There have been a few people out there who have asked me questions about cloth diapering. Since I absolutely love using cloth diapers, I figure I'll also love writing about them. I plan on writing several posts on our cloth diapering experience thus far. And of course I'll be sharing random pictures of Charlie in some of his adorable diapers. I hope you enjoy!
A lot of people gave me the side-eye when they found out we planned to use cloth diapers for Charlie. For some reason most of the comments were negative. One person got downright pissy when she found out. She kept telling me that there was so much poop to deal with when having a baby and why would I do that to myself and then I just kind of tuned out. I didn't understand her reasoning. Babies poop no matter what kind of diapers they're in.
And yet people ask me all the time, "But why would you want to deal with all that poop?" And I just have to wonder, "You mean the poop that comes out of all baby butts, no matter what kind of diaper they're wearing?" I don't get it. If you're a parent, you're going to be dealing with poop. You're going to have poop on you at some point. It's inevitable.
I think that a lot of people don't realize how easy cloth diapering is. It's just like using disposables. You put on a clean diaper and take it off when it's dirty. The only difference is you don't throw away the cloth diaper. You wash it. And then you dry it. And then you put it away and use it for next time.
It's simple, really. There is none of this rolling around in poop that people seem to think goes along with using cloth diapers.
But getting started can be really overwhelming. It definitely was for me. Gone are the days of plain ol' prefold diapers with diaper pins and plastic pants. Today, there are choices upon choices for cloth diapers. And with all those choices come lots of abbreviations and confusion.
So what I did to get started was email Jill, who writes the ever popular Baby Rabies blog and ask her a ton of questions. She's written several good posts about cloth diapering. She directed me to some good sites. And then I spent a lot of time doing a lot of research.
We decided that the best thing to do was to not commit fully to one type of cloth diaper, but to try several different ones instead. This is something I would recommend to everyone, because you never know which diapers may or may not work for your baby. I'll get back to this point in a later post.
To start our newborn stash, here's what we purchased:
-four size 0 Kissaluvs fitted diapers (which are excellent for newborns)
-two Drybee's stage 1 fitted diapers
-a dozen Chinese prefolds
-a dozen Indian prefolds
-three XS bumkins diaper covers
-three Thirsties diaper covers (one XS, two small)
-two small Bummis super whisper wrap diaper covers (one of which is in the first picture in this post)
-four BumGenius one size diapers
-two wetbags, which are used for storage of dirty cloth diapers when you're out and about (we have one Mommy's Touch and one Wahmies)
-two Wahmies diaper pail liners
-two Snappis
I'd say we spent about $300 on all this. (I got some of the items on sale.) Yes, that's a lot of money to throw down for diapers. But when you take into account the fact that we plan on using these diapers and accessories for multiple children, it makes more sense. In other words, this is $300 we'll never have to spend again, like we would if we were using disposables.
And while we're on the subject of disposable diapers, I don't think that people who use them are evil. I've had several friends tell me why they are using disposables and not cloth, as if they felt the need to justify their choice to me, and honestly, I don't care what kind of diapers they use. I like to think that people make these decisions based on what works for their families. Yes, the huge amount of waste that is generated as a result of disposable diapers is troublesome, but I also think that there are other ways to be eco-friendly.
Cloth works for us, but it doesn't work for everyone (obviously). I do think that people should at least educate themselves on cloth diapering and the benefits of it, but I don't exactly lose sleep over it at night. We are doing what is best for us, and I'm very happy with that.
6 comments:
I equate this to the whole breast-feeding vs. formula feeding thing - pick what works for you and your family and be cool with others choosing something different. I love hearing about people that CD because I think it's something I would definitely investigate if we ever had kids. Not sure that I'd actually commit to it, but I'm intrigued by the idea nonetheless.
ha! my friends' baby has those same cloth diaper cover and baby leg warmers. too cute
Luke never poops, you should get Pampers.
We're loving our cloth diapers & haven't looked back. So many people told us we were crazy and too kept asking about the poop (what the hell is the deal with poop?!), but we've outlived their expectations so far. I was just thinking about a blog entry about the whole experience so far. :)
I would love to CD but my hubby keeps bringing up the water bill argument. Still trying to convince him. My baby is three weeks old now and I cant stand how many bags of disposables we throw out each day!
Love your blog btw. Your words have moved me and kept me company on those lonely weekday afternoons with the little one.
:)
My mom used cloth diapers on me and my sister. She still has some around and uses them as dust rags. Seems like cloth would be much better on the skin than chemical filled plastic. Oh well.
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