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When I used cloth diapers it was to save money. We had two kids within 19 months of each other. Many people choose to cloth diaper because they are on a budget and can’t afford to buy diapers. The great thing about cloth diapering is you can buy your diapers and use your stash for all your children, reusable diapers are very cost effective. Cloth diapering during hard times for cheap is doable.
There many different cloth diaper options out there: prefolds, pockets and all in ones. Depending on what your budget is you can choose what works best for you. Some people are ok with spending a little up front since you can use them until potty training time, they pay for themselves within no time.
There are ways you can get cloth diapers for free also. Ask friends and family if they have any cloth diapers, they could lend you and then you return them once your done with them. If your looking for a way to start your cloth diaper dash for under $100.00 then this is the blog for you.
I am going to show you how to cloth diaper during hard financial times. If you ever had to choose between paying rent or buying diapers for your baby, I will show you how you don’t have to spend anything or next to nothing to cloth diaper your little one.
Let’s first talk about how many diapers you will need based on your baby’s age. Knowing on average how many diapers your baby will use and how often you will use them will help determine how many diapers you will need.
Newborns
Newborn babies go through diapers about every two hours, so from birth until three months you will need at least twelve diapers. If your planning to cloth diaper from birth keep in mind you will be in the hospital two to five days so plan according to your needs. Hospital’s do provide disposable diapers while you are in the hospital.
With our first I used the hospital diapers and didn’t cloth diaper until we got home. When our second was born I used cloth right away at the hospital since I had a stash with our first already in diapers. My third baby I used disposables at the hospital.
Newborn disposables do have a line on the diaper that changes colors to know when they need changed. Cloth diapers do not offer this, and you will have to set an alarm to remember to change the baby. Newborns have sensitive skin so you would not want your baby sitting in the cloth diaper more than 2-3 hours. Leaving a cloth diaper on too long can make your baby bum red or cause a rash. You could try using a stay dry liner if your baby is getting red or a rash within 2 hours of the cloth diaper being on.
3 to 6 Month Old
Three to six month old babies have less poop than a newborn. They also tend to sleep longer so you will need eight to ten diapers per 24 hours.
Once your baby starts to eat solid food, they will need fewer diaper changes. If your baby is sleeping throughout the night, you can double up the inserts to prevent any leakage. They will sleep longer or all night.
6 to 12 Month Old
During the day, you should be changing your baby every 3 hours. If you are only using one diaper nighttime, you would need six to eight diapers.
One Year Old and Older
When your baby is one year old you should be changing diapers every 4 hours, around 6 diapers per day. Except at night you should still be able to use one diaper if they sleep all night. Remember if they get up at night you will need to add a few diapers to your stash.
Different Options
There are multiple options when it comes to cloth diapers. Since we are trying to do this a budget friendly way, we are going to look at just the basic options. We will not cover pocket or all in one’s diapers, unless you have gifted them or borrow them, they will cost more than the flats with a cover.
Flat Inserts:
Flat diaper inserts are by far your cheapest option out there for cloth diapers. You can buy pre-owned covers for a few dollars a piece. Amazon also has these cheap options for covers and pockets you could check out. Cloth diapering full time you only need three to four covers because you will wipe out and reuse the covers a few times before using another cover.
If you don’t have any money for anything except the covers then purchase those. Then all you need to do is look for items around your house. If you have any old fleece blankets, t-shirts or extra receiving blankets those work perfectly once cut to size to fit the pre-fold. My all time favor next to receiving blankets is flour sack towels. I love them because they are so light you can wash them, and they dry very fast.
With my first I bought flour sack towels to use inside bumgenius pocket diapers because they were so much thinner than the inserts that came with the pocket diapers.
Cloth Wipes
Using cloth wipes is super easy while cloth diapering. You can throw the soiled wipes along with the dirty diapers and wash them together. Cloth wipes are good for your baby, better for the planet and save you a lot of money. In my opinion, cloth wipes do a better job cleaning messy bum.
You don’t have to shell out money to buy branded cloth wipes. You can repurpose old (soft) towels, receiving blankets or even use baby washcloths.
Accessories
There is no need to go crazy and buy all the extra’s like a diaper sprayer and all the newest trending pattern. You also don’t need all the extra accessories. Remember why your considering cloth diapers is to save money, every little bit count.
You don’t need a dedicated diaper pail; you can use a bucket with a lid to store dirty diapers until you wash them. There are many cheap wet bags to store dirty diapers.
You can also use your regular laundry detergent to wash cloth diapers. To save electricity you can hang dry the diapers and covers.
Cloth diapering doesn’t have to be expensive at all. It can be done with less than a 100$ and can literally save you thousands of dollars.
I hope you now can see how my tips can offer you a diapering solution when times are tough and money is tight. If you have any comments on how you managed to cloth diaper within a budget, I would love to hear from you!