So I cloth diaper my four month old. Cloth diapering is pretty normal now to many I think, but in the rural area where I live, I might as well tell people that I wrap my daughter's hindparts in leaves and mud cakes. When I tell lots of people, they immediately ask "why." To my family, it is mostly a question of cost. My husband, who is incredibly frugal, likes cloth diapering A LOT. The day after my daughter was born, Matt walked into my hospital room with this huge smile on his face. When I asked him what was up, he said "You know, I think I'm going to really like this cloth diapering thing." It soon came out that on the way home the night before (it was an hour drive home from the hospital--told you we lived in the boonies!) he had figured out the price of disposables for two and a half years versus the price of cloth diapers and he was very pleased!
For me personally though, it is a question of comfort. I know that I would not want to wear paper underwear around for two years, so I wouldn't think that Alice would either. The cloth diapers we have are super plush and super comfy looking. To me, they just look better for a baby. Plus, I think they are super cute and fun--and to me, aesthetics means a lot!
I used disposables for both of my older children. When Gabby was born 10 years ago, I was very young, and although I wanted to cloth diaper (my mom had used cloth with me, and I had heard her tell people about it over the years), I didn't have the knowledge or time to track down something that was not readily available in my rural area. When Sam was born, I was in college, and I just didn't think--went right with the disposables. The only issues I had with disposables were the comfort issues and then the fact that I didn't like the way that they smelled--even unused. Something about it was just artificial and weird. But because I didn't think about it that much, I didn't think there was any worthy alternative.
I have been so pleased, though, with the choices you get with cloth diapering. When Alice was a newborn, we used fitteds (Kissaluvs) with covers (mostly Thirsties with a couple of Bummis thrown in), mostly all borrowed from a super awesome friend of mine. Then, as she changed sizes, we moved to prefolds and covers. I will just be honest--I am not the best prefold diaper-er in the world. But my husband...holy crap. My boy could go pro. I have no idea why or how, but I'm pretty sure he could slap a prefold on a writhering elephant. He's that good. Anyway, we rode that wave until Alice grew a bit more until we thought one-size diapers would flatter her and do its job.
And that's where we are now. Our "stash" is almost exclusively BumGenius One Size 3.0 Pockets. Why? Because they are the diapers the fit Alice the best. I tested Happy Heiny's and one FuzziBunz One Size (although I recently ordered a few sized medium Fuzzi Bunz to try), but the BumGenius are the easiest ones for everyone in the family to do (I have to consider my mother in law's input since she watches Alice while I work), and they work the best on Alice's frame. The just look comfy on her when she is wearing them.
We also have two Goodmama fitteds that I purchased off of Spots Corner. I bought then gently used because I couldn't bring myself to spend $30 on something that my baby will poop in. I like them, but (for us) I don't think they are worth that kind of money. For one thing, the fit is not as good on the BG's. Something about the way they fit around her legs doesn't look as fitted as the others. I'm hoping she will grow into them more. However, the prints are AMAZING. The two we have are kind of psychadelic, Pucci kind of prints. Just seeing them in the laundry makes me smile.
So far, Al has worn them under a wool soaker that her aunt crocheted for her. The soaker itself is adorable--gold with a magenta ribbon at the waist and a ruffle on the butt--and I love that it was homemade just for her. We have worn this specifically at nighttime. We have only done it a couple of times, but I'm not sure how much I like it. For one thing, I don't like waking up to the smell of wet wool. This is especially an issue when Alice is not such a heavy wetter, and is usually just fine in a Bum Genius pocket with the doubler for nighttime. So I don't have to wake up to wet wool... For the other thing, I haven't tried to fit anything over her fluffy woolly butt, so I worry about her being cold, even though she is covered in blankets. I like her to wear a blanket sleeper (she is wearing a fleece one as she sleeps beside of me right now), and I'm pretty sure that I couldn't get that over the wool. Those are my only issues, but since we are happy with other avenues, I might not do a whole lot more with wool right now. I know, though, that as she grows and changes, we will look into it again.
The final experience with cloth diapering I have had is just how addictive it is! You have no idea at how many websites I have looked at, and how many diapers I have read about. My husband thinks I am insane. But I think it is worth it...even if diapers are my new crack!
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