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Wednesday, January 28, 2009

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Change to Cloth Campaign - WINNER + RUNNER-UP!

PhotobucketWinner of 6 bumGenius pocket diapers: ERIN L.

I never imagined that I would use cloth diapers. It just wasnt something that had occurred to me. I knew that my mom had used them on me but that was about as much thought I had given it.

So when we were pregnant with our first child, and the cloth diaper lady came to one of our birthing classes to tell us all about cloth diapers, we sat and listened. Then once she started telling us the amount spent on disposable versus cloth my husband perked right up. He was the one that wanted to try them, think of all the money we will save and if you donate like them then we will just sell them.

Thus began our adventure in cloth diapering. Our oldest daughter was a week early and we had not received our diaper package. It was the basic most economically packs, prefolds, covers, snappi's and she added in a few Fuzzi Bunz in each size for night time use.

We had no idea what we were doing so it was all trial and error those first few months. I learned quickly that I preferred the pocket style diapers. So we ordered what we needed and went from there using the prefolds as stuffing.

Now 3 and half years later with 2 children I never imagined the impact that one simple choice would make in our lives. It changed the way I think of things and the way I look at our environment.

One of the major things was financially having 2 children 20 months apart using cloth has saved us thousands of dollars. What I had purchase for our first child I was able to use for our second so the amount of savings for us was huge. I also learned how great wool covers can be and started making wool soaker covers for our diapers to use, too.

We had never thought about recycling before using cloth diapers. It directly impacted that for us and helping us to see how much we use and what effects that will have on our environment. Not only did it help us save money it helped us realize how wasteful we were being. And has helped us learn slowly how to reuse certain items that we would have normally thrown away.

I love my cloth diapers. I love telling people about our cloth diapers and hope that by our story that will encourage others to use them as well. So far at least one of our friends has been converted to using cloth diapers with their new baby due soon.

It's the best thing we ever did for our children. It makes me feel good that by using cloth diapers I am doing something good for them by protecting them from harmful chemicals, and that by our use of cloth diapers we are directly impacting our environment for the better.



Runner-up and new owner of 3 new bumGenius pocket diapers: AMANDA G.

There are so many benefits from cloth diapering that I don't even know where to begin. Let me start with how we became a cloth diapering family. We originally started out using disposables because when I thought of cloth, I envisioned (as many other moms do) sharp safety pins & noisy, bulky, diaper covers. Also, the only person I knew who had cloth diapering experience was my Aunt and she did not recommend it because of how difficult she felt that it was for her back in the day. So, I let go of the idea...for a while. Later, as finances grew increasingly tight & my daughter developed what seemed to be a never ending diaper rash, I decided to research cloth diapering online. I discovered this whole world of cloth diapering options...so many in fact, that my head was spinning. I was more than overwhelmed with the wealth of options and information. But I didn't know anyone who cloth diapered and I was really nervous about venturing into the unknown without a support system.

Then, one day a friend of mine (whom I had not seen in a while) posted a video of her daughter''s first crawling attempt. It looked like she was wearing a cloth diaper cover that I had seen while doing my research (a really cute one too). So, I asked her if they did cloth. To my surprise, and relief she told me they did in fact do cloth and would not do it any other way. She proceeded to tell me all about their brand of preference (bumGenius) and why they chose it, where to get them, how to care for them, etc. and she also told me why disposables were SO bad (besides the high costs) for the baby. I was instantly sold & converted. And because I actually knew someone doing it, and having a great amount of success with it, I finally felt at peace with making my decision. I told my husband all about it & amazingly, even he was willing to jump on board. I excitedly placed my first fluff order that evening.

Switching to cloth diapers & wipes has proven to save our family a bundle of money already and at every diaper change, those savings continue to grow. With the savings, we not only have extra money to put towards other necessities but, we also have a little more wiggle room for some fun stuff (like Baby Legs). :) Another great benefit to going cloth is that my daughters room no longer reeks of diapers. Going cloth has also made me (and my husband) even more eco-conscious than before, not only in helping the environment but, also in our food and personal care choices. Cloth diapering is part of this whole green movement and because of that, while visiting various cloth diapering boards, web pages and blogs (like Kelly's Closet), I have found a wealth of valuable "green" information that I can use to improve our families lifestyle.

Not only have cloth diapers improved MY lifestyle but, also my daughters lifestyle. Oddly enough, while waiting for my first shipment of fluff mail to arrive, my daughter developed a UTI, which can be very common with disposable diapers. The doctors wanted to run all kinds of tests to rule out the possibility of the UTI being caused from something more serious, but I knew deep down it was because of the disposables. So we got the doctors to agree to hold off on any additional tests unless she had a re-occurrence. Since going cloth, back in August, there have been NO re-occurrence''s of a UTI. Also, prior to going cloth, my daughter seemed to have a rash 24/7. I tried several different creams/ointments to no avail. I could only use one brand of wipes that would not cause/worsen her rashes and it happened to be the expensive name brand wipes. Any other brand, then her delicate skin literally began to bleed. Once we started cloth, her rash quickly disappeared. Now, she rarely gets a rash and when she does it''s usually due to teething or a food allergy. But, I have found that using the Magic Stick ointment works wonders for both types of rashes.

So, as you can see, cloth diapering has changed our entire family''s lifestyle. I think the Change to Cloth Campaign is wonderful because I, myself am a convert and I am constantly trying to convince several of my friends to Change to Cloth as well. Even my husband excitedly tells other fathers about life w/ cloth diapering. Life is good with cloth!

-Amanda G.
Mom to Mikaela Faith, 15 Months Old

21 comments:

Serena Michelle said...

Congratulations ladies! It's was great reading your submission!

Cloth diapering DOES change our lifestyles, whether on a small scale or large one; there is change - a good change!

It was an awesome opportunity for everyone to stop and reflect how this one little thing does impact our lives!

Anonymous said...

These are great stories! I love hearing how people get started with cloth... and finding out that so often we each just need that little boost of confidence to help us make the switch.

Maggie said...

These are wonderful and encouraging stories. Congratulations!

Katrina said...

Congrats ladies! Great stories. :)

Knit Wit said...

OMG!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am so EXCITED!!!! I can't believe my story was picked. I am speachless and that is rare!

Dani said...

Congratulations ladies! I enjoyed reading your experiences with CDs and how they impacted other areas in your life.

Angela said...

Way to go girls, those are great!

Meghan said...

Congratulations to Erin L. and Amanda G.! I really enjoyed reading your essays. I like how Erin was influenced to recycle by using cloth diapers. For me it was the opposite. I have recycled for years and then it dawned on me how much I was adding to landfills by my son's diapers. I wanted to switch to cloth right then! But even now with our second child I am having to slowly switch because my husband is not convinced. I'll show him the essays and then maybe he will be a convert! ;)

Sara in Seattle said...

Congratulations to the two winners! I loved reading your stories

Minnie said...

Oh yay!!! I'm SO excited. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

Suz said...

I am investigating switching to cloth. The initial outlay is what is holding me back.

I also have big question, can you use something like Shout to help get the poopie diapers stain free?

I'll be checking back often!

TheClothDiaperWhisperer said...

Congratulations Amanda and Erin!! We loved reading all the entries. They were all wonderful. Look for exciting things to come as we plan to keep the campaign going.

EdenSky said...

Congratulations! great stories ladies!

K said...

Thanks so much for sharing those stories and congrats to the ladies on winning the contest!

I am SO GLAD to read that someone else has had problems with wipes! My daughter has the same thing: She can ONLY use 1 brand (name brand) of disposable wipes or else she gets a HORRIBLE bleeding diaper rash. My extended family didn't believe me until both my in-laws and my parents tried using less expensive wipes on my poor kid - lo and behold, a terrible bleeding rash appeared! Poor girl! I am so GLAD to read that the magic stick seems to work well in that situation and with cloth diapers. As I've been using cloth diapers more on my oldest (2 year old), I have noticed fewer rashes than what she gets with most disposables. Also, I've been trying to use more reusable wipes with gentle wipes solutions, sprays, or creams and things have REALLY cleared up for us. I wish I'd known this sooner but at least I'm ready to go all cloth for baby #2 (due a week from Friday)! :)

Kelly said...

What incredible stories these two moms have. And I am sure there are a lot more out there like these. After seeing re title of the post I had realized I had forgotten about the giveaway. But it makes me think that I should do a post on my own blog entitled "Change to Cloth Campaign". Maybe then I can actually get someone to convert.

Serena Michelle said...

Amanda - I loved the pictures you sent to Anelys of your daughter's closet!

Didn't realize you were the Amanda who won - CONGRATS!

Serena Michelle said...

Hi Suz!

Welcome to our little (well, it's surprisingly quite big) cloth diapering world.

To answer your question briefly - no, you cannot use Shout on the stains. However, there are plenty of other things you can do to remove stains that are far more inexpensive (some actually free)... The SUN truly an amazing blessing! Not only does it provide natural light and warmth but it does wonders for removing stains and brightening/whitening! Put a wet but cleaned stained diaper in direct sunlight for a couple hours and VOILA - the stain is usually gone. If it's a more stubborn stain you can spray lemon juice (fresh or bottled) or even vinegar on it and put it out in the sun. Wet items "sun" better than dry ones...

Hope this helps for now!
-Serena

erinsmomma said...

Congratulations to both of you! Your essays were really great. It's always fun to read about other mom's who are using cloth diapers.

Liza said...

congrats to the winners!! cloth diapering is fantastic and I'm glad you made the decision to switch!

Minnie said...

Suz....I was going to answer your question but I see Serena already has. But I totally agree about the SUN...not only does it magically remove stains but it's a natural disinfectant too.

Kelly...plain old water & cloth wipes actually works best to clear things up. In the hospitals that's all the recommend....just water. I do use a bottom spray after poo changes to make her bottom a bit fresher but other than that it's just plain old water.

Serena...glad you got the pics of the closet. :) I love sharing my organization w/ others who can really appreciate it. LOL

Unknown said...

Yep our baby has never really had diaper rash. It's great~