I'm a little granola & I cloth diaper my baby...

When I was pregnant and people found out that my husband and I were going to cloth diaper our baby, we were met with disbelief, mockery, and teasing. People didn't believe that we could do it, and if we could do it, it was because we would use a diaper service. If anyone knows me at all, they know that would only encourage me to stick to it MORE than I might have before.

People wanted to know why we are cloth diapering. Only the fully granola cloth diaper, right? Well, we are a little hippy dippy, but what we really wanted to do is save money and keep baby as healthy as possible.

See, there are three reasons to cloth diaper: (1) it's good for the environment (not our #1, but hey, it's a positive side effect); (2) it's more economical (my husband's most important reason; we have spent less than $200 on all our diapers and can use these diapers on our next kids); and (3) it means there are no chemicals against my baby's soft little tush (my most important reason).

We thought briefly about using a diaper service, but in our area, it's $25/week... To us, that kinda missed the point of the economics of it. So we said screw it, and now, here we are six months later, still cloth diapering with no diaper service. It isn't as difficult as even I used to think, though it will be more challenging once ElyZ starts solid food (which we did this week). We will have to spray or scrape off the baby poop prior to washing, but we had to do this his first 5.5 weeks of life anyway when he was being supplemented with formula.

Cloth diapering is actually pretty simple. There's a lot to learn, but it's not so complicated. When ElyZ was smaller (less than 15lbs), we used prefolds and covers and loved them. Once he grew past that weight and started the Mr. Wiggle phase, we switched to pockets and AIO (all-in-ones). So far, we have tried 5-6 different brands and BumGenius pockets are our favorite. They don't seem to leak, though at night we do have to add a third insert to prevent leaking (ElyZ is quite the little pisher).

There are so many Facebook groups and websites dedicated to cloth diapering that I can have all my questions answered, sometimes within minutes, and I can buy used diapers for a fraction of the cost. You just have to know some lingo and buy wisely. No - it's not gross to buy used diapers. It's like buying a used towel. It's no different since people are normally excessively careful with their diapers (using environmentally friendly laundry detergent and line drying the covers).

Once a baby is no longer EBF (exclusively breast fed), his poop changes and gets super stinky (like most of us are familiar with). But the truth is, even disposable diapers are supposed to be scraped and sprayed as well; human waste is not supposed to be thrown out in the trash.

Each baby is different, pees and poops differently, and is shaped differently. A BumGenius that works great on one kid won't work as well as SweetBottoms on another. Some supermoms even make their own cloth diapers. I'm thinking about it, but I don't have a sewing machine, nor do I know how to use one. I'm tempted though.

Learning about cloth diapering does take a little practice, trial and error, and patience. The actual practice of it ain't nothing... But regardless, I know that it's the best thing for my little munchkin, so even if/when it becomes challenging, we are going to keep going.

It's also awesome that the cloth diapers come in different colors and designs and are, quite simply, adorable on ElyZ's bum. For that reason alone, I know we'll keep cloth diapering. Aesthetics and adorableness are irresistible, I mean look at this tush...... YUM!