Q:  I have a 15 month old and another on the way. I’m trying to figure out how to save more money for our family and a friend of mine says cloth diapers is the way to go. I still am so confused with so many different kinds to chose from. Can you help me figure out how to start on a small budget and some details as to why?

A:  Cloth diapers will save you money, but I understand how overwhelming and confusing it can be to get started.   Most people agree that prefolds and covers are the cheapest cloth diapering route.  Until now, I felt this was true but troublesome.  When switching to cloth, the last thing you want to do is learn folding techniques and figure out what you’ll save once you factor in all the different sizes you’ll need in prefolds and covers.  These roadblocks to using prefolds/covers have been eliminated by BumGenius’ newest creation – the Econobum cloth diaper.  The Econobum is a one-size prefold and one-size cover that goes on without any folding techniques.  Just lay the prefold in the diaper cover and put it on baby with easy-to-use snaps.  At just $49.95 for 12 changes, the Econobum Diaper Kit is quite affordable.  This is the absolute cheapest cloth diaper plan around, hands down.

Because Econobum is so cheap, I’d recommend that you purchase one kit for use now with your 18 month old.  You can start saving money today, because your baby is likely to be in diapers for quite a bit longer, especially when you factor in the long tale of overnight potty training.  You may find when you use Econobum that it’s the perfect diaper for you.  In that case, you’ll be so happy you didn’t get “spoiled” by a pricier, more deluxe diaper like the BumGenius 3.0 One-Size Pocket Diaper.

But…. you may find that the Econobum doesn’t meet your needs.  Maybe the snaps are annoying and you figure you’d prefer velcro, which is faster to apply.  Maybe you get a few more leaks that you can handle or you don’t like the prefold/cover set up.  In that case, I recommend you buy BumGenius 3.0 diapers for your newborn and/or to meet the overnight needs of your 18 month old (since overnight is when any leaks are likely to occur).  There are LOTS of cloth diapers on the market, but no diaper has the reputation of the BumGenius 3.0 One-Size Pocket Diaper.  For a long time it was the only diaper we sold, because customers are so happy with it we just didn’t see the point of offering anything else.  It is my favorite diaper because:  no leaks, fast velcro, easy to stuff with extra insert for overnight absorbancy, one-size (still fits my son who is almost 3 years old), and great colors!  I don’t think you can go wrong buying this diaper and I’m sure you’ll be happy.  A 12-pack of BumGenius diapers costs $205.00.  You’ll need about 24 for a newborn, though you can start with 18 and see if you really need more and/or opt to wash more often to get through the newborn stage with just 18.  By about 3 months old, 18 will be plenty for most babies. 

To sum it up:  Start with a Econobum Diaper Kit now to suit your small budget.  Use it with your 18 month old and find out what works for your family.  If you like Econobum, great!  If you don’t, your experience using it should allow you to pin-point what you’re looking for in a cloth diaper.  Bumgenius diapers are proven and best-of-all one-size!

Related posts:

1. BumGenius 3.0 vs. Flip Cloth Diapers
2. Last Call for Savings…
3. It’s Never too Late to Switch
4. Save $40 on BumGenius Cloth Diapers!
5. Loving Cloth Diapers

Tags: bumgenius, cloth diapers, savings

This entry was posted on Monday, December 28th, 2009 at 12:25 pm and is filed under Baby & Toddler. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.