tiny, I quickly realized that my time was worth more than the little money I’d save by cloth diapering. I do know some moms who cloth diaper and have a diaper service come get the dirty diapers. They’re not saving any money doing that, but it would fix your trash problem. We just had a separate can in the garage that diapers went in. Every day or two we’d tie the sack off and replace it, and the smell wasn’t too bad and the sacks waited patiently for the garbage men to come. We didn’t have a limit on what we could put by the curb. If you do, you might consider calling your trash company and asking them for a second trash bin.
When my twins were tiny, I quickly realized that my time was worth more than the little money I’d save by cloth diapering. I do know some moms who cloth diaper and have a diaper service come get the dirty diapers. They’re not saving any money doing that, but it would fix your trash problem. We just had a separate can in the garage that diapers went in. Every day or two we’d tie the sack off and replace it, and the smell wasn’t too bad and the sacks waited patiently for the garbage men to come. We didn’t have a limit on what we could put by the curb. If you do, you might consider calling your trash company and asking them for a second trash bin.