Friday, September 13, 2013

Why I switched to Cloth

For a while now, I have wanted to write about my decision to switch to cloth diapers, but never really knew when that right time would be. Well, I guess I did, however, I wanted to wait until it finally happened, to do so. And it finally has.

With Elliana, we did disposables for 2 years. Two years and a couple months to be exact {until she was potty trained}. And why did we do that?

Three reasons.

1} It was cheap. I know, you're probably thinking in your head, CHEAP. Since when are disposable diapers cheap? They are when you are a coupon obsessed lady that essentially spent anywhere from $1-$3 per package. That's it. So cost was never an issue, and if I'm being completely honest it, I was definitely more "obsessed" than anything else to see how good of a deal I could get on diapers and how many. Believe me, there were days I came home with 50 packages of diapers.

2} Refer to number 1 above--> large supply. Once I made a haul, I had a large supply. Ridiculous amount that I no longer had to buy any diapers again {and haven't since}. Therefore, in my mind, I didn't want to be wasteful {sounds silly, I know, since diapers are the definition of wasteful}. But I figured that I needed to get through the stash before I considered the next step.

3} Apprehension from others. Actually, I didn't really care about the "others" as much as I did the husband aspect of it all. You see, Andrew is very much against a lot of things when it comes to all natural parenting. Let me rephrase it, Andrew is just very unaware of other options out there, and in his mind "easier is better." When I initially brought up cloth diapering E when she was born, it was a big fat NO. So much so that I did not even bring it up again until G was born.

So then came along G. Hi, G-man! And well, G-man has been around for 8 months now. So the next big question is, why not start at the beginning and why start now?

1} Refer to number 2 above---> large supply. You see, I still had diapers left over that I did not have to buy a single diaper since Graham has been born. In fact, I still have about 6 packages left over, but could no longer wait and decided to just give those to my SIL who is pregnant.

2} Apprehension. From who? You guessed it.

Notice a trend between the two? Large supply, and apprehension. But the large supply really wasn't an issue in comparison to Andrew not being on board. Part of the problem is that I just wasn't passionate enough to push it on him. Not that I wanted to either, since I never even discussed it past him saying no and not having any desire to try. I think with E, in the back of my mind, initially, I was okay with it. Okay with going the disposable route. Okay with doing what my husband was more comfortable in doing. Just okay with it.

With G, I wasn't {as much}, but I figured that I just needed to give Andrew time to open up to the idea {not to mention I still had 50+ packages of diapers to use}. So when Graham was born, we went to disposables again, but made the change in our wipes.

We used cloth wipes on G and E {until she was potty trained a couple months later}, and have been using them since. After using them a few times, Andrew really had no issue with them at all and has not complained since. And cloth wipes? Man, they're just as easy as regular wipes.

So now lets discuss cloth diapers. As I've mentioned, I've wanted to use them for a while. I've read so much on cloth diapering over the past 2 years that it was a no-brainer for me that it was an avenue in parenting that I wanted to pursue. And so the other night when I was sitting on the computer, I decided it would be time that I finally narrowed down my choice in which cloth diaper I wanted and when. I knew I would be running out of diapers in the next 2 months and therefore wanted to be prepared.

Well, then I ran into the bum genius diapers, read raving reviews {over and over and over again}, and thought they were the cutest thing on earth and clicked order. Of course they came to my house two days later, and I immediately said "screw the two months, we're using them now."

And we haven't looked back.

They really are better than I imagined. Easier than I ever thought possible. And I've only been kicking myself for not doing it sooner. Truly, kicking myself.

I'm not going to sit here and write about every detail of a cloth diaper that is amazing. I would hope that anyone that decided to make the switch would do so by doing their own research {I know, I overuse the word... lets call it what it is... google searching}, talk it over with their significant other, and in the end make a decision that works for their family. If it's cloth diapering? Awesome! If it's disposables? Awesome! We clearly have done both and aren't ones to say which route is better for who.

Disposables worked with us for E, and partly for G. Cloth diapering has worked with us for G. It all just kind of... works.

So, you see, this post is not one to try to convince you {you on the other side of the computer} to use cloth diapers. Not on your baby, on your dog, or yourself {because who knows if you even have kids... or a dog}. This is simply my way of discussing my choice to switch.

Look, I'm not some crazy environmental guru or "crunchy" mama who thinks that you are killing your child by putting them in disposable diapers {no one's got time for that!}.

Simply put, I'm A MAMA. Simply put, I'm A MAMA that loves her babies, that loves to live as healthy and natural as a lifestyle as possible {and that works for us}. One who's learning and navigating her way just like anyone else. And one that sometimes has to change habits that previously worked, and now don't.

And cloth diapering is just one of those new adventures for us. And turns out, we love it. It will grow on Andrew :)

Simply put.

**I was not paid to write this post, and all products were purchased with my own money and therefore everything stated is of my own thoughts and opinions. 

28 comments:

  1. Love it! We knew from the beginning we wanted to cloth diaper (not that there wasn't apprehension -- we both were wary) and the diapers didn't fit his tiny bum for a while but yeah, they are fantastic!
    We spend about $20 every three or four months for Huggies Overnites (we need them for nighttime and have them on hand for outings), and they're so easy! Plus our guy has never had a diaper rash in them! Win-win-win. Glad you are liking it! And the hubbies will get there haha ;)

    weebabyschmitt.blogspot.com

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  2. Your story sounds exactly like mine! I wanted to do with #1 but my husband wasn't on board and I wasn't passionate enough to convince him. When #2 came around (6 months ago), I knew I wanted to. I was fortunate enough to be gifted an entire stash from a friend whose youngest potty trained. FREE was enough to convince my husband to at least try it and we haven't looked back!

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  3. We part time cloth diapered with #1 and now #2. We have bum genius 4.0's and some flips. BG's are definitely my favorite though. My husband was skeptical at first but now sees how easy it is and is fine with it. Plus I do the laundry so whats he care?!? It is SO easy, especially If you EBF because their poop is water soluable at that stage so you dont even have to rinse it. But once we introduce solids we use our diaper sprayer-thank the good Lord for diaper sprayers!! Plus-is there anything cuter than a cloth diapered baby booty?? No; no there's not!

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    1. NOTHING better. That's one of my favorite parts, and I never even knew how much cuter those bums could really get :)

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  4. We are the first people in our family and close group of friends that decided to cloth diaper. Best. Decision. Ever. And now we have diapers that we are passing to a friend of mine that is pregnant and I've helped educate several people on how "not gross" cloth diapering can be. We always say that, either way, you're dealing with poo. This way, you're saving money and the environment at the same time. Plus...cloth diaper bums are 34095830294823 times cuter than disposable ones. Yay for the switch!
    KatyM. | Wild & Wanderful

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    1. Exactly. You're not dealing with any MORE than you would with disposables... just in a different way, and one that is viewed way more gross than it truly is!

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  5. We use bumgenius too and we love love love them. My husband was a little apprehensive at first, but when our friends started saying we were crazy...it only made him want to do it more! We started using them when our daughter was 1 month old and haven't looked back. We do use disposables occasionally when we travel, but I hate them and they always leak! Practically never happens in cloth! So glad you found something that's working for you - every mom has to do what's best for her own family.

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  6. I used cloth diapers with my daughter. I've heard such good things about Bum Genius; it makes me want to try some of them.

    My husband was all for cloth diapers before I was. When he first suggested it to me, I was adamantly against it. But my mind gradually changed (mostly from research) before our daughter was born.

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    1. I love that your husband suggested it to you! That really is great. And yes, I LOVE BG. Love. I can't compare it to any other brand as I have not tried any others, but I don't plan on it either {that's just how obsessed I am with them }

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  7. I really want to do cloth diapering, but my husband can't get over the fact that there will be poop in the washing machine (silly boy doesn't get the whole soluble part of breast milk...). I think we'll end up doing a bit of both, as he'll be full time daddy 3-4 days a week. I'm all for cloth and he's not. So he'll probably end up using disposables when he has baby during the day, and at night and when I have baby, we'll go with disposables. Thanks for doing this post!

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    1. He'll get there. It's understandable and just takes them some time! So excited for you friend :)

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  8. We just started cloth diapering Henry (who is 3 months). It took a while for him to get big enough for the one size diaper covers we had. And then I had some disposables left that I didn't want to "waste" like you said. But I finally decided when he started daycare, we were switching to cloth. I LOVE THEM!! We were having BIG problems with blow-outs with disposables (as in at least one a day) and have had maybe one since we switched to cloth. I was already always doing laundry because of the blow-out, so it isn't really too different. We are using Flip, mostly because they were recommended by some bloggers with twins. I figured if they can do it with 2, I can do it with 1. :)

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    1. It's amazing how we surprise ourselves and realize that we can do thinks we never thought possible. I love when I see other moms that inspire me.. .gives me that extra push and motivation.

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  9. My husband was apprehensive as well, but the cost of disposables helped make my case ($2-3 a case???) I've never even seen coupons like that!!! I don't think we can get coupons like that in Canada??? Anyway, with A (#2), we have been using a mix - disposables at night and for going out. With C (#1), we used disposables all the time, and that worked for us too!

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  10. I like our BumGenius diapers. I wish I had more! I have tons of Fuzzibunz, but I don't love them anymore... and Alva's, which are my favorites. I used cloth wipes until a couple months ago when I just got tired of them. Now I'm using disposable wipes with my cloth!

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  11. My husband was a little unsure about cloth diapering too. But luckily, my sister started using cloth diapers before us and once he saw how much money they were saving (and how stinkin' cute they were!) he gave in. And we haven't looked back either! We love them. We do occasionally use disposable diapers, like when we are traveling or when my little guy is sick and there is a river flowing from his bottom. We are still trying to transition into using cloth wipes too. What do you use? We made our own out of t-shirts but I don't like them too much.

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    1. I buy the really thin baby washcloths that are SO soft on the bum. Theres a 25 pack for like $10, and we have 50. We just use warm water for the wet diapers and the soiled ones we use a little of the baby soap for clean up with the warm water. Heres a link http://www.ebay.com/itm/24-Pack-Snugly-Baby-Washcloth-Set-Boy-Girl-NEW-GIFT-/221153674351?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item337dc9446f

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  12. I love this post!! I switched to cloth when Easton was about 5 months and I just love it!!

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  13. We use Bumgenius and think they're pretty awesome! It's so much easier to cloth diaper than most people think. And just because it's kind of funny... I know someone who actually does cloth diaper their dog (he has incontinence issues)!

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  14. I am so relating to this whole entire post! Our first was exclusively in disposables. Then our second came. At first my hubby was WAY so against cloth diapering (going from research from people who had cd'ed almost 30 years ago! ha!) but then I asked if we could "just get a few" and try it and see how it went. And now he is totally on board! I love being able to save money! We use Sunbaby's and love them but that's only a $ restriction there. I'd be stocking up on BG's if we could! Love LOVE seeing cd bums!

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  15. I've been wanting to switch! I actually purchased a starter kit that arrived about three weeks ago and I've yet to wash them and get them ready. I'm procrastinating. I use the Honest Co. diapers since they are much more environmentally friendly and non-toxic, but I'd love to try cloth. I really need to!

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  16. Love this post!! I've been using cloth on my son who is almost 6 months for the past 3 months. So easy! FYI every so often cottonbabies.com does a seconds sale (cosmetic damages) and you can get diapers for really inexpensive. I got all my covers during that sale.

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  17. Love this post. We thought about doing cloth with my little man but were scared out of it after seeing a friend cloth diaper her son. Poor little guy always had a diaper rash. Now I realize it was more so her technique ( with cleaning and whatnot) and not the diapers herself. Of course we're trying to potty train now, so maybe with the next kiddo. Its definitely nice to see someone have nothing but nice things to say about cloth.

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  18. Love your post! We are cloth diapering our little one. We've hit bumps here and there, but truely, it's been wonderful so far!

    xoxo
    Nic

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  19. It's ironic, because we used diapers when they were little, but cloth training pants when it came time to start the process of potty training. Why we didn't do it that way from the start - no clue. My sister didn't use cloth and I guess the thought didn't really occur to me. But it occurred to me when it became time to potty train since we were using half the amount of diapers and the idea of being left with extra is just too much. Bravo for realizing that you can do it much sooner!

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