I can do it!

In 2001, when I was pregnant with my first child, J, I looked into using cloth diapers. My only experience with cloth had been babysitting a younger cousin. My teen-age-memories (accurate or not) of changing those diapers were streaked with chemical-smelling diapers and an acrid diaper pail full of who-knows-what. Those memories planted a seed of fear that grew the more I read. I read about wet pails, and dunking and rinsing. I read about Indian prefolds and Chinese prefolds and flat diapers and more acronyms than I could keep straight. I wanted to use cloth diapers, but I was afraid and overwhelmed.

Two and a half years later when my second son came along, I had brief thoughts of switching to cloth, but again was afraid of getting out of the familiar routine. My second son, A wore disposables and suffered from near-constant diaper rash. We tried several different brands of diapers, different brands of wipes, and when he was older, we tried switching to soy milk to see if milk had been causing the rash. In the end, we ended up going through tubes and tubes of diaper rash ointment.

When A was 2 1/2, my husband and I were thrilled to discover we were expecting number 3, also a boy. I was determined to break away from my comfortable routine and do what I had wanted to do five years earlier. I read some more, and this time, found a wonderful website written by Karen Fegelman, full of information that I could relate to.

I’ve had a hard time describing to friends and family my exact reasons for using cloth diapers, and I admit I have told people that I do it because it’s cheaper. It is cheaper, but that has not been my main motivator. I didn't want to tell people I was doing it to "save the planet" because I thought I'd get funny looks (and I have). I feel good about using cloth diapers, and I think that they are less wasteful than disposable, but that has not been my main motivator either. My main motivator is difficult to put into words. Cloth diapering has just felt natural to me.

All I had to do was over come my fear.

From reading Karen’s site, I learned that I wanted to use prefolds, with a cover, and I discovered Snappi’s (which have fascinated my mother, who expected to see pins on my baby’s diaper). I learned that I could wash the diapers at home and that it wasn’t hard or scary. I learned that I could do it.

I switched A to cloth diapers a few months before the new baby, C, was born. Being a three-year-old, he wasn’t thrilled with the new amount of bulk. Cloth diapers are bulkier than disposables, but within a week, it was business as usual. He learned quickly where to position himself when I put the diaper on the floor. Sometimes I think he could diaper himself. He’s learned all the terminology, and best of all, he hasn’t had any diaper rashes. For him, cloth diapers have been a good transition to toilet training.

When C was born, I could hardly wait to use the new cloth diapers I had waiting for him. In my excitement, I ordered 2 dozen preemie diapers thinking that my third son would be small like his brothers. C was over 8lbs, and at birth, was already too big for the preemie diapers to fit well, so I quickly ordered the next size up. Cloth diapering C has been like coming home. It’s something that deep down, I wanted to do, but just didn’t know how.

Allie is a stay at home mom to her three sons, J, A, and C. She is grateful for a husband who shares in the joy and the mess of diapering. She can be reached at greenpeasbaby@gmail.com. Cloth diapering is addicting, and Allie wants to help any one who wants to cloth diaper take that first leap.