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Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Blowouts, Leaks & Rashes...Oh My!

As an expecting mother I had friends, family, and every stranger with a voice coming up to me giving unsolicited advice about how to raise my child.  Everything from swaddling to breastfeeding, sleep schedules to shot schedules, but the one that seemed to be very polarizing was diapering.  Cloth diapering vs. disposables.  I have to be honest I really wanted to cloth diaper but my husband wasn't on board with it.  It is something that is time consuming at the beginning and seems very expensive, and can be if you start having a CD obsession, but is generally much cheaper especially if you plan to have multiple children.



No matter which way you go, you're sure to expect a rash, leak and blowout at some point.  Those first few months you bring your little bug home you'll be finding out which diapers you like and which diapers your baby can tolerate against their skin.  We've had more blowouts and leaks than I have fingers to count on and they always come at the worst possible time in your favorite out, guaranteed.  The one thing I was lucky not to experience often was rashes.  I tend to think that breastfeeding for so long combined with Addie's tolerance to all foods, products, etc has made that happen.  Her first bad diaper rash happened just last week at nearly 18 months old.

My opinion, for what it's worth, is be open to all options.  I really regret not even trying to CD and the number of diapers we've purchased is astronomical.  Be prepared for leaks, blowouts and rashes by having extra diapers, spare clothes and creams ready at home and on the go.  Whatever you choose, be confident that it's your decision for what is best for you and your family and don't let any opinionated family member sway you!

Do any of you have any experience cloth diapering?  I'm thinking about it for number two, when that comes along but I need to start my frugal shopping now and could use your guidance.

-stephanie

6 comments:

  1. I cloth diaper and I love it. I am actually writing a cloth diapering series right now on things I learned from cloth diapering my twins if you wanna take a look. I will be talking about shopping later and tips.

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  2. I cloth diaper now, but for the first month I used disposables. Clara and I were at the doctors office and she was on my lap in only her diaper - huge explosion all over my favourite jeans! LOL, it happens! If you're planning to CD from newborn, you may need to buy 2 different sizes - I used prefolds and covers at first b/c my daughter was too small for the one-size diapers that claim to fit from birth to 35lbs. Otherwise, if you're wanting to save money, I'd just buy one-size diapers and use disposables until your little one fits them - which, depending on the size of your baby, could be right away or not for a few months. Good luck! I love that crib sheet, by the way!

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  3. I think it's definitely worth a shot! You don't have to go all out, you could do a half-assed system like we do ;)

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  4. I started out really late with my son and got lazy. I started to slowly get him back into cloth. I would put one on for naptime and one for bedtime.

    Even if you just bought 2 cloths and did it like that, that's two disposables you don't have to throw away!

    I totally get overwhelmed and don't want to do it somedays. And it's OK to put them in disposables for the day, when you don't feel like doing laundry.

    If you are interested buy some! You never know! =)

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  5. You could just get a couple to try out and see if they work for you-no need to buy an entire stash right away. We save money by buying gently used and sale diapers. You can also find some inexpensive WAHM diapers online. I prefer one size pockets and prefolds with covers.

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  6. We didn't CD with #1, but started with #2 once the husband got on board. We've found it to have lots of advantages, one of which is cost, but there are many advantages to disposables too which we still use often. Finding what works for you is key!

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