This January will mark our 1 year anniversary of moving to cloth diapers. I have to admit that I originally made the move kicking and screaming. The idea of cloth seemed so overwhelming to me, and there are so many styles and types that I had no idea where to start. Every time I pulled up a cloth diaper website and saw a $25 diaper, I thought “Oh my god! I would need hundreds of dollars worth just to get through one day!” And then – there was the washing. As a working mom, a full time student, and with 2 kids to take care of with the few hours I was home in a day, did I really need one more thing to add to my To-Do list? No Thanks!
But no matter how many times I talked myself out of it, I kept coming back to the idea. Honestly, the sight of some friend’s babies with their adorabley cloth-clad bottoms made me think that there had to be a way. The cloth diapers were just too stinkin’ cute! (no pun intended.)
Then I stumbled on a cloth diaper package for $37.00, which included pre-folds diapers, Thirsties Covers, and a Snappi. That was a sum I could actually afford, and if I absolutely hated it, it was no big loss. So I decided to take the plunge and order 2 packages along with a few extra covers. One of my playgroup moms even hosted a cloth diaper meeting so I could see all the various styles and methods for putting them on baby. I also spent many days online watching tutorials on how to wash and use pre-folds, and by the time the diapers came I was ready to hit the ground running.
As it turned out, I loved using the cloth. They were easy to get on and washing them was not nearly the complicated chore I had envisioned. I loved how my sons looked in them, and I felt really good about not filling up landfills anymore. The husband was very happy with my purchase too, and our only regret was that we had waited until our second son was 8 months old to make the switch.
When I do something, I like to do all or nothing. I told myself that if we were going to make the switch, then we would never, ever buy disposables again. I wasn’t sure how realistic this was, but this thinking was more a financial one than some grand conviction. I just wanted to make sure that I got 24/7 use out of this. It was hard to convince my husband that moving to cloth would be cheaper in the long run anyway, so I felt pressure to keep my word.
But 3 weeks in, I realized that as well as the cloth diapers were working during the day, overnight was really a different story. They never leaked, but after 12 hours straight in the same diaper, the boys woke up smelling absolutely awful. Sometimes my younger child woke up only crying only because he was too wet and needed a change. That got me pretty down about the whole process, but I talked to some friends and realized that sometimes overnight is a pretty tall order for a cloth diaper, at least the kind I had, so some of them used disposables at night instead. I decided to cut myself a break and buy some disposables just for bedtime use only. That turned out to be just what the doctor ordered, and it made me feel so much better about taking on cloth mostly full time.
Our family went from using around 10-12 disposable diapers a day, to using only one per night for each boy. The whole transition was relatively painless, and I would encourage anyone interested to give it a try. Whatever obstacles you may believe exist, chances are, there’s a simple, easy solution. We’re saving money, the diapers are adorable, and we feel really good about limiting our contribution to the local landfill.
So how did you make the switch? I want to hear all about it.
I started using cloth two months ago and haven't regretted it. I was also overwhelmed by all the options, and then discovered there is a mom who sells cloth out of her home here in town. She sells pre-folds and covers, so I went with those because they were the least expensive start-up, my money stayed local, AND I supported a small business run by a mom. Like you, we use disposables at night.
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