Cloth Diapering Manifesto: Part I

When people hear that we use cloth diapers, they assume that The Husband and I are either crazy tree-hugging hippies, saintly all-suffering martyrs, or both. Neither is actually the case. Sure, there’s a little bit of tree-hugger in both of us, and, who am I to deny sainthood when it is bestowed upon me? But the truth is that using cloth diapers is not a big deal. Honest.

I’m not going to go into the pros and cons of cloth diapers here because it has been done, but I will tell you that The Husband and I chose to use cloth mainly because of their reduced environmental impact compared to disposable. We consider the cost benefit and the promised quickening of potty training to be happy bonuses.

When I first started researching cloth diapers however, I was completely and totally overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of different types of diapers out there. I was also quite stunned by the prices, because the initial outlay of money, assuming you purchase fancy diapers instead of old-fashioned prefolds, is about $400 - $500. So although cloth saves money in the long run – especially if the diapers are used for more than one kid – it sort of hurts to start up.

But once we got used to the idea of them costing about eighteen times as much as the prefolds, The Husband and I decided that the fancy diapers were worth it. This is The Husband and I are lazy lazy lazy, and the fancy diapers are at least eighteen times easier to use.

So endeth Part I. In Part II, I will explain the different types of diapers and give you my mini-reviews. But right now, I have to hem my jeans. This is because I bought a new pair of jeans on Sunday. They seemed to fit in the store, bringing the grand total of pants that fit me to a thrilling 1. But I discovered today after that after two wearings the jeans stretch a bit which causes them to sag a bit and, lo, they are way too long. I did not notice they were too long in the dressing room because I was just so excited that they fit at the top, but I can’t wear them like this unless I wear heels every day. Don’t think I didn’t consider that.

Why don’t I take them to a tailor you ask? Well, because the tailor is closed on Wednesdays, and I work on Thursdays and Fridays, and I just can’t wait until next Tuesday to have pants that fit. One pair! I just want one pair of pants that fit!*

Wish me Godspeed, because I don’t have a sewing machine and I’ve never done this before.

*This is a lie. I want at least three pairs.

Manifesto Part II: Diaper types
Manifesto Part III: Washing the diapers
Manifesto Part IV: Accessorize!