Now, as soon as I found out that I was pregnant, my mom immediately asked "are you going to do cloth diapers?" "sure," I said, not knowing what I was getting into and let's face it, I've never changed a diaper in my life, so whats difference would it be to learn cloth as opposed to disposables?
Well..... let me tell you. I haven't even given birth yet but diapering my child is something that is on my mind EVERYDAY. At first I was all about cloth because of the cost of diapers. It's ridic. I didn't know how many dypes a child would go through in a day. 10! But I guess I go to the bathroom that much too ;)
So, 10 dypes a day, thats 70 a week and 280 a month. More or less I should add.
Suddenly, I was wondering what the heck happens to 280 diapers a month. They go straight into a landfill. Which is, ahem, 3.4 billion tonnes of disposable diapers in landfills when you think about the other families in America using them.
Not to mention, the giant factories using energy and omitting dangerous gases and pollutants into the environment used to produce that many diapers. Just so our babies can pee and poop in them.
I'm not going to say that cloth diapering is 100% better for the environment. Believe me I've looked into all the pros and cons. The fabrics for cloth diapers had to come from somewhere. But so do our clothes. And we have to have those. You have to wash cloth diapers every couple days, which adds to the amount of water and energy you use. But if you do it in a more environmentally conscious way, you would be hanging them on the line to dry, washing in cold water, using HE appliances and reusing them for future children.
So, back to the cost. Once I showed my husband that we could potentially be saving $2000 to $2500 on diapers if we buy cloth, there was no looking back. His dutch side took over and I was off to the market to buy cloth diapers. The market being mainly eBay or other online stores.
Umm, so which ones do I buy? GOOD QUESTION! There are literally hundreds of stores and shoppes that carry their own brand or make of diaper. Online there is a site which I probably frequent daily, called hyena cart which was recommended to me by a friend who is equally as obsessed with cloth as I am, okay maybe a little more. But also a deeper shade of green then I am.
First is first. What kind of diaper will you use. Well, there are; and excuse me if I don't get them all.. Prefolds, AO1, AO2, fitted, pocket, one size and flats. I think that's it, but I'm sure as I'm sitting here typing this they have come up with another type just to mix it up a little. Then you need inserts or doublers. Which go inside the diaper for extra absorbency. You'll also need a wet bag for storing the dypes when they're soiled. Also, laundry detergent that is mild enough so not to destroy the fabric rendering them unabsorbant. Word? I don't know.. Anyway.
Not to forget that you'll be needing a good supply of liners. Basically a thin sheet of stronger than toilet paper type paper that the "mess" goes on and then is just flushed down the toilet. A must really. It should help with staining issues.
Don't forget pins or snappys for your prefolds. Can't have a baby running around with a diaper that will be hanging around his ankles. And you'll probably need waterproof covers for prefolds and night time wear. For obvious reasons.
It's all so overwhelming, but if you have friends, like I do who are into cloth too, they will be a GREAT resource in helping you understand the diaper lingo as well as which works best for them. Just ask around. You'll be surprised how many people use cloth and you wouldn't even know it. Also, ASK YOUR MOTHER! Chances are, you were in cloth diapers. She did this already, washed poopy diapers in the toilet, hung them out to dry, dealt with stains. And wouldn't ya know, she survived it. My mom said, "oh heck, when I was in a pinch I'd throw a receiving blanket on you, pin it up and you were fine."
What kind did I end up buying you ask? All of them. I wanted to try every system out to see which will work best for my baby and of course works for those changing them. Which I have been told will only be me as my husband claims he "doesn't do diapers" ya, we'll see how long that lasts for.
But, all that said, I will not lie and say that I won't use a single disposable diaper. I will. But I won't feel as guilty for doing to because the majority of my stash will be cloth. There are just going to be times when it's more convenient. Remember, I'm yellow, not green. Like, holidays, beach days, long road trip days. Any time I really don't feel like carrying a load of crap in my purse. Literally. Also, my parents, well dad, has already let me know that he will not be washing any diapers when little boy comes to visit. Which is fine. But I did happen to mention to him that there is a biodegradable disposable diaper that they could be using instead.
Then of course, my husband had the great idea of making our own. Right, like he was ever going to step foot in-front of a sewing machine to fashion some baby dypes. So it was up to me. But I was definitely up to the challenge. I'm always up for a challenge. I have to admit, part of the reason I agreed to do the cloth diapering was because I had people saying I was crazy for even thinking about it. So basically I am doing this to prove them wrong. Gosh, I hope I can do it! ;)
It didn't take me very long to figure out how to make them. I got a simple sewing pattern and all the supplies and was off to the races. I know they aren't going to be as absorbent or water proof like professionally made dypes, but if anything I can use them as covers over my prefolds.
Here are a few of the dypes that I have made for our little man. :)
Some have velcro and the rest I am waiting on a shipment of snaps so I can finish them. Like I said, they all will need doublers in them, and might only be used as covers, but my goodness, can you just see a little tushie running by with these cute little prints on it?! I can, and I can't wait!
I have saved quite a bit of cash by making these as opposed to buying all them pre-made. They can get crazy expensive for one diaper.
Hope you like!
Talk soon
