Cloth Diapers

When I was pregnant for Jonah, my husband and I looked into cloth diapers. We were overwhelmed with the sheer volume of options available today. Gone are the days when you just need several yards of fabric, some pins, a few plastic covers and a diaper pail. No, today there are soooo many kinds to choose from. There are flats (like my mom used on my siblings and myself), pre-folds, and so many other choices. There is also organic choices. There are wet bags, there are liners, doublers, different kinds of covers....and the price adds up quite fast. Now that Jonah is 7 months old, we are getting close to being able to afford to make the switch to cloth.

I KNOW it is a lot of work, I am prepared for that, I don't mind doing laundry more often, I enjoy folding my son's clothing, I love making sure everything is ready to be used. Often when I know we are going somewhere, I will get Jonah's bag ready right away, even a week in advance. I rest easy knowing he is ready, otherwise I will think about it all the time. Who am I kidding? I think about what he will need anyway, I just keep going over a mental checklist, making sure I didn't forget anything.

I feel sick when I think about what we have done to the earth, how much damage we have done and I wish I could do more. Cloth diapering would be doing more, a LOT more. Yes, it uses more water because you do laundry more often, but when you weigh it against the damage that disposable diapers are doing to the environment....using more water is not that bad. Also, Jonah is very fair and has quite sensitive skin. He gets red marks from the smallest things, his eyes get beet red when he sneezes, cries, gets tired, or coughs. He has dermatitis/eczema, so we have had to alter the creams, lotions, and soaps we use for him. When he had a strange mark on his eye, it was deemed an allergic reaction to something in the air. I think that cloth diapers may just be better for him.

I wanted to use a kind that would be more affordable, but simple. We are trying out flats (cotton/flannel cloth folded in the oragami fold) but I don't like how bulky they make his bottom look. I have just learned about contoured or fitted cloth diapers and think that that will be the way to go.