Transitioning to Cloth Diapers

I always thought I would use cloth diapers when I had children. Scientifically, I don't think it has been completely proved that using cloth diapers is better for the environment than disposal. But it just makes ecological sense to stop filling landfills with plastic diapers. Plus, it saves a lot of money over time and keeps those synthetic chemicals off baby's skin.

However, when I was pregnant and preparing for Alarik's arrival I was just completely overwhelmed with the whole thing. I have never known anyone who uses cloth diapers and, frankly, I just didn't know where to start. Google searches just made it more overwhelming. There are literally thousands of different kinds out there!

My mom took initiative when I told her my goal to use cloth diapers and bought me a six pack of Kushies Basic Diapers with a diaper wrap. I decided I would try those out when Alarik was born and see how it went before I bought anymore. I also was planning to quit my job a week before my due date so I could experiment with sewing my own.

Unfortunately, illness kept me in the hospital for two and half months and when I was released, I wasn't well enough to mess around with cloth diapers so Alarik has been using disposables since birth. However, this week I decided to pull the Kushies out of storage and give them a try. Luckily they still fit him, although they probably wont' for very long.

I had bought some cheap store brand diapers and they were giving Alarik a diaper rash. One day of wearing the cloth diapers cleared it up without any creams. They do leak a lot more than disposables though. Alarik seems to fill them up with urine every five minutes! Perhaps if I had the Kushies Ultra or some other thicker diaper, it would go better.

With only six diapers and no money to invest in more, we can't use cloth exclusively right now. I have tried the much cheaper Chinese prefolds, but diaper changes are already a battle and adding pins to the equations won't work too well. Plus, I'm sure I'll have the leak problem even worse with those.

So right now, we are switching the cloth diapers in and out with disposables. And I'm really glad I finally took the plunge and started this. It's defiantly not as hard as it sounds and my baby's skin likes it better this way. Plus, I'm slowly reducing the amount of diapers that are being thrown out. Hopefully soon we will be able to purchase some more cloth diapers and use them all the time!
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