HOLY SMOKES! It is amazing how fast time goes after having a child. Liam is such a little stinker! I learn more and more about him every day. He has so many little quirks. Examples - smiling almost every time he spits up on me. When I make a "motorcycle sound" by blowing air through my lips, his eyes get really really wide. And no matter what time of day it is, if I lay with him all nestled in my arm as we lay in my bed, he WILL take a nap. I just love him. Best of all, he isn't a clingy or whiny baby. He is perfectly content laying on the floor. He loves looking around and taking in the sites around him. He doesn't cry unless something is wrong. Although, it sometimes takes mom and dad a while to figure it out. I love my boy... but what mother doesn't?!
Majority of my friends and family have called me crazy for this but I've been doing some research on cloth diapering and I must say.. I've been flirting with the idea for weeks. The mothers that I have talked to have been so helpful and positive about the subject that most flat out said that they would never go back. There are so many reasons to go to cloth! They are better for your pocketbook. They are better for the environment. They are better for your baby! Yes, they are a pain in the butt to have to wash but once you get into a routine of washing your diapers, it will be easy-peasy! Listen to me, I'm talking like I've done it for years. Here's the scoop..
FINANCIALLY:
Did you know that if I were to put Liam in a store-brand diaper such as Target brand Up&up diapers, within 3 years, I would spend about $1400 on something that he pees/poops in and I throw it in the garbage? The cost would be about $1800 if I used a name brand like Pampers. I'm not even going to do the math if I would use a "Green" brand. That would be over $2000 in diapers alone! Not to mention wipes, powders, and creams! Now multiply that number by how many children you have/plan to have! GAH! Luckily, cloth diapers can be passed down through siblings. Money saver!!
Sorry Liam, but I don't want to put a pile of $20 bills on the ground and let you do your biznass all over them.
Now, when it comes to cloth diapers, they can get a little expensive. I'm planning to use BumGenius 3.0 One-Size diapers. The brand just release a "4.0" version so the 3.0s are now cheaper! :) The initial cost of a diaper supply is a bit high. You must pay one large lump sum but then you can have them forever. And the nice thing is, if you keep good care of your diapers, you can usually sell them on ebay for 50% of what you paid for them. Once I have all the diapers I need, I plan to have spent around $250 - $300.
What would you rather pay? $300 or $1400 - $2000?!
ENVIRONMENTALLY:
I'm not an environmental freak but I do think it is an added bonus that the thousands of diapers I would use aren't going into a landfill. I hear baby poop gets quite smelly in direct sunlight.. I feel bad for the people living near one of those! I did a quick google search and an estimated 27.4 BILLION disposable diapers are used each year in the United States alone. That is a possible 3.4 MILLION TONS of dirty diapers in landfills across the country. SICK!
Yes, cloth diapers means more laundry and more water being used but washing your diapers every 3 days is about the equivalent of 5 extra toilet flushes a day.
HEALTHY:
There are so many things in disposable diapers that I can't pronounce the majority of them! Pampers Dry Max has been under attack because they are responsible for blistering and leaving severe rashes on thousands of babies. A chemical in the diaper reacted with the babies skin and a rash began and continued to get worse. That is scary! Liam is currently in Pampers but I got rid of all the Dry Max ones we received as gifts. Cloth diapers are made from natural and safe materials like cotton, fleece, hemp, and wool. They can be used in all kinds of combos to create the amount of absorbency for your baby. With natural fibers such as these, it makes diaper rash a lot less frequent. I've talked to mothers who CD and their baby has never had a single sign of a rash. One pointed out that many of her friends had made the change to "safe and natural" cleaning products but then continued to put the same types of chemicals around their children's most sensitive area 24 hours a day.
If anyone is interested in the knowledge about CDing I have acquired over the last few weeks, let me know! It can get a little overwhelming if you research with no idea what you are looking for!
TRUST ME!
