Two kinds of women...

I've determined there are two types of women in the cloth diaper world…the moms who use cloth strictly to save money and help the environment, and then the moms who started there…but then became obsessed hoarders who call diapers their pretties. I'm one of the crazy ones.

In reality, you can start off with about 2 dozen diapers and wash every other day. So if you're starting your research, consider buying 24 diapers and do the math that way. As you can see in my previous post…I didn't start there. I became obsessed long before I even had a butt to cover.

24 diapers is a good count for a newborn, that takes into account changing 12 diapers a day. As babies get older, you don't need to change them that often; they sleep through the night, they take a long nap, and you can change them every 2 hours in the time they are awake.

So why do I have more diapers with an 18 month old than I did with a newborn? Because I have issues…because I found a brand I love and she keeps making new prints, and I MUST have them. My motto, BUY ALL THE DIAPERS!

I will not admit the current count in fear my husband will ask me to sell some, and there's no such thing as a final count until there's no chance of diapering another kid. Any other crazies out there totally know where I'm coming from.

I would like to point out that the only reason my hoarding has become acceptable in our house is because of one thing I pointed out earlier, RESALE. My favorite brand has a very high resale value, this because these are not mass produced diapers. They are made in the US by a mom who wanted to make the perfect diaper…she did a pretty good job if you ask me and all of us crazy women who stalk her page every other week for a stocking. More on this later!

These aren't your grandmother's rubber pants!

first off, thanks for good friend for the title of this one :)

So once people move past the crap and the costs…they thinks pins and plastic pants. Not quite…
Another big show stopper for people interested in cloth is the sheer magnitude of what's out there today. There are SO many options. Here's a quick list…

The Easiest/Most like Disposables: All-in-Ones (AIO)
These bad boys are a one stop show. They go on, the go off, they go in the wash, they go back on. Imagine a disposable made of not-paper. NO different minus the trash part.

My Favorite: Ragababe Easy All-In-One (I'll explain why later)
Second Favorite: Bummis Tots Bots Easy Fits
Easy to Buy Brands: Tots Bots and Bumgenius (Elemental and Freetime)

Maybe the Most Popular Type: Pockets
These diapers are two parts; one part cover with a 'pocket' and one part insert, which goes into said pocket.
Lots of people like these because they wash and dry easy and are affordable. You can't reuse any part of this system but they are popular nonetheless.
The downside…you have to stuff diapers. Lots of people find this annoying. I like diaper laundry but I still don't like pockets.

Popular Brand: Bumgenius 4.0

My Favorite Choice: All-In-Two's (AI2)
These are also a two part system and unlike pockets, the cover is reusable! There are different brands out there but the same concept applies; an absorbent insert lies inside the covers, gets dirty, you change it out and put a clean one in next time.
I like these so I can match outfits throughout the day and not have to have 10 of the same print/color!

Con: These can confuse people. I don't send these to daycare and my husband doesn't quite get the idea to reuse covers, but he does use and vouch for the awesomeness of cloth, so we can only ask for so much!

Favorite Brand: Hands down, Ragababe 2-Steps.
Easiest to Buy, More Affordable Option: Flip by Bumgenius (their organic inserts for sure)

Fitted's & Covers
I still haven't gotten around to loving these, although they are quite popular! The concept is a two a part system, a fitted diaper is a soft diaper that is all around absorbent. Then you put the waterproof cover OVER the fitted. The thing I don't get is that the fitted diapers are SUPER cute and then you cover it…so that's where I get lost.
This is a pricey option. Fitteds are the cost of a diaper and then you need covers. You can reuse the covers though so that's a plus!

The Most Difficult/Kinda What You Had in Mind: Prefolds & Covers
This is along the lines of what you were thinking. Prefolds are a sqaure-ish fabric you can wrap about baby's rear and pin to hold it in place. Modern technology has created options to hold these into place without the danger of stabbing your baby with a sharp object (Snappies are the most popular).

This is also the most cost efficient. Prefolds can be bought but the dozen for great prices. Covers are re-usable between changes so you don't need one for every diaper change.

These also have the biggest learning curve. Wrapping a square-ish fabric around your baby in a way that will contain the contents of said baby can be WAY harder than you thought. By the time I found my favorite diaper…I had finally learned how to do this.

I know there are some other kinds out there, but these are the main things you'll run into and have questions about!

My stash!? AIO's and AI2's. I send AIO's to daycare so it's nice and easy. I use 2-steps at home so I can keep covers in rotation all day to match outfits and change it up as I wish.

It's all about the Benjamins.

Okay, so based on the title, I've pretty much nailed down my generation! So be it.

A lot of people who even consider cloth are seriously deterred by the up front costs. Yes, it costs more to buy 2-3 years worth of diapers at one time then over the course of those years…but here's some insight.

SO…you're the majority of the public. You'd rather spread the cost over 2-3 years, spending $20 at a time. Makes sense, it's how we buy homes, cars, etc.

The average cost for disposables is $2500-$3000 for the time your kid is in diapers.
Let me be very clear, you will NEVER see that money again. Why would I say that? Oh because little unknown fact…you can sell your cloth diapers when you're done.
OH-M-GEE!!! GROSS!!! HA! I can hear you now!
Guess what?! There is a huge underground market for USED cloth diapers! Yep! Just like anything else, you can wash it and sell it.

As a buyer, you can save a TON of up front costs buying used. Speaking of being the buyer…you'd probably like to know what these up front costs are that I mentioned in the beginning…right!?
Understandable.
So…you can make it what you want. This means, you can buy used prefolds and covers for something like $100 and go about your happy self.
Or, you can go buy the Cadillac of diapers and spend over $1000 right from the get-go.
Even with the most expensive diapers, you aren't hitting the mark for disposables. AND YOU CAN SELL THEM!
When you're done with cloth, you can re-coup some costs! Some brands hold their value better than others, but no matter what, you can sell them! eBay, Craigslist, Facebook…there are groups everywhere for you to lean on.

Yes, there are other costs involved in cloth diapering. You do need to do a few extra loads of laundry a week, so there is water and detergent and energy…there are lots of charts online you can look at to get very specific cost comparisons. These aren't necessarily up-front costs seeing as they are spread out over time…but you get my point.

My recommendation:  register for it!!! Talk to your friends and family and let them help get you started :) One of my very close friends bought me the start of my stash, she mostly bought them out of sheer curiosity but hey! she contributed and it helped a lot! Register at your local store that sells cloth, an online store…get gift cards, whatever! Every little bit  helps :)

Let's be real.

So…you know about me, my family, my first stash shot…lets be honest, people don't want to deal with crap. That's the FIRST thing people ask me about when they learn I use CD's.

Let me explain something to you…you know what started this entire blog creation today?!!?
I saw a picture on Facebook, two actually, a mom posted two photos of her and her baby, both COVERED in baby poop. He's a little guy, a month or so old. Her shirt was trashed, baby was a mess and you could see his disposable diaper in the picture.

I had this happen with my son, not to that degree BUT, he went through his fair share of outfits blowing out diapers.

Guess what, I've had two kids, fed them the same stuff…NEVER, yep, NEVER happened with our daughter. Why?! Because cloth is awesome.

So…back to the beginning, people don't consider CD's because they'd have to deal with crap. Well guess what folks? You're dealing with it one way or another.

Would you rather wear it?! Or wash it!?

People say "you put poop in your washing machine?!!!!!" with a disgusted look on their face…
what in the world do you think that mother on Facebook today did with her shirt and the baby's shirt?
what did I do with all my son's shirts?
ACTUALLY, I put less poop in my washer with CD's because I have purchased a lovely invention called a diaper sprayer! So that mom who threw those crap covered clothes into the washer put more poop in then my dirty diapers.

Diaper sprayer? What's that? It's genius and you shouldn't CD without it. Here's one and in the little image in the background, you can sort of get the concept. It puts crap where it belongs.

All these people are worried about recycling, keep stuff out of landfills, buying more gas efficient cars to save the ecosystem, using re-usable bags…

So why don't they consider one of the biggest contributors to landfills? According to the EPA, disposable diapers take centuries to decompose in landfills and one baby will go through 8,000 of them!!!! ONE KID! And even more…who else puts human waste into the ground?! We even pick up our dog's poop but we'll bury our kids?! Think about it…

Where I started.

So as stated above, I have two kids. Only one had the luxury of cloth diapers. Yep, I am going to write all this blah blah blah jazz on CD's and only used them for one of two kids. Being a first time mom and learning about CD's with no support would have been really tough. We had enough going on, I don't think I could have swung it. I always wanted to use them, but never took that jump.

Then came baby #2. We discussed having a nanny and that was my push to use cloth. Figuring I'd be home for a few months and the nanny would be home versus daycare, AND it was baby #2, I knew what I was doing…seemed like the perfect scenario.

I am known to do extensive research into anything before buying it. I spent months picking out the best car seat, stroller, pack n play…you name it…for our son. When I was pregnant with our daughter, I had all that stuff, so I had LOTS of time to research and educate myself on cloth.

I live in a pretty big city, and we have ONE store that carries cloth diapers. These ladies helped me a ton, they recommended great brands and taught me a lot of what I try to teach others. Maybe one day I can blog for them…

I also spent a lot of time in online CD groups, various websites with LOTS of info. It's overwhelming, most people give up when they realize all the options, the learning curve, the cost…they just use what's easy…what they know.

The most important thing I learned was to buy various brands and give them all a try. My first stash was crazy! I had so many options and it was fabulous!

for those of you reading that are interested…there are some newborn all-in-ones (NB AIO), lots of pocket diaper, AIO's, prefolds and covers.

Brands appear to be:

Bumgenius, Fuzibunz, Bummis/Tots Bots, Thirsties and some others I can't remember off hand.

I can say over a year later, one of those brands is still in my house! 

Anyway, while I recommend this option for choices, I had no one to sit me down and tell me everything. I want to be that person for other people. I want to come to meet you, explain things honestly with my experience, show you in person what all this stuff is and how it works.

We all have to start somewhere, right?!

I've spent a lot of time lately thinking about educating the public on cloth diapers…I recently posted in a private Facebook group about my desires which led to this…a blog. We'll see where we can go with it but its a start!

So me…I'm a mom of two little kids and married to my own entrepreneur following our dreams.

Our son is your typical 3.5 year old boy, "A" is simultaneously a sweet, loving soul who will melt your heart with kindness and consideration…and turn around and defy every rule while you ask yourself "What time is bed time and where's the wine?"
Our daughter is 1.5;  "M" is a girly girl. She's a drama queen who stops whatever she's doing to dance when she hears any music then the one who will drop down on the floor of any grocery store to pitch a fit because she didn't get her way.
My husband…he's making his own path in the world. He is following our dreams and making our lives easier by working his way up the Corporate ladder, all the while starting his own business to grow what we believe it a wonderful fitness regime, more on this later.
Me…I am FT working mom/wife to all of the above.

So…enough about me. That's not the important part.

Depending on where you live…any, all or none of the following is true.
Here in the Mid-Atlantic…

...Most of us recycle. In our area, if you don't you're simply not putting forth the effort…ok, you're lazy. They make it REALLY easy. Throw all your stuff that is recyclable (or not, they'll take care of it), in a different trash can. Put it out our on a different day. I'll go into this another day.

...75% of my friends are concerned about being healthy and take daily steps to keep themselves healthy/healthier. They eat clean, work out, or both…the other ones post pictures of cheese covered pretzel bites and comment "#crossFit" or something of the like.
…Lots of people use re-usable grocery bags.

…lots of my friends are into making their own laundry detergent and cleaning supplies, removing chemicals from their home as much as possible.

…one…yep…ONE of my friends uses cloth diapers. Seriously?!

Again, some parts of the country are different. I know places that don't recycle at all but lots more people use cloth diapers. I really feel like cloth diapers (CD's…I'm not tying this out 400 times) are going to be totally mainstream at some point…just when?

This blog is my attempt to educate the public, on how EASY, CLEAN, and CUTE CD's are.