Convince them with Cuteness

Since I first went from skeptic to lover of cloth, I have become more and more adept at sneaking my experiences into conversations with other mom’s and mom’s–to-be. Of course, you don’t want to be pushy, and it can be a sensitive issue, so getting started right is the first step to success!

I have found that nothing gets a person asking question like a super-cute diaper! While my favorite diaper for reliability is and always has been the Bumgenius 3.0 and 4.0, I have found it harder and harder to resist the cute patterns of Swaddlebees and blueberry diapers, the soft plush cuteness of an Itti bitti, the super-cute prints of Grovia, RaR, and the many other fun diapers out there. Personally, I only have a handful of “experimental” diapers in these fun colors and patterns, and though I would love to have more I don’t really “need” them. However, I have found myself a good “excuse” for their presence. Presents! What mom could resist dressing their baby in a diaper of irresistible cuteness? Maybe just once? And maybe once is enough to get them thinking…

I have pretty much kept a stash of new unused diapers in the bottom drawer since I first got addicted to cloth and discovered the sales of Kellyscloset. I have now supplied both my mother and myself with diapers to hand out as baby gifts to anyone we think might have an inkling of an interest or even receptiveness to cloth. And I have to say, we have had some success, at least with stash-building. We don’t know how many are “truly” using, but I am sure it is safe to assume a few of them have stuck it out.

In addition, word has certainly gotten out. I have had conversations with many mom’s who have asked me about cloth, having heard “through the grapevine” that I might be slightly obsessed…I have hauled a sample of my stash to people’s houses to “show and tell”. I have sold off extras, including some well- used ones as cheap starters (sometimes of course “requiring” replacement shopping).  I have given away diapers that didn’t work for me, and even sold off a few of my favorites when they were the ones a potential user was most attracted to, hoping having them to use and look at would encourage them to further build their stash.
I once had a high school teammate hear that I use cloth, and ask me a few questions via facebook. Luckily, there was a great sale going and I tracked down her address and anonymously sent her 2 BG 4.0 Artist series and a BG XS. A bit extravagant I admit, but she was pretty excited and is now a hardcore cloth diaper-er and advocate herself! And, I might add, we have now developed a friendship that FAR exceeds cloth diapering. She figured out the anonymous donor thing pretty quick, but it was great fun picking out diapers for someone else.

Another “use” for a collection of cuteness is the diaper bag! I always pack my cutest, newest diapers for any excursion, almost hoping for a good opportunity to change my baby when someone is watching. “Ask, just ask”, I am begging inside. I have been through the ins and outs in the doctor’s office…”oh what a cute diaper cover”, “actually it’s the diaper itself, see?” I have showed them off at the beach on vacation when someone admired my second all-time favorite diaper, a Flip cover in ribbit.  And be assured, every friend and relative that I have ever visited has probably seen all the inner workings.

When I first started using cloth, my very small collection was primarily made of BG pockets in butternut and grasshopper…in fact so much so that I hope to never buy those colors again! But, luckily I have been able to share my diapers enough to add some variety to my collection. The fun ones make the best photos to show off! And who knows, when people see your baby pictures with a cute fluffy bum, they might just want to ask you some questions!

Lynnette Wright lives in remote Alaska, and is the lucky stay-at-home momma of boys ages 2 and 2 months.  An originally reluctant convert to cloth, when not being entertained by her two boys, she likes to research new tricks and find deals on new diapers to “test” so that she can be a more fully educated advocate of cloth to others!