Should I do cloth or disposable?

Question

So, I'm due any day now and I realized I only have one package of diapers for my LO. I don't work currently and my SO works two jobs. I am freaking out a little about how much money he'll have to fork over for disposable diapers! They're so expensive and we will need so many! I feel so bad thinking about him spending so much on disposable, so I got to thinking...what if I did cloth diapers? The issues are, though, I don't know where to start. 
How does clean up work? 
I'm assuming that I use non-fragrance detergent, but do I wash them immediately after or do I leave it in a pail?
Do I spritz it off in the shower then throw it in the pail?
Are different brands or styles better than others?
Will his diaper be so bulky he looks funny with a onesie on?
Do cloth diapers soak up as well as disposable or am I going to have to change him more frequently because of leaks? (This probably goes back to the different brands and styles)
How many do I need to buy for each size? (NB, 1, 2, 3, etc.)
Should I switch to disposable at night time and/or long car rides in case the cloth diapers leak faster rumor is true?
& in that case, is it even worth it?
What do you think? Cloth or disposable?

Answer

I think u could use both, disposable when the baby is out and the cloth when home, that way u spend less on the disposables

Answer

Hi everyone! This was my post, I didn't realize it was anonymous lol. Anyway, me and my SO have decided to go with cloth! I did a lot of research, thanks to a few links provided by you all, and I think we will go with BumGenius' 4.0 one size pocket cloth diaper! They seem sleek and a lot of reviews say they don't leak! We will also probably invest in a toilet spritzer so I don't have to scrape or shake any poop and risk more mess😂😖 
Thank you all for your kind and informative responses! I'm pretty happy with the decision, it should save us about $1500-$2000! Woo-hoo! 
& ask for "A" I reported her comment and chose to ignore it so don't worry everyone I'm fine haha. 
Thanks again!!

Answer

Did "A" remove her comment? haha!😂

Answer

Use disposable the first few days while baby is getting all the meconium passed.

Answer

People swear by cloth. However having a new baby is exhausting and personally it's a bit tiring washing and preparing them. Especially newborn poop, it goes everywhere!! I think if your an ultra organized, go for cloth. It can't hurt to try.

Answer

I'm all for either, even though I admit I'm too lazy for cloth diapers. My husband works, sometimes two jobs, we have two kids and one on the way, I never feel deprived or that disposable diapers will put us in the poor house. Sometimes it's just an expense of having kids. You just need to budget

Answer

We're planning on doing both.

Cloth when the baby is home.

Disposable when the baby is out or with a family member. We don't want to carry around a bag for dirty diapers if we're out shopping, and we don't expect any babysitters to take on cloth.

There are many different brands of cloth diapers and many different styles. This will be our first child, so I don't know which is better. We plan on trying a few and choosing from there. Most have a liner and a cover. The liner is either held in by pockets or snaps, or some just sit inside. Some liners are washable and some are disposable. The cover is snap, Velcro or pined close. Cloth diapers also come in "flats". They are just a big piece of fabric that you fold to look like a diaper and pin close.

Cloth diapers do not hold as much liquid as disposable does, so you will have to change baby more often. If you catch the mess in time, you will take out the liner and rinse in toilet (for #2) or sink (since baby poo is Walter soluble). Place the liner in a pail and if the cover is dry you can re use it. If not, place that in the pail as well. You should be washing cloth diapers every couple of days. With baby safe detergent. They should be "sun bleached" whenever they start to turn an odd colour. You just hang them outside to dry and the sun will help bleach them.

There are a lot of online resources for cloth diapers. I hope you find this helpful.

Ultimately, the choice is yours. You do what's best for your family. :)

Answer

if you want to stock up on disposables you can go to coupons.com and they have a lot of great coupons there. Thats how I get discounts on huggies and baby wipes. Good luck!

Answer

I know some people love cloth but -no judgment!- it's just not for me. Used them for years while nannying and just don't like them for several reasons- the leaking part is 100% true, couldn't even get through a nap without leaking everywhere so I can't imagine a full night of sleep. They do look significantly bulkier but that part is just kind of funny. You could wash them right away I guess but that would be a big waste of water, my boss had a special diaper pail but it was still... Not pleasant to get them out and wash them all. She also had the toilet sprayer attachment which maybe I could see working with babies but toddler poop does not spray off so easily and it was also unpleasant to deal with. Eventually she gave in and got the liners to "catch" the poop which eliminated the issues to just leaking, extra laundry, and issues while out and about. These are just my personal experiences and I bet others see it totally differently- just giving my own input. Disposable for me!!!

Answer

Ok....
Cleaning/washing: you can use any detergent you want as long as it doesn't have fabric softener. What I do is take the diaper off, rinse with cold water if it was a poop diaper and then put it in a bag (you can use a pail, too) and then whenever I need to wash them, which is usually every 2 days, I add the CORRECT amount of detergent (this is important or you'll get barnyard stink) then I throw them all in (I use pocket so you take the insert out of those first) and set my cycle to cold, super, heavy duty with an extra rinse. To dry them you can hang them outside or dry them on low heat in the dryer.

Brands/Styles: I make my own and I use the pocket diaper style which is one of the closest resemblance to disposables. They have an opening in the back where you stuff an absorbent insert. These require no cover because they have their own waterproof layer. Another option that is close to disposables is AIO (all in ones) and these require no cover as well. Alva baby and kawaii are good quality, affordable brands if you're buying them and not making them.

Bulkiness: pocket diapers and all in ones are the least bulky since they don't require a cover so with those they wouldn't look funny, but the other styles that require covers would be a little bulky.

Absorbency/changing: Yes, they are absorbent and for me, I find that I change them about as often as I did with disposables.

Quantity: 24-30 is a good stash, closer to 30 for a newborn.

Switching at night/travel: that's a preference, cloth diapers should NOT leak. If they leave then 1) they're the wrong size or 2) if using pocket style, the absorbent insert hasn't been properly prepped by being washed/dried 5 or more times.

Are they worth it? YES! I love cloth diapering soooo much more than disposable. They're better for the environment, better for your babies skin and more cost effective. Plus, you have so many colors and patterns to choose from! :)

Good luck!

Should I do cloth or disposable?

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