Friday, April 23, 2010

Happy 1 Year Cloth Diapering Anniversary!

One year ago today I put Maddy in her first cloth diaper & I haven't looked back since! I LOVE CLOTH DIAPERING!!! There, I said it. And if felt good! So onward with the reminiscing.

Maddy was about 9lbs I think and fit both the GMD orange (newborn) & yellow (small) edged prefolds--though the yellow fit better. Her first diaper cover was a bummis super whisper wrap and I had mastered the trifold inside a cover within a minute of getting them. I got a great deal buying a ton of used diapers (Maddy was the 3rd kiddo in them) off of craigslist just 2 towns away & quickly discovered my love for cloth would not be easily satisfied. The diapers still are in great shape, ready for a few more children to use them! I almost always hung them out on the line and on a rack to avoid using the dryer and still do this for my diapers now.

Then I pimped my stash again on Craigslist & freecycle & got 12 small Fuzzi Bunz pockets with hemp inserts (yeah freecycle!!), my first Bum Genius, fleece covers, PUL covers & disposable rice liners. I thought I was in heaven! I fell in love with the hot pink Fuzzi Bunz and wore them proudly on Maddy's butt whenever I got the chance. I was so confident in my cloth diapering abilities and loved changing Maddy in public so others could see how friggin' adorable cloth diapered butts really are.

I look back at how scared I was to try it and how it took me a few weeks to use cloth at nighttime too. I heard horror stories of leaks all over the crib and baby in the middle of the night and was terrified I'd be one of those stories. Now the idea of using disposables again scares me. I don't just fear the leaks from those plastic things, but the chemical burn & overall detriment to my baby's health from using disposables.

I've never had a blow out since we've been using cloth. Period. (*blow out: where poop explodes up baby's back to their hair, out the legs, and really all over. SO disgusting!) Maddy does not have the daily, raw rash that she did from disposables. I remember the moment I realized what caused her to be so irritated was those chemical-laden disposables & how guilty & horrible I felt as a mother for continuing to put them on her. My precious preemie was suffering unnecessarily. She has only had a disposable on her a few times since then & each time gets a bad rash, so I know I'm doing what's best for her health by using cloth diapers too. I've learned so much about how dangerous the chemicals in disposables are as well as the horrendous environmental impact all of those single use diapers have. My only regret is that I knew this when Sophie was younger so she could've been in cloth as well.

Throughout this first year, I've learned to use better, more appropriate cloth diaper detergent (so far our favorite is Rockin Green Soap, but we'd love to try others. Not loving the Thirsties prewash & superwash though, probably from our freaking hard water up here.). I've learned how my hubby/parents/etc gladly change pocket or AIO diapers so I stocked up on them. I've learned of some great resources to help learn about cloth diapers & have converted a few friends along the way (check out diaperpin for reviews of many different diapers/wipes/soaps/covers/etc; the diaper pin calculator (calculates your savings over disposables); Green Mountain Diapers for some excellent pictures of babies in prefolds as well as lots of things to read; DiaperSwappers for great deals on used diapers as well as very helpful message boards; and my favorite cloth diaper stores: Moms Milk Boutique, Abby's Lane & Cotton Babies. I love stores that offer free shipping without boosting their prices to insane amounts & offer lots of coupons, codes & deals too. I do have a few other favorites, but nothing I visit regularly. I'm looking forward to visiting a real, stone & mortar cloth diapers store someday soon called Diapers Naturally, but who knows when we'll get around go visiting. lol! Also don't forget to check out Craigslist & freecycle...I've received a LARGE portion of our diaper stash through those two local sites! Yay!

If I had endless $$ to reinvest in an easy, perfect stash, I'd have tons of Nifty Nappy fitted diapers with lots of wool covers (Vilate's hemp fitted diapers are so absorbent that my heavy wetter doesn't leak through at all overnight with them!) & even a few iCandi Knits as she does amazing work. I'd buy a few Bum Genius pocket diapers for when I have others change cloth diapers as well as a few embroidered BottomBumpers because of how trim and awesome they are. I'm loving the bright, bold colors that Fuzzi Bunz makes and of course I'd get a few Green Mountain Diaper prefolds because of the work horse diaper they truly are! I'd also set up a fund to feed my addiction, so I could get new diapers as I discover them and satisfy my love of wanting more cloth diapers. lol!!

Sadly, I've lost some "friends" who turned out to be anything but that over cloth diapers (reread about here), but I feel all that more empowered in my decision to stick with cloth. People are scared of what they don't know. And as in my "friends" cases, they both must feel the guilt for purposely not doing what is best for their sons (in many different situations--not just cloth diapers) and take it out on someone who believes full-heartedly that what she's doing her her children is in their best interest.

I've learned a lot in a year & am so excited to use cloth on Newbie when he arrives. I have his diapers prepped & ready (prefolds, snappis, some fitteds, a few AIO and covers) and I know there's nothing more adorable than a teeny tiny fluffy butt! I hope to help others learn the endless benefits of using cloth & ease them into the transition over. Once you tried the best, you just can't go back! ;o)

2 comments:

  1. happy ONE YEAR!! isn't it fun. i'm going to go back and read your post about losing friends. isn't that ridiculous! my mil is anti cloth but will change it if she 'has' to.

    and on a side note. i am trying to sell two bumgenius one size pockets, if you'd be interested let me know. i'm selling them on our local craigslist: http://appleton.craigslist.org/bab/1707100605.html
    i'd be willing to ship them for you if you're willing to pay shipping. let me know!

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  2. i'm so excited to read about your adventures in cloth diapering, andrea! if i ever get married and have little ones, i hope we'll still be close enough that i can use you as a resource. i'd love to strictly cloth diaper my own wee ones [whenever they come]. i loved reading about how you could see the effect of the disposable diapers with maddie. i had no idea what sorts of chemicals were in those things! thanks so much for this post! and congratulations on "making it" a year.

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