>I had spent enough time on the diaperswappers forums to know that well cared for, high quality cloth diapers had decent resale value.
I also discovered that diapers.com sold bumgenius 3.0s, and that 3 of them would add up to enough to get free shipping. So, I figured I’d order 3 and try them. If I hated them, I’d resell them and at least I could say I’d tried.
Before I ordered, I started researching washing methods, which led me down the sudsy, convoluted road to detergent land.
>I had decided on one size pocket diapers, where the rise and the inserts snap down to size, to fit babies starting around 8 pounds, potentially through potty training. Specifically, the BumGenius 3.0s.
Some reviews indicated that the diapers didn’t quite take their children through potty training, but since my wee little bit of a thing was only twenty something pounds when she potty trained, I figured we’d be fine.
Since my daughter was a wee 6 1/2 pounds at birth, I assumed I wouldn’t be able to use the one size diapers right away. Plus I wasn’t sure about throwing in a cloth diaper curveball into the whole new mother-o-two game. If only I knew what I know now, but oh well, water under the bridge right?
So, with the new customer hook of $10 off, combined with $5 off, combined with free shipping and manufacturer coupons, I ordered a case of wee little newborn diapers for the wee little baby I was expecting (ha!)
>So, once I successfully had a bun in mah oven, I delved even deeper into the world of cloth.
When I had my daughter, I was shocked (SHOCKED I tell you!) by how much disposable diapers cost. Seriously, OMGWTF how is something that will be pooped in & thrown away costing more than a quarter, or maybe 15 cents for a screaming deal on a mega-jumbo-sized-never-gonna-use-em-all box of itty bitty newborn diapers bought with layer upon layer or coupons & subscribe & save savings. I will talk about the cost of the hiney wiping devices later.
I was in for still more sticker shock when I found out how much cloth diapers cost. The logical side of my brain tells me that the cloth diapers would pay for themselves in no time at all, whereas I would still be shelling out for disposables week after week.
But I was still having a hard time committing to such a large initial expense, especially since I wasn’t sure how I was going to like all this anyway.
>While you can still get prefold diapers, pins and plastic “pants,” cloth diapers are more like disposables than ever.
My head was swimming with the options, this doesn’t even touch on all of them.
I finally decided that to make it easiest on myself and my hubby, I’d pick pocket diapers. They resemble disposables, in that they can be purchased with velcro closures and do not require a separate waterproof cover.
All in ones are probably the simplest in terms of use, since all you have to do is wash, dry & reuse, but the “soaker” is sewn into the diaper, rather than being stuffed into a pocket in a pocket diaper (clever name, eh?)
I liked the idea of being able to easily customize the absorbency of the diaper, and to be able to remove the absorbent material for more thorough cleansing and easier drying.
Next, I had to figure out which brand.
>When I was expecting my daughter 5 years ago, a friend gave me some info on cloth diapers. I thought about it, but quickly dismissed them. I was about to be someone’s MOM for heavens sakes!! I was already going to have to learn and do so much, I just wasn’t up for cloth.
Before I had even conceived my son, I started some serious research, feeling fairly confident I was up for the challenge, having survived motherhood round 1.
After chickening out & false starts, I finally did it!
Follow me through the good, bad and the smelly, as I figure this thing out!
Maria wants to live in a world where cloth diapers are the norm and moms can make parenting choices without judgement. When she’s not chasing her 18, 14 and 11-year old kids around, you might find her checking out the latest gadgets, organizing something (again) or exercising in the fresh air. Read More »
