If you look at my info bar, you’ll notice that I have two kids plus two foster kids. Our oldest is 9. We used disposable diapers with her until she was about two. Then we switched to cloth diapers. The switch was for a myriad of reasons, including cost. We found cloth diapering to be cheaper, chiefly because my wife is a seamstress, and she made them.
When DD#2 was born, she was nearly exclusively cloth diapered. The only disposables we used with her were given to us as baby gifts. We used them for some nighttime diapering and when we were on long trips.
Enter foster child #1. He came into our care, March 2010, when he was 19 days old. We continued the tradition of cloth diapering. Because he was a foster child, and had twice weekly visit his birth mother, we did need to have a supply of disposables around.
Foster child #2 came into our lives this past April. He was nearly 3. Because of the situation he was in prior to foster care, potty training is not even yet on the radar screen. Four kids is a lot. Did I mention that the two foster kids have special needs? Anyway, we have found it nearly impossible (actually strictly impossible) to keep up with the three or four times a week laundering schedule that cloth diapers demand. We live in rural Michigan, so a diapering service is not an option. We have switched back to disposables for both boys.
As far as cost goes, my wife orders them on line for less than a quarter apiece. We also receive a foster care stipend that makes covering the cost less of an issue. Cloth diapers are better for the skin, more comfortable and better for the environment. But right now, they are not an option. But, boy do the disposables stink!
Disposable Diapers
August 2nd, 2011 at 01:04 pm
August 2nd, 2011 at 05:56 pm 1312307766
If we had to do our own washing, I think we'd have given up by now. That's the hardest part. And I think we can handle cloth diapering with one more kid, but if we had more than two, it would get kind of overwhelming.
But I certainly appreciate the effort you guys made for the environment! You kept a ton of disposables out of the landfill over the years, so thank you.
August 5th, 2011 at 02:06 pm 1312553183
Jerry