I find people's responses humorous in regards to our decision to use cloth diapers. We've heard anything from, "Once you use disposables, you won't want to go back!" to "You'll change your mind!" and finally "You're ambitious!"
Really, I'm not quite sure what is ambitious about opening my top-loading washing machine and throwing some wet, stinky diapers in there. Could someone please enlighten me? (I've mentioned before that my father, who is twelve years older than his younger brother, had to wash his brother's diapers using a scrub board. Now THAT would be ambitious. Though, at that time, it simply was a necessity.)
I used disposables for the first few weeks because I didn't want to deal with the extra laundry while I fought new mom tiredness combined with a nasty cold. It's been a couple of weeks since I've taken the plunge into cloth diapering, and I'm happy to say, that no, I will not go back to disposables, except for an every-now-and-again kind of thing. (I have one on Caleb now because all his cloth diapers are currently being washed.) In fact, after using cloth diapers so much, I almost think the disposable looks like an imitation diaper, a very cheap and flimsy thing in comparison.
I've been using two different kinds of cloth diapers. The first is the old-fashioned prefolds that our grandparents used. Many people use them today as burp cloths. (However, many of those around today are extremely cheap. I bought very high-quality prefolds that are thick and absorbent.) Those prefolds can be folded and fastened in various ways, or they can simply be folded into a waterproof cover. This is the method I use. This is the most economical way to cloth diaper, because the prefolds themselves are very cheap, and the covers can be used more than once before washing.
The only negative I can see from the prefolds is that I have had leaks- they have been contained within the cover- but it is annoying when I want to reuse the cover again. I've tried different folds, but for me, simply folding it into the cover is best. From what I've read from other moms, it is rather normal to have a leak out the leg and into the cover because let's face it, pooh at this stage is a messy thing. Still, that is the one annoying thing for me. When Caleb starts eating solid foods, it'll probably be easier.
The other kind of cloth diaper I have tried is a pocket diaper. I love these! A microfiber absorbent cloth is tucked in the back of a cloth diaper, and the diaper is less bulky on the baby than a prefold. The only negative thing? It is only used once and tossed in the wash pile. For this reason, it is more expensive, and though I like these diapers better, I have to use prefolds and covers to save some money. I also haven't had any leaks with these diapers, and so far the only blowouts I've had were with disposables!
I wash Caleb's diapers every other day. While I don't relish the extra laundry, it is no hardship, and when I think of the money we are saving, it makes it all worth it. Yes, even with the cost of electricity and detergent (we don't have a water bill here with well water), it is still cheaper to cloth diaper than to use disposables. I can't do the math, but it has been done by others, and it is definitely cheaper.
So I don't think I'm any kind of hero here. It doesn't take any special ability to throw a heap of cloth diapers into a machine. If more people were this "ambitious" they could save money, too!
