Cloth Diapers

The numbers I am going to give you come from using Pampers or Huggies (not on sale) and using BumGenius 3.0 diapers. The BG 3.0 are one size meaning they go from approx 8-30lbs depending on how you snap them.

First off not every kid potty trains by 2yrs old. Your lucky if they do. I have three kids now and my youngest isn't is almost 21mths and NOT even close to being ready. My other two didn't potty train until 3 1/2 and a little over 3yrs old. You can't make a kid potty train either.

Then you don't NEED a diaper sprayer. They are an added convience but not absolutely necessary. You don't need extra diapers for your mom's house either. Take some of yours and wash them. Not sure about the random things you are referring to but some of them are for convience and not really needed.

What you NEED are cloth diapers, extra inserts, and a diaper pail. If you choose diapers that need covers then of course you will need covers too.

Okay so here are my numbers...I will go with thr 2yrs but it isn't an absolute. It could be longer. Maybe you can get lucky and it could be a little less. Doubtful though.

Kid's go through a pack of diapers a week. If using Pampers or Huggies (the big brand) you will spend $40 a month.

$40 x 24 months = $960.00 (if you potty train at 3yr it's $1440)

$18 per Bum Genius 3.0 x 24 diapers = $431.00

So that's a savings of $ 530.00

Of course you can choose a cheaper diaper. Like Mother Ease diapers. I have some of those and really love them too. Actually like using them more than the BumGenius diapers. And you don't need 24 diapers. I used that since you're working and probably won't want to wash as often. So the less cloth you buy the cheaper it will be. I think $530 is a pretty good savings. Maybe it's just me though.

Okay if my reply came across as too harsh and mean I am so sorry. I didn't mean it that way at all. I went back and read it later and thought geez I sounded like a big B!

I completely agree with mommyof3, most kids do not potty train by 2. We use the BumGenius 3.0's as well. I spent a lot less than $431 on them though because I bought them while they were on sale. You can also buy seconds from the particular brand you choose to use, usually these diapers have minor 'defects" that do not affect performance, although most the time I never notice them.

My boyfriend made our diaper sprayer out from the kit they sell for kitchen sink sprayers, it cost about $15, which is much less than the $40 for other brands, and works great.

Besides diapers and some sort of pail you really don't NEED much else. There are lots of things out there it's all about what you can afford.

I definitely wouldn't buy a completely separate stash for your Mother's house, just send them with the baby everyday. You may want to get some sort of wet bag, you can also use a large ziploc, but I love my wet bag. We send diapers to daycare daily and they just throw the old ones in the bag and I sort it out when we get home.

When we went over the savings we came up with a total of $1100 in 3 years, this is taking into account water and energy. Also, remember as you go up in size you get less diapers for your money, which makes a huge difference in cost over time. And then of course there is all the waste you are reducing.

LOL I thought for a second that it seemed a bit aggressive but I just figured maybe I'm hormonal right now or something. No big deal

Yeah, most of the cost comparison stuff I've seen online seems to really overestimate the cost of disposables, using the absolute most expensive brands and smallest packages. But, even when I broke it down using generic brand prices and all, I still think the cost difference was significant enough for me to decide to try CD'ing, especially when you throw in the health benefits for babies and the environmental impact. I also agree with the other ladies - most kids don't PT until around 3 yo. Supposedly they do earlier with cloth diapers, although I've heard mixed opinions on that.

There are more inexpensive ways to do CD's too - I've gotten some great deals buying second-hand, clearance, and factory seconds for some of the name-brand diapers. You can also just use prefold diapers with covers, which are a little more hassle, but you can get a full stash of those for around $100. Plus it seems like they hold their value well so you can sell them when you are done and get some of your money back. I will breastfeed, so I won't have use for a diaper sprayer until 6 mos or so when we start solids - I will decide then if I want to get one. I have a pretty good stash built so far of around 24 or so diapers (which should go 2-3 days b/w washing), most are one-size (so they should last 'til PT), and I've spent around $300. I still need to get a couple of pail liners and a wetbag, and I imagine once I figure out more of what I like I will get more of that type and sell some that I don't like as much, but I still figure on only spending somewhere around $400 total.

With disposables, I think even with off-brands you will be spending at least $40 a month, but probably more than that. If you're going with Pampers or Huggies, I would say at least $80/month.

Here's one chart I found:
http://www.diaperdecisions.com/cost_of_cloth_diapers.htm

I think it overestimates the costs on all counts, and doesn't have an option for One-size diapers, but it does pretty good for the # of changes at each age and helps you think it through.

Good luck with your decision!

I'm a first time mom and we have decided to do cloth diapers
and wipes to! An the best place I found to buy a wet bag is
ebay, there are a lot of moms who make them and sell them
on there, but they are the cutest patterns and cheap!
I paid less then 10 bucks each for my two I have!

I am hormonal too. It was a bad morning. I meant nothing towards you! I am so sorry!!!!

I have a few questions.

How many cloth diapers do you go through each day on average? I have twins and would like to cloth diaper but i'm having a hard time on deciding how many i should get.

Also, i have been trying to find used bumgenius 3.0's and every website that sells them has a section where the used ones are...supposedly, when i go to that section it is always blank, nothing there. Is there something i don't know? lol

Most newborns need to be changed 8-10 times a day. As the get older the number of changes goes down a bit. I think it also depends on if they are breast fed (they poo more) or are bottlefed.

I would say you would need at least 24 diapers with twins and that will probably have you washing daily. You would go through lets say 8-10 diapers per day per baby with a few for the next and you could do laundry. You can also get the prefolds which are a lot cheaper. With those you need a cover but unless the cover gets poo/wet you can use the same cover all day. Covers aren't too expensive either. Well it depends on the cover you choose. You might also want to check out MotherEase.com. I have some of their diapers and really like them.

I am pregnant with twins and I have some disposables stocked and once I get through those (maybe a month) I will switch to cloth. I have a stash of BumGenius 3.0, Mother Ease, and some prefolds. I need some new newborn inserts and covers though. I have used them with two kids and they are worn out! My prefolds are for when the kids are bigger so I would like to buy some new smaller prefolds. I would like to use them around the house and the BumGenius when we are out running around.

Try ebay or craigslist for used diapers! Ebay has lots of used diapers on there at resonable prices! I personally am going with the G-Diapers system, I have heard nothing but good things about them and our daycare will let us use them also!! You can check them out at gdiapers.com and on Facebook! Plus they are sold on ebay to!

If you are not opposed to used diapers you might try www.diaperswappers.com . THere are TONS of used diapers there. I have bought and sold alot there. Look for members who have good feedback and you should be okay. Plus you pay through paypal and you are protected. Many times you get diapers that are like new. Maybe they didnt' work for someone or something. It's a great way to get a good stash.

Forgot to add. I have never used a diaper sprayer. Alot of mamas will have a spatula in the bathroom which they use to scrape the poo off. Most times now our poo just slides right off

I do the dunk and flush. I hold the two ends of the diaper with the poo side facing out real secure, shake off what I can, and then while holding tightly leave it part of the way in the water and flush the toliet. Since I am holding it snug it won't go down and the suction from the flushing water being sucked down usually pulls off more poo. I only do it once though cause otherwise you waste water.

I have some gdiapers and so far i love them. I am amazed at how much the biodegradable inserts hold also. I plan on getting some more soon.

If you decide to go with gdiapers google gflappers and it will bring up a website.I think it's called nappyshoppe and it sells cloth inserts that go into the gdiapers.They are supposed to be more absorbant than the gcloth and are easier to dry because of the way they are made.

You can get two packs of the gdiapers in the cute colors from babiesrus.com for 26.99 which is cheaper than the gdiaper website.