>Guest Post: Maria from Fitteds and Pockets and Snappis, Oh My! (Fall Into Fluff)

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As the second child in my family, I used to think the younger kids had it rough.  You get all the hand-me-down stuff, and by the time you do something for the first time, it’s old news.  Always last.  Now that I’m the mother of two, I know that your first child is really your practice kid.  (You’re supposed to laugh now.)

Case in point: I’ve been cloth diapering my son for a year now, but my 5 1/2 year old has never experienced the fluffy butt.  When I was expecting her 6 years ago (wow!) an acquaintance gave me several printouts if information about cloth.  I initially wrinkled my nose up (in private of course!) and set it aside.  I did end up looking at all the info and doing a little bit of research.  I had all the same concerns that most first-timers have.  The cost, the time, the washing and OMG what-about-the-poop?!  {{pant, pant}}  My research wasn’t terribly in-depth at that time, so I was put off by the cost (and everything else) and I was already overwhelmed with the idea of being someone’s mother.  So, disposables it was.

Now, I’m naturally disgusted by the amount of money I literally threw in the garbage, not to mention all those diapers in the landfill, all 7-10,000 of them.

Fast forward 4 years and I was expecting again.  I really wanted to try cloth diapering, and I figured I’d just buy a few, give it a try, and if I hated it, sell them.  Hey, at least I tried, right?  I hit another roadblock.  This time, I discovered the “cloth diaper safe detergent” charts.  I couldn’t find one locally (trust me, we looked) and it would have been a very expensive experiment to order online and end up not liking cloth.

We were very fortunate that my daughter never had problems with diaper rash; my son was another story.  He had been “rashy” since birth, and he seemed to always have a red tush.  When he was 4 months old, I was tired of looking at his poor hiney, covered in angry, red welts.  I was slathering diaper cream on him at every change, but it wasn’t helping much.  I decided I was going to try cloth if it killed me!

I ordered three cloth diapers and I was immediately hooked.  They were so cute, soft and squishy.  Best of all, when he wore cloth, his rash disappeared.  As soon as I put him in another disposable, back it came.  Within a week I had ordered another set of 3 cloth diapers.  I washed a lot so I could keep disposable use to a minimum, then I used the money I would have spent on disposables to slowly buy more cloth.

About a month later, I started my blog: Fitteds and Pockets and Snappis, oh my!.  I like things planned, organized and just-so, so my intent was to review diapers and determine which was “the best,” and buy a bunch of that one brand.  I’m no good at “going with the flow” so I’ve had to adapt with cloth diapering.  The truth is, there’s no such thing as a “best” diaper.  It all depends on your preferences, your baby’s size, shape and wetting habits, and what’s worse for a planner like me, the “best” diaper for you may change over time!

So here I am.  A year later, I’ve reviewed bunches of diapers and I’m even using cloth wipes and wool covers!  Gone are the days of multiple diaper laundry loads per day; I have too many plenty of diapers in my stash, and the idea of potty training makes me a little sad.  I love cloth!  We’re still using those first 6 diapers, though I had to have a couple replaced under warranty.  I was sad sending this one back.  You become attached to diapers! 

The fluffy butt is hip ‘n happenin’ in our house, and I’m a bonafide, certifiable cloth diaper addict.

Exhibit A:

I have two newborn diapers and zero newborns.  Um, but, uhhh…I uhhh…I’m reviewing them for my blog.  Yeah.  That’s it.  Yeah.  I’m not addicted!  I can stop anytime I want!  {{nuzzles and pats clean diaper}}