Cloth diapering

    Recently, I was in line at Babys R Us and a young couple, obviously expecting a child, was checking out in front of me.  They had a tower of disposable diapers in their cart, and their total came to well over $300!  A small part of me wanted to scream at them, "you should look into cloth!  You could nearly diaper your child from birth to potty training with that much money!"  So that price is a small exageration, but it really does ring true!  You can diaper your baby from birth through potty training for a fraction of the cost of disposables!  If for no other reason, you should look into it!  Help me spread the word!  Everyone knows someone who has a baby!  For me, it has become a small obsession to shop for, research, and spread the good word about cloth diapering.  But I have to be honest, it wasn't always this way for me.  I used disposable diapers for Lilly and never batted an eye.  Even when battling rashes that were obviously caused by a particular brand of diaper, I never even considered cloth.  Why?  Because I was uninformed.  I am convinced if two things changed, everyone (or nearly everyone) would be using modern cloth diapers.  1)  Information.  If people were informed about the whats, why's and hows of cloth, everyone would choose cloth over disposable.  and  2) Accessibility.  A friend offered to let me borrow a few cloth diapers and try them out, which convinced me to get some of my own.  And for the most part, cloth is only purchasable online.  This makes it difficult to convince someone to try it because its hard to think of making an investment without trying it out in person first.
There are so many reasons why I love cloth, and I think at least one of each of those reasons can speak to every mom.  They are environmentally friendly, cost effective, better for baby and stinkin' adorable (pun intended)!  For me, cost was a huge plus.  I started cloth diapering Ryley at 14 months old and my diapers still paid for themselves in about 5 months time.  She still uses cloth at night, and occasionally during naps, so it has been a huge savings for us.  Now, I have a stash of cloth diapers ready to go for baby #3!  I won't lie, I will probably buy a few new diapers after we find out the sex of the baby, but I know I will be saving a ton in money and for mother earth.  I know lots of moms are skeptical about cloth, and I was too, but it has been one of the best choices and changes I have made as a parent.  I would LOVE to answer anyone's questions about switching to cloth, and remember, its not too late even if you don't have a small baby! 

   Here are some cool links to check out with more info about cloth.  This first link is a blog post about the cost savings of cloth diapering.

 http://serwachic.blogspot.com/2009/07/are-cloth-diapers-really-cheaper-than.html

This is a three part series put together by my friend Krista at The Playdate Crashers.  It REALLY breaks down some of the questions, concerns, costs, etc about cloth!  Krista was the "friend" I mentioned earlier in the post that let me borrow a few cloth diapers to give it a try!  I will always be thankful to her for that!

http://www.playdatecrashers.com/?tag=cloth-diapers

This blog is titled "Why I went cloth, and you can too!"  Very relatable!

http://www.theclothdiaperwhisperer.com/2010/08/why-i-went-cloth-and-you-can-too.html

  Now for some pictures!  Here are some adorable shots of my Ryley bug in her prized diapers! 

(Raspberry Knickernappies pocket diaper)

(Blue Stars Kawaii pocket diaper)

And here are my baby nephews Jude to the left, Pax to the right.  Jude is modeling a gray gdiaper and Pax a brown Fuzzibunz pocket diaper.

Last but not least, my adored "stash" of diapers pretty-ing up my laundry line!