Try Cloth Diapers Risk Free

Monday, February 20, 2012

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Becoming a Walking Cloth Diaper Ad

My partner and I started cloth diapering our daughter as soon as her Thirsties Duo covers fit. We paired these with prefolds and fitted diapers for several weeks. I’d say she was exclusively cloth-diapered by about four weeks old. As she got a little bit bigger we rotated our small Perfect Size FuzziBunz into the mix. Then by the time she was 10 pounds we integrated our bumGenius 4.0s into the stash as well. Those diapers served us for a few months before I got the itch to try new ones and since then I’ve been experimenting with a wide range of different brands and styles.

Since we planned before birth to cloth diaper our daughter and since we started so early in her life I’ve had a lot of opportunities to talk about cloth diapers with people in our lives. I distinctly remember that when my grandmother heard about my plans she brought up the difficulty of plastic pants, pins and prefolds. When I explained the options of the modern cloth diapers she replied, “But you are going to pay almost $20 for one diaper? Who in their right mind is going to buy those for you?” I laughed as she sat bewildered by this idea. Of course she was used to buying disposables which may be cheaper individually but aren’t nearly as cost effective in the long run. I have had this conversation with people repeatedly and after some initial disbelief I usually find many are very curious about why we choose to use cloth.

Usually people are just interested in the basics, why we do it, how we do it and whether we like it or not. But occasionally someone is interested in knowing the real details about cloth. These are the people who ask me a few questions and then end up with me raving about the wonders of cloth diapering. I’ve had the pleasure of introducing at least two mamas to the cloth-diapering world. My best friend recently had a baby and while pregnant she humored my many suggestions and thoughts about using cloth. She had seen how easy it was with my daughter and came to me during in her pregnancy for a complete cloth tutorial. She’s now all set to use her bumGenius 4.0s and the new Freetime diapers! Another friend remarked on the ease of use and couldn’t believe we never have the dreaded diaper “blowouts!” I have found that baby showers are an excellent time to talk about cloth diapers. Usually, if I know the mama’s open to cloth I’ll give a couple of diapers as a gift and they become a great conversation starter.

I feel a bit like a cloth diaper saleswoman and yet I don’t actually sell them! I love to mention to prospective cloth diaper converts how functional, enjoyable and even addicting cloth can be. Even my younger sister, who was initially very skeptical about cloth diapering, told me when my daughter was 6 months old that “using cloth diapers was a REALLY good decision.” When she said this I just smiled and thought about how many people might get a chance to try cloth diapers because they’ve simply seen me change my daughter’s diaper and asked a question or two.

Bio: Kara W. is the momma of an adventurous 15 month-old girl and partner to a great cloth-loving husband. She also blogs at www.minimalspinmommy.blogspot.com.

3 comments:

Brittany H said...

I love this. I'm having a baby in may and already I get this opportunity with family and close friends. I think they all think I'm going to give up on it haha

laura r. w. said...

Cutest child ever! And cutest diapers : )

Mandy Lynn said...

Kara - I love this post. I don't know if you remember having helped me with my CD journey (your skeptical sister recommended that I talk to you when I mentioned wanting to use cloth diapers early in my pregnancy). You answered my 101 questions, and let me dig through your stash to see what cloth diapers were really like. Meeting your family was so helpful for me - and really made me feel confident in my decision to CD our daughter. So glad to see your post now!

Mandy (UIC)