6/7/2010

So I'm still behind on my posts but at this point in time my camera with my pictures on it is M.I.A. I'm trying to be better about keeping up with my blog so I thought I'd do a post on cloth diapers.

Honestly, I can't even remember where I ever got the idea to consider cloth diapers but once I heard about them I began doing research. A LOT. OF. RESEARCH. I wish that I could say I had strong convictions about environmentalism but if you know Currey or I that is just not the case. But if you know me, you know that I am cheap. Not frugal, cheap. And I'm proud of that and that's another post in the making! :) I am absolutely in LOVE with Blythe's cloth diapers so this will probably be a lengthy post as I have lots to say about our choice.

I began looking at the options and doing the math. Using cloth diapers could save us money and lots of it. Even before we were sure that I was going to stay home, we knew the cost of having a child would be high. I continued to read different numbers but the general consensus is an average family spends $2500 on diapers over the course of each child's life. So even families with 2 children will spend $5000 diapers on diapers! To date I've spent $150 on cloth diapers. We do use disposables for convenience but I've not spent anything on those yet as we were given lots of gift cards and a couple of packs as gifts. For us cloth is much cheaper.

The world of cloth diapering is vast and everyone has their favorite brands. Picking what diapers I thought would work for us was one of the most difficult tasks. Thankfully we live in an area that offers shopping for everything and we stumbled across Comfy Bummy in Naperville. If anyone reads this that lives in the Chicago land area, they are worth checking out. We went in and they were very helpful. There are lots of decisions to make like one size or sized, pre-folded and covers or inserts, and Velcro versus snaps. We were able to look at different options and feel different materials. I think getting to touch and see them in person was MUCH easier than looking at pictures on the internet. Although we felt we were more informed I was just not ready to make the financial commitment. We decided we would wait until Blythe was a month old and then we would buy all the needed supplies.

Fast forward to Blythe's birth. We'd read all the books and knew that she would go through 8-10 diapers a day. That didn't mean much to me until our diaper genie began generating what seemed like a mountain of trash. Although I'm not incredibly green, seeing that many diapers headed to the trash put me over the edge! When Blythe was just 2 weeks old we made the switch.

We started with pre-folded diapers with a cover. We picked Thirsties and were incredibly pleased. I went though a short phase of not liking them when Blythe was about 2 months old as the fit was a bit off. Now that she's grown more I'm back on the Thirties band wagon. We were given a 3 pack of Smarti Pants at one of our showers and I bought a couple of Bum Genius diapers on-line as everyone who uses them seems to love them. I have been pleased with both. Currently I have 2 dozen pre-folds with 3 covers, 4 Bum Genius, and 3 Smarti Pants. I do laundry every other day but I hardly notice the extra work. I can stuff diapers while I watch TV or talk on the phone.

Another huge plus is Blythe does not get diaper rash. At All. Unless I put her in a disposable. I mentioned earlier that we use disposables for convenience. Normally that's just when we go to church or to staff. There are bags that you can carry to hold soiled diapers when you are on the go but I have yet to join that club. I'm actually considering becoming a full time cloth diaperer just to avoid diaper rash but we'll see if I become that brave. There is something about cloth diapering in public that still kind of scares me! I love cloth diapering which has honestly been very shocking to me. If you don't mind the extra laundry it's an option worth considering!