Diaper Math

My friend Liz recently wrote to me relating her experience with cloth diapers.

I figured we’d likely go with cloth diapers anyway, or do what Meg does, using cloth diapers when possible but having a backup of disposables. (Let’s be realistic—sometimes we’re probably just going to need them.) However, today I started thinking about it even more.

Liz says they have 24 diapers to last for 3 days. (The laundry is another story, yes.)

That’s 8 diapers a day. (Is that realistic? Correct me if I’m wrong, mothers.)

Liz likes the Bun Genius diaper because it works well for her baby, Oliver, and a single, adjustable size fits babies from 7-35 pounds.

24 Bun Genius diapers cost about $408 (they’re $17 apiece).

According to babysrus.com, you can get a box of 216 Pampers for $41. That’s about 19 cents a diaper. (And a pretty good deal: for example, and 84-count box costs $24, or 29 cents apiece.)

8 diapers a day for a year, at 19 cents a diaper, is $555.

How long are babies in diapers? Two years? So that’d be a little over a thousand dollars.

Of course, one could also buy much cheaper cloth diapers.

For more on this fascinating subject (including the alarming statistic than one baby using disposable diapers sends about one ton of waste to the landfills) you can view the “Cotton Babies” link to the right.

P.S. If I use cloth diapers, I definitely want one of those diaper shower things that connect to the toilet with a hose so you can spray the diaper off. Seems like a must-have to me.

P.P.S. Dean pointed out that 8 diapers a day is a new diaper every 3 hours. Comment, mothers, on whether this is true.