BC reader and frugal blogger Elizabeth writes about finding cloth diapering information and support online and “in the real world”:
My husband and I do our best to live a “green” lifestyle, so when my friend Michelle in Dallas mentioned that she uses cloth diapers, our interest was piqued. She claimed it was “so easy!” After reading some articles online we decided that cloth diapering was indeed, the “greener” way to go, and as a bonus, we could save money. Easy? We were skeptical.
We knew NOTHING about cloth diapering. We also knew no one in town who used them, so we could never see cloth diapers in action. First, I emailed Michelle and asked how to get started. She had a lot of tips, so we started with a gift registry to save a little money up front. I researched on websites, blogs, and in magazines and decided to begin with two dozen fitted diapers. Fitted fit like disposables, but you have to put a waterproof cover over them. This puts them in the medium maintenance category and they are in the middle in terms of price as well. Now I am a quitter by nature, so $250 up front for twenty-four diapers meant I really had to commit to cloth at least until Baby Boy outgrew the first size we bought (two to four months).
We did not begin using cloth until about a week after we brought BB home from the hospital because I wasn’t sure how well meconium poop would come out of the diapers. Using cloth is just like disposables in terms of use and ease of use. However, there is more laundry to be done. We chose to use cloth diapering as our excuse to begin using a clothesline. I find this gets me outside almost everyday and saves energy on dryer use.
My husband returned to work after ten days at home with us, and I found myself spending a lot of time on the computer. So, I pulled up a web community of cloth diapering mamas that Michelle had mentioned. They use a lot of acronyms and abbreviations that left me overwhelmed in the beginning. I found a glossary of terms on the site and slowly began to understand what everyone was saying. I was able to post questions I had about what to buy next, laundry, and even about life with a newborn; and then found myself answering other people’s questions. This is also where I found lots of information and opinions on different types and brands of diapers. I’ve bought several used diapers to determine what fits Baby Boy well and what we find to be user-friendly.
Support for cloth was easy to find online, but what about in the real world? There was a local forum on the web community site, so I asked them. As it turns out, there is a “diaper chat” at a local children’s consignment store once a month during the day, and one at night at a local restaurant put on by the Houston chapter of The Real Diaper Association. Meeting and getting together with other moms (and dads!) who use cloth was a lot of fun. I met people with similar interests and we were able to swap suggestions and stories on cloth and life with kids.
Our house was not using cloth exclusively. We used disposables at night and when we were out and about. I found that cloth was easier and less messy than disposables, so we switched to cloth at night. Then, at one of the diaper chats, I saw a mom change her daughter’s cloth diaper. Instead of tossing a disposable into the trash, she had a zippered bag for the dirty diaper and cloth wipe she used. (Cloth wipes? One step at a time.) It’s called a wet bag. I tried a few outings with a Ziploc to see if I thought cloth outside the home was manageable, and it was no problem. So now I’m a proud owner of an adorable wet bag.
We are totaling under $500 spent on cloth diapers that will last for at least another two months. Some pieces will last well past that. Four months of disposables would run about $240 of name brand, on sale. Our diapers will have excellent resale value, or we can keep them for our next child and any children after that.
BB is two and a half months old and we still love cloth diapering. Finding help and support, meeting other cloth diaper users, and gradually incorporating cloth into our routine helped us be successful and turn a slightly brighter shade of green.
Elizabeth and her husband Alan blog about their “family trying to honor God, protect the planet, and save money all at the same time…” at Compounding Interests, where you can find her record of their cost of cloth to date and other information on cloth diapering.
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