When I was anxiously awaiting Miss Jenna's arrival, I became obsessed with cloth diapers. I spent hours online reading reviews, talking to other moms, "window shopping" and daydreaming about how cute these darn things would look on my little one's bum.
So I ordered lots of different brands to give it a shot. Then Miss Jenna came. Her tiny little bum only fit in about 4 of the 20 diapers I had. Not to mention she went through about 15 diapers a day in the beginning. So needless to say, I wasn't using too many cloth diapers.
Then she grew into my stash. Finally! I started using them more. However, I've run into a few obstacles and I'm at the point that I need to decide if I'm going to give it another go or give up.
The Laundry - I was delusional when I thought I'd have time for all of my chores plus some if I quit my job and stayed at home. Even though I'm staying at home, I hate doing laundry with the fire of a thousand suns and struggle to make time for it. I'd much rather be playing with my baby, watching DVR'd episodes of Vampire Diaries, and surfing the internet. So...doing an extra load of laundry every other day is really a downer. Call me lazy.
My Water Bill - Water in Grants is expensive. I live in the freaking desert for crying out loud! Our bill is typically $70 in winter months. That's kinda pricey. So adding an extra 2 cycles every 2 days adds up on that bill.
My Water Hardness - We have extremely HARD water. Hard water causes build up and smells on cloth diapers. So...I've had to buy some softener additive to put in my loads every now and then. There's another expense.
Diaper Rash - Every mom raves about how cloth diapers don't give babies rashes. I'd like to know which ones they are using. I have like 5 different brands and Jenna still seems to get a rash every time she's in cloth. Plus you can't use Desitin with cloth. So I had to buy special diaper rash cream for cloth diapers. Another expense.
So...I'm just super disappointed that I didn't like cloth as much as I'd hoped. Yes they look adorable but I'm starting to worry they are not for me.
Any cloth diapering momma's out there have any advice/suggestions? Should I give it another go or call it quits?
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3 comments:
It's funny that you posted this because I was thinking about you and the cloth diapers this morning and was going to ask you how it was going.
It sounds to me that you already made up you mind. I think you are just disappointed that it didn't work out as planned. That will happen many many more times with a little one. It is okay to give up on the CD. If it is going to make your life easier, I say do it. You can always sell the diapers and hopefully make your money back.
Good Luck!
Hi Marcie,
You're cloth diaper post was like a blast from the past for me! When I was pregnant with my first son...he is now 18....I was so determined to use cloth diapers. I wanted to be as old-fashioned and traditional as possible. Before I gave birth, I signed up with a local diaper service. They provided the diapers and would do all the cleaning. Wow, nothing like the 'new' old-fashioned'!
Once my baby arrived, I was set with all the cloth diapers a newborn could possibly soil! I used diaper pins, and all! I was so proud of how traditional I was! And, the diaper company picked up the dirty ones and replaced them with clean, fresh ones! Awesome!
All was good until I actually had to leave the house. When I was out and about, i had to keep any soiled diapers with me in a plastic bag. Gross! Plus, at night, my baby would soak through the cloth diapers, so I ended up putting him in disposable ones at bedtime. Then, I realized he slept for longer periods at a time. Heaven, to an exhausted mommy!
In the end, I decided cloth diapers weren't that popular anymore for a reason. I am proud of myself for giving it a try, but in the end, Pampers and such were a better choice for me.
By the way, when baby number two came along almost four years later, I used disposable from the start. Miss Jenna is a lucky little girl! Her mommy cares enough to think twice about something as basic as diapers.
Enjoy every moment with your little princess! They really do grow up too fast!
Best of luck,
Renée :)
Thanks for the comments. It's nice to hear other moms telling me it's "ok" that cloth didn't work out. I think I felt like a failure and having other mommas reassure me that at least I tried was needed!
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