Cloth Diapers, pt 1 – The Research.

In: Baby Products|My Reviews|Preparations|We're Expecting

9 Nov 2009

Next on the list to fuss about are these lovely eye candies called Pocket Cloth Diapers. Aren’t they adorable? And these are just the coloured ones. Wait till you see those with darling designs! *squeals*

Baby Kanga Cloth Diapers

What is a Cloth Diaper?

The name itself cannot be clearer. It is a diaper made from cloth! Of different layers of fabric such as terry towels that can be washed and reused multiple times.

Use them, soil them, wash them and reuse them. Save your wallet and save Mother Earth! ♥

Why Use Cloth Diapers?

Economical — Cloth Diapers (CD) are cheaper in the long run compared to Disposable Diapers (DD) because they are reusable after wash. The initial start up could be a lot but they’ll save you thousands of Ringgits as your baby grows. CD can be used over time from infancy to when they are toddlers.

Environmental Friendly — Cloth are made from natural fibers which are biodegradable. We can wash, reuse and recycle them. Where else, DD contains absorbent chemicals that needs to be thrown out after soiled. That means more waste for Mother Earth!

Health Concerns — DD contains multiple chemicals: 1) Carcinogenic Dioxin, a by-product of paper-bleaching process used in manufacturing DD, 2) Sodium Polyacrylate to make diapers super absorbent and 3) Tributyltin.

Early Toilet Training — A wet CD feels wet to a child, whereas a DD continues to feel dry. No baby or child enjoys a wet tushy

Less diaper rashes — By changing more frequently (as CD feels wet faster), your baby’s delicate skin would not be bundled up with germs for hours from her own waste until the next change.

Sale, Sale, Sale — You no longer need to worry when and where is the next big sale to stock up on DD!

Need anymore reasons?

Before the era of DD luxury, most of us grew up on Prefold CD. And today, if you Google up the term Cloth Diapers, you will be bombarded by the numerous CD styles. The Pocket CD I’m showing here is just one of the many alternatives. After you’ve decided on the style, then comes the many local and international brands with beautiful designs to woo your wallet.

And that’s exactly where we’re now at! The deciding stage of the brand headache. Prices per piece for these adorable CD can go from RM30 to RM100 above. Designers are definitely guilty of turning this economical solution to a luxury trap! So back to doing more research and wait for Part 2

Here’s how the different brands all generally look like

Fuzibunz Cloth Diaper

And the mechanism within

Mommy's Touch Cloth Diapers

If you’re interested to know more of the different CD Styles, GreenMomHappyMom did a helpful overview on them here.

Good to Know
For mommies planning on CD-ing their babies, here are some good reads that I found. The list will grow with time as my research continues

Cloth Nappy Systems Pros and Cons
Prefold Cloth Diapers De-mystified

Added 10/11/09
Top 5 Mistakes When Cloth Diapering
How Many Cloth Diapers Do I Need?
Cloth Diaper Guide

You Might Also Be Interested:
Cloth Diapers, pt 2 – Baby Nappies.
Cloth Diapers, pt 3 – Finally!
Cloth Diapers, pt 5 – Snap Buttons!
Cloth Diapers, pt 6 – Journey thus Far, Recap.
Cloth Diapers, pt 4 – Velcro vs Snap Buttons.

Tags: Babycare, Cloth Diaper, Reviews, Shopping, What to Expect when I'm Expecting

17 Responses to Cloth Diapers, pt 1 – The Research.

Joey

November 10th, 2009 at 4:52 pm

Hello,

I stumbled upon your blog while exploring the malaysian brides forum on breastpump. Thanks for doing all the research on baby necessities and items to get.

It’s exciting to know how much we have in common! I’m currently 20 weeks pregnant (around 3-4 weeks behind you), this is our first child too and we have a dog named Odee + it’s white. Check out my blog ;P

Keep up the good work! I’ll definitely return to visit )

Joey

November 10th, 2009 at 4:57 pm

Oh ya, besides the CD brand mentioned above, there’s another one that I found as well. See http://www.myhappyfamily.com.my. The only downside for this is, we’ll need to get many eco-soakers to keep up with the baby’s poop and pee, especially newborns. My neighbour suggested using the traditional folded cloth napkin for first 6 months, then switch to enviromentally-friendly diapers after that.

mellomouse

November 10th, 2009 at 4:59 pm

Hi Joey,

Thanks for dropping by. Being a first time Mommy is no easy task these days, especially the amount of options we have compared to our parents’ time.

I started researching on CD last Saturday after finishing on Breast Pumps. And I am still reading! The recommendations are never ending and we’ll still need to make the final decision ourselves *faints* And money is always the 1st nagging problem

Odee is a handsome pooch. Yes! We do have much in common

mellomouse

November 10th, 2009 at 5:17 pm

I’m currently listing down all the comments for different brands by the MalaysiaBrides mommies. A lot of factors to be considered, so don’t stock up on 1 brand first until our baby tried it on.

Initially I shortlisted:
1) Coolababy (RM35 comes with 2 inserts) — enjoybreastfeed.com has a good package deal with more inserts included. So far the cheapest CD out there!
2) KS 3rd Gen One-size CD by KasihkuSayangku.com (RM55.90 comes with 2 inserts) — they have 2 years warranty! After more research, might reconsider…

MB mommies say better to use prefold for newborn because of better fitting and easier to clean off poo. The microfiber inserts are hard to clean. Or the 1st 1-2 weeks use disposable. I’ll blog about this once I get more info!

MazzLina

November 10th, 2009 at 11:04 pm

My God you’re researching like pro! I’m wondering what’ll be your next topic…. baby slings perhaps?

I’m all for baby slings. I’ve been using them since day 1 and still using. I got mine from thebabyloft.com

mellomouse

November 10th, 2009 at 11:53 pm

Hey Mazz,

I think I’m more like a fanatic now. I can’t stop researching, end up with cramps from sitting too long in front of computer *LOL*

What CD system did you use for both your kiddies? I haven’t even begin buying anything, already I feel the pinch!

Ayu

November 11th, 2009 at 11:40 am

ha’ah babe. I agreed with Mazz. u shud do research for baby slings/pouch plak after this! hehehe altho I got mine from babybjourn d, but still.. would love to hear more. lps tu research psl car seat or carrier. hahahahah. u made my life so much easier!

mellomouse

November 11th, 2009 at 1:02 pm

Pandainya si Ibu ni

I’m researching on my essentials. I’ve researched on baby slings before during May this year. Wanted to get for my friend for her babyshower tapi tak sempat. Maybe will revisit the research again.

Car seat and carrier may have to wait. I thought you’re already eyeing some yourself? Janganlah asyik tengok design je. Kena jaga budget jugak We won’t be getting this just yet but will certainly keep an eye on the prices. KIV on this!

May Yee

November 11th, 2009 at 6:59 pm

Interesting topic…. my elder sister’s advise…. just use the trditional 100% cotton fold it yourself diapers…. easy to clean, fast drying and all natural! Soaking diapers? My mother in law is making home made enzymes… will soak with that and rinse with hot water….

mellomouse

November 11th, 2009 at 11:30 pm

Hey May Yee,

We’re going for standard napkins too. Hopefully can grab 3 dozens during Pureen’s warehouse clearance next week. What is soaking diapers?

May Yee

November 12th, 2009 at 10:00 am

Haha.. pardon by england… what I meant was wht to use to clean the diapers. After the first rinse/spray down, usually people with soak the nappies in water with washing detergent (do check out Vanish washing detergent for diapers) even bleach….

We are planning to use lime/vinegar /enzyme instead… as we are already using enzymes at home for cleaning ie floors (as kids likes to lick paws), clothes etc

mellomouse

November 12th, 2009 at 10:03 am

Oh hehehe. I read from MalaysiaBrides, the Mommies gave good reviews for Pureen HAD. So planning to get 2 bottles next weekend at their sale. Shouldn’t we be using Hypoallergenic Detergent?

May Yee

November 12th, 2009 at 10:47 am

About detergent, I am not sure, but I dont plan to use any of it. This applies to our current washing habits as well… I have not been using detergent/washing liquid/chemicals for almost a month since we decided to use enzymes (diluted) and spray on stains, lightly soak before hitting the washing machine.

mellomouse

November 12th, 2009 at 11:30 am

That sounds like a good plan! Where do you get the enzymes from? I’m a bit kampung on this and lazy to research since you can tell me LOL. Been researching non stop, getting nauseous again…

MH Yap

November 18th, 2009 at 12:22 am

Enzymes is great in laundry as it’s really good in remove the stains. But you should not use enzymes to clean baby diapers unless you are really sure that you can fully remove the residue during wash. If there’s some enzymes remains on the diaper then it’ll cause nappy rash on your baby bottom.

May Yee

November 22nd, 2009 at 12:13 am

Enzymes… hard to explain… my MIL mixed fruits with brown sugar to make enzymes to laundry use… (vege + brown sugar for household use) etc. It’s like a fermentation process…. but we use peels/skins from fruits… part of our organic/recycling/chemical-free project

mellomouse*

Cloth Diapers, pt 1 – The Research.

17 Responses to Cloth Diapers, pt 1 – The Research.

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