Pollyanna's Hardest Part of Cloth Diapering

I’ve now been cloth diapering my son for nine months. The first two months of his life we used disposables diapers because that’s what the hospital gave us, and to be honest I was a bit scared with all that goes on in the first days back from the hospital trying to breast feeding, feeling sore, extremely tired. I thought cloth diapering would just be one more thing to do. Now in retrospect I think I could have done just great. I will be testing that out next year since we are expecting baby #3. He will be a little smarti baby and I will definitely keep you posted as to how I handle that.

That being said I think a couple of the hardest things is really just “going for it”. Secondly is the initial researching as far as what type of cloth diapers you want to use, brands, how to wash, how many you will need?

Now that I have experienced all of these things the best thing to do is just, not working your self up so much. Everything will fall into place and once you actually start cloth diapering it really becomes easy and you start to get into a routine of things and you’ll come across a couple of hiccups here and there but that’s life you cross that bridge once you get there and after you get there and cross it you’ll know how to handle it if it comes up again. Some good ideas for deciding on cloth diapers is if you have a local cloth diaper store be sure to check it out and feel the cloth diapers so that you can see and feel what is going to be on your babies bum.

Hope this helps you if you have any questions please be sure to comment below.

 

What was the hardest thing part of cloth diapering for you?

Confessions of a Fluff-aholic with Katy

I’ll admit it. I’m addicted to cute fluff for my precious baby boy and daughter-to-be. But there are worse things in life than being addicted to cloth diapers, right? Right!

 

It started off innocently enough. My husband and I decided before our son was ever born that one-size, pocket diapers were probably the most cost-efficient way to go. We bought the recommended amount of diapers for washing every other day (around 24) and set off on our cloth-diapering journey. After using the cloth diapers on our son for a few weeks I decided that just one or two more cute diapers really wouldn’t break the bank and would be totally worth it.

 

That was the beginning of the end.

 

Since my son was born our stash has more than doubled. Our diaper stash still consists of primarily one size, pocket diapers, but we have also tried sized diapers, prefolds with covers, aio’s and ai2’s. My son doesn’t go to daycare, but spends lots of time with his grandparents, so I thought a list of everybody’s favorites (and why!) might be kind of cool.

• Mommy’s favorite: AIO’s with snaps because I’ve been able to convince other people to try cloth diapering once they’ve seen how easy it is
• Daddy’s favorite: Pocket diapers with snaps because we have gotten some custom embroidered with Batman, Spiderman and Green Lantern on the tushie
• Grandmother’s favorite: Prefolds with covers because that’s what she used when she cloth diapered 20+ years ago
• Grandfather’s favorite: Pocket diapers with snaps because he knows how to get them on and off
• Great-Grandmother’s favorite: AIO’s, AI2’s, and/or pockets as long as they have hook and loop closure because it’s easier to get on a wiggly baby

Even though we now have a pretty diverse fluff stash, and we all have our own favorites, everybody in the family still usually picks a pocket diaper just for ease of use. That being said, what works really well for our family may not work for yours, so I totally encourage you to buy one or maybe three of each style of diaper so you can test them out :)

 

 

 

 

Contributed by: Katy

I'm a tech geek turned Eco-friendly mommy by the absolute adorableness of cloth diapers.  My son has been in cloth diapers since the day he came home from the hospital and I wouldn't have it any other way.  One of my favorite pastimes includes showing off my son's cute, fluffy butt.

Nicole's Advice to People on the Fence About Cloth Diapering

Hey everyone.  A little birdie told me that there are some people that may be on the fence about cloth diapering so I am here riding in on my cloth diaper horse to save the day!  haha.

Anyways, down to business.  Here are a few things that might help you get off the fence!

1.)  Try to find a place to actually see, touch and feel MODERN cloth diapers.  When everyone hears about cloth diapers, they think big pieces of fabric that you have to fold and manipulate on a crying moving baby that doesn't want to sit still and then on top of that you have to pin the fabric on the baby some how so that it stays on the baby without poking your baby to all heck and back with the darn pin.  Well, let me tell ya, cloth diapers are NOTHING like that anymore.  Call a local cloth diaper store (even if they are only online) and see if you can make an appointment to actually see the diapers.  A lot of cloth diapering stores will let you do that even if they are just online.  If you do not have a store in your area, check to see if you can find a cloth diaper user in the area that would be willing to let you see some of her stash.  I'll tell you, this is one thing I wish I had an opportunity to do.  Thank goodness I had a friend that was looking into all the cloth diapers for her one on the way and was pretty knowledgeable as to where I should go and what I should get to best fit my needs.  Thank you again Charity!

2.) Research, but don't over do it!  If you over do your research, you will get overwhelmed.  Pick one site, read everything on that site.  If you have questions, email the writer of that site.  If you ask advice from everyone, you will get 50 different answers to something that was probably simple, but just became horribly confusing.

3.) Read on the RDA about cloth verses disposable diapers.  http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/diaperfacts.php

On this page of the Real Diaper Association there are some GREAT facts about disposable diapers and why they are not such a great choice for your baby, your pocket book, and the environment.  Just one of the details that really helped us (besides the fact that my son was allergic to disposable diapers) is the amount of money saved per child!  If you disposable diaper your child, you will spend about $1,600 diapering your child.  I spent $300 to cloth diaper both my children....just saying...

4.)  Just try it!  A lot of stores have a return policy or a trial period.  Get a package that includes that and just try the cloth diapers.  More than likely you will love it once you get a cloth diaper on your child.  It is not that big of a leap to just buy one or two to see what they are like.  And, like I stated already, if you are on the fence, more than likely you will love them when they get there.

 

Contributed by: Nicole

Hi, my name is Nicole.  I am the mother of two wonderful boys who are 3 and 10 months.  I started cloth diapering when my oldest was 8 months old due to an allergy to disposable diapers.  I know host cloth diapering classes, run a blog (http://clothreviews.blogspot.com) and have a shop (www.etsy.com/shop/crazyleggies).  I am a pretty busy mama and have little to no free time, but I wouldn't change it for the world!

What's the hardest part of cloth diapering? Julie let's you know her thoughts!

When asked what the hardest thing about Cloth Diapers or Cloth Diapering in general is, my first thought is...probably taking the plunge to commit to and use cloth diapers in the first place! It was scary at first because I started my little one in disposables for the first few weeks. I had bought all of these cloth diapers, and knew I wanted to use them, but there was a voice in the back of my head that just kept saying "I am not sure I can follow through with this." 

Needless to say, my husband and a few other people had bets going against "how long I would last" use the cloth diapers! Being the stubborn, motivated gal I am, I was fueled to use the cloth diapers for at least the time they bet against me! Little did I know that me trying to prove everyone wrong turned into a way of life! Now, I could never live without my cloth diapers! The thought of going out and searching to find sales and use coupons for disposables stresses me out! I am so glad I got over my nerves and second-thoughts and took the plunge into cloth diapering! 

For me, it wasn't the poop, extra loads of laundry, or even the extra work (which really isn't a lot), sometimes the hardest thing is just getting past your initial fears and worries of the unknown!

 

 

Contributed by: Julie

 

Hi my name is Julie and I am the mother to my handsome stud who is nearly 6 months old. He was my motivation to start Cloth Diapering! Not wanting to expose his little bum to all those chemicals in disposables and not returning to work full time, I was looking for a safe and inexpensive alternative. Cloth Diapering was my answer! I have been cloth diapering since he was 1 month old and have become addicted every since! When I am not cloth diapering, blogging about cloth diapers, or converting others to cloth diapers, I am spending time with my wonderful family and husband who is a devoted Pastor. I also love watching football and water skiing!

 

http://www.myclothdiaperstash.com