Two nights now I’ve dreamt about cloth diapers. Cloth diapering. Cloth wipes. Diaper sprayers. Why did I buy the orange pail liner when it’s not even in his room, it’s in my bathroom? And, “What if I can’t stop buying covers they are so cute?” I even stayed up late working on a cost analysis chart in excel. Let’s just say that if I use these diapers for one year, they are worth it. Two years, definitely worth it. But you have to be careful. A small stash of diapers (everyday wash plus a few for emergencies) is worth it for use on one kid if you use them for one year. A bigger stash of diapers will be worth it for one kid if you use them for two years, and definitely if you use them for more than one kid. But if you go crazy buying diapers and covers and then use them for a year or less, or don’t use them on more than one child, you are going to break even or even exceed the money you’d spend on disposables. Seriously. Obsessed.
Both my mother and my husband have expressed concern over the level of interest/obsession I’m getting into with all of this. I think it’s time to make a decision and be done with it.
The prefolds I bought are too small to fit around my baby. Which is uber annoying and will delay full-time cloth diapering until I can get the ones I ordered today, an assortment of AIOs and fitteds, with two extra covers. I also got some wipes. I may, at some time, get some more prefolds, but honestly, I think I might just box up the ones I have now and save them for the next baby. Prefolds seem easier to learn when you’re baby isn’t trying to roll over, bite you, and crawl into the shower saying, “BAP? BAP? at 6am. Fitteds and AIO’s it is.
I had a talk with a friend of mine last night, and she helped ease the stress some. I figured out what to get, I got the Dream-Eze AIO’s she likes, because they make sense. I read the reviews online, and I’m SO GLAD I talked to her and found these. I still didn’t order as many as I would have liked, though, in order to be frugal, and to make sure they really do work for me. Then I got some bamboo BumGenius fitteds, and I’m excited about them. They were what I was going to get originally, and I think they will make up the bulk of my diaper stash since AIO’s are a wee expensive, and because covers are just so darn cute. I like the BumGenius sizing better, too. The Dream-Eze AIO’s sizes are compatible with my Camper, but their fitteds are less so. The BumGeuius has a range that he’ll fit into for awhile, so I feel more comfortable spending the money knowing that he’ll get some good time in them.
So when they get here, I will resume the cloth diapering. Hopefully within a week.
And that it is for now, I think all other cloth diapering info will be relegated to my review site, because YO, you are BORED OF READING THIS. And I could go on for weeks if I let myself.
Except for one piece of advice:
If you are going to start cloth diapering, don’t take advice from someone who hates the kind of diapers you want to try. I got my prefolds from a woman who said, and I quote, “I hate prefolds,” and wonder of wonders…she sold me some that are too small for my baby. My friend who loves them, however, and has big babies like me, knows where to get them so that they work well. I should’ve talked to her FIRST, but that’s life I guess. The same goes with all the other types. Find someone who loves what they use, and ask/read about those.
