“You want to give birth naturally…yeah right, they all say that. You are going to breastfeed…I give it a month. You want to do cloth diapers…are you crazy!”
While I was still pregnant it seemed everywhere I turned people were skeptical. Each time I discussed a desire to have my child naturally, to breastfeed or cloth diaper people continued to doubt my resolve. The fact that I was having my first child also earned me the extremely popular, “you just wait and see” remark.
While Lamaze was no cakewalk, and breastfeeding turned out to be one of the hardest things I have ever done, I’m proud to say I followed through with both. Cloth diapering is no exception.
I was certainly not born with an intense desire to cloth diaper. Prior to becoming pregnant I probably would have said it wasn’t for me. However, my husband and I are a healthy, active couple living a fairly clean lifestyle. We follow a mostly plant based diet, are passionate about eating organically and do our best to reduce our ecological footprint. All on a budget of course!
Because we already practice a sort of “general awareness” it came natural to start researching the benefits of cloth diapering while I was compiling our registry. Slowly I began to warm up to the idea. While researching all the different brands and diaper systems has been a bit overwhelming, it has also been exciting!
Cloth diapering has become an obsession for me.
It may sound strange but cloth diapering has become an obsession for me. The top three reasons I decided to go with cloth diapers are, I suspect, the top three reasons most people do:
- No Diaper Rash. While I am a new mother, I am not new to taking care of babies and have seen my fair share of extremely sore bums. The pain and discomfort it causes them is enough to break my heart. Any solution that gets the nasty chemicals in disposables away from my child’s privates is a winner to me. With the use of fleece liners to keep my daughter’s bum dry we have yet to have an issue with diaper rash.
- 500 Years! I don’t think I could call myself a responsible consumer if I knowingly contributed disposables to landfills. When you consider how many diapers you go through with one child, and the fact that each diaper takes up to 500 years to decompose in a landfill, it’s depressing. Other studies even suggest that disposable diapers may NEVER fully decompose due to lack of air, light and/or water.
- Save Money. The amount you’ll save during the average 2 1/2 years most children wear diapers can vary. It depends largely on what brand and diapering system you decide to go with. After searching the web I have seen figure estimates anywhere from $1500 – $3000. As a momma on a budget that is an extremely attractive proposition.
Hopefully by sharing my initial journey into the world of cloth diapers it will inspire other newbies to Give Cloth a Chance! It’s worth it and not nearly as difficult as most people imagine.
GUEST BLOGGER
is a Graphic Designer, wife and mommy to one beautiful baby girl in Grand Rapids, MI. She began cloth diapering in June of 2010 and has enjoyed each diaper change since! She enjoys all forms of arts and crafts, staying active with her husband and finding time to read a book.
You can stay up on her recent projects or posts at www.thepanikstudio.com.
Bryana is the owner of 
Becca is a part-time Spanish Teacher and part-time Stay-At-Home-Mom. She's a cloth diaper expert who enjoys spending time with her family, crafting and selling her wares in her very own
Julie is a mom to three kids including a set of identical twins. Through cloth diapering her twins she developed a passion for the industry and is an avid cloth diaper advocate. You can also find her on her blog
Great post. I also got the same skeptical remarks about breast feeding and cloth diapering! Glad to hear it’s been working out for you. I found it’s way more fun than disposables, despite the extra load of laundry here and there. And it is quite the obsession!
I loved your post, it sounds just like the jorney I had with my first baby. I used to live not far from GR. It was amazing to learn most hospitals in the area have a breastfeeding initation rate of less than 6 weeks. I think it is great that you stuck with everything. I love cloth diapering both my boys. My first born was easy to potty train, and like you we rarely have a rash. Now we live in Montana, it is like a different world, natural births are the norm, breastfeeding a given and cloth diapering accepted.
Congrats on sticking with it all. I wanted a natural birth with my first but was not getting the support I needed in the hospital from the staff. I was asked every contraction if I was ready for the epidural. I nursed my son through mastitis the first two weeks and on until he weaned himself at a year. This little angel that I might be having next week is going to be induced I am afraid because of IUGR. She will be breastfed and cloth diapered. Thanks to my mom for the 20 bumGenius 3.0 and Diaper Juction for the 24 infant prefolds and 6 Thirsties covers! I am still not getting alot of support on cloth diapering but everyone is proud of breastfeeding. (so is my husbands wallet)
I am 28 weeks pregnant, and I fully intend to do a hospital based natural birth with my midwife, cloth diaper and breastfeed. And if I hear one more person say “Just you wait and see” I swear I am going to smack them. lol. It makes me want to succeed even more, just to prove them wrong.
Thank you for the post!!! And congrats on achieving your goals.
Our first is due end of september and I too am constantly getting the ‘your crazy’ and ‘just you wait’. We are planning a home birth with our midwives and will be using cloth from the start. And of course breatfeeding and babywearing.
My take… working through everyone’s ‘lovely comments’ is prep for all of the decisions that will come with being a mum and if being called crazy and naive is what it takes to be the best mum I can be – bring it on!
I feel the same eye rolling on me when I mention those decisions, as I’m due with our first this fall. I feel like the benefits of each decision (natural birth, breastfeeding, cloth diapers) FAR outnumber the downsides to each, and cloth diapers have the added bonus of being really cute! I can’t wait to get my hands on some fluff.
I get the same comments, people think I’m crazy for wanting to cloth diaper and they say I won’t do it and the same for breastfeeding. But I will show them all.
what kind of changing pad is that? I can’t wait to try cloth diapering with lil boy due in 8 weeks :)
Hey ladies! It’s so exciting to read your posts and hear that so many of you can relate. I have been able to meet with other breastfeeding, CD’ing, baby wearing moms at a group in GR a couple of times. I learn so much from them each time I go. It’s awesome picking the minds of other mothers. They give me the support and encouragement I need.
Rita – Its wonderful to hear that your community embraces these choices so fully. I’ve heard that about Alaska as well… that’s really the way it should be!
To the mom’s about to have their first naturally – You can do it! Stay strong :) My husband was my coach and before the labor we discussed Transition at length. I told him I knew there would be a breaking point where I would start thinking about that epidural and he would have to talk me out of it. That moment came and went and I was so happy with the process. It’s beautiful and our bodies are truly amazing.
Dani-I’m so sorry you didn’t have more support during your first. I feel like I’ve heard that from many women. Also, my sister had preeclampsia and a scheduled c-section with her daughter. I’m happy to report that I have a beautiful 2 year old niece now. I’m confident that you’ll be able to report the same :)
Karen – The pad in the picture is called the Cooshee Changer… and it is awesome. Easy to clean and she loves laying in it!
I did get the same comments about the cloth diaper, but I guess I’m lucky in that no one said anything about breastfeeding. In fact it was assumed I would be breastfeeding.
I do love showing people how easy the cloth diapers are though – i know a few people who are considering it who never would have before!
When I get the inevitable “oh, [cloth diapering, nursing, making baby food] won’t last long..” I just reply with “oh, really? Did you try it?” The answer is always a resounding “no.”
Why is it that the naysayers are ALWAYS people who never even gave it a shot!! I might understand it if they tried and decided it was too much work, but how can they pass judgment when they have no frame of reference. I guess because it just sounds too difficult.
Glad to know there are other like-minded mama’s out there!
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