Cloth diapering

  I swore I would cloth diaper our 3rd child. I felt over whelming guilt when I didn't...at first. At the hospital it's easier to use disposables, as I didn't have access to a washer and that black tar poop is crazy sticky. When we arrived home I was saddened and slightly relieved that I had to use disposables because the cloth diapers were to big. My son was 7lbs 5 ounces and the diapers on their smallest setting were way too big.
  Tip #1- It's worth it to buy newborn diapers or find a brand that runs tiny,like for me, thirsties. Like you, other moms will need these tiny ones in the first months, making them very easy to resell.
   When Alex was 2 months old I looked at my stack of brand new cloth diapers and felt the guilt settle in my stomach like a rock. I grabbed one determined to try it because after all I spent all this money. It took some practice, finding the right rise setting, the right waist setting. every brand is different. I had an old Rubbermaid with a lid I decided to use that for my diaper pail. I thought I'll try these at home ONLY. I didn't tell any one when I started, I was afraid to fail. After a couple days I found my groove and was madly deeply in love. However, I was only a part time clother, one who cloth diapers only part of the time.
  Tip #2- No one said it was all or nothing. Start out as slowly or as fast as you feel comfortable. Don't want to cloth in public, THATS OKAY, don't want to cloth at night, THATS OKAY. 
  Once I discovered that it wasn't an all or nothing. The pressure melted off. I was able to play around, practice my folds on my prefolds, try different detergent, hang dry vs dryer. When Alex wasn't brand new, and after my family had a chance to find our routine, cloth diapering didn't seem so daunting. Slowly I began telling people starting with my husband...
  Tip #3- Have faith in you spouse. if they seem hesitant, it's because they are either intimidated because cloth is not the norm, or they are worried you will be over whelmed by the extra work. 
  My honey has turned out to be the most supportive person in my life. No one could tell a difference when I used cloth, until I told them. I found that many people had a very out dated idea of what cloth diapering was. It wasn't that they didn't want to be supportive they honestly thought I was talking about safety pins and such.
  I wish I could have found more cloth diapering moms willing to indulge my interest. It was daunting making this decision, without ever seeing the product on a child.  Youtube, has many reviews and demos regarding cloth.
 Tip #4- Try one of each. I was sold on the AIO's but have quickly fallen in love with the prefolds with a cover. 
 Tip #5- You don't need all the cute accessories. I used plastic store bags, until I got a wet bag, I have had lots of success with certain popular detergents and haven't needed to order any. 

  I love cloth diapering, it's easy and simple. I love not having to spend 15-25 dollars every other week for a box of diapers. I rarely use disposables, I would say I use cloth 95% of the time. My only wish was that I had started with my 1st.