Becoming Crunchy

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Not long after the Bean was born, a friend asked me about what kind of cloth diapers I use.

I was so excited that she was interested that I sent her this crazy long, detailed e-mail with all the benefits of cloth diapers, what kinds are good to buy, all of the savings you can have, etc. etc.

The funny thing was, she was only asking me because she wanted to buy one for me as a gift and wanted to subtly make sure she was getting the right brand!

After laughing at myself and being a little embarrassed, I came to realize I am something of a zealot about cloth diapering (I know – aren’t there enough of them out there?)

And I’ll admit…I occasionally feel a small amount of superiority when I’m changing the Bean’s butt in a public washroom, but I also accept that that’s dumb. And the real reason I like to talk about them a lot is because I find them so exciting! (Hey, I’m a mom – poop conversations are a regular and important topic).

I was just thinking about it this afternoon because we have actually been using disposables for the past few days due to the awesomeness of our washing machine breaking. :p We’ve bought the PC Green brand, which work really well and are surprisingly affordable for green diapers – but the garbage! I can go for more than a week without the wastebaskets in my bedroom and the living room being full, but from just 2 days of disposables they are both overflowing.

Even if you don’t care about the environment, you still have to deal with all that trash.

Cloth diapering was actually another non-consideration for me before the Bean came along. I wasn’t against it or anything…I just didn’t even think about it. But then I started reading about other people who were using them, and seeing all the different kinds, and I decided to try it out.

I dragged hubby along to a cloth diaper workshop just so we could get all the confusing terminology worked out and see some of the actual products in person. I don’t think he was ever to thrilled about the idea, but he is mainly obliging to me, and the point of how much money we would save did draw him in.

I decided to start basic – with prefolds. Both because they were super cheap as far as cloth diapers go, and the place where I bought them said they used them all the time and they were wonderful.

They were a disaster!

The minute I put them on the Bean, she leaked right through…over and over again. I tried about 5 different folds. I had it suggested to me that my perhaps my daughter produced an exceptional amount of urine. I cried and got angry and wondered if I should give up.

But I just didn’t want all of those chemicals on the Bean’s bum all the time, so I convinced hubby to give it one more try. This time I got recommendations from a friend, and read the reviews before purchasing – and I ended up choosing Flip diapers by Cotton Babies, which I continue to be a fan of as some of the easiest and most economical cloth diapers out there.

Cloth diapering is surprisingly easy too – it wasn’t very fun for about a week, and then it became habit. I know I’m saving money, I’m protecting my daughter’s tushie, and I am doing good things for the environment (I swear they even help her sleep better at night!)

So all this to say – if you’re interested in the idea at all, give it a try! There are sites out there that rent out different cloth diapers so you can give them a try; you can buy them used on Kijiji…and if the first one isn’t the right one for you, there may still be one out there that works. And remember – these are not your mama’s cloth diapers – so don’t be afraid to check them out!

And let me know if you have any questions about the whole thing – I’ll do the best I can to help out.

Disclaimer: I do not receive any money from Cotton Babies or any other diaper company; I am simply recommending the brand because I have tried them and I like them.

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