Why I chose Cloth Diapers.

My entry into cloth diapering has just been recent...as in the past three months!  I would not consider myself to be "green" or terribly eco-friendly.  I try to do my part.  I recycle and I try to avoid waste where I can, but I am not hugely involved in ways to protect the environment.  I feel that I am a typical person, concerned but not overly concerned.  It pains me to admit this, because it makes me feel like I do not appreciate the environment.  Because I do!!  By cloth diapering, I do feel that I am doing a better job of being eco-friendly.  But this is not a main reason for me switching to cloth.

There are also the money aspects.  As you read in earlier posts, I am recently able to be a SAHM to my little girl.  Because I am not making the salary that I was, I do feel that in some part I do need to contribute to cost cutting measures in the home.  The up front costs of cloth diapering are high, but then they more than pay for themselves over the months or even years of use.

When my daughter was born, we stocked up on Pampers Swaddlers.  These are the diapers that we use at work and I really like them.  Prior to having my daughter and for the first year of her life, I never considered cloth diapering.  I planned to be a disposable diapering mommy and I was happy to be.  There is nothing wrong with using disposable diapers.  The majority of the world uses them and it is the mainstream choice.

Then, as her first birthday approached, my brain started to think other things.  I have a really good friend who uses cloth diapers. (shout out to L.B.)  I started asking her questions about cloth diapering and started checking out her little girl's dipes.  I was really excited to learn what I did.  I think we all have this mental picture in our heads of folded pieces of cloth, pins galore, and plastic covers.  Gone are those days!!!  Cloth diapers are so much nicer and simpler now!!!  You can still do the folded cloth, pins, and covers...but there are such simple and pretty cloth diapers out there now!

After learning more from her, my internet search (aka addiction) started.  I researched everything!!!  I was on hundreds if not thousands of internet sites reading literature, reviews, charts, graphs, prices, etc!  If it was cloth diaper related, I read it!!  Then after two weeks of research, I finally placed an order for my first batch of cloth diapers!  I was so excited, I could barely wait the week until they finally arrived!!!  I don't think that I have EVER been so excited to see the UPS man!!

Placing my order for cloth diapers could not have come at a better time.  I am a very very fair skinned mommy.  Unfortunately, I gave the genes for fair sensitive skin to my daughter.  As I was making the decision to try cloth, she started to break out in terrible excema on her bum from the diapers.  On top of that, Pampers had added "dry max" technology to their diapers...and she broke out in a terrible red prickly rash after just one diaper with dry max!  Lucky for us, the diapers that we like are the Pampers Baby Dry, and at this point they have not put Dry Max into these diapers.

After a week of waiting, my diapers finally arrived.  I immediately got them out of the packages and into the wash!  I got them washed and dried and onto her bum as quickly as possible!  And from that first moment of being on her bum, I have been completely in love!  My love for cloth diapering has only grown since then!!!

I do want to say, that at this point, my husband is still not in love with the cloth diapering.  He does it.  And it isn't that he doesn't like it, he just doesn't understand why I do like it.  He will put her in a cloth diaper and he will change her...but he still prefers the disposables.  I am working on him. :)  My point is, we still use a fair amount of disposables.  I am not a 100% cloth diapering mommy.  And I don't think that we will ever be 100%...but with me now being a SAHM, I plan that the ratio of cloth to disposable is going to sway more in cloth diaper favor!