cloth

Well I might as well write about what I am up to my eyebrows in everyday- diapers.

I decided to go with cloth because I am trying to avoid getting caught up in a disposable lifestyle (and I'm a hopeless romantic, oh and a cheapskate). I made sure to do my homework before broaching the subject to my husband, who was skeptical yet supportive. It sure made for an interesting baby shower. My younger cousins struggled to grasp the concept while older relatives cautioned me with tales of washing. I believe my family could be described as quietly, dubiously waiting to see what happened.

Modern cloth diapering is far from the days of washboards and plastic pants; my daily routine only differs by 1 load of laundry. Granted, I have not extensively used disposables.

Really the biggest question, when it comes to cloth is "What to do with the poo?"

Some people use a disposable liner while others rinse/shake it into the toilet. Breastfed baby doo will just wash away in the washing machine. So far we have used a mix of rinsing and just putting it in the wash. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this yet. Ideally you want to get it in the toilet, but this is not always practical.

I wash each batch once on cold with no soap and then on hot with soap. Every once and a while I give them a long soak in baby oxyclean. I usually let them air dry unless I need them right away.

The only main drawback is that cloth diapers are bulky. Most baby pants are cut to fit over disposables which are slimmer, so you need pants that are a size bigger or homemade. My diaper bag also gets a little crowded; when we travel I usually pack a beach tote of clean diapers.

So far, I'm satisfied with my decision.

And I just realized my first post is mostly about poo. Probably not the best start, oh well.