Cloth Diapering

I remember researching cloth diapering before we had Matthew and thinking, who in the world would be crazy enough to want to use cloth diapers?!?  To start with, they are expensive, they add more laundry and to top if all off, they are really just all around kinda gross.  

It's funny how your perspective can change with some experience... and I'm excited to report that we've made the switch to cloth diapers!  A friend is doing it with her daughter and loves it... after researching it again (after having Luke) and subsequently talking with her, we decided to jump in feet first!  Here are some of the reasons we decided to switch...

• Disposable diapers are expensive too!   With two kids in diapers, we were spending between $60 and $80 per month buying 'sposies (that's how the cloth diapering mamas in the online community refer to them).
• Our sitter doesn't do trash pickup, but instead does a lot of recycling and burns whatever is left over and since plastic diapers don't burn, they sent them home with us... that left us with close to 12 (or sometimes even 15) dirty diapers to get rid of at the end of the day... since I vehemently refused to buy a separate trash can for diapers (aka "The Diaper Genie") they have always gone in our kitchen trash... which wasn't a big deal with one kid, but now with two - it's stinky and gross.
• Back to the comment about plastic diapers not burning in a fire... got me to thinking about how they don't disintegrate well in a landfill either...
• Then there is the issue of getting the diapers to your house.  When we just had one in diapers, it wasn't a big deal to buy the large (and more economical) box at Sam's Club - the problem is that it's hard to fit two economical size boxes in a mid-size sedan in addition to two car seats and other goodies from said shopping trip.  Since that wasn't going so great, I tried Amazon Mom for a few months, but there is hassle with that too... you have to go in month to month to validate your monthly shipment will contain the right sizes and then if you're running short with your supply at home you have to go out to get a small bag of diapers to hold you over or you try to move up your shipping date if you have enough time...  With cloth diapers, you just throw them in the washer and use again.  No biggie.

Even after deciding to make the switch, it was still a bit intimidating!  There are so many diapers out there to choose from.  My friend was using the Bumgenius 4.0's and she recommended the snaps instead of the velcro (or Aplix as it's actually termed) so that's exactly what we went with.  They adjust shorter or longer and wider or narrower based upon the broad weight range of 5 to 35 pounds. From what I've read, one diaper should be good for a few years and the more you have in your rotation, the longer they last.  We currently have close to 45 diapers and the vast majority of them I purchased in lots on eBay.  I was able to find a few sellers who used the diapers for only a week or so and decided they didn't like cloth diapering - since you wash in hot water and use detergent, I wasn't fearful of buying them used and am happy to say all of the used diapers we purchased are really nice and were very clean when they arrived (most of them were in like-new condition).  I have since bought a few "Bummis" from the Bots Tots line - because they are sold by a local baby goods store and also because they come in some of the cutest prints (I even found one with brown cows!!!!) 

In addition, I've heard that it can be harder sometimes to potty train individuals with Down syndrome so if Luke does need to be in diapers longer, this will be a nice way in the long run for us to save money from having to buy diapers for an extended period.  Best of all, these colorful little "dipes" (another cloth diapering slang term I've recently added to my vocabulary) are so fun to put on and take off our little people!  They definitely make changing a diaper way more cheerful and happy!