I made the decision to cloth diaper before I was even pregnant. Seeing a male friend post about washing diapers on Facebook sealed the deal. If a guy was down with cloth, how hard could it be? I vaguely remember my sister tossing around the idea of cloth diapering with her first child ten years ago, but I was absolutely not in a baby state of mind back then. I mentioned my desire to use cloth to my mom and found out that I was a cloth diapered baby (albeit with flats and pins and rubber pants). My research began when I was trying to get pregnant, and by the time I was expecting I already knew what route we were going to go. In the beginning, I was overwhelmed with all of the different types of cloth diapers, not to mention the brands and designs, etc. What helped me was evaluating and ranking my reasons to use cloth.
I would like to say that my number one motivation to use cloth was to cut down on landfill waste but, alas, it was not. My motivations were almost equally to save money (instead of spending it on something that would, literally, be pooped on) and the fact that it would the best option for our (future) baby’s sensitive skin (I won’t go on about all of the chemicals in disposable diapers). With those ideas in mind, I decided that prefolded cloth diapers, in unbleached natural fibers, and diaper covers were the best option for us. From there, shopping became easy once I was pregnant (mind you, I did do a lot of research to check out reviews). The best part? People in the cloth diapering community were incredibly friendly and helpful once I began asking questions.
Somewhere along the way, be it the cloth diapering blogs I frequented or the many cloth diapering Facebook pages I subscribed to, I realized that there was more to this cloth diapering thing. It’s not just something you do to catch pee and poop, I realized, it’s a whole community that embraces many of the same parenting philosophies. I see this philosophy, in a nutshell, as a gentler, more nurturing and more eco-conscious way of parenting.
The top photo is Declan at 7 1/2 months and the one above is him at 1 1/2 weeks old — this diaper will fit him until he potty trains.
The photo of your newborn is stunning. I really enjoyed reading your story! I’ll be writing mine later tonight or early tomorrow morning.
Also, your link on the Blog Hop is not working for me. The ‘:’ in ‘http:’ is missing.
Thank you – I look forward to reading your story! Also, thanks for the heads-up regarding the link – I’m having a ‘technically challenged’ day today 😉
Isn’t the community an awesome bonus?!
Absolutely, Maria – I’ve learned SO much more than diapering tips from the cloth diapering community.
I was cloth diapered as a baby too! Your pictures are too cute!
Yay for cloth diapered mamas!
oh I LOVE that name. That’s on our list if we get lucky enough to try again! Here’s my post. It has 2 embedded links with more in depth info. I’ve been CD’ing for 4 years, so I’ve written about it several times. Stop by and visit! http://www.lifeisnotbubblewrapped.com/2013/03/04/cloth-diaper-blog-hop-our-getting-started-story-on-cloth-diapers/
Thanks! Heading over there now…
I love cloth diapering..but it is so much work, I admire the mothers that keep at it..it’s more safe for the babies! Molly Bussler
You can check out my thoughts on prefolds in my guest post at Going Green with the Grizls here: http://www.goinggreenwiththegrizls.com/2013/03/a-preference-for-prefolds.html
These are plain and simply the best diapers on the market. I can’t say nearly as much for regular expensive diapers. We tried every brand available when my son was born a size preemie – nothing would fit on him, and everything leaked! We had our hospital guests running out for us to find us diapers. Then we finally decided to try these, and they still fit him, no matter what he’s growing like at the time.
My baby is 5 months old and I would like to discuss things that are necessary for baby care such as diapering.
honest diaper reviews
I often think I might be nuts for wanting to cloth diaper. A. I have a front loading washer and B. I have no dryer. I’ve read it can be done though and really want to give it a try. I definitely want what is best for my baby even if it means extra work for myself.
While I’ve never used a front loader for washing diapers, I do know that there is a lot of information available to assist you. Not having a dryer is actually better for your diaper elastics – I air dry year round (I have one of those octopus claw things for drying indoors in inclement weather).