We decided a couple months ago (after much research) that we would be using cloth diapers with Lizzie. Everyone we told thought that we were crazy, thought it sounded gross, and couldn't see any benefit in the whole process.
Now, I know that I haven't actually had a cloth diaper on a newborn, but I did make Henry try one on this morning. They fit great, and really, I know he thought they were more comfortable because he looked down and said, "Soft!" And soft is never a bad thing.... right?
First, why CD over the easy option of disposable diapers? Well, for one thing, disposable diapers stink. Literally. They smell. They make your child smell. The chemicals they use to make the pee smell better, actually makes the smell worse! Two, they are expensive! Especially in those first few weeks/months when you are changing 10-15 diapers in a day. Three, they cause diaper rash. Serious diaper rash in Henry's case. We took him to the dr no less than 4 times for SEVERE diaper rash. They had to give him a steroid medication all those times. Four, the waste created by diapers is astonishing, and honestly, a garbage can of diapers in our garage reeks. It smells awful, in the winter and is actually hazardous in the summer! And finally, they are just plain cuter than a disposable, and they way I figure it, Elizabeth will be wearing plenty of dresses this summer, so we will be able to see her cute butt in them (even if that means that the diapers make her look like a mini- jLo.)
I was sold as soon as I started the research (for most of the above reasons) but Bryan? Not so much. All he could think about was how gross it would be to have to clean out a poppy diaper. My question to him? "How many diapers do you change exactly?" (ESPECIALLY DIRTY DIAPERS!! He always tells me, "your turn". What a rip off) His response? "You're right baby, lets do the cloth diapers" (and yes, I am pretty sure that he thinks he will have to change even less diapers this way)
So once we decided on the cloth diaper we had to decide on the type of diaper. Type of diaper you ask?? How many can there be? The simple answer is, too many. Did we want to go with the old fashioned, cheapest option of prefolds and covers (think 1970's diapers with diaper pins). The simple answer here was "no". At first glance this is the hardest CD you can do. Although with research we (I) found that it was in fact pretty easy, just time consuming.
Did we want to go with the fitted diaper and covers? Not so much (although, now we actually do have a few of these in our stash, they are just as easy as the all-in-one diapers). So that left us with the all-in-one/pocket diapers. These diapers are pretty much as easy as a disposable diaper. They are basically one piece (in the case of a pocket diaper, they are two pieces that we would have already assembled, making them seem like one piece)
Of course the option we went with was the MOST expensive (and of course the diaper brand we chose ended up being the most expensive). However, the cost comes a little easier when you realize that the diapers we purchased will fit lizzie from birth- potty trained (and again, they are on Henry now and fit great!)
We realized that we needed anywhere from 16-24 diapers to have on rotation. So since the start of the year we have been working on building our diaper stash- buying one here and there every week or so. So far we have 13 one size diapers and 8 newborn size diapers (both AIO). I also purchased 2 fitted diapers yesterday and I plan to buy 2-4 more of these in the next month or so. I am looking for cute diaper covers online now, so hopefully we will end up with some cute stuff!
So there you have it. That is why we chose cloth diapers. Nothing too earth shattering. In coming CD posts (for those of you who care....) I will share the diapers we have purchased as well as how we will deal with CD out in public and CD with grandparents/babysitters (who am I kidding, we don't have babysitters, we have three sets of grandparents :)
