Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Cloth Diapers, Part 1

Awhile back, Mama requested a cloth diaper post. Since I'm officially addicted to cloth diapering, I'm afraid that she (and the rest of you) are about to get more information than you really want. BUT, since I know from experience that cloth diapering in the modern era can seem quite overwhelming, I want to give you access to both my experience and to some of the resources that I've found quite useful. *Disclaimer: Please do not take anything I write below as a judgement on you if your family has chosen to use disposable diapers. It is meant strictly to be informative and to offer a reflection on my limited experience with cloth diapering.*

So, welcome to the first post in a three part series. This first post will offer a little background on why we decided to cloth diaper as well as links to some cost comparison information that you might find useful. The second post will lay out our experience with cloth diapers (how we do it, our favorite diapers, pros/cons, etc.) and the third post will offer links to cloth diapering resources that we've found useful. If there's something else you'd like to see, let me know. I'm no expert, but I have invested a lot of time into this cloth diapering thing.

For us, we knew we wanted to cloth diaper pretty much from the beginning. I'd love to say that it was for purely environmental reasons, but that would be a lie. It was really a combination of things. First, my mom used cloth diapers on me and my brother. She said we'd often break out if we used disposables. Second, I knew that using cloth diapers could save us money. Third, cloth diapers are better for the environment. Fourth, cloth diapers are better for babies, supposedly making it easier to potty train (we'll see about that). And, finally, I like to be different and this was one place where I could be on the "cutting edge" by doing something I wanted to do anyway.

So, there you have it. They aren't overly noble reasons or not even well-thought out reasons, but it really was a combination of things for us. We were already doing the natural childbirth thing so it just seemed to make sense that we'd go "natural" for this as well. And, we love it. Really. It's SO much easier than I thought it would be. AND, I've already had some other friends jump on the bandwagon (not necessarily because of me, I must add, but it has been fun to exchange information). Anyway, here are the links I promised. I'll try to get the second post uploaded by Friday.

Diaper Decisions
The Storkwearhouse

Cloth Diapers, Part 2

Cloth Diapers, Part 3

4 comments:

Christy Ross said...

yay. I'm looking forward to posts 2 and 3.

Rita Bird said...

Thanks Mandy, I have been checking your blog like an addict waiting for this post. I look forward to the next few. I, myself have been thinking about going cloth, but am so intimidated by the idea.

Anna said...

excellent post! i'll have to say our #1 reason was the large amount of chlorine found in the disposable diapers in addition to the cost!!! i'm so glad to be "cutting edge" along with you! :D your facebook message in response to my question is what spurred me on to take the plunge! :)

Mama said...

YAY!!!!

...and let me just say don't be afraid to be very basic...I'm using you as a reference tool...like how many diapers do we need...what's the worst part...what's the best part...I'm excited about cutting costs...b/c since we started Ya-Ya on disposables we may continue but I don't think I want two babies in pricey disposables...but we'll see after I've read your posts. :)

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