I hate snap judgements or knee-jerk reactions. Simply because you might have very little knowledge about something, doesn't make it ok to judge people for their choices. This is true for politics, religion and (what I've come to find out) cloth diapering.
I believe in being open minded. Now, before you freak out, there is way more to the story than those little words: CLOTH DIAPERS. I'll admit, when I had Samantha, I was pretty main-stream. I didn't have much of a philosophy on birth-plans or diapers. I knew I wanted to breast-feed, but unfortunately that lasted only a few weeks because of her "failure to thrive" (not gaining weight very steadily). Anyway, I didn't know there were options, and I was ok with that. Truly, I was. Until Sami got a nasty diaper rash. WORST. THING. EVER. I mean, NOTHING cleared it up. No creams, no oatmeal bath, no magic wand could clear up the rash. Sami was my "trial and error" baby. I tried and tried and tried. The only thing that cleared up that stupid rash was a type of cloth diaper. She got it right back when we put her in normal, name-brand, disposable diapers. But because of my reluctance to keep using cloth (everyone I knew was against it), I ended up using more expensive chlorine-free, dye-free, hella-expensive disposable diapers.
When I got pregnant again a friend of mine said that for her babies she would really like to do cloth diapers. I was like most people, "EWWW gross!" or "That must be soooo much work!" but instead of shutting it out completely I decided to do some serious research. Because of my sensitive-skin and my horrid experience with diapering Sami, I thought there HAD to be a solution. I talked to many of my mom friends. They told me it was easy. Then they started throwing out types of diapers they liked. There must be a million different types of cloth diapers. All-In-Ones, All-In-Twos, Flats, Fitteds, Pre-folds, Pockets. I mean really, there is a million types. The amount of information out there was sort of overwhelming, but the more I read, the easier it became to swallow that it was indeed do-able.
I made my first purchase very cautiously $100 for 16 All-In-One, excellent used condition cloth diapers, that I bought from a friend in a mommy group of mine. When I got them, I opened the box and did a little cheer. I really could do this! After that first purchase, I made a few more "necessity" purchases of soap and a wet-bag. For the first month of her life, Rebecca was in disposable. More out of needing to learn her schedule and thinking that these diapers might just be a little too big. Oh, and because I was nervous. What if they leaked? What if they are really not something I could handle? One Monday though, I decided, no more and put her in the cloth. GO ME!
I've never looked back! Instead, I made more cloth investments. I now have a "stash" of about 40 diapers (and I'm DAMN proud of it). Just ONE of my cloth diapers costs about $15, or is equal to 68 disposable diapers (at $.22/diaper). I've bought my diapers all at discounts, but have spent roughly $300 on them. With that in mind: suck up these facts. A child will go through 6000 diaper changes in the first two years of life. Instead of sending 6000 diapers to the trash, to sit in a landfill for the next 500 years, my 40 diapers can go from birth to potty training. Also, at $.22/diaper I'm saving myself $1300 (if I don't invest in any more cloth) over Rebecca's diapering years. YES $1300. Amazing?! I think so. Personally, the choice to use cloth was more about better for baby (no chemicals) and better for my wallet in the long run with the "better for the Earth" argument coming in as a bonus.
Do people judge me? ALL THE TIME. But here is the simple truth: she's my child, it's my money, and I do all the "work". My daycare provider even says, "It's so easy! They are just as easy as disposable! Maybe easier since there's less trash for me!" I love my "fluff" and not only has it been a great experience to learn about them, but it's also been a great lesson: don't judge a butt by it's cover.
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