My Husband- The Cloth Diaper Screamer?

So, my husband may need to start whispering a bit more about cloth diapering...because sometimes it seems like he's shouting from the rooftops!

We have a sweet 5 month old baby, and we've been wrapping that little bum in cloth since he was born. I started researching cloth diapers during my pregnancy and I really felt like we could make a go of it. My husband, on the other hand, was not convinced. I did my best to educate him about how it all would work, and I let it marinate a bit. I'm not sure if he was grossed out or if he felt like we wouldn't keep it up (or maybe a bit of both), but he was pretty reluctant. He ran the idea by some coworkers who basically told him I was crazy and that I'd realize that it wasn't for us (or something to that effect, at least)! I pressed on, and finally he agreed that we could try it, with the caveat that I'd be willing to give it up if it clearly wasn't working out.

We started out using prefolds with Thirsties Duo Wrap covers. Our beautiful baby boy is an overacheiver when it comes to poo, though. I found that I was rarely getting more than one use out of a cover because he had such watery, runny poo. If we used a Snappi, there wasn't enough diaper there to keep the poo from seeping onto the back of the cover. If we tri-folded it, then we had poo on the gussets. It never leaked out of the cover, though!

I became discouraged and figured I just didn't know what I was doing. I was sleep deprived and having to wash diapers way more often than I had planned. I was very close to giving up, although I really wanted to prove all the naysayers wrong!

I voiced my misgivings to my husband...and he pursuaded me to keep it up! He was a believer! He said he'd help with the fluffy laundry (although to be honest I preferred not to have too many cooks in the kitchen in that respect, just in case he tried to do something evil like add fabric softener)!

We persevered and it became much easier. We decided to use sposies when we traveled for a week in order to avoid packing all that cloth, and we seriously regretted it. Our super pooper had at least 3 blowouts a day while in the sposies. I was afraid to hold him without a towel under him for fear that I'd be slimed yet again. I found that I was doing more laundry with him in sposies than I was with the regular diaper laundry.

After that trip, my husband became a dyed in the wool cloth diaper advocate. Sometimes I actually feel a little embarassed when he tells me about some of his "proselytizing." I've had to remind him that it's one of those things that's a personal decision and that we don't want to sound all high and mighty about it. But, it does make me smile to know that he's so on board! And, he actually encourages me to buy more diapers. I'm trying to be as frugal as possible, and he points out that I could go a little crazy and still not pay as much as I would for disposables considering how much our kid poos! So, Kelly's Closet has been my best friend. I can get new diapers when needed, and I don't feel so guilty since I can take advantage of earning diaper dollars and free diapers/covers with certain purchases.

As our Munchkin has grown and we've recognized different needs, we've expanded our stash a bit. We use bumGenius 4.0 pockets stuffed with both inserts and a hemp doubler for nighttime. We send Thirsties Duo Diapers to daycare since they perform so much like disposables and don't require the daycare provider or myself to remove the inserts. We still use prefolds at home, but I'm turning more and more to my Swaddlebees Simplex 2.0 diapers for their ease of use and trim fit (especially now that the weather is turning cooler and we'll need to start covering those chubby thighs with some pants).

All in all, we've found that there is a lot of trial and error involved in cloth diapering, which is a whole new post in of itself. Having someone be supportive of the choice, however, really helps to get over any obstacles which may arise.

Meredith-- a new mom to a wonderfully happy baby boy with one adorable fluffy bottom!