Your reaction to the next sentence will either be that of "good for her" or "good luck with that one." We have decided to use cloth diapers. Seriously.
I have thought about cloth diapers in the past but never really looked too much into it. Since finding out we are pregnant, I have begun looking into it a bit further. I have several friends or acquaintances who have decided to go the cloth route with great success. Yes, there is an extra step or two, but I think it is worth it. Not to mention, the cloth diaper has come a long way.
I looked into a few different types and brands. The top two contenders were the gDiaper and FuzziBunz. I purchased a small starter pack of two gDiapers to see and feel what they were like. I was intrigued. Then, I got to see and feel a FuzziBunz cloth diapers (thank Steph!) It really is tough to base a decision like that without seeing them in person. Seeing the FuzziBunz sold me. They just seemed a lot more durable, functional, and comfortable than the gDiapers. And the people I know who use them, love them.
Some people cloth diaper for economic savings, others for environmental savings. For me, its more of a combination of things. A. One initial investment will provide diapers that will likely serve multiple children instead of spending something like $100 a month for as long as each kid is wearing them. B. I have trouble throwing a can away instead of recycling it... the thought of throwing that many diapers in a landfill to take many, many years to decompose just doesn't sit well. C. I feel like babies are born so pure, and it takes no time before they are fully exposed to the many, many chemicals of the world. I just like the thought of cloth being against their skin rather than that weird super absorbent crap. {No judgement to anyone else for using disposable diapers!!!!}
And I found a great website where I can actually register for the diapers since we already have almost everything we'll need. {For those of you who don't know... I seriously do have almost everything we'll need. Crib, car seat, rocker, bath tub, infant seat, clothes, clothes, and more clothes, changing table, changing pad, sheets, blankets, books, socks, bibs, burp cloths... you get the point. Partly because of our plan to foster, but mostly because I found shopping for baby stuff to be very therapeutic while I was waiting to conceive.} All I need is a stroller, cloth diapers, and the baby!
Yay for CDing! We're doing this, too, and I'm really excited about it. We've been very lucky because we have a local CD shop. It's small and run out of the woman's house, but she's offered CD classes/info sessions, is VERY willing to provide advice, and we get to actually see all kinds of CDs before we buy. One thing that she really stresses is to consider not buying into just one diaper system. Different things work for different babies, so it can sometimes be problematic to go for all one kind of diaper. We're starting with prefolds, fitteds/covers (both Thirsties), and GroBaby diapers. We'll do the prefolds until she gets bigger and then decide where we want to go next. But I already like having variety and feel like we're covering all of our bases. Just a thought!
ReplyDeleteOh, I'll also say, I'm pretty sure CD shopping is addictive - be sure to warn Nathan! ;)