Bugaboo Baby and You

If you were to purchase every item of clothing your child will need until they are 18 years old, you would spend a considerable amount of money? Right?

Essentially, you are doing the same thing with diapers. You purchase your diapers all at once, instead of going and spending the money weekly, bi-weekly or monthly on disposable diapers. Check out our section that compares the cost of cloth to disposables to see the breakdown. Over the long-term, using cloth diapers is cheaper because you can use them on more children, and you can re-sell them, thereby getting back some of your initial costs!

Your cloth diapers will be paid for in about 4-6 months depending on your child's age, how many cloth diapers you have purchased, and how much you are currently spending on disposable diapers. Not to mention the savings you are giving to the life of our trees!

You are also saving money by not going to the store and purchasing a pack of disposables. Take this story for example:

Jane has two kids, one 3 year old that is trained and one infant that is 4 months old. Jane has to travel 10kms to the nearest department store to purchase a package of disposable diapers that lasts her 2 weeks. When she goes to the store, she packs both the kids up and drives there (uses gas). Once there, she realizes she forgot the stroller so she pays for a stroller rental. They enter the store and start browsing the aisles because she has to go through the toy section to get to the baby section, oh, and then she sees a nice new necklace and purse she would like to get. By now Jane has added an extra $50.00 in her shopping cart before she has even got the diapers! By the time she checks out she has purchased the diapers, necklace, bag, toy for both the children, some snacks because her oldest got hungry while shopping, and they are on their way home and will stop and McDonald's for lunch because Jane is now too tired to make lunch when she gets home. So there you have it. A trip for diapers has cost Jane nearly $100.00, and she has to do it again in 2 weeks!

How much time does it take to wash cloth diapers? TOP

Many of us have heard our grandmothers and aunties say how much work it was to use cloth diapers, back in the day. As women, we have always had many responsibilities, and many of us now work outside of the home. This does not mean you cannot use cloth diapers! We have this wonderful invention that our grandmothers did not have, a washing machine! Nowadays, washing machines can be pre-programmed and have multiple settings to get your cloth diapers clean, and you don't even have to be home to do a load of laundry! Washing is as simple as a rinse and wash. Add a few drops of tea tree oil to disinfect every once in a while and some Wonder Wash and you are set. Whether you work outside the home or inside the home, this does not add as much time to your daily routine, as a trip to the store for disposables! AND you can be doing other, more important things while washing your diapers, like spending time with the kids!

In the same amount of time (we figure less time) it takes to pack up the kids to purchase disposables, you can go to your laundry room and throw some diapers in the laundry while doing other things. When finished you have clean, soft fresh diapers for your little one!

Should I use cloth diapers at daycare? TOP

If more children who attend daycare centers or home-based daycares are in cloth, the childcare provider is reducing their daily and weekly garbage by a considerable amount! This is a big deal for North Bay residents, since we have a weekly garbage bag limit. Many cities are implementing these guidelines due to the overflowing landfills.

If you provide your daycare provider with the necessities for 2 days of diapering, diapers and 1 large wet bag for soiled diapers, there is no difference in the way your daycare provider will change your child's diaper than any of the other children, except they won't throw your diapers in the garbage! At the end of the day pick up your child and every other day bring the wet bag of soiled diapers home and throw them in the laundry while the kids are eating and in the tub. In the morning bring the clean diapers and the wet bag back to the daycare for another 2 days.

Will I always be doing laundry? TOP

Okay, I have yet to meet a mother who says in her spare time she loves to do laundry. Whether it is washing your own clothes, towels or cloth diapers, there are many things we would all rather be doing. The thing with laundry, is that you have to do it, and we have all adjusted our schedules in order to get laundry done. Whether you have a daily, weekly or every other day routine, it is something that you have established based on you and your family's schedule. The laundry routine with cloth diapers will be new, but within the first 2 weeks, it won't be new anymore, and everyone will be adjusted to the new laundry schedule. And don't worry, you won't forget about washing the cloth diapers because you will start to have your favourite colours and/or name brands, and you will make sure those are washed for the trip to grandmas, or the trip to the fair, or the trip to the beach, or just to show off at your local play group. Oh, and there is something different about washing diapers for your baby, you know that you are doing something for your child that is special and they deserve that!

Will cloth diapers just stink up my house? TOP

We recommend storing your dirty diapers in a dry pail for no more than 2.5 days. If you do leave them for 3 days or more, they can get stinky. The trick is to leave your diapers in an OPEN pail, if you close a lid over it, then when you open the lid it can be nasty. The more air circulating the better. Even if you forgot, and the lid was closed, or you left them for 3 days, you can add a few drops of tea tree oil to the cold pre-wash, and hot wash, just like usual. Also, you can strip your diapers by using liquid Dawn dish soap instead of your laundry soap for one wash and do an extra rinse at the end. You can also line-dry your diapers outside - - who doesn't love the smell of fresh laundry off the clothesline?

All in all, your diapers should not smell when your child first wears them. If you have stinky diapers, contact me and we can figure it out together!

Should I use cloth at night and while away from home? TOP

Everyone has their own reasons for wanting to use cloth diapers. However, don't be scared to keep your baby in cloth at bedtime or when you go out to play groups or a friend's house. The great thing about modern diapers and pocket diapers, is that you can stuff them with extra absorbent inserts, like hemp, now that's something you can't do with a disposable! So many times I have experienced and heard from other mother's that their baby in disposable diapers is soaking wet in the morning when they greet their baby. Or, baby wakes in the night soaking wet and you have to change their clothes, crib sheets, and the diaper only to wake in another two hours and do it again!

Traveling with cloth is just as easy. Day trips, you bring your wet bag, diaper bag and your diapers for the day. Overnight trips, bring an extra wet bag, and if staying 2 nights, bring your laundry soap and ask to use a laundry facility at the home where you are at, or in the hotel. We traveled to Florida with our son in cloth, and did laundry along the way, and while we were there. We had no problems with keeping them clean, nor did we ever run out. Our son was comfortable and cute in the heat of the Florida weather.