home economics

The funny thing about all this is that most of these are a "break even" situation. Also it's not "either/or" but instead it's "and." If I can say one thing about preparing for a baby: you don't know what you don't know. You learn continually and adapt so there are no absolutes that work forever.

Taking a tally of what we spent to get up to speed with cloth diapers vs. what we would have spent if we did disposables full time

No matter what : $65

Changing Pad $30

Changing table $35

Disposable only : $914

Hanging organizer $20

wipes $3.00 × 12 = $36

Genie $20 x 2 = $40

Refills $7 x 30 = $210

size 0 (36 pack) $5

size 1 (196 pack) $40

size 2 (76 pack) $26

size 4 (180 pack) $46 x 11 = $495

Wipes (11 packs) $13.98 x 3 = $42

Cloth only : $626

Affresh (3 pc) $7 x 2 = $14

Toilet Sprayer Kit $30

SprayMate Kit $42

style A 6 x $12 = $72

Inserts (6 pack) $15

style B) 6 x $12 = $72

Used Lot $225

Covers (10) $43.00

Covers (10) $9.00

FSTs (15 pc) $16 x 2 = $32

FSTs (4 pc) $4 x 7 = $28

Bamboo cloths (12 pc) 2 x $12 = $24

Octopus hanger $5 x 4 = $20

Taking into account what we would have spent in formula versus breastfeeding and associated technology

Either way : $256

Burp Cloth 4 x $15 = $60

Bottle Warmer $70

Sterilizer and Dryer $100

5 oz Bottle Set (3 pack) $11

8 oz Bottle Set (3 pack) $15

Breastfeeding only : $601

My Brest Friend pillow $17

Manual Pump $30

Electric Pump $300

Bags (100 ct) $15.00 x 2 = $30

Tubing $19 x 2 = $38

Breast Shield $15 x 3 = $45

Membranes $5 x 2 = $10

Valves $7 x 3 = $21

Car Adapter $8

Connectors $12 x 3 = $36

Pumping Bra $33 x 2 = $66

Formula only : $3330

$37 per can x 6 cans/month x 15 months

Taking into account how much it costs to buy baby food versus making it yourself and associated technology

Either way : $16

High chair $10

Bibs $4

Spoons $2

Homemade : $395

Immersion blender $50

Miniprep $50

Food processor $200

Portion containers (50) $15

Silicone mold $15

Pouches (6) $15

Dishes $50

Pre-made : $1369

5 x 365 days x $0.75 

So I guess I spent a bunch on cloth diapers but I have like 3 times as many as I would actually need. I have 3 redundant "systems" that are different.

But it seems like breastfeeding and homemade baby food are clear winners even though they have a fair amount of technological cost to get going. I had a goal of breastfeeding for 6 months. Then I had a goal of making it to a year. My current goal is to make it to 2 years or whenever weaning occurs naturally.

One argument I get from my husband is that washing cloth diapers (and perhaps the associated tools for making our own baby food) add to the water and power bill. Comparing the year without a baby to our first year with baby, the bills were consistently higher with baby.

July 2020 $252 ($54 more)
Sept 2020 $536 ($144 more)
Nov 2020 $386 ($169 more)
Jan 2021 $174 ($13 more)
Mar 2021 $171 ($36 more)
May 2021 $219 ($8 more)

Total for 1 year ($424 more)

I wonder if this is true for everyone who was quarantined (working from home) during the pandemic though. I know we used to turn our thermostat up during the day when we were working out of the house and then turn it back down only at night. Now that we're home all day every day, we keep it running more during the day when we're here. The air conditioning I mean.

top left drawer (AIOs), changing pad

top right drawer (pockets), clean & dirty clothes

middle left drawer (fitteds & covers)

bottom left drawer (wetbags, sheets, wipes)