DELETE - nevermind, I found better stats someone else did!

[mom22boysand1girl]

With the prices that I have seen on here the last few days with MAMA's getting FB for 2.00 a piece with the Amazon deal I think cloth is way cheaper. If a coupon mama is going to do all the work to find cheap sposies she could find cheap cloth and not have to throw that money away every week.

[jaelynsmommy61607]

I agree your number per day are way low. At 12 months DS is in 6-8 per day. i still change every 2 hours with cloth or sposies. Even at 2+ with dd we used at least 6. She was fully sposies also.

[Junipervt]

Originally Posted by petuniajo I agree--the numbers for how many disposables a kid would go through in a day is way off. Just because a diaper *can* last longer, doesn't mean you should let your child sit in a diaper until it is leaking or they have pooped. Most mom's that I know who use sposies, change almost as often as I do. Even the rules at daycare is that EVERY child, regardless of age, needs to be changed every 2 hours. Plus, I swear when DD was a nb she pooped at least 5-9 times a day, lol, not counting pees!

I worked in a daycare & this is the law in the state where I live. When I nannied I also changed the babes at least every 2 hrs.

[zpeanut]

Why would you change disposables less than cloth. A dirty diaper is a dirty diaper. Just because it feels dry doesn't mean it isn't dirty.

It is pretty easy to tell if a disposable has been urinated in from the outside. I would imagine it would be changed immediately.

[gracie1025]

I found this study from Ohio Statae University. I wonder if this would be more reliable. I would just use the numberson averages of diapers per baby. I would still like to tabulate the cost savings myself, since I think there are other options to consider (like couponing for BOTH kinds of diapers).
"Economics and time management impact more directly on families when deciding to use cloth or disposable diapers. Disposables cost approximately $50 per month, estimating 5 to 7 changes per day. The amount varies depending on the age of the child. Infants will have a greater number of changes and toddlers a fewer number of changes. An initial one-time investment for cloth diapers, including plastic pants and diaper pail, is about $80. Home laundry costs including depreciation of equipment is estimated at $1.35 per load (12). Washing one load per day, laundry costs equal $40.37 per month. Commercial diaper services with weekly delivery and pick-up of soiled diapers average $10 to $15 per week or $40 to $60 per month. Parents generally use more cloth diapers (9.7 per day) than disposables (5.4 to 7.0 per day) due to more frequent changes and double diapering, especially at night. Use of cloth diapers costs considerably less than disposables in terms of actual dollars expended by the family for acquisition; however, overall cost of care including depreciation of home laundry equipment reduces the actual cost difference.

In dual career or single parent families, especially, time is precious. Laundering of diapers places additional demands on home and child care activities. Along with more frequent changes associated with cloth diapers, laundering becomes a realistic consideration in making diapering decisions. Availability of home laundry equipment further impacts on the decision. "
http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Diaper-Not-Clear.htm

[gracie1025]

Originally Posted by zpeanut Why would you change disposables less than cloth. A dirty diaper is a dirty diaper. Just because it feels dry doesn't mean it isn't dirty. It is pretty easy to tell if a disposable has been urinated in from the outside. I would imagine it would be changed immediately.

I know people who don't. They aren't what I would label negligent parents, but if there is just a little pee they let it go for a bit. Just look at the advertising for Pampers....I see the display in Target...it is all about how they have a new formula in the Pampers that makes it last longer. I am not condoning it, but I kind of think that to assume all people change their diapers every two hours is a little inaccurate (because then who is Pampers marketing towards?). There are people who go longer (even on CDing forums people have said to reduce links you would have to change a diaper more often than you would sposies).

I also think that we can't assume that a disposable is changed every two hours, not to mention cloth. I know I change my babies' diaper in the middle of his feeding because he falls asleep at the end. And he eats for an hour! So by the time he finishes on the other side, and sleeps, I end up with over two hours between a diaper change. I know of few parents who would wake their baby just to change a wet diaper. Am I off there?

[AZmommy]

okay I'll be honest the few tiems weve switched to sposies I've tended to change more on a schedule (or if messy than as wet.. Mostly cause were ussually eaither travelling or out ect and its eaiser. I have a 3 hour (wet only) rule meaning I check and change every 3 hours or if I notice a poo..
so assuming she gets a sposie at say 8am never poos and gets her one nightime diaper at 8pm thats 5 diapers a day.. I think thats refectly a fairly realastic number of diapers and changing times for a sposie user.. any less and I think eaither 1 there partly PT or can hold their pee a lot.. 2 neglectful... or 3 lying.

Deanna

[gracie1025]

I am thinking of adding this to account for couponing cloth. I hope this does it justice. Let me know if you think edits need to be made. I am loving your input!

"Couponing Cloth
* There are crazy deals on cloth that you can come up on occasionally. For example, at the moment, there are Amazon deals with 20% off that can be stacked together and also stacked with a $10 off coupon. This means people are buying pocket diapers for under $4!
* In addition to this, people can cash in Swagbucks for Amazon gift cards. I get a $5 gift card every two weeks. Therefore, if I started saving up my gift cards at 3 months pregnant, then I would have half of a supply (at least) by the time baby came. If I use these Amazon coupons, I could probably get close to a full supply for free.
* It is also important to note that there are surveys you could fill out for Amazon money (ipsos i-say, opinion outpost, etc).
* There are also various deals at cloth diapering retailers. Like my retailer almost always has 10% off. Or right now there is an Econobum deal where you get 2 covers and 2 prefolds for only $9.99.
* Yes, these same deals could go for disposable diaper users; HOWEVER, it is important to consider the fact that cloth diapers can be resold, disposables cannot."

[blueone]

Yeah, looking at the numbers for diaper changes in disposables is really off. We used sposies a few times and when he was a newborn. When he was a newborn I changes him as many times as I would in cloth. Wet sposies just feel icky. Also, breastfed babies poo a lot.

Evan as a toddler, I changed him while in sposies around 6 times, not 2. That's gross... really really gross.

Also, what if you have a baby with really sensitive skin? You wouldn't be able to use the off brand diapers. My son only does good in huggies or Gdiaper liners. He broke out in a rash with pampers, target brand, and babies r us brand.

Even so, the cost pays off with your next kid. You won't have to buy diapers at all unless you need to add a bit to your stash. Even then, you'd still be saving lots of money.

[zpeanut]

Originally Posted by gracie1025 I found this study from Ohio Statae University. I wonder if this would be more reliable: "Economics and time management impact more directly on families when deciding to use cloth or disposable diapers. Disposables cost approximately $50 per month, estimating 5 to 7 changes per day. The amount varies depending on the age of the child. Infants will have a greater number of changes and toddlers a fewer number of changes. An initial one-time investment for cloth diapers, including plastic pants and diaper pail, is about $80. Home laundry costs including depreciation of equipment is estimated at $1.35 per load (12). Washing one load per day, laundry costs equal $40.37 per month. Commercial diaper services with weekly delivery and pick-up of soiled diapers average $10 to $15 per week or $40 to $60 per month. Parents generally use more cloth diapers (9.7 per day) than disposables (5.4 to 7.0 per day) due to more frequent changes and double diapering, especially at night. Use of cloth diapers costs considerably less than disposables in terms of actual dollars expended by the family for acquisition; however, overall cost of care including depreciation of home laundry equipment reduces the actual cost difference. In dual career or single parent families, especially, time is precious. Laundering of diapers places additional demands on home and child care activities. Along with more frequent changes associated with cloth diapers, laundering becomes a realistic consideration in making diapering decisions. Availability of home laundry equipment further impacts on the decision. " http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Diaper-Not-Clear.htm

Interesting. Sounds like it was written by someone who has never diapered a baby before.