I feel like all I do is apologize for being behind on the blog. This baby survey has been so helpful for me and I really do want to share the results with you as well as some of the research I've done on my own! Here's the diaper section- I'm sharing the spreadsheet here. It's a little more confusing, I had trouble finding a layout that I liked, so this is what I came up with.
Overall results:
disposable diaper users: 23
cloth diaper users: 7
both diaper users: 3
Most popular disposables:
Huggies
Pampers
Most popular cloth:
Bumgenius
Most Popular wipes:
Pampers Sensitive
Most Popular Diaper Rash Ointment:
Desitin followed by A&D
Wipe warmer vs. no wipe warmer opinions were about 50/50. One good comment I saw was that if you only use wipe warmers at home, it's a shock to little baby bottoms when you're out and about and put a cold wipe on their bums...could lead to a fussy baby. We're still on the fence. I will at least need some sort of wipe container because we are planning on using reusable wipes while at home.
Diaper Genie- some people were for, some people were against, cloth diaper-ers use diaper bags and pails depending on where their changing diapers. One helpful comment was not to buy a diaper pail that requires specific trash bags because it gets so pricey!
And now here's our plans: After researching the pros and cons of cloth vs. disposables, we are going to give cloth diapers a go. I can't promise that this is all we will use, but we're going to give it our best shot! We are choosing cloth for these reasons: The cost savings is significant over disposables (there are many different people who have done analysis on these and they all turn out with slightly different figures...the moral of the story is that the cost savings is significant). Using cloth diapers is better for the environment. Sensitive skin babies often do better with cloth diapers...I thought I'd go ahead and assume I was going to have a fair-skinned redhead with lots of allergies and sensitivities...maybe I'm wrong, but I did marry one of those :) Cloth diapers are environmentally friendly- no diaper trash in the landfill! You can use the same diapers with subsequent children further increasing the cost effectiveness. Studies show that cloth diapered toddlers potty train faster than disposable diaper wearers...and I'm all for early potty training! Finally, cloth diapers are pretty darn cute (that's just an added bonus, no, I did not choose cloth on the cuteness factor). Since I'm getting to stay home with Baby Girl, I figured an extra load of laundry or two per day and diaper maintenance wouldn't kill me!
I registered for diapers at Terra Tots in Fayetteville, AR where they have amazing cloth diapering support. We have registered for a mixture of different types of diapers based on Baby Girl's size, time of day and whether we will be out and about or staying at home. I registered for diapers made in the USA and Canada so we're giving back to the North American economy...more specifically the AR economy because that's where Blueberry brand diapers are made. The majority of products I chose are made from bamboo because I like the combination of absorbency and lack of bulkiness. I also chose diapers with snaps instead of velcro, mostly because it seemed easier to deal with to me. I won't go into cloth diapers any further because there are so many great blogs and videos already published on this topic. I've read and watched them for HOURS!
Regarding diaper rash ointment, I'm not really sure what we'll use. I do know that with cloth diapers you have to be careful on what you choose so that you don't clog up the absorbency of the cloth which means things like Desitin and Boudreaux's Butt Paste are out for me. The recommended Northern Essence All Natural Salve looks appealing to me (who wouldn't want their baby's bum to smell like lemon pie?!) but we'll see what works when the time comes!
**UPDATE on cloth diapering** My friend Lindsay shared this diapering site with me. I hadn't found her yet and she does a wonderful job summarizing cloth diapers. Check her out: www.paddedtushstats.com
That's it on diapering! I'd love to hear your feedback!
**UPDATE ON CARSEAT AND STROLLER DECISIONS**After much deliberation we made a decision! We went with the Maxi-Cosi Prezi carseat and the Maxi Cosi Foray LX stroller as well as a BOB for exercise. I really liked the streamlined design of the Prezi as well as the safety ratings and the materials it's made out of and the Foray LX makes sense because the base easily converts to a snap and go with the infant seat and when Baby Girl moves to the toddler seat the stroller remains lightweight and streamlined. I just couldn't imagine navigating crowds with a bulky stroller system. We're going with the BOB as our second stroller because we loved our BOB test drive and EVERYONE recommends it for a jogging stroller over anything else...although I'm still tinkering with the Bumbleride Indie...
