Cloth Diapers : Part 1

Disclaimer: You can find this information and more other places on the world wide web. This is my spin on the cloth diaper debate. I'm here for your entertainment folks, so keep that in mind and feel free to laugh at my jokes and weird humor. If not, it's going to be a really long and awkward post...

I’ve struggled to write this post for quite a long time. Probably due to the fact that I have had received lots of mixed reactions from several people. Positive and negative. The ones that didn’t necessarily shock me, but really annoyed me came from people who don’t even have kids. What?! If you haven’t lived 24/7 with a pottyin’ machine and been responsible for changing (and paying) for the diapers, I don’t think it’s fair for you to get all judgey. Who knew butts could be so controversial?

So first and foremost, I’m not trying to persuade anyone that my decision is better than anyone else’s. I'm not against disposable diapers by any means. Samson will be in them for the first several weeks of his life and we will always have them on hand, just in case. Cloth diapers have a lot of appeal for us though. Aaron and I put a lot of thought, effort and research into what was going to work for our family and this is what we decided to try. That being said, we are first time parents and there is a HUGE learning curve. This isn’t going to be a pros-cons list. I’m just trying to put some good cloth diaper vibes out there. I will be doing a separate post with specifics to our situation, like why I'm not that grossed out by poop and how much money we will be spending. This one will be wordy enough. So without future ado…

Cloth diapers will save us money. It will save us money on diapering kid number 1, it will save us even more money on kid number two, etc. It doesn’t matter how thrifty you are with your coupons or your economy sized boxed store brand diapers, you will literally spend hundreds thousands of dollars over the course of your child(rens) days in diapers. There are several websites that will break it down for you. If you are truly interested in the economics of it, feel free to google it. I won’t refer to any one website in particular because I feel like there are far too many variables to take into account for the variety of people who may be reading this. Your personal savings is dependent on the type and brand of both cloth diapers and brand of disposable diapers. I knew that the disposable diapers we would be using would be Huggies, Pampers, or something like Honest Company, so I consider our savings to be fairly substantial. Your savings would be less if you use a store brand disposable diaper. Your savings would be greater if you use a less expensive cloth diaper option. No matter how you slice it though, cloth diapering will save you money. A lot of it.

Cloth diapers are eco-friendly. Yes I will be doing more laundry, using more water and electricity than a strictly disposable family. I promised I wouldn’t be biased, but you are nuts if you think my extra laundry will have more impact on the environment than your poop bombs. Solid poop from a disposable diaper is supposed to be flushed down the toilet before tossing the diaper in the trash. Most people don’t know that, or they just don’t care. But just think of all the poop baking in those plastic Diaper Genie bags in the landfill. Can’t wait until our great-great-great-great-great grandkids dig that up. Our new washer and dryer are energy efficient and our diaper detergent is biodegradable, therefore reducing the impact of increased laundry loads. You are welcome future generation.

           

Cloth diapers are non-toxic and gentle. Aaron even judges me for this sometimes, but I usually am very cautious about what we put in to or on to our bodies. Except McDonalds French fries, God knew what he was doing when he created the French fry man. I try to make smart choices when it comes to certain foods and products that we consume and use. Do I think all things should be organic and 100% clean? No. Did you read what I said about the French fries? Also, if you think I’m wiping my tush with some eco-nut or store brand single ply, you are insane… I want it plush. Charmin all the way baby. As a kid, I had really sensitive skin and I’m sure my baby will be no different. If cared for properly, cloth diapers can help reduce skin rashes and irritations.

            

I could add that cloth diapers are cute, but I really think that’s a matter of opinion. They are cute now hanging out in Samson’s diaper drawer, but their job is to catch pee and poop, so I’m not sure that I could persuade anyone over to team cloth when that little blue diaper is doing it’s duty. It’s a diaper ya’ll. So instead of pointing out the cute factor, I’ll point out that there are so many types of cloth diapers. There is something that will fit in to every lifestyle and every budget.

            

If you are having a baby anytime soon and haven’t looked into cloth diapers, I highly recommend it. It wasn't something I would have ever considered until I started noticing people around me doing it and started asking questions. It's helpful if you have real people to use as resources, I have some friends and relatives who I consulted. If there are any introductory classes at shops or boutiques near you, check them out! 

Tomorrow I will be posting Part 2 and Friday will be my weekly update!!