Cloth Diapering

     Time is quickly flying by and we are desperately getting things ready for Liam! As Calvin is priming and painting his nursery, I am doing my research. One thing I had decided to do before I even got pregnant was cloth diapering. I watch a lot of mommy Vlogs on Youtube and had learned a lot about cloth diapering through those.

     When I first heard the term "cloth diapering", the image that came immediately to my mind was a cloth that you fold around the baby's bottom and pin together. Very old school. But when I saw what cloth diapers look like now, I am very surprised at how my perception was very off. The modern cloth diapers basically look like a normal diaper, but cuter! I started watching more Youtube videos on moms who cloth diaper and researching websites that explained the benefits.

     Of course with anything, there are pros and cons. From everything I have researched, the pros definitely outweigh the cons. I am no expert and have not even tried cloth diapering yet, but through my research, this is what I have learned:

Pros:

• Saves lots of money in the long run. 
• We can easily save $1000 using cloth diapers vs. disposables. 
• We plan on having at least one more child and can reuse these diapers with our next child/children.

• Better for the environment. 
• Less diaper rashes.
• Less leakage.
• More comfortable for Liam's bottom with the nice fleecy lining. 
• Cute prints!

Cons:

• More laundry 
• A higher cost up front. 
• An overwhelming amount of different brands and styles. 
• There are brands like Swaddle Bee, Thirsties, Flips, Charlie Banana's, Fuzzi Buns, Bum Genius, etc.
• There are styles like All-in-ones, pocket diapers, pre-folds, etc.

     When I first approached Calvin on the subject, I wasn't sure how he would react. Surprisingly he was all for it with no hesitation. I did approach him with a bunch of information first before he could respond so I probably already answered his questions he had. But I know I'm very lucky that he is on board and willing to work with me to do what we feel is right for Liam!

     This will definitely be an experience for the both of us, but because we are willing to work as a team and to go through all the trial and error together, I don't see how we can't figure it out and make it work best for us.We also do intend on using disposable diapers for his first few weeks of life as his poop, the meconium, is a lot stickier and harder to get out of the cloth diapers and we don't want to irritate the umbilical cord stump he will have. Once the meconium passes and the umbilical cord stump falls off, we will begin the cloth diapering process. We also intend on using disposable diapers when going on long trips since it would be difficult for us to be able to wash all of his diapers in a timely manner. So we're not 100% against disposable diapers. Of course all of this may change once we start. We may actually like cloth diapering so much we will leave him in it 100% of the time. We want to do what we think is best for our child and what works best for us. Some people may not agree with it and that's ok. This is our son that we created and this is what we are choosing to do. :)

     Of course I will keep you all updated on our cloth diapering journey. This is just a small introduction as to why we are choosing to cloth diaper. We are planning on going to a baby store soon that has a variety of cloth diapers and knowledgeable staff who can help us more. They even have a one-on-one option for 25 dollars where we can learn everything we want to about cloth diapers and get all our questions answered from one of their staff members. They did have a class available, but we are busy the days that they offer the class. Plus for 5 dollars more, we get one-on-one attention which we think is totally worth it. So we will definitely be doing that and I'll be writing about that once we find the time to do so!