When I found out I was pregnant, I started thinking about cloth diapers. I don’t even remember why, but I thought I wanted to use them. At the time, I didn’t know much more than prefolds because my mom had used those and flat birdseye for me and my sister (30+ years ago!). I started doing some research and found Fuzzi Bunz. Originally, that’s what I thought we’d use. But, we went to Babies Bottoms and More in Dallas, TX, to see what all was out there. The sales person showed my husband (a semi-willing participant) and me all the options, including prefolds & covers, pockets and all in ones. In the end, we decided on prefolds because they were cheapest and we could use them to stuff pockets, should we ever decide to go that route. We bought 24 infant prefolds and 4 x-small Thirsties covers (in gender neutral colors because we didn’t know if we were having a boy or girl).
We prepped the diapers and waited. When our daughter was 1 month old, we started using cloth. (We moved when she was 11 days old, so disposables were much simpler for the first month!) I’ve loved not having to buy disposables all the time, like we did for the first month. I’ve continued using the prefolds (up to the premium size) and Thirsties covers (up to mediums now!) and I still like them.
In March, I won the Fluff Friday contest and won a
bumGenius one size diaper fleece in ribbit, a bumGenius one size diaper snaps in grasshopper, a Blueberry one size Deluxe Diaper in Green aplix and bumGenius Babylegs in Sweet Greens. (I had just bought a bumGenius one size diaper in grasshopper from DiaperSwappers when I found out I won!) I like the one size because they always fit. I have had pilling issues with the fleece diapers because I wash them with my prefolds. However, they still hold in the mess!I kept entering cloth diaper giveaways and was surprised to find out that, in October, I won again! I won a Baby Beehinds One Size Hemp Diaper, a Baby Beehinds One Size Bamboo Diaper, and Baby Beehinds Wool Cover. I love these for overnight because they are much trimmer than double prefolds or even fully stuffed pockets. I’m slowly using fewer inserts to see just how trim I can get it without leaking.
Since receiving my pocket diapers, my husband has told me that he’d help out with diapers more if we had more of “those that go on like ‘regular’ (disposable) diapers.”
So, when I found some HuggaBuns pockets on clearance for $5 at Maine Cloth Diaper Co., I jumped on it. I bought 4 for just $25, including shipping.
Through the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt, I found Diaper Discussions. They have a Pimp My Stash giveaway each week, so I started entering. Just a couple weeks later, I found that I’d won there too. I won a Happy Heiny's Onesize Diaper. I love that the suedecloth doesn’t pill!
Also, now that I have pockets, I’ve decided to start using cloth when we’re out and about. (I bought a Planet Wise wet/dry bag to use when we’re out instead of the plastic grocery bags I’d been using!)
My sister loved using my pockets when we were home for Thanksgiving, calling them “cheater diapers” and said that she might consider cloth diapers when she has kids, now that she’s tried more than just my prefolds!
In total, we’ve spent just over $450 on cloth and only $175 on disposable in the last 19 months since my daughter was born. Considering we won't have to spend much more on cloth for another baby, I'd say it's well worth the investment!
Reader Submitted Article by
Heather
babyratliff.blogspot.com
