The Truth About Cloth Diapering

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“So, what’s it like to cloth diaper?” 

I get asked this a lot… by family members, friends, acquaintances, even women in the public restrooms when they see me change my daughter. 

The truth? It’s amazing. 

No seriously, I really love it. The patterns and colors, the savings, the ease of use; it’s not as scary as one might think.

I initially looked into cloth diapering when I found out I was pregnant. I wanted to determine if it was the right path for me, but I was extremely overwhelmed at first by all the information. And let’s not even talk about the acronyms! AIO, AI2, EUC, etc. I felt like I had fallen into alphabet soup

A little digging on Pinterest, as well as some chats on Facebook groups, got me into a place where I felt somewhat informed. 

Then I had to choose my diapers. I was most interested in cloth diapering for 2 reasons: Saving money and the environment (yes, I’m one of those people). Cost was the main factor; it can get pretty expensive to buy a “stash”, or full set of diapers. They last you through potty training for multiple children, but can clean you out up front. 

This led me to two-in-one systems. These types of diapers have a cute cover made from a leak-proof material and snap-in liners that catch all the business. They are more cost effective because you buy less of the expensive part (the cover) and reuse it for multiple diaper changes. 

I have to admit, I was still nervous. But my mom convinced me to put them on my registry and have a diaper raffle for my shower. So I did. And man did my family and friends show up! We got enough diapers and inserts for a full rotation!

Then my daughter was born. We had to wait a little while to use the diapers because she was under the minimum weight and extremely skinny. Once she was big enough, I dove in. And I haven’t looked back! I use them everywhere, both home and away. I used them camping back in May and for a weekend trip out of town in June. They’re so easy! I even switched to cloth wipes about a month in because it’s easier. I don’t have to separate garbage from laundry when I change my daughter, and a full blow out usually only takes 2 wipes.

You read that right, two.

And cleaning them is pretty simple too, at least while she’s still exclusively breastfed. No need to scrape or rinse anything; I just dump my special laundry bag out into the washer, throw the bag in, add detergent and go! I bought some recommended detergent after having some issues with my normal stuff, but it wasn’t too expensive and available online. 

So to answer that question: cloth diapering is like regular diapering, except I’m not literally throwing money away. And the diapers are much cuter, too. 

See? Much cuter than disposables!

3 COMMENTS

  1. We used cloth diapers with our first and I can’t believe how much money we saved. (It was a bit of extra work as we were living overseas and had no dryer and very small washer with no hot water. Ha!) It was also great not to have to worry about diaper rash. We did use regular diapers when we went out for very long, but I’m excited to try cloth with baby #2 on the way!

  2. Yeah, the hardest part of cloth diapering is definitely figuring out the right system for you and your baby. I struggled a lot with leaks and getting the right fit with my first baby, but when I had my second it was such a breeze because I knew exactly what to do!

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