$ave Money with Cloth Diapers

Today on First at 4, you will meet a couple who swear by cloth diapers for their four month old son.  Yes, cloth diapers! 

Before Emily Martin even got pregnant she was researching baby products.  She wanted to save money, and do something good for the environment, and she quickly realized that cloth diapers made sense for her family.  Emily sent me an email singing the praises of cloth diapers.  I have never used them, but when another mom swears by a product, I definitely want to check it out.  So I did some research on cloth diapers, and sat down with Emily to see what she uses for her son.  I couldn’t believe it!  Cloth diapers have changed so much.  They are not the cloth diapers that our mothers and grandmothers used.  We will run down all the changes and costs on First at 4 today, but I have to tell you, I was pretty impressed.  Sure they take a little extra work (mostly in laundry), but Emily estimates that she is saving thousands of dollars by using cloth diapers while also being “green.“  No, they may not be for everybody, but you should definitely know about them and know that they are an option.  We are all trying to pinch pennies here and there, and this can really add up to a BIG savings.  Plus—they are so soft and cute…just like Emily’s son, and you’ll get to meet the little guy on the show today, too. 

So—hey what do you all think?  Do you think they are worth a try or too much trouble?  Or do you use them now and want to share your experiences with them?  Any favorite brands?  Let’s chat… 

I think that is a great idea!  It actually never crossed my mind to look into it.  I have 2 boys one is 2 1/2 and the other will be 8 months on the 9th of July both still in diapers.  I estimate that I spend $160-$200 a month in disposable diapers. Thats over $2000 a year, and if it takes as long to potty train my little one as it has the other I’m looking at 2 1/2 to 3 more years of diapers.  I would love to get more information on brands of cloth diapers.  I had no idea how much they have changed, and I would feel so much better about helping the environment. :)

Shannon,
There aren’t really any stores around here to look at them in person but Kellyscloset.com is a great online resource.
There’s so many options! I’ll check back here if you have any questions!
Emily

I think this is a great idea.  I couldn’t believe how cute they were.  When I think of cloth diapers I go back to the old days.  We have a daughter who is 8 months old and disposable diapers can get very expensive.  When I was a child my parents used cloth diapers.  She swears that is why I was potty trained so young.  With my brother they switched to disposable and it was much harder.  I think it is probably too late for this one, but I am going to keep this in mind when we deicde to start trying for #2.

that segment was very interesting.  i think i am going to look into that when we have a third child.
however, both sets of grandparents live out of town so we do a lot of traveling.  even though we could do laundry at their houses, it would probably be easier to use disposables for the trip.  but i’m wondering what switching up like that would be like.
i’m going to do a little more research on my own and post something about it on my website in the next few weeks….
thanks for the info!

~cena
http://www.realmomsrock.com

Actually, there is a store in Grove City that sells BumGenius cloth diapers, which is what Emily from your segment uses. http://www.closetomom.com located at 1995 Stargrass Ave, Grove City, OH 43123.

I find prefolds with covers to be just as easy as BumGenius. My favorite cloth diaper stores are http://www.cottonbabies.com, http://www.nickisdiapers.com, and http://www.little-lions.com. At our house we use prefolds with ProRap covers, Snappis instead of diaper pins, and Bumgenius 3.0, AIO, and MotherEase One Size Bamboo diapers (from Close To Mom in Grove City). We’ve used cloth from birth and are very happy.

Ellie—
I was looking at the blog of a friend of mine who is contemplating cloth diapers. She did her research and found these adorable covers. I just had to share them with you I thought they were too cute!!!

http://www.starbunz.com/catalog.php?category=9

Thanks so much!
Kaylea

Emily:

I was wondering if you could share the ups and downs of using cloth diapers. I am seriosuly considering switching to cloth diapers and wanted to be as prepared as possible. If we can communicate directly via email that would be great too.
Thanks,
Kelli

We have gotten such an amazing response from this story.  I had no idea how cute these diapers are today.  I just had in my mind the “old school” diapers.  I am so glad we did the story!