Monday Mommies: Emily N.

I am SAHM mom to two amazing boys! I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 3 month old. Our two year old is potty trained, so no diapers there, but our littlest man is in cloth! You can check all that out on my blog: Noble Nuggets

I'll start at the beginning of my cloth journey! The WHOLE time I was pregnant with my first child (now 2 1/2) my mother tried to get me to commit to using cloth, I said emphatically "NO". She offered to buy the diapers, I said "NO". Then, she offered the diapers and to pay for a diapering service, I still said "NO".

Fast forward to when my child is 14 months old. While at a play date with two "green moms" they start talking about cloth diapers. I told the story of how my mom wanted me to do that and I just couldn't. Then, I saw the new diapers and how cute they were!! I also when home and counted how many disposables we had left in our stash (up to this point we had NEVER bought a pack of diapers, all came from showers). We had 2 packs. I started thinking about how much money we were about to be throwing away, which lead me to the beginning of a very long researching journey! I even blogged about the seemingly endless options: "I've been diagnosed with CDIO!" We didn't have a lot of money to spare to buy a huge stash of the ones I kept finding. My hubby was loving the idea of saving money but not happy with having to dump that much money into something he thought I would give up on after a few weeks. Once I finally convinced him I would stick with it he was on board, now for the rest of the world....um, NO to put it nicely!

When we first decided to go cloth we told our families. Of course, my mom was elated (followed by the loving, "if you would have just listened...". My in-laws were a little more, let's say "skeptical" about the whole idea. Everyone else had their own opinions. I got the "I don't know how to change cloth, so I guess I won't be changing him" or "well, what am I supposed to do about that" to the "you are CRAZY". People at our church were pretty supportive after they began to understand how truly easy they really are!!

My first buying experience was a LOT different than what we had expected or planned. We found a place that sold Happy Heinys (the brand that I had decided I wanted to buy). I got there and found that they also sold Bummis and Fuzzi Bunz just to name a couple. After standing in a complete daze for about 20 minutes, my hubby asked "why don't we just use the prefolds, they are a lot cheaper". Well, that's exactly what happened. We bought a boxed starter set of prefolds, covers and liners for above 15 lbs. and one for 15 and under knowing we wanted more kids. We also got 3 pocket diapers. That I had planned on using at nighttime.

We used those prefolds all the time and the pockets for nighttime and church only. Then I discovered a company that sold pocket diapers far less expensive than the brands we currently owned and purchased 10 of them. We LOVED them. They were one size pocket diapers! After that we switched completely to pocket diapers! Then I bought 10 more (the colors changed, I needed them, ha ha).

The toddler got potty trained and the new baby came, and the prefolds came back! My husband thinks the prefolds are way easier and he would much rather use those, so we did that for the newborn stage. We didn't use folds or a snappi; we simply used the Bummis cover and folded the diaper in third and used the cover to hold it in place (maybe this would be different if we had a girl). We knew our little guy held his urine for way longer than most babies! Even the nurses in the hospital were surprised by this. This made prefolds tough. We switched over to the pocket diapers and his little bum is happily sporting the colorful pocket fluff!!

We do still use the first diapers we bought, however those pocket diapers are starting to wear down. The prefolds have held up amazingly well! We still use all those! I typically go for the pocket diapers, just because they are ready to go with a quick on off. With our son being an extreme heavy wetter, the cover always gets soaked and we have to change with a prefold, so pockets just save me the time.

I am by NO means a cloth diaper expert, or even that knowledgeable in all the different diapers. There are so many I want to try, it's really about finding the money and convincing the hubby! I turn to several cloth diapering blogs for information and "updates" in the cloth diapering world! I love to know what is going on and how other people wash their diapers or the brands they use or just tips for how to make diapering easier!

Speaking of easier, other than my diapers, my wet bag is a MUST! It took me a long time to know that. I thought I could get by without one...WRONG! I purchased two and often have wondered how I ever did without them!! They made my washing so much easier. All I have to do is wash in hot with a little detergent, wash in cold with even less, then a rinse (I have a HE washer). Ever now and then, when the inserts start to smell I do a strip or a quick wash in just a little bleach.

You see, my journey into the cloth diapering world was one with a rough start, but I'm slowly expanding my knowledge! I wish I had sought out some advice from modern cloth diaper mommas! I wish someone would have given me tips and hints. If someone is thinking of changing over or starting cloth my piece of advice would be: Don't get ahead of yourself! Slow down! Don't buy a bunch of one kind of diaper, take your time and explore. Buy several different kinds and try them out, over and over. Your favorite now might not be your favorite in a month. It's easy to get caught up in the "hype" of one diaper or another, but only you can know what works for your family!!