Well, we are CD'ing, and I have to say I love it. In fact, the only times we've used disposables (generally when traveling) I get frustrated because I get so many poop blowouts with them and none with the cloth ones. Plus, they're cute.
But... I don't think anyone should ever feel guilty about not CDing. Frankly, if there's one issue I have with MDC, it's that sometimes it can give the impression that there are too many "perfect" natural/crunchy mamas out there, who somehow are able to make their own baby clothes and slings out off all organic cotton, cloth diaper flawlessly using nothing but prefolds, sleep through every night nursing, keep their house spotlessly clean without relying on any toxic chemicals, and never spend a second away from their child in the first eight years.... I'm exaggerating, obviously, but my point is that there's a wide spectrum of parenting, and I think we all just have to do what works for us and our kids and our busy lives, and pick the things that are priorities to focus on. As you said, Pie, what diapers you use certainly doesn't affect your relationship with your baby.
That said, these are the things that helped me:
- I don't use prefolds. I thought about it briefly (and on the diapering forum, I feel like all the "good" cloth diapering mamas only use prefolds or maybe fitteds), but I really like the ease of pocket diapers. Fuzzi Bunz and Bum Genius one-size are my favorites. And they're easy enough that DH figured them out right away.
- I got enough that I can go 2-3 days between each load of laundry.
- I got a mini shower. I dont' know how I'd deal with spraying off all the poop without it.
- I hated CD'ing initially for the reason that Julia mentioned. I was using Kissaluv size 0, and Willa would SOAK them, so quickly. Once I started using the Fuzzi bunz (maybe when she was 2 weeks old? They need to be over 8 lbs and I waited until her umbilical cord had fallen off, though I probably didn't need to), I liked CDing much better. I didn't feel like they got so soaked, and they are so much more absorbent than the KLs. I also often put in an extra hemp doubler which is REALLY absorbent - Willa (who's a really heavy wetter) can easily go 11 hours in it at night. I still sometimes have the "soaked through" issue with the fitteds I have - I like them ok, but can't go nearly as long without changing her. Basically, I guess I've realized that I like microfleece as the lining. And hemp as one of the fillers if you need to go a long time between changes.
- I use disposables when it makes sense. For us that's mostly just when we're traveling, but I always keep a few in a diaper bag in case we're out and about and I go through the one extra CD I keep in there, or I just don't feel like dealing with it.
- I got flushable liners to use during the rare occasions Willa gets a diaper rash, so I can use whatever rash cream I want without worrying about it ruining the diapers.
DH was really resistant to the idea of cloth diapering initially - I had to get him to take a free class with me at our local natural baby store to convince him it could be done - but now I think he's more into it than I am. He tried to convince me we could bring our cloth dipes to my parents' place over Christmas, until I pointed out that I didn't really want to lug a suitcase full of diapers in addition to everything else we'd have. But we both really feel like they do a better job of containing Willa's mess.
. Is she walking now?
:
Follow Mothering