Cloth Diapering

When I first found out that I was pregnant I began reading all things baby related. It was at this time that I began to read about cloth diapers. I knew that people used them, but I thought that it was only very poor people or the Amish. The reality is that the majority of parents that use cloth diapers are upper middle class. I guess it's from all that money they saved by using cloth! In the beginning I was intrigued, but not sold on the idea. So I continued researching it and the more I learned, the more I liked the idea. Cloth diapers are no longer flat prefolds, safety pins and crinkly, plastic pants that failed to hold in the pee smell. There ate tons of options now. Tons!!! And many of them are cute too!

Once I hit the 2nd trimester and felt more confident that the pregnancy would go well I began buying diapers. I took the advice of the been there done that mommas and bought several different kinds instead of investing is all of one kind. I bought Flips, Econobum, BumGenius AIO and pockets, prefolds and covers, AI2 and some fitteds. The closer I got to delivery the more intimidated I became. How would I keep up with laundry? What if I hate it? Which ones will I like? What about stains? SO many things to think about!

I decided to wait until Maddie was 6 weeks before I began cloth diapering. I waited for several reasons: Newborn baby poo is frequent and yucky! And I knew that I would be tired and cloth would overwhelm me in those early days. So at about 6 weeks I slowly started using cloth. I quickly learned that prefolds were not for me. They are bulky and too much work. I tend to be lazy! Next I tried fitteds. Hated them too. I just can't figure out why anyone would spend good money on a cute diaper that requires a cover over them. And I just don't want to have to put 2 diapers on (fitted and cover). Again, too much work. Then I tried the Flips and Econobums which are basically the same. For a newborn the were too bulky. As she got bigger they fit better but I am not too keen on the idea of a cover. I know that you can reuse the cover as long as there is no poo on them, but once she peed the cover got wet and I did not want to have to clean them. Next came pockets. I didn't like those either, mainly because they are bulky for a newborn. You have to fold the inserts and somewhere there is going to be bulk and I hate bulk!! I only tried one pocket and maybe this is not the case for all of them, but my one experience was not a positive one so I gave up on those as well.

My favorite ones are AIOs, especially Bumgenius. I even like some of the WAHM ones (home made). They are so easy to use! Just like regular diapers. Now that I have found my groove I really like cloth diapers. I am using them exclusively and love that I am saving money. My water bill has only gone up about $4 and the detergent was only $10 and will last a long time. I am not sure if my electric bill has increased, but if it has I am sure that it is not by much. So all in all my cloth diapering experience has been a very positive one and I am so glad that I decided to at least give it a try. And Maddie likes them too! Seriously! She will not go poo in a disposable diaper. When we used them she would go 3 days between poos but once I put cloth on her she would go within and hour. Every time!!! And now that we use them all of the time she goes every day. No more constipation! Crazy kid!!!

So if you are thinking about trying cloth I would encourage you to go for it! It is not for everyone, I realize that. But if you can, you really should. It will save you a bundle!