Why I want to cloth diaper

I'm not really sure why I want to cloth diaper. I think it's mostly because of the $$$$ I could save. For those who don't know me, or don't know me well, I am a cheapskate. Big, big cheapskate. I had a natural, home birth because it was MUCH cheaper than having a hospital birth and as long as everything proceeded normally, it was just as safe. Obviously safety was my biggest concern, but right after that money was my next biggest. Thankfully, everyone was healthy and safe. And as I went along and did more research, all the other benefits of a healthy, home birth appealed to me more and more.

It was when I was pregnant with Dinosaur Man that I began to research cloth diapers. My mom knew nothing of the "advances" in cloth diapering in the last 30 years since she cloth diapered my older sister. She thought cloth diapering meant prefolds and diaper pins. So on my Xanga blog, I mentioned how there were many new advances that made CD so much easier than in her day. So one of my other Xanga friends asked for a post on what those advances were too, so I did a massive post on the different kinds of CD. And so now, my desire is the same. As long as they can be just as convenient (before the washing part) as disposables, I will do it if they will save me money.

Before Dinosaur Man was born, I bought four cloth diapers. One all-in-one Swaddlebees, sized medium I think; one pocket Large Fuzzibunz to try on Crazy Boy, who still wasn't potty trained at that time; and 2 pocket one size from Ebay (SweetDollBabyUSA store). I used the Swaddlebees on Dinosaur Man when he was a couple months old, but it wasn't a good fit for him at the time. A few months later I tried one of the Ebay ones on him, I think it was the velcro one (the other was a snaps one) and even though it was supposed to fit a 8-35 pound child and he was 12 pounds, it was just too bulky. At the time I was struggling through massive sleep deprivation and post partum depression. And my thinking was, "I'm not going to have any more children, so this won't save all that much money and will just be one more stress in my life." So I wasn't really all that sad to say, "I'm not going to cloth diaper." And DH was very happy. He's said that if I cloth diaper, he won't change any diapers. He's a big germaphobe and I think in his mind CD is worse than it really is.

Well, now that my baby is older and I MAKE him sleep through the night, my depression has gotten better and my thoughts turned back to cloth diapering. Dinosaur Man is almost 10 months old. Probably about 1/3-1/4 of the way to potty training. And I want to save money. I don't know if we'll end up having another child to use the CD on, but who knows. Also adding to my desire to CD is the fact that Dinosaur Man has eczema and gets diaper rash like nobody's business. I'm hoping CD can help with that. Also, since he's started eating solids regularly, he's been blowing out ALL. THE. TIME. I'm hoping that one that fits right can help with that too.

I know pockets and all-in-ones are the most like disposables for convenience. But I also know they cost a pretty penny. So I was thinking maybe I could go the fitted and cover route. So I was going to try this bundle. It comes with 2 prefolds, 1 cover, 1 AIO, and 1 pocket diaper for only $57. I thought it would be a cheap way to try out the different kinds and see which ones I really liked. Then I saw this deal and thought it was even better. With that you get 4 prefolds, 1 Snappi, 1 fitted, 1 cover, 2 different brands of pockets, 2 different brands of AIO, and 1 AIO one size, and a set of extra soakers. The good thing about this set was 1)There were enough CD to CD baby full time (just with a lot of laundry), 2) if you didn't like it, you could send it back (even with stains) and they would refund all your money except $10. So $10 for just a trial. If you did like it, you kept it.

I thought this was wonderful. However the $150 price tag freaked out DH. He asked if I could research some cheaper options. Well, the cheapest options are prefolds. So I did my research, found out the prefolds I wanted, the covers I thought would work well, and the detergent. Then after watching some YouTube videos I realized, "I don't want to do this! This is not convenient at all!" Especially since Dinosaur Man (whose other nickname is Mr. Wiggles) is known for, well, wiggling. It is near impossible to change his diaper easily. Usually it takes two people. So I was pretty sure the prefold and the Snappi and the cover would be too much.

However, while on YouTube I found some videos on making your own cloth diapers. Nothing really seemed like it would be worth it until I found this video. It's a two part instruction video on how to make AIO or pockets from a real, bona fide pattern. The pattern can be found on sewingpatterns.com. I also found another website, wazoodle.com that has the water-proof outer layer (PUL, polyurethane laminate) and also has a PUL film. So my plan is to use the cheaper PUL film and put my own choice of fabric (a cuter one) on the outside. I figure this way, if I get the fabric on sale, which is easy peasy with all of Joann's ads and coupons, I can make the diaper for about 1/3 of the price of one already made. At least that's the plan.