“Cloth diapers are disgusting!” “You have no idea what you’re getting into.” “When you give up on using them, the inserts make great dust cloths.” “They’re so obnoxious to fold and you’ll poke your baby with the pins!” “You have no idea how hard that’s going to be.” “You’re going to have poop in your washing machine.”

These are just some of the comments I received from friends and family when I told them we would be using cloth diapers on our son. Everyone and their brother offered their unsolicited advice. Luckily I’m very stubborn and not easily swayed by others opinions.

My biggest motivation for using cloth diapers is to decrease my environmental impact. Recycling and preserving our earth is extremely near and dear to my heart. A lot of people nowadays seem to not care, which is heartbreaking. We may not be the ones to directly suffer the consequences of our choices when it comes to lack of caring for our planet, but our children, our grandchildren, our future generations will be. We spend so much time and energy caring for our families in so many other ways, why not give them the greatest gift of all…a clean, healthy earth for generations to come. Of course, some arguments are that you’re using more water to wash them and electricity to dry them and some may say the materials to make them could be unethically sourced but it’s all about making small changes in your everyday life that add up to big changes for the planet. None of us are perfect, especially me. All I can say is do your research and make the most informed decision that you can. That’s all that any of us can do. During the summer months, I hang our cloth diapers out on the clothesline to dry and during the winter months I have a drying rack. I also plan to use them for more than one child which will also make a big difference.

Another very important reason to consider cloth diapers is the money savings! It’s a larger cost up front, but nothing compared to the money you’ll save not having to constantly buy disposable ones. My husband had a diaper party before our son was born, as many people do nowadays, and put on the invite that we would be cloth diapering and the websites to purchase them. We received enough diapers that we didn’t have to purchase a single one! Imagine never having to buy a diaper?! Not to mention, depending on the brand of cloth diaper you choose, it could be a lot cheaper than buying a pack of disposable ones for the individuals attending the diaper party.

We chose to use Alvababy based on the recommendation of a close friend and the cost being a lot lower (less than $10/diaper) than some other brands and they offer a newborn size whereas alot of other brands offer only one size that grows with your baby. We registered for and received a few Charlie Banana diapers, which seem to be a little bit nicer but also a lot more costly at around $25/diaper. The one size offered by both Alvababy and Charlie Banana are appropriate for newborns all the way up until they are potty trained. We just chose to register for several newborn diapers as well in case we had a small child, which we did! Our son is 8 weeks old and he is still wearing the newborn diapers and probably will for several more weeks. We use the one size diapers at night just because he is a heavy wetter and if he sleeps more than two hours, it prevents a full outfit and bed change. They are obviously a little bulkier on him and need to be snapped a little more for them to fit him but they’re still great! All Alvababy and Charlie Banana diapers have multiple snaps so that you can adjust them to the exact size you need as your baby grows. Charlie Banana also has adjustable straps inside the diaper so that you can appropriately adjust the leg holes to snugly fit your baby to prevent leaks. They really are amazing!

Cloth diapers seem very intimidating at first but the more you learn and use them you come to find out that they’re no harder to use than disposable. They just take a little more planning when away from the house but it’s definitely not more difficult. The only difference between disposable and cloth are that you throw one away and you wash one.

I’m definitely not an expert on the subject and I’m learning as I go. I have several friends that use cloth diapers and so they have been a fantastic resource for all of my questions. I am extremely happy that we made the decision to use them and I really hope this was informative and maybe will encourage someone else to give them a try!

Please let me know if you have any questions or want to know anything specific about using them!

Thanks for reading!

Sarah

Please don’t forget to recycle! ♻️ Every little step you take and small change you make, adds up to big changes for the health of our planet. 😁

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