With three kids in diapers, poop happens a lot in our house. Here’s the scoop on cloth versus disposable diapers for multiples.
For their first six months, our twins were diapered in generic disposables. It seemed the easiest and cheapest option, and I couldn’t muster the energy to explore alternatives. My conscience prodded me each garbage day, however, as I sent several bags of paper, chemicals and human excrement to the landfill. I finally decided to switch to cloth.
We had used cloth diapers – on and off – for our first son so I knew what was involved in sorting, washing and drip-drying. I also knew I was not up to the same for three kids. I found a diaper service in the yellow pages, and signed on. We now get seventy cloth diapers delivered, and the soiled ones picked up, for just under $20 a week – about what we had been spending on disposables.
Do cloth diapers work as well as disposables? No, unfortunately. The chemicals in disposable diapers are super-absorbent and unless a BM is deposited, a paper diaper can last three or four hours. Outrageously expensive diapers like Pampers Cruisers last even longer. Disposables are convenient. They also linger in landfills for about five hundred years.
Cloth, on the other hand, is a little less convenient but much more virtuous – or so I hope. Our diaper service uses “prefolds”, one of the simplest diapers on the market. (And a confusing term as they aren’t obviously folded at all. They’re flat squares of multi-layered cotton.) Prefolds are used with wraps, more elaborate versions of the plastic pants that I wore as a baby. Much depends, I have found, on the quality of the wrap. Here’s a quick review of the brands we have tried:
-Bummis Whisper wraps with Velcro: Good at preventing leaks but the Velcro is rough and sometimes leaves scratch marks. That would make me cranky!
-Mother-ease wraps with Velcro: Good fit and good leak prevention but same scratchy Velcro and a tight waist-band. Looks uncomfortable.
-Bummis Whisper wraps with snaps: Scratchy Velcro problem solved.
-Nikky: Super-soft cotton and great fit. Not as good at leak prevention as Bummis.
-Fuzzi Bunz: The ultimate cloth diaper. Soft, snug, and very absorbent. They are designed for use with Fuzzi Bunz insert pads, but also work well with prefolds. The only deterrent is the initial cost of over $20 per diaper.
With a good wrap, the twins are comfortable in prefolds for about two hours. We use lots of barrier cream (Zincofax, Aveeno, Peneten) and have had only one serious diaper rash so far.
These diapers don’t work as well for our two-year old. One pee and he’s soaked, trousers and all. While this helps with toilet training, on a daily basis it’s frustrating for everyone. So we still use disposables for our older son, as well as on the twins at night and during long outings. Nonetheless, with the diaper service, we have cut our weekly landfill contribution from three garbage bags to about one. Now, if only our municipality would get a composting program….
What do you use with your twins at night? Prefolds, even with a hemp insert, aren’t cutting it any more for us. I’ve tried Kissaluvs, which were not absorbent enough, and am going to try fuzzi-bunz next.
We have never tried cloth diapers at night! Our kids are not great sleepers. In fact, they are spectacularly bad. I can’t bear the thought of making things worse with a wet diaper. So we use disposables at night – the “outrageously expensive” Pampers that I mentioned in the post. Good luck with the Fuzzi Bunz. I use them with 2 inserts, or one insert and a prefold.