Thursday, July 17, 2008

Stank butt

I've been thinking about cutting costs lately. Babies are super expensive, as I think everyone who reads this blog already knows. So, I've been thinking about how to make the most of our income when Ben is born. Yeah, I really should have probably been thinking about this four months ago, but I'm pretty slow like that. I'm seriously looking into full time cloth diapering. There's a kind made by bumGenius that has expandable snaps enabling them to fit your child from newborn through potty training. There was a kid at a friend's baby shower recently who was wearing one, and his mom told us about them. She's due with another kid right before me, and she plans on diapering them with the same diapers. That is awesome.

Um, okay, they're pretty expensive, but even if I spent $400 on a buttload of them (no pun intended) and they would not only last through Ben but also through our next kid (and hopefully at least another one after), that would definitely be worth it, wouldn't it? I know it's extra laundry and everything, but even though time will be a precious commodity with a little one, money will be even less available when I'm on FMLA. Walmart has some clothies that are similar and about half as expensive. But I also read in the reviews that some people have had to buy twice as many because washing them wears them out so quickly. I like the bumGenius better. From the reviews, they seem to be more durable, and you get more for your money. Like I said, I know the extra laundry will be a pain, but cloth diapering these days is nothing like it used to be. I mean, if my brother can do it even part time, anyone can. He's lazy. Hehe, just kidding, Michael. I know Velvet takes care of all that. ;)

I wish I could be all noble and say I'm just doing it for the environment and all that, but I'm a penny pincher. I've got to save us some money. So, what do yall think?

Next step: convincing my husband that we should spend $400 on cloth diapers...

9 comments:

  1. at lease you have time before Ben's born that you could buy a few here and there so the total cost doesn't hit all at once.

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  2. I wish I could say that we're still using our cloth diapers, but we ain't. I'm still a fan of it. But like you said, I don't take care of that stuff anyways. It started with using both cloth and disposable because of the inconvenience of using cloth on the road. But, if you are disciplined and thrifty enough, that won't necessarily lead you to use disposable exclusively.

    Of all the features and attributes you'll find on these diapers, the most important in my opinion is the blow-out factor. That's a technical term that I just made up. Anyway, talk to Velvet. She did crap-loads of research before she finally bought some. Then she bought some different ones. And maybe your conversation will either prompt her to start using the ones we have again, or sell our non-grossified ones to you. This was a really long comment.

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  3. I would buy a few here and there and use them as "items to use during tough times", because a baby poos so much, that's it's exhausting to change them. Maybe when they aren't pooping two to three times in a row anymore, you could start using them. I'm all about the money-saving, but sanity is better. Mom deterred me when she started talking about soaking in water then rinsing and soaking in vinegar and then rinsing and then washing and blah blah that's when I said never mind.

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  4. Sorry, I though that I was singed in under my name, that's Nicholas' blog.

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  5. i'm all about the environment, but there's no way in heck i could do cloth diapers. i admire anyone who can, but i seriously couldn't. i just think of all that fecal matter. do you have to wait until you have a huge load of them and wash 'em all at once, or do you throw a couple in with your regular clothes? it just makes me sick to think of all that poo. some of the bowel movements my kid had were like nuclear bombs, and i couldn't consider cleaning that mess out of a cloth diaper, let alone touch it. (oh and mikey up there mentioned blow-outs, which just reminded me of some of the onesies i decided to just throw away rather than trying to wash the stain out...)
    okay, so i probably scared you, but if you're hard up for cash and you think they'll better, then go for it. but $20 every 2-3 weeks was worth it for me.

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  6. No, none of your comments have scared me off the idea of cloth diapers, yet. I know that babies can have quite the poo-splosions. My neice Lilli got poop on me up her back through her clothes more than once while tranquilly laying in my arms. You'd think you could see it coming (or feel it), lol.
    Eve- Mom was talking about wet pailing, which I wouldn't plan on doing. I would dry pail, and while you still have to put some kind of germ killing ingredient in the wash, all the soaking happens in the washer. You might have to do an extra rinse cycle to make sure everything is out, but it's not manual.
    Jamie- I know, the touching poop thing is probably my biggest issue with cloth diapering. They do have a flushable liner you can use that catches solids and lets liquids pass through, meaning you can just peel off the liner and flush the poop. I've read it works great for when babies start eating solids. Oh, and you definitely have to wash all the diapers separately from your regular clothes. Ugh, can you imagine throwing that in with your every day clothes? And I would be doing a load of them every other day. Another deterrent, but I'm still weighing the pros and cons and saving money vs. saving sanity.

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  7. I think I am an expert because I had 6 babies before paper diapers came on the scene. Maybe three anyway. I remember using pampers with Eve because I couponed and refunded a lot. That name(Pampers), by the way, was the name you called all paper diapers back then. Sort of like all sodas are Cokes here in the south. Anyway ask me anything about them and I'll let you know!

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  8. I'm actually glad you're so far ahead of me, so that I can read about your experience.

    Seeing the prices of diapers, this idea has crossed my newly knocked up mind. :)

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  9. i think it's an awesome idea. cuz you can use them on all your kids right? in the long run you will save hundreds of dollars. thanks for the delicious cookies.

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