Diapering a baby is usually one of a household's biggest expenses in their baby's first two or three years. If you use disposables you will spend anywhere from $1500 (if you're super frugal and use coupons ever time) to $3000 (if you can't be bothered with coupons ever and the very thought gives you hives). That's a lot of money, even if it is spread out over a few years.If you cloth diaper your baby, you can spend anywhere from $150 up (less if you do pre-folds and covers) for a set of pocket diapers. The thing is, it takes some searching to find the brands that are momma-tested and wallet-approved. If you're expecting, or trying to make the switch, this can be a daunting and time consuming task. I'm going to try to save you some time and tell you about a few brands of pocket diapers that won't break the bank. I'm going to cover mostly pockets because that seems to be the diaper type most new-to-cloth-mommas go for due to their ease and convenience.
The first brand I'm going to tell you about is Kawaii pocket diapers. These diapers retail for about $10 a piece, making a stash of 24 diapers (enough to do laundry every 2 days) about $240. You'd spend that on disposables in just a few months.
Diaper Junction has their own "house brand" if you will. Their Diaper Rite pocket diapers are $9.95 per diaper if you choose a suede-cloth stay-dry inner material or $11.95 if you choose their bamboo option. With these diapers you're looking at spending around $240 to $290 for 24 diapers.
SunBaby Diapers are made by a work at home mom, offer a ton of prints, and are some of the most affordable pocket diapers around. She sells her diapers in bundles of 6, 12, or 24 diapers and with or without inserts. For a package of 24 diapers and 48 microfiber inserts you will only spend $144.00!
If you search around, I know you'll find more brands of affordable diapers. Another option is to search places like Craig List or Diaper Swappers to buy some used diapers for a great discounted price!
Cloth diapering may be a bigger up-front cost than disposables, but it doesn't have to break the bank!
Kawaii is both affordable and quality! I have a few of those!
ReplyDeleteA well-timed post, as I was just pondering this yesterday. :) Not having a baby yet, but we were contemplating the expenses if we were to have another. We were an anomaly I guess, I only spent about $650 on disposable diapers over the 2+ years Lucas was in diapers -- quality Target mega-box diapers are a blessing to moms with limited incomes, and early potty training helps, too. I always preferred cloth but when I had Lucas, there was no extra money around so I ended up sticking with disposable out of necessity, and also because it can be hard to get a childcare provider on board with cloth diapering. Anyway, I'm also thinking about the trial-and-error nature of cloth diapering. It seems like, as with disposables, you can't just invest in any set of diapers expect them to work perfectly - you might have to try various brands and styles to figure out what works well. Any tips on diaper trials on a budget? I know that disposable diapering in Korea would not be reasonable anyway, since the low-cost diapers are truly terrible and everyone here apparently prefers these expensive disposable diapers from Japan. If you ever happen to run into some resources on cloth diapering in Korea, could you let me know? :) I haven't found much, and the diaper issue is a major obstacle anytime I think about having another baby!
ReplyDeleteAmy! I'm so glad you and Carlos are able to be together again so you CAN contemplate another baby! You guys make cute babies. =) I have quite a few brands of cloth diapers... I'd consider getting 5 or 6 of a few different brands and see what works for you. I would also recommend that you get a couple different materials on the inside of your diapers. Eisley, for instance, seems to be irritated by suedecloth, so I don't use the 8 or so diapers I have with that material inside right now. Hopefully when she gets a little bigger she won't be irritated by it anymore, but I'm certainly glad I didn't get all one brand and have NO diapers that I could put her in! I stick with Fleece or natural fibers now. I've heard good things about the sunbaby diapers, but haven't tried them yet myeself. I do like the fit of the diaper junction brand a lot, but I only have their suedecloth inner, so I can't use them right now. I'm going to have to get some that are bamboo. I also really like thirsties diapers, they are a little more expensive, but still under $20 a diaper.
ReplyDeleteI also would consider doing part time cloth for the first month or so until you really figure out what you like... especially since I assume you'll have to get them shipped somehow out there from the states. You don't want to end up with a bunch that don't work for you... and I will totally let you know if I come across info about cloth diapering in Korea. =) Pre-folds are also really inexpensive and easy to use with covers. If you read my post on newborn cloth diapering, they work the same way even if they aren't newborn sized. If you click the diaper junction ad on the right side of my page, they have a pre-fold set that is really inexpensive. Just search for the diaper rite brand and you will come across their pre-fold packages. If you did just pre-folds, you could diaper for less than $200. =)
you can always ask me any questions you want. You know where to find me. =)
Cool, thanks for that info, and the kind words, Copper! Yeah, I need to read up on pre-folds and covers. I know I can get prefolds for a halfway decent price here. I'll look into that. We're actually in one of the countries where elimination communication/infant potty training is super common so I might even be able to get some tips from other moms on getting out of diapers sooner than we did with Lucas, no matter which way we go. Alright, less confusion about diapers now. :)
ReplyDelete