Even before I became pregnant with Owen, I knew that I wanted to try out cloth diapering. It seemed as if cloth diapers were growing in popularity and the options were endless (and a bit overwhelming).
When we found out we were expecting, I told my husband that we were going to cloth diaper. He was a bit hesitant when I first bought up the subject of diapers. After my initial research, I told him that it was a simple concept...wash, wear, repeat. "It's just a few extra loads of laundry each week," I chimed. He was quite skeptical of the washing part. He told me, "Gross, baby poop in the washing machine... that's just gross." I was quick to remind him our washer is no stranger to poop, although it is of the bovine kind [you should see some of his farm clothes some day!].
I don't cloth diaper to prevent rashes, for the cuteness factor, or, even (GASP) to save the environment. The reason I choose cloth is simple: I'm cheap. Brad and I have big dreams to one day own a farm. Farming these days isn't cheap. In fact, limited resources make it difficult to afford getting into the family operation. The first five weeks of Owen's life we used disposables and spent over $100 on diapers that eventually got thrown in the trash. $100 for a little more than a month. Were the disposables convenient? Absolutely. However, our budget didn't really appreciate the $100 per month that essentially ended up in the trash.
I'm quite proud to say I have spend less than $350 on cloth diapering supplies. I have a mixed stash of used and new diapers. I stalked craigslist daily for an excellent source of BumGenius 4.0's. Bum Genius is a great one-size pocket diaper recommended to me by many of my friends and across the internet. After months of waiting, I finally found a seller parting with 16. The quality, quantity, and the price were all right in my book. I added 10 more new BG 4.0's during the Black Friday sales.
My latest addition to the diaper stash was a purchase of a dozen prefolds and three covers (Thirsties Duo and Bummis). The BG 4.0's were just a bit too big in the legs for a couple of weeks (Owen is a skinny little guy). I wasn't sure if I would like prefolds, but at the time Owen just wasn't fitting correctly in the one-size diapers and buying more disposables didn't seem worth it. I've learned that I really do like prefolds. They require a bit more time and knowledge to fold them correctly to ensure a good fit, but overall they rank right up there with my BG 4.0's. I am even tempted to buy some more prefolds in larger sizes once Owen grows up a bit more.
I really enjoy cloth diapering. The three extra loads of laundry each week are really no big deal to me. I loath laundry, but for some reason, doing CD laundry is really kind of fun. Maybe it's because of the colorful array of diapers that come out of the washing machine. Maybe it's because there's no folding (my biggest downfall with regular laundry). Overall, I'd like to recommend cloth diapering to anyone who is looking to save some money.
