Cloth Diapering

A few years ago I didn't think I would ever consider the idea of using cloth diapers, but I came around. Honestly it was the thought of possibly toilet training early that gave me the motivation to use cloth. From what I've read it's not uncommon for cloth diapered kiddos to train early. It's been a couple of months of using them and it's going great and not at all as bad as I once thought. It's much easier and doesn't take too much longer for diaper changes, I just change him more often.

Here are my 2 cents on cloth diapering:

• Since I have been able to find some great deals on disposable diapers and we often go, go, go on the weekends I made the decision to only use cloth during the week and use disposables during the weekends and at night. I love our little system. It gives me a little laundry break and it's nice not to have to worry about bringing a wet bag everywhere we go. Remember you don't have to do it all the time.
• One thing is for sure is cloth diapering takes some research and let me tell you there is a lot of information out there on cloth diapers.
• At first glance we considered going with the basic prefold diapers. 2 features of prefold diapers drew me in 1. They were the cheapest option and 2. They dried the fastest. After reading a ton about these types of diapers I decided this wasn't the best fit for our little guy, even though it was the cheapest. He's very hard to change and never stops of moving. The thought of trying to use a snappy to close the diaper, and add a diaper cover was a little frightening.
• I looked into All-in-one diapers but someday soon we'll be living in a land without dryers and I wanted something that didn't take a week in the winter to air dry. These are the most expensive and the most convenient, but not for us.
• We went with a fitted diaper I actually found them at a garage sale. I had planned on making my own but I found a huge stack for $50 with about 10 covers of various sizes. AWESOME deal. The diapers we have can be used from birth to potty training and snap together very easily. I did purchase a few Velcro diaper covers because I felt they would be easier to use. I'm very happy with it.
  

The question your all wondering is, "Is it worth it?" This is a question you need to ask yourself. For us the thought of potty training early due to the awareness of what is going on under the diaper is worth the price. If my son trains at 30 months rather than 36 months that is 6 months of diapers I don't have to buy, $120 for 6 months of diapers, not counting the money we are saving using cloth diapers now. Since I found them at a garage sale they were much cheaper than if I had purchased them for full price. Plus we can use them for future kiddos without the extra expense of having purchase them again. I really haven't' seen a huge increase in our bills due to the extra laundry, it may be up a couple of dollars.

I'm not miserable using them, which a couple of years ago I thought I would be. It's working for our family. If you're wondering if you want to make the switch I'd highly recommend ordering a few and see how it goes a couple days a week, this way if you hate it you're not out a ton of money. There are various websites that do sell used diapers. (I used to think this was disgusting but then I researched how diapers were washed and sanitized and was okay with it.)

I also made my husband install a DIY diaper sprayer (he spent about $25 at Home Depot for all the parts). It's worth the extra expense to not have to touch the contents of the diaper in my opinion. Thankfully those types of diapers are few and far between. I only have to change one of those a day, sometimes two.

I'm never going to be one of those moms who are passionate about cloth diapering, but it's working for us and hopefully it will save us some money in the process. I hope this gives you a little insight into the cloth diapering world.

Erica