Our adventures in cloth.

When I was pregnant, we researched every decision, no matter how tiny.  Nothing was left to chance.  But the one thing I never gave much thought to was diapering.  I just "knew" that cloth was too much of a pain.  I felt a guilty about the massive amount of waste those disposables would create, but my time was one area I just wasn't willing to compromise. 

My son arrived and for 3 months we used disposables as planned.  But it just wasn't working!  He has an amazing ability to pee and poop out of every disposable diaper ever made.  I was so sick of changing his outfit three to four times a day.  And my husband was tired of coming home from work to find a sink full of poopy clothes that he needed to clean.  When I mentioned this, in exasperation, to a friend she told me about her experience with cloth diapers.  Desperate and sick of the blow outs, we decided it couldn't be harder to clean poop off of diapers than it is off of clothes.  We bought our first pocket diaper, and were amazed at how easy they really were to deal with.  We have been hooked ever since!

There are plenty of reasons to cloth diaper, and I really don't have to tell you most of them.  But I'll list them anyway, just in case you're on the edge and need convincing.

1. NO MORE BLOWOUTS.
2. No more chain of diapers wrapped in plastic filling up the landfills.
3. Poop sticks to the diaper, not the baby.
4. Let's not forget the cuteness factor!
5. That great feeling of doing something good for the environment.
6. Being a trendsetter
7. Cushy butts, not crinkly plastic.
8. Much more comfortable for baby.  Would you want to wear plastic undies?
9. Less diaper rash.  Great for babies with sensitive skin.
10. The enormous amount of money you'll save.

Well I could go on and on, but you get the idea!  It's really not hard to cloth diaper.  I know at first it's overwhelming.  You've probably read so much and heard so many new terms you are confused.  But you put on a cloth diaper the same way as a disposable.  When you take it off, you just throw it in your hamper.  On wash day you do a cold rinse, then a hot wash with two cold rinses.  I know there's a lot of info out there about special detergents and additives you can use, but I just soak my diapers in the washer overnight, and then wash with 1/8th of a cup of Tide.  They come out clean every time!