Baby of the Cloth: Part One

Hey Nik,

Is it lame to admit that I've been mulling over writing this post for sometime, but couldn't get the motivation. As soon as I thought of my clever[-to-me] title, I couldn't put it off any longer.

You well know that one of my goals in life is to be a crunchy granola. But I don't particularly love smelling bad, being dirty or roughing it too much. Perhaps I just like dreaming of buying expensive gear? Well, in an effort to further my goal and walk the walk a bit (and motivated greatly by saving money), I decided to go the cloth diaper route with Baby Girl.

I didn't start cloth diapering until she was about 5 months old. Honestly, the transition to motherhood was tricky enough for me at the beginning that washing diapers (that you change all.the.time. that first while) would have driven me to the crazy-mommy asylum. So, I'm okay with using disposable diapers then. And honestly, I still use disposable diapers about 25%-50% of the time. When we're out and about, I'm okay with having the babe wear Huggies. I'm not keen on the idea of hauling around a dirty diaper. If people are, more power to them. We will very occasionally, but for the most part, I'm cool with the disposable. And I've given myself permission to feel guilt-free about using disposables whenever I want. Having that mindset makes me more inclined to use the cloth; knowing I'm not going to beat myself up over them somehow makes me more willing to use them. I don't have to if I don't want to, and so I want to. I don't entirely get it, but that's how it works for me.

The world of cloth diapers seems completely overwhelming at the beginning. If I wasn't already confused about strollers, car seats, brands of disposable diapers, baby wash/lotion, diaper rash cream, etc, cloth diapers sure could make my head spin.

{Side note: whenever I see a couple standing in front of the baby gear and looking completely bewildered, I feel it my duty to validate their feelings that making decisions is overwhelming and crappy. It's probably of little consequence in the long run, but as new parents it feels like life & death and you don't want to wrong your baby from the get-go. I always wish them good luck in their decision making. They'll need it.}

Tomorrow I'll tell you how I got into cloth diapering and made my decision on where to plunk down my cash. Are you on the edge of your seat yet? And would you think about cloth diapering? Anyone else out there wondering about it? Let me know if you have any questions you'd like me to answer. I'm definitely more in the "casual dabbler" category than "hard-core," but I've done my research!

Happy thoughts of diapers to you,
Deid

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