I have since changed my mind. A couple of months ago I was having issues with Abby leaking through her diapers almost the second she wet them. I tried stripping the diapers. Twice. I tried re-laminating the covers. Twice. I tried checking Abby every 30 minutes. And still, she was soaking through her diaper and her pants at least once a day, if not two or three times.
Why I Stopped Cloth Diapering
It got to the point where I was doing her laundry every other day because we were running out of clothes. I was doing laundry so often I was no longer saving money by using cloth diapers. I was spending so much of my day and my life washing diapers/clothes, checking diapers, and still frustrated because she leaked through anyway.
On top of all that, Abby is so prone to diaper rashes and cloth diapers seem to make them so much worse. She was getting 1-2 medium to bad diaper rashes a month, even with getting changed every hour.
So I stopped. I bought a case of Luvs and haven’t looked back. Abby is to a point where a case of 100 diapers lasts just about a month. I was easily spending the cost of a box of diapers per month in electricity, laundry detergent, and time trying to deal with cloth diapers. Not to mention the stress level and trying to get other things done.
At first, I felt like a failure. Many other people use cloth diapers exclusively with no trouble. Why did I have so much trouble no matter what I did? I didn’t used to have so much trouble with cloth diapers. Why, especially now when income has dropped, does this method I was using to save money no longer work?
But honestly? Not a big deal. We are saving money in other ways. There is no point in continuing to try to save money in a way that is no longer actually saving us money. It just isn’t worth it. We are officially a disposable diaper family and will be staying that way.
Update 4/2017: I didn’t even try to cloth diaper my second baby. In fact, I sold my entire cloth diaper stash and didn’t think twice.
Good for you! Too many people stubbornly stick with an idea like cloth diapers long after it becomes more difficult than it’s worth. I still like the idea of cloth diapers but I go back and forth between cloth and disposable as I find great disposable deals.
I really think we’ll try again with the next baby. I was stubborn for a little while but then decided it just wasn’t worth it. I couldn’t get anything else done because I was always checking diapers, washing diapers, getting annoyed because it wasn’t working, etc. We’ve always done a combo so I am perfectly okay with going to just Luvs. The constant diaper rash was the final “we need to stop doing this” for me.
I love how cute cloth diapers are. I like how environmentally friendly they are. I tried really hard to make it work. But my baby girl is a squishy pooper. And she goes sometimes multiple times a day. So like you it just wasn’t working out. The liners didn’t begin to cover the area she did. She went through, out, and onto clothing staining them and ruining many permanently. It just wasn’t to be for us. Would I try again if God blessed us with another? Maybe. 🙂 But for now Pampers purchased with coupons and when on sale is how we do it. It is hard to not feel guilty at first but really, the amount of laundry, water, energy, etc. . . .it just didn’t make cents. 😉
They work for some people and not for others. I’m okay with being one the others. Glad you are too. 🙂
Thanks for sharing! It is not a one-size fits all situation.