Why I cloth diaper...

There are many choices that we all make as parents, and we have to make the ones that work the best for our own families.  I chose to cloth diaper for a variety of reasons.  My mother used mostly cloth on all five of her children...the old fashioned kind, pre-folds, pins and rubber pants.  When I originally thought about using cloth, that is what I thought that I would have to use too.  But I figured if my Mom could do it, so could I, because I had so many reasons why I thought that I needed to use cloth. 
1.  The environment did play an important role in my decision.  I just couldn't get out of my head the sheer numbers of disposables sitting in landfills, and how much more my one baby would add to all that trash.
2. Money played a larger role in my decision to cloth diaper.  My husband and I were struggling financially at the time, things are better now, but still very tight.  When I was pregnant I couldn't stop thinking about the three main things I would have to provide for my baby:  Food, Clothing and Diapers.  Food was easy, I planned to breastfeed, so that took care of a huge expense right there, Clothing...well we were fortunate enough to have friends with a baby girl exactly one year older than ours...that left diapers, so cloth seemed the logical and inexpensive, and necessary way for us to go.
3. There are so many kinds of cloth to choose from.  When I was sure that cloth was the way I wanted to go, I met with a good friend of mine who was cloth diapering her baby.  She showed me the different types of diapers that she had in her stash and showed me how to use them.  She gave me tips on caring for the diapers, and showed me exactly how many diapers I would need if I wanted to do wash about every other day.  When I saw how many different choices I had...I started to get excited about building a stash of my own. 
4.  My baby's health.  This factored in a little later for me.  I was a little overwhelmed at first with my baby, being a new Mom and recovering from an unplanned c-section.  I used cloth sporadically for the first couple of months.  I was still not sure how easy cloth was, and I didn't really have enough newborn size diapers, and people gave us disposables after my daughter was born.  However, on several different occasions, I felt that I literally had to peel the disposable off my baby after a bowel movement, enough so that the mesh marks were imprinted in her skin.  This really bothered me.  And she also got several nasty rashes in those first couple of months.  Since I switched to cloth exclusively, the only rashes we have had have been directly related to teething.
The choice to cloth diaper was a very personal one for me.  I understand why many families choose to use disposables, people have to make the choice that is best for them.  However, my main source of frustration, as I stated in my previous entry, is that people do not have the information necessary to make an informed decision to use cloth or disposables.  When most people think of cloth diapers they still have the vision of diaper pins and rubber pants.  My goal, and the goal of many in the cloth diapering community is to give people the information that they need to make an informed decision.  As someone who has struggled financially, I really don't want other families to feel like they can't provide diapers for their babies.  Cloth diapering is an easy solution, with so many different options to choose from.  Over the next few weeks I plan to share with you how I cloth diaper.  I will describe and review the diapers and accessories I use, to help you make an informed decision about how you want to diaper.  I will also provide you with some resources to do further research on your own.

The Truth About Cloth Diapers...

The truth is that the big companies that own the big disposable diaper brands like Pampers and Huggies know how to market.  They carefully word things to keep the truth from the public.  The truth is...cloth diapering is easy, affordable, better for environment, better for your baby, and much better for your wallet.  Consumers can only learn this truth if they hear about it from someone like me...a Mom who uses cloth diapers exclusively, every day!  The truth is the cloth diapering movement is growing, parents who use them are telling other parents and the word is spreading.  The bigger companies that make cloth diapers like BumGenius and Fuzzi Buns can't compete with Pampers and Huggies, but they are using social media to spread the word.  The truth is, parents who cloth diaper are passionate...so passionate that they are spreading the word on Facebook and on their blogs, and converting other parents.  The big disposable companies are feeling threatened by this movement and provided the public with skewed information about cloth, portraying it in a negative light.  A recent parenting spotlight news segment on CBS sparked such rage in the cloth diapering community by it's blatant bias towards using disposables that the reporter actually agreed to try using cloth for a month...the question remains as to whether or not CBS will air a new story based on her experiences.  We will have to wait and see.  Until the media starts airing accurate reports, using experts who actually have experience using cloth, or interviewing parents who use and love cloth, it is up to people like me to try to get the word out on the internet.  If you are considering using cloth...talk to parents who know.  Do some Google searches...go on Facebook.  Cloth diapering blogs are everywhere and full of the right information.  Cloth diapering is easy, it is better for your baby's skin, it reduces landfill waste and most importantly it saves you money.  I plan to use this blog to share my experiences on cloth diapering.  I will share with you why I chose to use cloth, how I learned how to use cloth, and I will review my experiences with different the different types of diapers that I have used for my daughter.  I will also share my experiences in troubleshooting some cloth diapering issues.  My purpose is to inform and save other people the time of doing all the research that I had to do in the beginning, but most importantly, my purpose is to help families save money.  Times are tough...you don't have to break your bank to keep the little bottoms in your house clean.  The big disposable companies aren't going to give you this information because their only intention is to make money, not to help you save yours.  Please stay tuned for more posts!  Happy Diapering :o)