The Cloth Diaper Report-Spreading Awareness About Cloth Diapering

I am thrilled at the opportunity to share a little bit about myself and my blog here at The Cloth Diaper Whisperer. For those of you who don’t know, I started cloth diapering when my daughter was almost 3 months old and often call it my “deployment hobby” as my husband deployed to Iraq the day my daughter turned 2 months old. I had never considered cloth diapering while I was pregnant, although I registered for and sought after organic and eco-friendly products. I read dozens of pregnancy books and magazines, but was never exposed to modern cloth diapers until I was flipping through a magazine one morning shortly after my husband had gone overseas. It was a parenting or baby magazine and saw a picture of a Swaddlebees Econappi on one of the pages. It was a small picture with a small caption, but it was enough to grab my attention and I thought “I want this”, “I need to learn more about what cloth diapering is all about” and “how did I not know about this before!” 



I hopped online later that day and that is when my research and cloth diaper obsession started… and it hasn’t ended to this day! I continue to search for new brands, innovations, styles, fabrics and anything else I can discover about the world of cloth diapering. I didn’t have the intention to have a blog about cloth diapers when I started this journey and had no idea that it would become a part of my daily life (outside of the diaper changes of course). My husband jokingly asks me on a regular basis, “what do you love more than cloth diapers”? Although the answer is obvious, cloth diapers are something that I have become very passionate about and have a lot of fun exploring and researching.



Since I didn’t have many friends who cloth diapered when I started in July 2008, I gathered most of my information and purchased most of my diapers online. Although I was able to research a lot of information online, I saw that there was a need in the cloth diapering community for reviews that were detailed, easy to navigate and where it was clear what the reviewer’s experiences were. I had found a few sites where reviews were posted, but quickly because frustrated that it often seemed it was only the people that passionately loved or hated a product that took the time to write reviews. I was also skeptical at what the reviewers were comparing the products to, as they may have been using an additive-filled detergent or had never used a pocket diaper before etc. After spending hundreds of hours online reading so many different sites, I wished there was a resource where more information was gathered in one place. 



The Cloth Diaper Report blog was started after 8 months of cloth diapering my daughter as I wanted to provide that resource that I wish existed to others. After purchasing 10-12 brands by that point, which was more than anyone I personally knew, I started the blog so that other parents could read reviews of the various brands and styles knowing exactly what brands I had tried, detergents I used, and cloth diapering knowledge I had. It wasn’t until late in the spring of 2009 that I realized the potential my blog had and the direction I wanted to take it in. Although I have since discovered more cloth diaper resources and blogs, some of which I wish I discovered in the beginning, I still feel that my blog offers something unique and hope to continue to be a useful resource to families. 



My current goals for my blog include my original mission to provide reviews of cloth diaper brands, styles and related topics; however, I also have expanded my goals and mission from my humble beginnings. I hope to be a source of product announcements, sales, other family friendly products and a place where families can also get coupon codes or have their luck at winning free diapers and other goodies. I also have weekly columns like “Diaper Tips Tuesday” that offer other families the opportunity to chime in with questions and tips and a resources section that lists dozens of different cloth diaper, eco-friendly and family friendly resources. I never thought I would be reviewing, blogging and literally spending dozens of hours a week reviewing, networking, writing and maintaining my site. I hope to continue to regularly improve my site, expand my content and spread awareness about cloth diapering and eco-conscious living to more families around the world.