Photo by keli_h.
Welcome to the first of three guest posts on the oh so fluffy subject of cloth diapering! The following is a guest post from Upstatemomof3 who blogs about her life & family over at Our Life Upstate.
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I did not come to cloth diapers by chance or by coincidence. I came looking for a better option. I was sick of my leaky disposable diapers. And cost was not really a factor for me. Actually cost was what kept me from making the switch. See, I had saved diapers and was probably not ever going to have to buy any.
I had run a daycare for the last ten years. And over the years people had brought diapers that their kids outgrew or brands they decided they did not like or whatever reason they thought they were useless. For the first few years I gave them to whichever other family they would fit. When Big Brother came along I used them on him but I did not have a ton so I bought some too. I didn't know about anything except the cloth diapers that are sold in Wal-mart then (you know the ones most people use as burp rags). So, after he was potty trained I decided to start saving them. And when Big Sister was born I had so many I knew I would never have to buy diapers for her. We were all set.
But then she constantly leaked. As in multiple times per day!! It was crazy. I had to buy a specific brand because it was the only one that lasted about 7 hours without leaks. And then she started sleeping 9 - 12 hours a night. Now she was waking up every morning all wet and gross plus she was still leaking and exploding out of them a few times a day.
A friend used cloth diapers and recommended I try them. I was really hesitant as they are a large initial investment. What if they did not work? But one of the local shops had a started package where I could rent a few days worth for a week for only twenty dollars. I did that and I was hooked. No leaks. Even all night. No explosive poo everywhere. No messy clothes.They worked great. I was totally in love.
I started out only using prefolds and Thirsties covers but since then have branched out. I use mostly pocket diapers now but I still like my prefolds and I have that AIOs are useful at times. I like them all. I have favorites, some for ease, some for cuteness and some for absorbency (really really important for overnight use). But all in all I am so glad I made the switch. It was the best decision and even though I had to spend some money on it I am so glad that we did it.
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What a great post, thank you for sharing your adventure with us! To my lovely readers, please check back tomorrow for out next guest post! Peace.
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Check out the rest of the series here:
Cloth Diapering: Guest Post #2
Cloth Diapering: Guest Post #3
12 comments:
What a great post! It is always interesting to find out why others chose cloth. I turned to cloth initially for sensitive skin - dd son had terrible eczema only in the groin area caused by an allergic reaction to disposables - but now, I'm addicted to the cuteness!!
I have to tell you, with my first I never thought to use disposables as a first option, even though my mother had run a daycare out of our home when I was a child and I saw so many of them go through the house. I think the sheer volume of them in the garbage can as a kid always kinda bothered me, especially since we drove past the landfill evey time we went into town. It wasn't until we moved to Illinois where clothdiapers were so unheard of that we switched full time to sposies with her. I suppose the thought of hanging them out in the winter was also a touch daunting. But when Snapdragon was in the process of being baked, I knew up front that even if it was just the gimpy gerber prefolds and plastic pants, that cloth was definitely the way to go. Mongoosine never had diaperrash until we started letting her wear sposies on an regular basis. stupid sposies.
Thanks for sharing your journey into the cloth diaper world!
I've followed UpstateMomof3 for months now but never knew why she switched! So good to hear! i love my cloth and encourage everyone to try it!
Thanks for stopping by, friends!
I'm happy to share these posts with all of you :)
I love reading about why others started with cloth. Thanks for sharing!
That's a great post :)
A friend of mine made the switch recently for environmental reasons. She loves natural products so avoiding synthetic materials was another bonus. I agree it sounds like a good option! Nice post. :)
Thanks to everyone for visiting!
This is a great post! It's so nice to hear about other "real" moms who have made the switch to cloth diapers. I used to work in daycare, too, and I've seen first hand the amount of leaking-especially poo!-that you can get with disposable diapers. I never have those kinds of blow-out messes with my cloth diapers.
What do you think it is that keeps more people from trying cloth diapers? Is it the up-front cost, the fear of washing them, or something else?
I'm actually doing some research right now about the kinds of diapers parents use and why. I'd love to include your and your readers opinions in my report. You can participate my taking my diaper survey:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=cjVCME83a3hKZ1Vzb0t0VENSQVRjLUE6MA..
Thanks in Advance!
Great post! I love how you had all those disposable diapers saved up and still saw the inredible value of cloth diapers!
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