Why I Use Cloth Diapers

Before children, my husband and I were a junk food eating, resource wasting, financially frivolous duo. After eight years of marriage, our first daughter was born. Life changed immediately. We began to pay attention to how money was being spent and prepared our budget for life as parents. The subject of choosing cloth or disposable diapers came up. I was willing to give up, (and I did) all hair, nail, pedicure, facial and massage appointments to pay for disposable diapers because there was no way I would use cloth.

My brother is twelve years younger than I. My sister and I were thrilled to get another sibling, but were devastated after his arrival when we realized that we were Mom’s diaper service. She insisted on using prefolds, rubber pants and those horrible giant pins. We hand washed the diapers in the spider web covered, basement utility sink and line dried them after school, every other day. My sister and I often plotted to find a way to get out of diaper duty, but it never worked. In Mom’s defense, I think it was her way of ensuring we wouldn’t be parents too early. It worked, but it also started an agreement between the two of us; we vowed that our children would never, ever wear cloth diapers.

My husband’s buddies threw him a “Poker & Pampers” party. Their regular poker game turned into a diaper raising event for our family by making the buy-in a large box of diapers. We had enough diapers to last nearly a year and I could happily resume my salon pampering sessions. Shortly after CJ’s birth, she began to have a number of skin issues. First it was eczema, and then it was yeast, diaper rashes, atopic dermatitis, and a bunch of other incorrect diagnoses that made her a splotchy, itchy, miserable mess. We tried everything to relieve her discomfort, but nothing helped. A pregnant friend, who was planning to cloth diaper, suggested I try to do the same, and I immediately turned my nose up. I hated cloth diapers and I wasn’t losing my pampering sessions again.

She told me about Bum Genius diapers and sent me the link to Kelly’s Closet. I was immediately intrigued. I must have read every page on that website twice over in total disbelief. There were snaps and aplix, colors and patterns, and no rubber pants! We found a local diaper shop because I had to feel them to make sure they were real. Instant love.

So, I lost my salon pampering sessions again, but it was totally worth it. I splurged on a mix of pockets and AIOs, fitteds and covers, to find out what worked best. Within a week of cloth diapering, my baby, who was now a toddler, wasn’t itchy and covered in rashes. My selfishness had caused my baby to suffer for over a year. It had not been in vain, though. In this process, we had learned about baby wearing and all sorts of other natural parenting tips that I am happy to share with anyone who will listen. Now, our family is a quartet of healthy eating, eco friendly, fantastically frugal people. Our latest addition was cloth diapered from birth and I love every minute of it, including the occasional hand scrubbing in the basement utility tub. If that happens, I’ll reward myself with a soak in the bath using my homemade sugar scrub and then enjoy an olive oil deep conditioning hair treatment.

By Lottie


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