7 Amazing Cloth Diapering Benefits That Will Make You Want To Switch

Are you wondering if the cloth diapering benefits outweigh the use of disposable diapers? We all want what’s best for our kids. But when you first become a parent, there is so much information to wade through and decisions to be made, that it can get confusing and overwhelming.

This post is sponsored by Bumberry Diapers, but all opinions expressed here are my own.

Safe and natural products for baby are on every parent’s priority list, but sometimes convenience takes priority over some of the more traditional natural methods of baby rearing.

This cannot hold truer than in the case of diapering a baby. Many new moms wonder how to use cloth diapers properly.

In India, all of us are told to use the traditional langot to diaper a baby. A langot is a thin triangular cotton cloth that is used in India to diaper a baby. The problem with this traditional way of diapering a baby is that it cannot hold a pee, it leaks easily and in the newborn stage with multiple diaper changes, this method soon becomes exhausting for the new mom.

With disposable diapers now readily available, most moms make the switch to disposable diapers.

I know your struggle, as a sleep deprived mom, every extra step feels like a task and the last thing you want is to be changing cloth nappies every 1 hour or so.

But here is where modern cloth diapers win. They provide everything that a disposable diaper provides and come in some super cute prints! Yay!

I will list 7 reasons why you should consider making the switch to cloth diapers today. The cloth diapering benefits mentioned here are so impressive that I am sure you will consider cloth diapering your baby.

For starters, you don’t even need to do exclusive cloth diapering to reap these benefits. You can do as I did, cloth diaper in the day and use disposables at night and during travel.

CLOTH DIAPERING BENEFITS

1. Baby skin friendly

The first and most important benefit of cloth diapers is the skin-friendly material. Disposable diapers contain harmful chemicals like dioxins, sodium polyacrylates, chlorine, dyes, and fragrances.

While there are no current medical studies that prove health problems caused by disposable diapers. Even so, one cannot exclude the risk. Many chemical substances have been found in disposable diapers well above recommended healthy limits. [source]

Using cloth diapers reduces exposure to these chemicals and allows breathability. In cloth diapers, there is nothing but a soft cloth material in contact with your babies skin. This also makes cloth diapers more comfortable for the baby.

2. Eco-friendly

Cloth diapers are an environment-friendly alternative to disposable diapers. It is said that an average disposable diaper takes up to 500 years to degrade. You can reduce your contribution to the landfills and your babies carbon footprint.

3. Cost savings

On average, babies in North America and Western Europe wear more than 3,500 diapers before they are toilet trained, (Toilet training age is taken as age 2) [source]. Assuming a similar figure with rising disposable diaper use in the Indian market, and the average cost of 1 disposable diaper at Rs 10. You spend Rs 35000 from birth to toilet training at 2.

But what’s more interesting is that many toddlers do not potty train at 2, and from our personal experience, we definitely changed diapers more than the average 3500 estimated diaper changes from 0-2 yrs. Our figure rests roughly at 8000 diaper changes from birth to 26 months when we finally got free from diapers. That’s a cost of Rs 80000.

Also, depending on your financial status you may buy more expensive diapers where cost ranges from Rs10-Rs 20/diaper. Therefore diaper costs for individual families can vary anywhere from Rs 35000 to Rs 100000.

Now consider buying a cloth diaper system. An average cloth diaper costs about Rs 600. For a baby to be cloth diapered from birth to 2 years, you will need about 30 cloth diapers. This is a mere Rs 18,000 compared to using disposable diapers for the entire duration.

Cloth diapers are reusable and can be used for multiple babies further reducing the cost. Not planning any more babies? No problem, you can always sell used diapers. There are several Facebook groups that deal in buying and selling old cloth diapers, making cloth diapering a bargain deal at the end of potty training.

Once again these are all rough estimates, but the savings are considerable when you cloth diaper daily.

4. Reduces instances of rashes

Less exposure to chemicals like the ones in disposable diapers can help reduce instances of diaper rashes. Cloth diapers are made of breathable materials giving skin around diaper area a chance to remain rash free.

Also, since babies are more aware of wetness in a cloth diaper, mothers end up changing cloth nappies more often compared to disposable diapers, this can be another reason why instances of rashes with cloth diapers are rare.

5. Leakproof

One of the biggest advantages of modern cloth diapers that makes them so easy to use is the fact that they are highly absorbent and leak proof. Once you learn how to properly fit a modern diaper chances of leakage are minimal. Velcro style closures and snap buttons make it easy to fit on a cloth diaper perfectly on a babies bum.

Many new cloth diapers are made of waterproof materials that make cleaning poopy diapers easier.

6. Pretty designs and different styles to suit every need

Yes! this is the fun part about cloth diapering.

From the different styles of cloth diapers (flats, prefolds, covers, pocket style diapers and all in ones) to prints there is a variety to choose from.

I remember the first time I bought cloth diapers, I was overwhelmed with all the choices available. Ultimately I went with Bumberry diapers and chose solid colors. The diapers are well built and lasted through our rigorous use and wash routine and still look brand new. The inserts are especially my favorite, the material is soft, long-lasting and a good price for the quality of the product.

7. Helps in potty training

Because the child is more aware of wetness in a cloth diaper, potty training a cloth diapered baby becomes easier. And if your child is potty trained earlier and easily more savings for you, right?.

All of these reasons made me strongly push for cloth diapers. As a new mom, it took me a while to get used to a cloth diapering routine and figure out how to clean cloth diapers properly. But it was definitely worth the effort to try.

Are you willing to try cloth diapers with your baby? If you use cloth diapers, what were some of the cloth diapering benefits and challenges you faced?