David and I (well, I guess it was mainly me, with a hesitant approval from him), decided that we would use cloth diapers for this child. After speaking with several friends who cloth diaper and love it, and doing some of my own research, I decided I'd like to give it a shot. Not that David and I are "hippies" or "tree huggers", but we do like to do our part to protect the environment - "so we can hunt the animals that live there" as my manly man says (cuz that makes it okay to recycle and conserve energy without being told to do so). And since I'm not earning an income, I like to save as much money as possible. I can't give you the exact savings, but I've spent a grand total of $340 on 15 diapers (2 of which I can use multiple times before having to wash), 40 cloth wipes, 1 large and 2 medium wet bags (for holding/transporting dirty diapers), and 2 containers of detergent that will last me approximately 6 months. Sure, I have to do more laundry, but having 15 diapers allows me to wash every other day or every third day - and what's one load of laundry every other day?? It's not like you have to fold the things! So I anticipate saving a good $1,000+ on diapers and wipes by the time Naomi is potty trained - and the bonus... cloth diapered children supposedly potty train earlier than other kids! Hooray! We'll see how true that turns out to be.
Naomi's first cloth diaper
I admit, I was a bit apprehensive about this whole idea, especially because these diapers seemed so HUGE even on their smallest setting.
She is 2 1/2 weeks old in this picture. We were waiting until her cord fell off to start using cloth because the rise on the diaper looked like it would cover her cord, and we didn't want to do that. Well, I decided to try it anyway (there's no time like the present, right?), and it turns out that the cloth do just fine. Her cord still hasn't fallen off yet... but we're getting close.
I think she's okay with it.
We've been at it for nearly 2 weeks now, and everyone seems good with the new routine. Kinda makes me wish I would've thought about cloth with Grace. The extra laundry doesn't bother me - like I said, I don't have to fold them, just hang the covers to dry, and wash/dry all the inserts. Then stuff 'em and snap 'em and you're ready for the next round. David says he doesn't know how he feels about doing this once she starts on "solid" food, and truthfully, neither do I, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, and I'm sure we'll get over just fine, after all, this family is all about learning new things - whether it be learning about a new home, country, or something simple like diapers! :)
