One of the reasons I started this blog was to share my experience with cloth diapering as it was happening. When some of my friends heard that I was starting the cloth adventure they asked me to let them know how it went, so this is partly for them.
When my daughter was born I didn't really consider anything other than disposable diapers for her. At that time, cloth seemed so old-fashioned, stinky, and inconvenient. Who wanted to deal with storing dirty diapers when it was so easy to throw them out? And the thought of putting poop in the washing machine....eww.
And then the breastfed baby poop started.
Every time my daughter pooped, it was a total ass explosion all over the place. It leaked out the back, down the sides, everywhere. One time, the poop even managed to make its way down my shorts & into my underwear. No I'm not kidding. Every time she pooped I had to wash out her outfits & completely change her and sometimes even myself. It was a nightmare. Yet I stayed with disposables because it's what I knew, it's what I was comfortable with, and it's what was around me. I did not know anyone who had ever used cloth diapers & no one around me was using them either, so I had no idea that I could avoid such a mess with cloth!
Months later I discovered that one of our friends was using cloth diapers. She happens to live quite a distance away from us so I did not get to actually see them or what her experience was, and honestly my first reaction was "How can she do that?". And then I heard that it is actually much different than I was picturing. I was stuck on the thought that it was all white rags & pins & leaks & misery. So I did some research & found that while aspects of it were close to what I saw in my head, a lot of it had changed & didn't seem so bad. So I did more research. And more & more & more. It became a bit of an obsession for a while which was strange because I didn't realize that I was looking into this for myself; I thought I was just getting information on it to have it. So to be constantly thinking about it & reading blogs & tips seemed strange to me at the time. Finally at some point I realized that I was definitely "cloth curious".
OK, but to just try it out seemed like such a waste! These things weren't exactly cheap & you needed more than just 1 or 2 to see if you really could do this! Also, we were lucky enough to not have to pay for our disposable diapers at all. My Aunt was kind enough to provide them for us, and it seemed selfish to ask her to supply us with cloth as well, especially if I wasn't sure it would stick! And my wife wasn't exactly on board with this either....she has a hard enough time dealing with disposables & is more than pensive about dealing with cloth, even now that our shipment is about to arrive! But that is another story for another time...
So what changed?
Potty training & expecting another child. My daughter will be 2 in February and we have already begun the early stages of potty training. I decided a while back that I wasn't a fan of the disposable pull-ups because they are too much like regular diapers & I think it would be too confusing for someone trying to learn that she is wet if she cannot feel it. So early on I knew I was going to switch to some kind of cloth training pants when the time came, I just wasn't sure what to get. Oddly enough the universe seems to know what you need & when you need it, and I got invited to a cloth diapering discussion hosted by the Holistic Mom's Network. On top of learning tons more about using cloth, they also discussed potty training & what to use. It was suggested that to save money you did not have to get separate training pants & to use a diaper or cover with snaps & adjust it to a larger size so that the child can use it as a pull-up.
Hmm.....So now my mind started wondering....if I got a one-size diaper with snaps, I could use it to potty train my daughter, K, and then use it to diaper Baby #2, right up to potty training....and my experience with K will help prepare me for cloth diapering with the new baby. This could work. This could really work! I could ease myself into it as well. So I had a discussion with my Aunt who provides us with disposable diapers & she was on-board for us trying it out!! We placed our first order this week & are expecting it to arrive any day now!! I can't wait! Of course, I am a little worried that it may be a bit much to handle. I absolutely LOATHE doing laundry, and the idea of having to do a load every other or every 3 days makes me cringe a little bit, but I think I am committed enough to make it work. We'll see what happens!! Wish me luck!
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