Testimony of a Cloth Diaper Convert

My name is Jennifer and I am a newly converted cloth diaper-er.

I first started diapering in 2006 when I had my first baby. At the time, using disposable diapers seemed like the only logical choice. As far as I knew cloth diapering meant wrapping a white rag around a baby's butt and fastening it closed with a safety pin. It sounded crude, complicated, and, surely, not for me. So for years I utilized the services of Huggies, Pampers, Luvs, and various other generic brands, with little regard for that mysterious cult of mothers who did it the old fashioned way.

It wasn't until four years later, in 2010, that I first became exposed to the true world of cloth diapering in its modern form. A young mother named Christine came into my life (and eventually became a very, very dear friend) who was in the throes of using cloth diapers on her one year old son. I will admit that when I first learned that she was a dedicated cloth diaper-er, my eyes just about popped out of my head and I thought, "she must be out of her mind!" But as our friendship progressed, and as I saw that she was in fact quite sane, I had more and more occassions to watch her in action. And she made it look easy! For the first time the notion of using cloth diapers entered my mind as more of a realistic idea as opposed to some sort of ridiculous, antiquated, motherhood legend. Still, I thought, "Good for her! But its not for me."

The next stage of my progression from skeptic to believer happened slowly and subtly, so much so that I barely noticed it was happening at all. I woke up one morning a few months ago and it seemed that half the moms I knew were cloth diapering. All of them are moms who I highly admire and respect. I found myself asking questions. If they could do it, then why couldn’t I? The more I learned, the more intrigued I became. Maybe it was the peer pressure that got to me. Or, if I’m being honest, maybe it was the sheer thrill of the matter. After three babies I’ve become pretty confident in my skills and most of the matters of infant care have lost their challenge. So why not spice things up a little for baby number four? Plus, there was no denying the financial benefit. Come September we will have two boys in diapers and are bound to save buckets of money if we can scratch ‘diapers’ off the grocery list before we even start shopping. The writing seemed to be on the wall.

So I took the plunge and placed an order for two dozen bumGenius 4.0 cloth diapers. A week later they arrived at my doorstep in a beautiful array of blue, green, and yellow. Filled with excitement, I couldn’t wait to 'try them on for size.' Thus, on May 8^th, 2012 I became a cloth diaper convert.

It’s been six days since our household went cloth and I have no intentions of ever going back. I’ve changed approximately 30 diapers and done 3 loads of diaper laundry. It’s been quick and easy and, seriously, the only time I give it any thought is when I’m admiring how cute Johnny’s butt looks in that big, soft, fluffy diaper.

When Josie realized that something was different and I explained that Johnny had a new type of diaper that was made out of fabric and not paper she said, “Wow, that’s cool! I love it.” Jamie has no opinion as far as I can tell. I can’t be sure if Johnny notices the change. He’s always been a happy baby, but I like to think that he’s just a smidgen happier now in his comfy, cozy bum wear. I did have to loosen the waistband in all his 2T shorts to make room for the extra girth. Thank goodness for Gymboree’s adjustable waist feature! Ha ha. I take pride in knowing that Jeremy will be raised in cloth diapers and I plan to stock up before his arrival. But you know, the thing I am loving most about my new cloth diaper conversion is that it makes me feel good about myself (and mothers have far too many opportunities to feel badly about themselves these days). Several times this week I sat down on my couch to stuff clean cotton inserts into freshly dried diaper pockets and in those precious moments I was filled with satisfaction at the good work I was doing. Good for the environment, good for our pocket book, good for my baby. Now how can anyone possibly argue with that?

So if you’re one of the people who thinks that I’ve lost my mind, don’t be so quick to judge. If you’re a mother with young children then I suggest you give the idea of cloth diapering a chance; it’s not as crazy as you think. And if you’re one of the women who helped me make this leap of faith and opened my eyes to the beauty of cloth diapers, THANK YOU!