How we made the shift from disposable to cloth diapers with baby #2
My husband and I brought our first born son home from the hospital in 2008, disposable diapers in hand and we never looked back. We had considered cloth at that time, we even bought a few prefold diapers and a couple of covers, but they never made it out of the closet. We were convinced, without trying, that it was too much work. By age two we had spent over $2000 diapering. Not only did we purchase regular disposables in all shapes and sizes but we purchased overnight diapers and swim diapers as well. We were big consumers!
Early last year we learned we were expecting baby number two. Not long after we found out we had a visit from inspiration. A dear friend had just had her first baby and traveled from Virginia to Washington State (our home) to visit family and stay with us. She arrived with all of her things including a supply of cloth diapers for her little boy. I could not believe that she was traveling with cloth diapers. How would she have time to visit with family and friends and wash and prep cloth diapers every night? Well, she did it, she made it look easy, and she got me interested in pursuing it again.
So if she could do, I could, right?
I started doing my homework by reading websites and blogs (like this one). I asked my friend lots of questions. Then I sought out other friends (I found three more) that were using cloth and asked them lots of questions. By the time my second little boy was born, we were ready. We started with a small stash of diapers with a variety of pockets and some prefolds with a cover. We waded into the world of cloth with some trial diapers and our nearly 9 pound newborn. One thing I learned from my homework was to try before you invest to find what works for you.
After only three days, we were hooked. They were so soft and fluffy and washing really wasn’t that bad. Why wouldn’t we do this? Over the next two weeks we rounded out our stash with pocket diapers (this is what works best for us) and we were on our way. We even bought cloth swim diapers for trips to the pool. Not only did we convert for number two but our first son, who is potty learning now, is also converted, proving it is never too late.
We are just months into our cloth diapering adventure, so glad we did it, and we are not going back. If we can do it with number two, so can you!
By Amy M.
12 comments:
We started with our 2nd child too. Our older child was already out of diapers or she would have switched also. Cloth diapers are really scary, until you actually get the information, and realize they are just as easy as disposables, a lot safer, better on the environment, and a lot better on your wallet!! Sometimes it just takes knowing someone who does it to help out.
We decided to switch to cloth diapers when we got pregnant with baby #3! Its never too late. :)
I started using cloth with #2 was 16 months old!! We werent even sure if there was going to be a #3, but she had some skin issues and once we switched, they never came back. I always say, if I would have known how EASY they really are I would have done it with #1. Now there is a #3 on the way so at least we get to use some of those dipes again! ;)
My hubby tried for months to convince me to CD- I thought of runny messy leaky strips of cloth and safety pins! NOT! I discovered pocket diapers and haven't looked back since. Still trying to figure out what to do when we travel though. I'm not convinced I can do the whole washing the stash at someone else's home! But that's because I don't put mine in the dryer, so it involves hanging them from every surface I can stake out.
I'm staring out in cloth with my first. It is great to hear it was not a difficult transition for you.
I started with disposables with our first (and so far only) child, then started into the cloth diapers. We stopped when moving into my grandfather-in-law's home as his washer/dryer are old and I didn't want to add to the load. I will go back to the cloth for #2. My only complaint is how when the diaper gets wet, the fleece touches the clothes and tends to get them wetter faster. I use the FuzziBunz All in One.
Thanks so much for sharing our story!
We started with our 2nd as well and now, with 3 kids 3 years and under, we love them! It saves us so much money and it's easier than we thought. I've been diehard cloth diapers for just about 18 months now. We will never go back either!
We love cloth diapers, here, too. I didn't with my first son, but the rest of the four have been cloth diapered. Right now I only have one which is kind of nice because I can get away with washing diapers every few days when the pails are full, rather than every other day.
I'm sure we've saved thousands over the past 7 years with our cloth diapering!
We started on our FOURTH child!! :) Its not so hard!
We started cloth diapers with baby number FOUR!!!! :) Its not so hard after all! :)
It's so great to see someone using them successfully and it really does encourage others! I'm glad your friend showed you the light! :)
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