Cloth Diapering: Why We're Doing It

Happy Black Friday!  Today is Baby's due date, and since I'm pre-writing this post, I can't even tell you if we've had baby yet or not.  Today, I'm here to talk about cloth diapers. 

After doing a lot of research, like seriously, a lot of research, and then some more research, we followed up with doing some more research.  Finally, we decided that cloth diapering is right for our family.  When people find out, I get three main reactions: "You'll get so sick of the laundry," "I don't have the time to do that," or "WHY?"

I'm here today to tell you why, and also address people's primary concerns.  First up, why:

1. Baby's Skin.  Our baby is genetically predisposed to have sensitive skin, and cloth is much nicer on sensitive skin than disposable.  While cloth-diapered babies can still get diaper rash, it's less common, and when they do, it's less likely to be from the actual diaper (and more likely to be from sickness or something they ate).  

2. Budget.  Caleb would tell you this is the only reason we're cloth diapering.  If you don't believe that it's cheaper, do a quick Google search.  Even using the most expensive cloth diapers is cheaper overall than using the cheapest disposables.  We find this highly motivating.

3. Environment.  I've got to admit, I'm not the most environmentally-concerned person, and if it weren't for reasons 1 and 2, I'd probably just use disposables.  However, it's a bonus that by being cheap and nice to my baby's skin, I also get to be a good steward of God's creation.

4. THEY ARE SO CUTE.  This was not one of my original reasons, but after having a box of 17 adorable diapers come in the mail, I'm about dying of cuteness.  Yes, the cuteness of my baby's poop catchers. :)

Above is when they first came in the mail.  Below is the stash all lined up in the dresser.

A lot of people have concerns about cloth diapering, and I will address those here:

1. "My kid will go to daycare and they don't allow cloth diapers."  Okay, if your kid has to go to daycare, then yeah, you probably can't cloth diaper.  End of story.

2. "I live in a region that is often drought-stricken and can't justify using that much water for laundry."  This is also a legitimate factor, but one that doesn't apply here in the Great Lakes region.

3. "We don't have a washer in our house and have to go to a laundromat."  Again, this is very legitimate.  I probably wouldn't want to cloth diaper if we had to leave the house to do laundry, either.

4. "Cloth diapers are so much work to put on- and all those pins."  Okay, 20 years ago, this was so true, but cloth diapers have come a long way since then.  There are some varieties that are as easy to put on as disposables.

5. "I don't have the time to do that," or "That's too much laundry."  As stated in number 3, there are some varieties that are as easy to put on as disposables.  Cloth diapers only add 1 load of laundry every few days, which doesn't seem to me like it will take a lot of time.  But I also don't hate doing laundry, so this could feel like torture if you hate laundry.

Now, my intentions here are not at all to shame you if you've chosen disposable diapers for your family.  I'm just saying why we chose them, in spite of some valid arguments against them.

And now some more cute pictures.  I pre-washed all the diapers and was pleased to note that our 24 diaper collection (including a wet bag) fits very nicely on our drying rack.  Plus they look so clean and fresh!  (Yes, I am aware that part may not last.)

We have a wet bag hanging in the nursery for collecting the diapers.  The plan is to just take the whole thing to the washer and empty it in.  (The wet bag will get washed every time, too.)

Aren't these monkeys just the cutest?!

Love and Snaps,

Leah Joy

P.S. At some point, I will certainly update you all on how this adventure is going.

P.P.S. We are planning on using newborn-size disposables until Baby is big enough to fit into the one-size cloth diapers.