Cloth Diapers - my new shopping addiction!

We couldn't be happier with our decision to cloth diaper.  It all started with a Facebook page suggested by a friend and a little bit of research.  The chemicals used to make disposable diapers result in a byproduct called dioxins, listed by the US Environmental Protection Agency as a highly carcinogenic chemical.  And that is just the beginning.  Check out other gross stuff in diapers and the effect on the environment HERE.  The bottom line for us was that we didn't want all those chemicals against our baby's skin and know that all those diapers in a landfill cannot be a good thing. 

Then there's the cost.  An average of $1,600 is spent to diaper a child for two years in disposables - and you know children aren't potty trained at two!  That doesn't include the cost of wipes either (and the chemicals in those - yuck!).   So far, we've spent $300 on cloth diapers, cloth wipes plus a few accessories and we'll probably spend $200 -$400 more to complete our stash.  That would be $700 max to diaper our child until he's out of diapers!  Oh wait - and then there's the fact that we can use these for future children (okay, probably future child).  That's quite the savings! 

The different choices in cloth diapers were a little overwhelming at first, and it does take some time to figure out what works best for your family.  We definitely were intimidated and used disposables for the first week Jack was born. Then we started with prefolds and fitted diapers that needed a waterproof cover since that's what fit him best as a newborn.  I'll admit, we had to watch several YouTube videos to get it figured out.  We've just started using our All in Ones now that Jack is a little bigger, which are adjustable from 10lbs - 35lbs+.  Our favorite brands are Fuzzibunz, BumGenius and Grovia.  They are so easy to use!

I know you're probably curious about washing them.  Because we use cloth diapers and wipes, we throw everything into a trash can with a lid by the diaper changing table (why did we buy that Diaper Genie again?!?).   Since breast milk is water soluble there is no rinsing of poop in the toilet at this point, but yes, we will have to shake out poop in the toilet in the future.  Every other day I do a load of diapers and wipes, but could probably do every 3rd day now that we have a bigger stash.

Now the fun part - they are cute!!  You wouldn't believe the options, styles, colors and prints available!  In the picture below, Jack is wearing the Grovia All in One with airplanes!

It's been way to much fun shopping for them too - and the cloth diaper community has a wealth of information.  My favorite website so far is Diaper Junction and I spent hours on their Cloth Diaper blog.  It's a great starting point.

Like all decisions we've made in regards to our son, I hope other new parents will at least make an educated decision regarding diapers rather than just choose disposables because that's what most everyone else does.  Give cloth a try!!