Cloth Diapering: To Do Or Not To Do?

Isn't that a lovely photo chronology of Luke's life from birth to present all in diapers? Clearly the child spends the better part of his life in his skivvies, but hey, no qualms about that here. I fully support the (almost) nudist movement.

But, this post is more than just about pictures of diapers. I am here to talk about the poopy business of diapering. Cloth diapering! Dun, dun, dunnnn!

So, cloth diapering: to do or not to do with baby number two?

I've been thinking good and long about it, and I think I am going to give it shot, but before I dive head in to the pooperful world of extra laundry, of course I had to write a blog post about it. Where else am I going to get honest, tried and true feedback? 

Here are my reasons for giving cloth diapering a go:

1) Cost. We spent roughly $1,000 on disposable diapers the first year of Luke's life. I am not sure if that is an average or high cost for disposables (I can't tell you how many clean diapers were wasted from Luke straight up peeing on them and me freaking out, not knowing what to do or thinking to cover the line of fire... I mean, newborns are gifted projectile poopers and pee-ers). According to my research so far, we will spend roughly $500 on cloth diapering for the first year (or less depending if we don't cloth diaper a full year).

2) Diaper rash. Luke had awful diaper rash quite frequently for the first few months of his life. And oh how I hated it! I felt like a terrible mother that was subjecting my child to unnecessary pain and discomfort. His skin was and still is incredibly sensitive (like mine), so I am going to jump the gun on this one and assume the same issues might arise for this next little guy. From what I gather, cloth diapering eliminates diaper rash.

3) Experience. Now that we've jumped through the first-time parent hoops, I kinda sorta know what to expect with a new baby. It's not going to be a foreign, shocking, life-teetering experience like it was the first time around. Sure, it will be new to trod the unbeaten path of life with two kiddos, but I finally (after 18 months) am comfortable with changing diapers at least. I feel prepared and in control of what cloth diapering has to offer (lots and lots of poop handling) and I'm alright with it. Plus, I've always been curious what this whole cloth diapering hullabaloo is all about. And there's only one way to figure that out... just do it! Or in my case... just poo it!

4) This just in! I would like to update that after I spent all night researching more about cloth diapering, I totally failed to recognize how huge the environmentally-friendly aspect of cloth diapering. Obviously it helps, but I didn't connect how much impact just one child in disposable diapers has, let alone two! I found the Cotton Babies site, which is kinda like the cloth diapering holy grail to me now, and it mentioned that one child's soiled disposable diapers will reach the amount of one ton in a landfill. That's just gross. I have decided to try making the switch with Luke. Am I crazy? We'll see how he responds to it! There is no hurt in trying, especially since I will use whatever I buy for him with baby numero dos (and maybe it will make the transition to potty training occur sooner?).

After scouring the baby store selections and searching Amazon high and low, and I think I am going to go for pocket diapering. I could take it completely retro and go the old school cloth diapering route with prefolds and pins like my mom did with eight kids. EIGHT KIDS. Can you believe it? Now that's a lot of poo. But, yeah, I ain't touching that. But, bless your heart, mother. You are tough as nails! Anyway, I have decided on bumGenius pocket diapers. They are simple, cute, and a good price for what seems the most convenient way to cloth diaper (thanks, Amazon!).

Now that you've listened to me blab on and on about this topic, I am turning the mic over to you folks! What say ye about cloth diapering? Yay? Nay? What products do you love or despise? Any tips and tricks I am missing? Spill your poo stories! And I am now officially done saying poop for the 50th time (although it looks like I better get used to it...)