Sunday, June 06, 2010

Cloth Diaper Hunting and The Truth Reveals...jeng jeng jeng...!

I believe many moms out there know what is cloth diaper but not many know the benefit to use cloth diaper other than saving the earth. Some even argue about the fact that cloth diaper save lots of money that you usually spend on disposable diaper every month for your kids. Even me and my husband have doubt about the cost saving part, until we do some research, read few articles and do our own calculation! It's a human nature that's hard to believe in something that's too good to be true. Cloth diapers is one of the thing that's too good to be true and yes it's truly save a lot of money. We totally on disposable during Yasmin so we knew the different.

It took me 2 weeks to get to know what is cloth diapers, how it works, how it can save our money and save the earth (i know the money part comes first then the earth, no judging ok! haha), get to know that there are so many types CDs out there, get to know the meaning of the terms and short forms they use is CDs world, reading tons of review from other CDs parents about different type and brands available in the US market. I do asked few friend who already started CDing their kids.

I found a very useful website that teach me a lot about cloth diapers from A to Z. Here are a list of very informative site that I read over again and again in order to educate my other half about cloth diapers and convince him that by doing this, you can save this such of amount up until the baby is at this age. Man, the numbers that all matter to them plus now I'm not working and we really have to watch out on our budget.

A Beginner's Guide to Frugal Cloth Diapering
Jacqueline wrote a very simple to follow step before you decide on CDing. I know her article is based on US scenario but most of other points can be applied to moms in Malaysia. In Malaysia, we don't have trial and return package, diaper services but still you need to know which type of CD that suit you best before you decide to buy and save every penny before you end up bought something that's not what you're expected. You'll keep on buying because everyone says it's cost saving and CD is a long term investment. Yes it's cost saving and a very great long term investment if ONLY you do it the right and smart way! So read it before you buy any CDs that caught your eyes because they comes in cute color and prints. She also have further readings on other issue of CDing that you may want to read.

The Cost of Cloth Diapers
This website layout a calculation of costing for each type of CD from newborn to 30 months includes the costing for disposable diaper. Again, the price may not reflect pricing of cloth diaper and disposable in Malaysia which I am very aware that the imported US brand CD in Malaysia is expensive, around RM60- RM140 each! But you need to do your study, decide which type of cd you prefer, hunt for the seller that can give you a good deal or you can look for cd that is produce by WAHM. From there you can make your own calculation. So be smart!

Diaperpin.com
This site have so many information, product reviews and rankings of baby items. You can read the review for each brand (US brand of course) to know it's pros and cons. It's good to know about that others says who have used the product before.I believe I've seen lots of Malaysia online store have US brand CD in their store.

I may link you to only 3 websites and within them I believe they includes other useful links for you to browse. Yesterday, I finally make our first CD purchase at Cottonbabies.com. It's part of the preparation for our soon-to-be-born baby this August, InsyaAllah. We decided to start with bumGenius 3.0 One Size (OS) Pocket Diaper. Why? Here's our reason:
  1. It has snap buttons for sizes that allow us to use the CD from NB to toddler. So that we don't have to buy another size once the baby grows.
  2. We get the buy 5, free 1 deal at $86.90. And it cost us $14.50 each approx RM50 each. Pretty nice deal for us. Considering we need 24 CDs for the whole cycle from NB to toddler according to the calculation in Diaperdecision.com for pocket diaper. It's just that we don't have to buy another bulk when the baby grows, remember this CD can be re-size up to toddler.
    • It comes with 2 reusable insert for NB and toddler which save us a lot of cost with insert. 24 x 2 = 48 inserts in total. The NB insert still can be use as doubler once the baby grows.
      • We didn't need to buy the diaper cover  because the outer layer is waterproof.   
      • We plan to use disposable liner with this CD so that it's easier to get the poo-poo before we do the laundry. Since laundry is mostly handled by my husband, hope this method will give him/us a peace of mind.
      • It works almost the same as disposable, so it's easy for me, hubby or soon-babysitter once we return to Malaysia when the baby is almost 6-7 months old next year. Yeap we will back next year insyaAllah. :).
      • It get a lot of good reviews from who already used it and yes i admit there are flaw here and there but we willing to take a shot hehe! 
      Ok here comes the costing part:

      Cloth Diaper + Insert:
      • RM50 x 24 set (termasuk 48 insert) = RM1200 one time pay cost. 
      Disposable liner:
      • 200 sheets = $12 approx RM40.80, RM0.20/sheets
      • 7 sheets/day x RM0.20sen = RM1.40/day (we take average usage perday)
      • 365 days x RM1.40 = RM511.00/year
      • RM511 x 3 years = RM1533.00
      Total CD system = RM1200 + RM1533= RM2733 can u imagine if i'm just using CD without the liners?
      Only RM1200
       
      If I were to use disposal diapers (let's consider we're not using MamyPoko or Pull Up pants that cost almost RM1.20++ each diaper..kite kire kalo pakai Pet Pet la economical skit kan..?)
      • 7pc/day x RM0.60/pc = RM4.20/day (we take average usage perday)
      • 365 days x RM4.20 = RM1533
      Total Disposable diapers = 3 years x RM1533 = RM4599 haa amcam boleh beli satu iPad tak? hahahah!
        So berapa boleh save kalo pakai CD?

        RM4599-RM2733 = RM1899 (I still save almost 2k even I use disposable liners for a peace of mind when if comes to poo-poo and laundry)

        So I've layout my costing, what do you think? I can't imagine how much I used to spend on disposable during Yasmin term. Some ppl might say.."Jgn berkire sgt dengan anak..." I agreed but I applied that sentence when it comes to makan and her education jer. Cuba pk RM1899 tu boleh guna untuk anak nyer college fund ker, hantar anak pi better playskool ker... buy books, savings. I make my choice. 

        We start with 6 CD first and see how it goes from there. A video from one of CD father at youtube may give you some ideas how BG 3.0 works. I will get back to give my review on this diaper once we have our hands-on with our soon-to-be-born baby ok!



        *I'm not promoting the product ok. Just sharing some information with my readers!

        11 comments:

        fathinz md nor said...

        Way to go melor..! Yeah. this is so much inspiring. nanti kite buat review on the cds ive used yer.. its sad to know that few nursery in malaysia do not accept child who are cloth diapering. i guess we should do something to educate the public.

        Melor Rahman said...

        Yey! Tak saba lak nak cd. Tunggu baby kuwar Aug. Rase cm excited. Bile kire2 masih lg rasa tak caya mmg byk boleh save. Mcm kak fatin lg byk save sbb both kids tgh on diaper. Go go! Nanti balik M'sia kene do something about the nursery yg tak accept CD baby. Kite provide extra CD and proper wet beg for them and explain how to handle it. Same lah mcm nursery yg tak reti handle EBM. Kene educate diorg.

        fieza said...

        hi melor,

        fiza dah lame guna Cd since fatin 1 year plus coz she have very sensitive skin. started with traditional lampin then found out about this cute CD. but that time in 2007 using CD among children is quite new. i have only a few Cd. nowadays i fully cding my son, fakhri, and i made it myself. he he he..jeles tak dengar? all the material i got from US. i thought u can sew it too. i must accept the fact that not many of nursery or people like to use this Cd. money wise (for the first buy it cost a lot) and because of lazy to clean all the pee and poo.

        anyway, happy cding mama.hope u enjoy the moment of seeing them in cute printed CD. melorr u can visit my blog to look at my CD detash. he he he (but not frequently update due to bz dear)

        Melor Rahman said...

        Fieza,

        You lg lame cding ur kids rite? Heheh! Jahit sendiri lagik tu! Melor sbb mesin tak bawak dtg sini. So utk starting ni beli je dulu then nanti lepas baby dh kuwar, nak beli mesin jahit kat sini n make my own cd. Skang tgh kumpul CD material skit2. Espc. print yg cute2 tuh!

        fieza said...

        melor, it is better not to buy in bulk for CDs because you didnt know which type of cd is best suit your baby. BG and drybees CD use suedecloth as inner layer. some baby especially super sensitive skin baby cannot tolerate this type of suedecloth fabric. this can lead to rashes.somemore, poo poo stain on suedecloth is hardly remove compare to microfleece.try to find different types of CD material, maybe u could have 1 cd per brand, than decided the best that suit your baby later.

        i like CD from bamboo.now feel like having fitted CD compare to pocket CD.

        one thing i cannot resist is buying those cute printed fabric for the CD. some addicted lol!

        Melor Rahman said...

        Thanks for the tips Fiza! I will do that! For now we buy the BG je dulu. Nanti once baby lahir we'll see how it goes from there :D

        Melor Rahman said...

        Fiza,

        Yang fiza jahit tu pakai PUL tak? Melor ade order kain bamboo tu tp lom sampai. Beli print yg cute2 kumpul skit2. Sini byk CD yg print cute tapi tk waterproof. Satu keje lak nk beli diaper cover. Kos lagi kene pk.

        fieza said...

        semua cd fiza pocket CD and i got 1 AIO, so semua memang waterproof dgn Polyurethane laminated (PUL). memang fiza beli kain yang dah laminated. kalau tak nak hantar laminated mahal la melor. taqpi designnya limited sketla compare tu unlaminated cd.

        fiza memang tahu kat sana banyak kain cantik-cantik tapi banyak tak laminated kan? kalu nak boleh hantar laminated. kos laminated tu mahal jugak la. sebab tu kat sana for cost saving lebih ramai yang buat diaper in fitted style diaper (this require diaper cover).

        sekarang ni fiza suka ngan fitted plak, tengah pikir cemana nak jahit fitted cd yang one size ni.he he hee..tapi tak tahu bila boleh buat ngan tahap kebizian kerja nih.

        if fitted melor leh guna flannel, cotton interlock, bamboo velour, cotton velour. lagipun fitted lagi sesuai untuk newborn. diaper cover (boleh dapatkan diaper cover yang one size) pun tak banyak sangat diperlukan sebab kalu baby tak poo tak perlu tukar diaper cover pun takpe.1 diaper cover leh guna at least 2 time diaper change.fitted lambat kering sket especially from bamboo.macam fiza dry overnight dalam rumah bawah kipas kalau dari bamboo tu lambat sketla nak kering.

        pocket style require time to insert the soaker into the pocket. inilah fiza paling malas nak buat. mujur husband tolong. but the best part is pocket style is it dries quickly and u can adjust how many insert to use if your baby heavy wetter. posket byk one size.

        bamboo got 3 types la yang i prefer to use for CD (i only use organic bamboo) bamboo velor (i like this most!so silky smooth, the touch is like minky, but minky is 100% polyester, suitable for inner layer and insert). the rest is bamboo french terry (like towels, tapi halus sangat bulu towel tu) and bamboo fleece (i likes this too, normally i use as insert)

        Melor Rahman said...

        nice info! a;ah melor byk jumpa yg tak laminated. kalo ade pon limited corak die. ade jumpa few fitted cd pattern nyer tutorial. tak sure fiza penah masuk http://www.diaperswappers.com maybe ade tutorial fitted OS kot kat lam tu ehehhe. kene korek2 lam forum. haih ni gatal nk beli mesin jahit awal nih! hahaha! thanks fiza byk info berguna about the materials for CD!

        fieza said...

        melor, fiza memang member diaperswappers and diaperasia. i learn cding and how to handling rashes and types of cd from this forum.even i learn how to sew cd also from this forum.

        Melor Rahman said...

        good to know that! melor baru join. this one pon another forum http://diaperdivas.proboards.com take a look! hehe!

        *tgh finalize sewing machine. tak tahan tgk kain!