I Joined the Dark Side-Because They Have Cloth Diapers

My mother-in-law had been trying to convince me for the longest time that cloth diapering was the way to go. After all, that was how she diapered her babies! She wasn’t pushy, but just let me know that it had worked wonderfully for her, and she knew several people who were doing it and loving it. I wasn’t sold on the idea... I was the first girl in a family of 10 children; my mother used disposables, and being used to that, disposables are what I used on my own baby girl for the first 5 months of her life. For convenience sake, and my sanity, I was adamant that I was NOT going to go the cloth diaper route in this lifetime or the next.

But then as our funds started getting tighter, I began looking into ways to save money and realized just how dumb I was to insist on disposable diapers. They were costing us an arm and a leg! Was I just going to have to get used to the “inconvenience”and the “stink” and start cloth diapering in order to save a buck?

The first website I ran across when I googled “cloth diapers” was “All About Cloth Diapers,” and it was a major help in delving into this new world of cloth diapers. Several hours later, my head was spinning with terms like “AIO,” and “Pre-folds,” and I was beginning to change my opinion on cloth diapering. Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. There were an awful lot of moms out there who swore by their cloth diapering, and claimed that the inconvenience and stinkiness wasn’t any worse than when using disposable diapers. I decided to start out with 12 unbleached indian pre-folds, 4 Econobum diaper covers, and 1 Oh Katy pocket diaper for nighttime. A slim stash, but it would get me started.

Then, a friend found out that I was interested in cloth diapering, and gifted me her used pre-folds and Bummis Super Whisper wraps... I was 35 prefold and 35 wrap covers richer!

Still trepidatious, I put a Bummis wrap and prefold on my squirmy little girl... it was too easy. And cute. My Oh Katy pocket diaper went on at night, was washed in the day, and dried in time for bed again! I realized that I needed more of these things and ordered 3 Kawaii pocket diapers, including their special Goodnight HeavyWetter one!

I was shocked to realize I was enjoying this cloth diapering adventure! Having a baby was supposed to be all about ease and convenience, and what was more convenient than simply throwing a diaper in the trashcan and not worrying about washing it? To find that putting a cute cloth diaper on my baby girl, and smiling as I hung cloth diapers on the line to bleach in the sunshine was very new and very intriguing to me. Cloth diapers are just as easy as disposable diapering and a lot more fun! I’ve fallen in love with cloth diapering.

I’m still anxiously awaiting another couple of orders from Kelly’s closet. I’ve branched out and am going to try other brands like FuzziBunz, bumGenius, Swaddlebees, Thirsties -- and I have grand plans to cloth diaper my next baby, starting from day 1! To me, the joy of cloth diapering to is having the ability to put my baby in a diaper that is cute, durable, and is saving us money in the long run -- especially as we plan to have more children. I’m such a convert that I cloth diaper out on shopping trips, and 100% cloth diaper at night. My mother-in-law was right; it IS saving us money, and I am loving it!

I’m still working on converting other people, including my sister who isn’t 100% convinced it’s for her yet... and my mom thinks I’m a little nuts since it’s the only topic I’m interested in now, but she’s intrigued. I hope to continue to share the love and joy of cloth diapering with all around me -- and perhaps make a few converts on the way.

Anna is a first-time mom who lives in the beautiful Bitterroot Valley in MT with her husband and baby girl Kristina. Cloth diapering has made motherhood even more of a joy for her!