Diapering the Oregon Way

Our diaper stash! We've been keeping an eye out for affordable used cloth diapers and have managed to grab some good lots going cheap.


From right to left:

Six Econobum covers with 12 prefolds - the only new stuff in the lot
Four Fuzzibunz pocket diapers (L, L, L and XL) and a bunch of whatever they're called that go in the pockets
A rainbow of no-name pocket diapers
One Newborn and some Small ProRaps
A lineup of white Cot'n Wraps, all Small and velcro
Two greenish BumGenuises
Above them, some very well worn Kushi plastic pants which may or may not still have life in them
Bottom left corner, three burp cloths (I made two of them) and some Soap Nuts
Along the top, four no-name diapers that I don't know exactly what they are yet.

We're going to rely on disposables for newborn stage unless we feel up for it; are well set for the 10-15 pounds stage, and have a number of resizable snap options when the Small ones no longer fit. I think we'll need more prefolds and pocket-stuffers but we're pretty well set for the rest, probably.

We also got a book called Changing Diapers which gives a lot of information for the newbie cloth diaperer. A few months back we decided that we want to give cloth diapering a try - it's healthier for baby and for the environment, isn't as hard as it seems at first glance and saves a TON of money. Estimated cost of diapering a baby in disposables from birth to potty training is about $2,000. Diapering a baby in cloth, on the other hand, can be done for a couple hundred dollars - maybe $500 if you go nuts and also accounting for cost of water and energy in washing. It just seems more expensive because all the material buying is done up front, rather than spread out over time. We spent about $175 on the stuff shown above but that is the majority of our diapering costs done with. And many cloth diapered babies potty train earlier because they are more aware of their bodily functions, which is an extra bonus.