About Cloth Diapers

When people heard we planned to use cloth diapers before the baby was born, we inevitably got comments about it that were less than positive. Now that she's here, we also still get the skepticism, the raised eyebrows and the general looks of disbelief that people would still do such a primitive thing.

"Yeah, good luck with that."
"You'll change your mind! It's too much work!"
"Ewww. That will stink a lot."
"Why would you want to deal with all those pins?"
"Those diapers look really hot and uncomfortable!"

Now, if you use cloth diapers yourself, at this point, you're probably laughing, because you know none of this is the case at all. People simply don't understand the way cloth has evolved and changed and how purely easy it is these days.

When I first got interested in cloth, it was because some other mom-friends of mine on forums I frequented  did it, and talked about it a lot. At first I just dismissed it out of hand, but I am a chronic researcher. It is a sickness, honestly.

Of course there is a bit more upkeep. I do laundry every other day and it takes a bit more time to prep them before use and toss them in the pail, but we're talking about 30 seconds. I have a wash routine that works for me, even in our front-loader. It's a bit of a pain when we're out because we have to make sure we have a storage place for the used diapers and they take up more room in the diaper bag, but those are easily solved. The upfront cost is high, too, if you're going with pockets like we are but still cheaper than using disposables.

But I don't see us going back any time soon. We had the Hobbit in disposables over Labor Day weekend, for a day. For one, she was outgrowing her newborn stash and I was waiting for the new stuff to arrive. And two, since we were feeling anxious about the fit, we thought it'd be easier to use disposables for the day. So disposables it was.

OK, cloth diaper moms. You can laugh at me now.

I had frankly forgotten just how much disposables smell. Seriously. Who knew our daughter's poop smelled that nasty? It does NOT hit us like that in a cloth diaper. Honestly, it doesn't really even smell in a cloth diaper. But in a disposable? Gross. And on top of that, we had our first-ever blowout because she was in a disposable. I never have this problem in cloth. We've come close, and I've had wet wicking if I wasn't paying attention, but I've never had poop up the back or out the legs in a cloth diaper... and some of our diapers are, quite frankly, too small right now. They still hold it in. And besides, disposables just feel so... gross. And gel-like squashy when they're wet, compared to cloth. A cloth diapered baby butt is fluffy but does not feel squashy; it feels cloth covered and cute!

When people see the diapers we use, they're always surprised. Even my pediatrician was momentarily surprised when she saw the diaper I had on the baby, with snaps rather than velcro, and she's not generally floored by cloth. Cloth diapers are so much nicer, so much easier that people's perceptions, and even though I do sometimes go oldschool and put her in a prefold (although with a snappi, not pins!) the fact that options that are as easy to use as a disposable exist is fabulous.

The truths about cloth diapering:
1. It is not difficult
2. It does not make your house smell
3. Your child is not sitting in a pile of chemicals
4. Because they are not sitting in a pile of chemicals, they also aren't sitting in their own pee, because you change them more
5. It's really stinking cute to see a fluffy cloth-diapered butt.
6. It's sadly addictive and I keep plotting what I want to buy next.

I'll probably write a few reviews on the various diapers we have at some point because I have a bunch of different types as we try to settle on what will make up the majority of our stash. And I like talking about them too.