One thing I was sure I wanted to do while I was pregnant was to cloth diaper. Not only is it a frugal way to diaper your baby but its good for the planet! The only problem I had was convincing my husband. I almost forgot about the idea until I started attending a breast feeding support group at a local boutique. Many of the moms cloth diaper and the store sold all kinds of new and interesting alternatives to prefolds, pins, and rubber pants. I started with unbleached prefolds with 2snappies (no more safety pins!) and a thirsty’s plastic cover. I told one of the other moms that I would do it “part time” when my husband wasn’t around. He never changed diapers anyways. So after doing it a couple of days I bought a pocket diaper (bumgenious 4.0) I LOVED them. So I convinced my husband to let me do it full time! I spend some money upfront here is a breakdown:
Unbleached Prefolds (6): $12
Plastic Thirsty Cover (1): $9
Snappis (2pack) $5
7 Bumgenious 4.0: $106
4 Fuzzibunz (2 of them were used): $60
3 Work at Home Mom diapers (momma kitty united) with travel liners: $38
2 wetbags: $16
2 pail liners: $18
Rocking Green Detergent:$17
3 EarthMomma Diapers (used): $25
4 Bluberries Pocket Diaper (handed down from my husbands cousin): FREE
3 Packs of cloth wipes (one pack Grovia two pack bumgenious: $30
1 pail (target trashcan with lid) $11
thats $347 if I did the math right! I went a more expensive route but that was just my preference. A few suggestions that will save you money is to buy diapers used or buy one of each and find what you like. I regret buying the GoodMamma diapers since they aren’t waterproof, I also don’t like FUzzibunz and those were my most expensive. I personally like the bumgenious and i got them in velcro to make them husband friendly. Buying diapers from a work at home mom is also a great way to save money. I used mommakittyunited diapers made from a fellow military wife and you can get 10 diapers and a wet bag for $100. Also you can only use natural diaper rash creams with them so I bought a Grovia magic stick ($9) and I like it so far no rash! Or coconut oil or lanolin work great too! All in all I think it is worth it, I only do one load of diapers a day and it really doesn’t take much time at all. There are so many different diapers out there, even hybrid systems with a liner you flush down the toilet. I suggest doing your research and only buying one of each kind of diaper to see what you like best.