Gone are the ammonia smells from being out and about for too long on a hot day, gone is the chaffing from the plastic protective layer folding and bunching and then rubbing, gone is that sound you get when the pad unsticks as you seat yourself at the toilet, gone is that wet, soggy feeling because the pads don’t breathe.

My pads don’t have a plastic protective layer, so I do need to be a little more careful about leakage. I also notice the smell of blood a little more, but apparently others can’t tell. They are comfortable, and effective.

There’s also the cleaning… for most of us getting your own blood on your hands during menstruation is pretty much inevitable. So I take my soiled pad, rinse it in cold water and drop it in a bucket full of cold water with a little bit of laundry detergent in it, and leave it to soak with the others for up to 2 days. (If it’s hot, or if I can’t do a load in that time, I change the water and re-rinse everything individually every 1-2 days).

I then drain out the rinse water and wash with my regular clothes then hang them in the sunshine and fresh air. Sometimes they have soured while soaking. This does not rub off on the other clothes in that load, but if they still smell after washing and drying, I just put them back in the machine, all dry, and wash them with the next load. That’s usually sufficient.

Yes they stain a little. Stain remover can help. I’m sure I’m not the only woman to have a few pairs of underwear that has been spoiled by miscalculating the start time, or by failures in my products, but the number of these hasn’t changed dramatically with my change of products.

It’s so awesome to be able to walk right past that part of the supermarket and to not have to care. To know that I always have sufficient products at home, and which I can easily throw into my suitcase for when I travel. And I do travel. So far this year I’ve spend an average of 1 night in 3 in a hotel. Usually though I’m away for a week at a time. In these cases, I just roll the pad up and throw it in with my other dirty clothes. When I get home, I rinse them all, soak them in stain remover for a day or night, and launder as usual.

I teach wearing them, I go to client meetings wearing them, I travel on trains, planes and on buses wearing them… They’re great. I would never go back.

EC (Elimination Communication) – Google this and/or “nappy-free” or “diaper-free” and you will find a plethora of free information about how to go without using ANY diapers at all! Or, use them less often – it’s your choice and it’s 100% possible. Look it up and find people’s first-hand instructions!

Co-sleeping – put the baby in the bed next to the mother and lower the baby’s risk of SIDS. Again – Google “co-sleeping” for the facts – for instance, NO you will not “overlay” your baby… mother’s sleep is lighter anyway and she will rouse even if the baby moves in the next room… so why not make things easier by keeping the two together! Sex life of the parents is said to be better with co-sleeping too because the mother isn’t worried about the baby in the next room – and don’t worry, babies don’t know what you’re doing!

Baby-wearing – save on carrycots, prams and strollers. The Ergo carrier can convert from newborn through to toddler, supporting head, back, etc and distributing weight evenly on mother’s front or back (or father’s!). Facilitates EC and breastfeeding-on-demand, as you see and hear the baby’s signals.

Extended breastfeeding – if you can do it. Exclusive breastfeeding for longer than 6 months is recommended by the World Health Organisation. What did parents do before puree was invented (i.e. blender or sieve)? Breastfeed for longer! Even when a child starts solid foods they can still breastfeed… the world average age of weaning is somewhere between 4 and 7 years of age.

Natural toys – blocks, cloth balls, plants, beads and pasta and beans when they are older. A small child 4 or 5 years of age doesn’t need the complications of Disney characters. Teach them how to do real work in the garden and the kitchen. I know a 6 year old who can cook the main family meal. Her little sister weeds the strawberry patch. (Eating the strawberries at the same time of course!) Life is fun… if they get to take part in it. Instead of excluding them and distracting them from real work with plastic “stuff”, let them participate in the real workings of the family home and they will feel very important and have fun doing things with you.

When a second child comes, you can tandem-breastfeed, co-sleep with the new baby and give the elder child a new bed, and when the new baby grows up he or she can go into the big bed with brother/sister. Small children enjoy the company and will eventually move themselves to seperate beds when they feel the need.

Thabks

MAM makes BPA-free bottles that are actually pretty nice. In addition to the fact that they’re BPA-free, they also have a diaphragm in the bottle that allows air to enter the bottle without leakage.

We use cloth diapers, but store the to-be-washed ones in a lined, foot-operated trashbin to keep the urine smell down to a minimum. Over time, the urine breaks down into ammonia and can be a bit overwhelming if not kept in check.

Randy@FiscalZen

I started using it when my 16 yr old was a newborn; I still make my own disposable wipes because they’re great for everything (i.e. quick cleanups in the car, quick wipe downs in the bathroom before guests knock on the door, thorough wiping when my toddler doesn’t quite get it all after going #2, etc.)

Just remember 2-2-2!
1 Roll of paper towels (Brawny is strongest, but any will work)
2 Tablespoons baby soap or shampoo or any gentle liquid cleanser (NOT anti-bacterial if you intend to wipe little bums)
2 Cups of tap water

Step 1- Cut the paper towel roll in half, so that you have 2 rolls about the size of toilet paper rolls. (Tips: 1. Serrated knives make a fuzzy mess, use a non-serrated blade 2. Don’t waste your time/money trying this recipe with TP, it doesn’t work!)
Step 2- Re-use a plastic container that is the right size and has a good seal. I bought a canister of dispoable wipes and simply re-used the container because the lid came off and the wipes tore at the performations nicely.
Step 3- add the soap and water. Mix well but don’t make suds.
Step 4- Insert 1 (of the 2) paper towel rolls. It may be tight, you have to get the hang of squishing the roll just right to fit in your container.
Step 5- When the roll has absorbed the water mixture (a few hours, or overnight), remove the cardboard roll and thread the inner-most wipe through the container lid hole.
Enjoy!

I do recommend a liner to hold the dirty diapers. I also add a little cloth moistened with some lavender essential oils which is the best thing I’ve found for the smell. (We have two in diapers and wash every other day.)

Something else to consider: In my experience with cloth and disposables (disposables for the first born), the cloth are much better diapers. We will go months without a cloth diaper leaking…that means you need fewer outfits for baby and have fewer stains to deal with.

I’m curious about the logistics about getting rid of the solid waste in the toilet. What do you use to scrape it into the toilet?

To the commenter who suggested saving food during your pregnancy, I don’t think that’s the greatest idea. For one, your baby doesn’t start on baby food till several months after it’s born. At that point the frozen food cubes would be up to a year or more old, which may not be very tasty. I think a better idea might be to start saving the food when the kid gets closer to eating real food.

As for flushable liners – my experience is that they don’t offer much in terms of being easier or cleaner. For me, only in certain circumstances did they seem to be easier – as in, if the baby only pooped a minimal amount, and it was not very solid. And, more importantly for me, I found that they don’t degrade well enough for my septic system, and even in homes that have sewer lines, they can clog up the line, and cause all kinds of unpleasantness in the house. I’ve seen it recommended to use a liner when using diaper cream and baby is wearying pocket diapers, because the creams can interfere with the urine passing through to the absorbent insert. I found that the disposable liners still let the diaper creams through, so it seemed pointless there, too.

I’ve read in cloth diapering forums that front loaders sometimes don’t do as good a job cleaning diapers as a top loader. The kind of detergent to use really depends on your situation – you can find charts online that detail the recommended brands of detergents, and why they are recommended. One site is http://pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm I think this site is where many other sites get their info.

Not to say that every child will be like this, but you may be surprised. I certainly wouldn’t invest in a 2nd crib– the pak-n-play idea or even a bassinet for your newborn’s first couple months would be much cheaper than a crib.

How many cloth diapers do you have?
Have you ever tried the flushable liners? Are these easier/cleaner?
Do you use a front loading machine? What kind of detergent?

I think that even with the high cost of diapers, it’s not the “things” that make a baby expensive, it’s the child care. This is a huge issue for families, since good day care can cost over $10,000/yr, and cutting back to 1 salary is also a major hit.

We also use the bumgenius diapers and love them. We use a cheap plastic trash can for the soiled diapers – I agree those Diaper Genies are a huge waste of money. We usually do use store brand wipes, but have experimented with just paper towels soaked in water – they also work well.

We didn’t have a changing table for a long time, but found one at a church rummage sale for $20. It has 3 drawers under the changing table top which hold diapers, wipes and other clothes and a door on the side to hold toys and books. It was a welcome addition to our son’s bedroom. Best of all, we just saw the “new” version of this at Babies R Us for $220 – so we got it for $200 less than retail – and it is as good as new.

As for toys and clothes – we’ve gotten so many hand me down clothes from nieces and nephews we’ve hardly had to buy any so far. And most toys we’ve received are gifts from family members. Our son is 1 now and I bet we’ve only spent $40 on toys ourselves.