Cloth Diapers Anonymous; Are You an Addict?

Hello. My name is Jen. And I’m a Cloth Diaper Addict.

Admitting it is the first step, right? Although this is an addiction that I’m not sure I want to get over.

Growing up, I always had some sort of addiction or vice, especially when it came to shopping. At first it was cute hair accessories. Then maybe it was jeans. Then…shoes. Oh, yes, I was all set to become the next Imelda Marcos. Then, when I became pregnant, I stopped being able to wear my gorgeous 4-inch stilettos. I suppose it was only a matter of time until my addiction changed.

When I started considering cloth diapering, I spoke to a couple of my friends who were in the middle of doing it themselves. Not only are they an incredible support system, but they also pointed me in the direction of all the great online shops like Kelly’s Closet where I could get amazing deals on diapers. They told me to start “Liking” these different pages on Facebook so I could learn about the fantastic promotions they run.

And that’s how it started.

First, it was the bumGenius and FuzziBunz promos. Then I started seeing all the benefits from the free diaper coupon codes. Do you know how easy it is to find $35 worth of fluff to buy in order to get a free diaper? I could do that with my eyes shut. Then, of course, I’d add a little more in order to take advantage of free shipping – because why would I spend money on shipping when I could spend it on more fluff?

Pretty soon, the orders started piling up. My inbox was full of order confirmations, and my doorstep was full of fluff. I have to admit, it was pretty fun getting all those packages in the mail – it was like a Fluffy Christmas every day! Before I knew it, I had nearly 40 diapers, 4 wetbags, 2 pail liners, a handful of inserts, and a bunch of little accessories.

Oh, and did I mention I haven’t even had my baby yet??

When friends and family members saw my stash, they were understandably surprised. My mom even asked, “Were you planning on only washing diapers once a month?” One friend asked me if I was having twins based on my stash. A couple of my fluffy friends expressed their jealousy at all my fancy new diapers.

I know it’s only going to get worse, too. Once the baby actually shows up, I just know I’m going to love seeing his or her little bum in these adorable diapers. I probably won’t even let the kid wear pants, because I’ll want to see its little tush all the time. And, once I know whether it’s a boy or a girl, I can always add some more gender-specific prints to my stash (as if I needed another excuse to buy more diapers).

So, here I am, with one month to go before the baby arrives, and I’m still as addicted as ever to cloth diapers. I’ve become quite the CD evangelist, talking to anyone and everyone who will listen to me (and some who won’t). Thankfully, my job is in social media, so I can spend my days on Facebook watching all the cloth conversations and waiting to jump on the next great promotion. And, of course, I’m biding my time until my next fluff purchase…it is, after all, only a matter of time.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go fill up my shopping cart – all this talk about cloth diapering has given me an itch to make another purchase…

Jennifer S. is a soon-to-be first-time mom with a full-time copywriting and social media job. She’s looking forward to all the excitement and challenges of motherhood (and cloth diapering).

This post was originally posted on TCDW blog on 10/6/11