bye bye blowouts!

I made the leap just over a month ago and started cloth diapering my dear little James' bum. And if we're keeping it real, I had no intention of saving the planet. My biggest reason to do this was to save the family budget. I hate spending $40 a month on diapers, only for them to get crapped in and thrown away. And, this little redhead has very sensitive skin, so cloth seems like the more gentle choice. An additional motivation was all of the latest research speculating that disposable diapers could cause infertility. I've struggled with that myself in this lifetime and hope my children don't have to go there. And lastly, a friend (who also posted a great cloth diaper how-to) promised no blowouts with cloth diapers, and so far she's been right! That alone sold me on the idea!I took Allie's recommendation and bought Bum Genius cloth diapers. They are adjustable, so the one-size-fits-all diaper will fit your baby from 8-35 pounds. I know it's true too because Henry and James wore the same diapers just before I potty trained Henry!!! They are considered a pocket diaper, which means you just insert an absorbent pad into the inside opening of the diaper. They are so easy to use. Most people are worried about the stink of collecting dirty cloth diapers in a bin, but I feel like an extremely poopy chemically-infested disposable diaper is way more stinky than a poopy cloth diaper. In all honesty, I've forgotten to change James on occasion because the stench stays insulated so well. At every diaper change, I simply dump the dirty diaper in a water-proof bag and every other day toss the diapers and the bag in the wash. They can even be dried in the dryer. Then you simply stuff the diapers again. It really is an easy cycle. Plus, I do laundry every day, why not add another load?

Besides, cloth diapers can be so cute. So far we only have white, blue, green and yellow diapers (BG keeps it simple and sorta boring), but I'm so tempted to go for the "ride em cowboy" or the "shark attack". Then I ask myself, "who else is really going to see my child in just his undies?". I doubt the fact that a shark print greeting Preston while changing James' diaper will really make much of a difference on how he feels about changing poopy diapers, ya know? But yes, they can be adorable. Even Pam says, "making your surroundings beautiful creates happiness", and diapers are very much apart of my surroundings multiple times a day. So maybe those cute prints will soon be in the collection (it's all in the name of happiness).

I'm not saying that cloth diapers are right for everyone. But if you hate messy blowouts, wasting lots of money, infertility and global warming, then maybe, just maybe, you should give it a shot. We're hooked, and we're happy.