Cloth Diapering - Thoughts and Lessons From Day One

Yes, we are venturing in to the world of cloth diapering!  No, not the Gerber cloths with pins that you find at Target.  I would like to say that we made this decision to be environmentally conscious (sorry, Al Gore), but our main motivator was to save money (thank you, Dave Ramsey).  The amount we spend on diapers is incredible, and with two little guys in dipes soon, why not?! Little by little we accumulated the supplies that we needed and started Matthew on the cloth diaper path today and will probably start "the Little Guy" on them right away.  Now the money is spent and I can take dipes out of the monthly budget.

We opted for the Fuzzi Bunz One Size Diaper, another that we liked was the BumGenius brand.  My favorite part about the Fuzzi Bunz is that, pending unforseen circumstances, we will be able to use them with Matthew, baby #2 and any future children.  The elastic sizers are replaceable, so there are no worries about the elastic wearing out.  With the other brands (at least those that I was introduced to) if the elastic wore out they whole diaper needed replaced (or, if you were crafty you could re-sew new elastic in).  With Fuzzi Bunz (lovingly referred to here as "Fluffy Butts") you just slide the old elastic out and the new elastic in, because it is secured by a button.  Another reason we picked Fluffy Butts is because they are snap dipes, and we don't have to worry about worn out velcro.

I did take advantage of a great coupon at Kelly's Closet that provided us with a free BumGenius diaper just for spending $10 on cloth diapering accessories - couldn't pass it up!  Just took the BG off of Matthew right before nap time and it was dry-dry-dry, those microfiber inserts are awesome!

But, I haven't made it to 2:30 p.m. on the first day without some lessons learned:

• When leaving your child at the church nursery for Bible study, bring a change of clothes and/or additional insert for the diaper.  Nursery was packed today, and I came down to some soaking wet Osh Kosh's.
• The poo sprayer is totally worth the investment.
• Make sure said poo sprayer is completely tightened where the hose meets the sprayer or you will soak your own pants and the bathroom floor in the meantime.
• Cloth dipes are the cutest thing I have ever seen on a 16-month-old kiddo!
• They sure are a lot cozier than a Pampers (or in our case the cheapest diaper we can find at the store - btw I think Luvs might be the worst diaper of them all).

I will try to post a photo of Matthew in his handsome new diapies sometime soon.  It's so stinkin' cute (pardon the pun).