Why We Use Cloth Diapers

While we were still pregnant with Atticus, we have had strong recommendations to use cloth diapers (CD) for a number of reasons:

It’s good for the baby’s skin.

Disposable diaper technology today are better than ever—super soft, dry, 100% breathable, hypoallergenic, and even organic—but it’s good to keep to what’s natural as much as possible. Using CD will mean less exposure to chemicals present in disposable diapers, so there’s a lesser chance of getting a diaper rash.

It’s good for the wallet.

Sure, cloth diapers can be quite an investment at the start, but when you calculate the long term cost, you can save so much more.

As of writing, it has been 8 months now since we started using washable and reusable cloth diapers for our baby. At a rate of 8 diapers at 8.75 pesos per disposable diaper a day, we have saved a total of 10,500 pesos.

It’s good for the environment.

In the interest of a good, straight sleep (at least for the baby), we didn’t plan on using cloth diapers at night. Still, we can cut down our share of the waste in our landfills by more than half.

So we decided to give it a try. We started with only 10 cloth diapers and bamboo charcoal inserts.

We know that the thought of hand washing them can make any parent stop the pursuit, but try to find ways to manage it. For us, it’s the washing machine and spin dryer that made it bearable. We then slowly added to our pile, which allows us at least 2 days before having to wash all of the soiled ones and still have enough to use as they dry.

Still, there are others who think differently, and we respect them. We understand that this is not an easy thing to do. Stopping the use despite having the full set isn’t unheard of. Some, especially when they’re working, or have a couple of other kids to take care of, just don’t have the time or energy to do it. And that’s okay. See what works for you. If you are expecting a baby soon and would like to try CDs for your baby, we recommend starting with 5 pieces first.

Lastly, since the Philippines is a tropical country, we no longer let our baby wear short pants in the house and have the colorful CDs serve as his bottoms too. This keeps him cool and lessens our laundry load every week!

If you are using cloth diapers now, you can share your experience in the comment section below.