I Might Be Crazy...

Next week we're officially going to start using cloth diapers.

Sometime after we got pregnant, Josh and I started talking about what we wanted to do in regards to diapering. Now, before you start getting a headache for me and have images of safety pins, those white muslin squares, and all that scraping/spraying that used to be involved, know that cloth diapering has come a LONG way since the days my mom did it.

There are endless brands out there and resources to help you do it and do it well. I did a lot of reading up on brands, one size vs. sized, snaps, velcro, elastic, inserts, and other things before approaching Josh. I have a great group of ladies here in town that have done cloth diapering very successfully and they were invaluable as I was looking into the subject.

Eventually, we decided that we were going to go the cloth route for the following reasons:

1. Cost
2. Less trash
3. Easier to potty train out of
4. Have you ever seen a baby bum in those things? Precious.

Obviously, the fourth reason is the most important. Not really, but it was a great plus to the idea.

The "less trash" issue was really more in regards to our household. I mean, we love the environment and don't want the bunnies and the tigers to die or anything, but the idea of having a small person fill up a small trashcan a day of extra trash just wasn't appealing to us.

Ease in potty training is arguable, but the idea is that because cloth diapers do not absorb away from the skin as much as disposable, it's easier for your kiddo to know what "wet" feels like. This is also a con, since that can make them more prone to diaper rash but I believe in the power of Boudreaux's.

The biggest issue was the cost of diapers. Cloth diapers are an investment up front. Thankfully, we were gifted our "stash" by our families and friends, but had we bought them all ourselves the cost of our diapers and wet bag would have come to around $390. We figured an average pack of diapers from Target (our diaper shopping location of choice around here) would last us about 3 weeks at $21 a box. This winds up costing us about $370 for 1 year. In our minds that meant that in 1 year our "stash" has paid for itself.

We both agreed that with Jude we needed to at least try to cloth, and if it was just not possible, we wouldn't ever play the "what if" game about trying them or not.

We decided that we would use Fuzzibunz One Size diapers. They adjust at the legs and waist to make it possible for a kid to wear from infancy to potty training. I have had a couple people who were succeful in their kids using them through that entire time period. I loved the look, the colors, and the 1 year warranty on them. They also provide us with an extra replacement elastic for the leg area.

Our little guy is just now where he can fit into them, so this weekend will be a trial run at home to see how tight we need the elastic and get used to it, then we'll start venturing out in public with them.

After a few weeks, I'll update on how it's going! Wish us luck, this might be an interesting weekend.