I'm trying to decide if I want to try to do cloth diapers. I'm looking at these: http://www.bumgenius.com/all-in-one.php I figured I could ask my Mom to buy them for a baby present, and then I won't have any diaper expenses. I'm just not sure I can handle the gross out factor. Is it that much worse than just changing diapers?

 The new all in ones are no worse than changing disposables.  You can also buy a disposable liner to pop in (looks like a dryer sheet) which are very inexpensive and will make the "big jobs" much easier to get rid of.  Do keep in mind that cloth can look dingy after a while and they will need more care than a regular load.  Be sure to figure in water prices and drying prices for your area.

2ndGenGranola:

Be sure to figure in water prices and drying prices for your area.

 

All costs should always be figured in, but I can tell you that it takes a lot of water and and a lot of drying to make up for the cost of disposable diapers.  If you line dry, that cost will be minimal. To keep the diapers whiter and cleaner, use vinegar in the rinse and line dry. Vinegar removes any trace of soap or detergent which traps and holds dirt in the fibers (and may irritate baby's skin), and UV rays of the sun sanitize and whiten. 

I used cloth diapers on three babies and would do it again.

 

The largest expense in cloth diapering are the diapers. If you get them as a gift then it's frugal diapering for you as long as you are line drying as Pat says.

It's not much worse than disposables. Once you are exposed to the yucky stuff, you are exposed to it. I would take the pail of cloth and dump it right into the washing machine. So the only handling of the diapers was when I did the change and I would carefully tip any solids into the toilet.

 

I used both and trust me ,a dirty bum is a dirty bum no matter what you use :)   kids have lots of ways of making gross messes.     the new style is easy to use.  I used the liners too plus I used extra cloth liners in the diapers because my dd was a heavy wetter.

I used both. I agree that a dirty diaper is a dirty diaper! I used the disposable liners and would dump the solids into the toilet. Newborn BM (sorry if TMI) is not solid, just FYI.

I both lined dried and dryer dried my cloth diapers. I had 3 different brands and some could not be dryer-dried. But I didn't have enough to line-dry all of them (took too long). I needed to have at least 6-10 for a day, sometimes 12 for one day's worth, especially newborns.

The fleece and hemp liners for the pocket diapers are a wonderful thing to increase absorbency over using a cloth diaper insert. Hemp is resistent to odor as well so a great thing (but more expensive--I got some as gifts).

I used cloth exclusively for 3 months and then went back to work part-time. My daycare only would use disposables. So then I used cloth at home until my boys outgrew what I had (about 6-8 months). I should have purchased larger sizes but I didn't at the time. Hindsight!

The cost of washing/drying the diapers was negligible. A tiny bit more work but I do laundry anyway so a load of diapers wasn't a big deal.

I enjoyed using the cloth diapers and enjoyed doing the reserach on them. Good luck!

There are some styles that make it really easy, with disposable liners. But, the liners are so expensive! Some cost more than the most expensive diapers, and other cost half as much as diapers.

I've cloth diapered all three of my kids (some longer and more religiously than others) and it's DEFINITELY cheaper than buying disposables.  I personally went the old fashioned prefolded route with rubber pants, I didn't use AIO's (like Bum Genius).  I didn't have issues with the poop, I did buy the liners sometimes but not always.  I would use rubber gloves to rinse the diapers in the toilet before washing them (every other day).  I would also line dry them when the weather permitted, it also helped ot bleach out stains. 

Cloth at home would be great even if it looks dingy I think it has to do with the soap or if its hard water or to soft water need to put vineager in it but I would use disposable diapers out side the house but at home who is going to look at a babys butt not me if the baby is clean I say go for it but both ways are ok its up to you and your wallet...

 I did use cloth diapers on all three of my daughters.  They are all grown up now.  I used the cloth diapers because it was a lot less expensive than buying disposables and it wasn't filling up the landfill. Even in the 80's when my girls were born, landfill space was an issue.  The other factor in deciding what to use is availability.  If you have cloth diapers, you don't run out of them unlike disposables which may mean an "emergency" trip to the store.  I believe if you figure the cost of diapering a baby for 18-24 months, it's going to amount to quite a lot of money.  I would definitely use cloth again.  The other thing about using cloth is that you know when they are wet.  It probably makes for more diaper changes, but leaving a wet or soiled diaper on a baby is not good for his skin.  I know with disposables they can be left on a long time which kind of grosses me out.  Congratulations on your new baby.  I hope you thoroughly enjoy him or her. Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}

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