why I cloth diaper

I'm not a hippie. I love lipgloss. I love 4" heels {although I'd trip if I put them on right now}. I hardly leave the house without makeup. 

I like natural things. I like buying organic when I can. I still take 20 minute hot showers. I like to try to do what is best for my son. I am just like any other mom, I just may have been given more information than other moms. 

When I was pregnant with Cameron, and friend introduced me to the idea of cloth diapering my newborn. YEAH RIGHT were the first words to come out of my mouth. It was gross, it's what my grandma did, and there was no way I'd do that. 

The more info I was told, and the more research I did online that brought me to flirting with the idea of cloth diapering. I was afraid to tell Danny, because I knew he'd shoot me down.

A few months went by. I lurked on cloth diapering chatting forums, researched different kinds of diapers, met up with a local store owner... and {gasp} mentioned the idea to Danny. Just as I though, he SHOT it down. 

A few weeks went by. I contacted the local store owner, and told her my issue. She encouraged me to bring him down to her house for some information from both her and her husband. 

By now I had done all the research. I knew how much money we would save, I knew how many chemicals were in paper diapers, I knew how much waste paper diapers created. I knew in my heart that it just felt right to cloth diaper. Danny and I drove to Chandler (almost an hour drive) to meet with the cloth diapering mom and store owner. We sat down and listened to her and her husband talk for almost an hour. We got to touch all the different diapers, materials, and fabrics. We got to see the diapers in action on her two small children. I was sold... my heart ached to cloth diaper, and I knew my husband was only going along so I'd shut up. 

Just as I was wrapping up our conversation, and neatly folding back together all the diapers we had destroyed... Danny says, "so what do we need to buy today to get started?".  I about flew out of my seat {I was 7 months pregnant... it's hard for me to fly out of my seat}. I was shocked that he liked it. He didn't even like the idea, he loved it. 

After hearing about Tributyl-tin (TBT) {a toxicant pollutant that is known to cause hormonal problems in humans}, a super absorbent polymer (SAP) called sodium polyacrylate that turns urine into crystal gels {this chemical was banned from tampons in 1985 because it is dangerous to humans}, Dioxin {a chemical that bleaches paper diapers... which is a carcinogenic chemical, listed by the EPA as one of the MOST toxic of all cancer causing chemicals} we were both disgusted and sold entirely on cloth diapering. We learned that due the chemicals, babies will suffer from less rashes in cloth diapers because they have soft cloth instead of chemicals against their skin {you don't wear paper underwear}. Another big turning point for us was that paper diapers are more dangerous to little boys than they are to little girls {reason being, scrotal temperature is increased in paper diapers because they do not breathe... and this causes over heating, which can lead to infertility in the future}. We learned that cloth diapering one child, for two years would save us over $1300. We also learned that we would not be contributing to the 30,000,000,000 pounds of diapers taking up landfills in the United States {note that these diapers take over 500 years to decompose}. 

After examining the facts you want to vomit. All that goes through your head is, "how can I change this?","How can I save my baby?" "Is it too late for so-and-so's baby?"You sit there in agony, almost pissed off at the FDA for even allowing companies like Huggies and Pampers to stay in business. They'll stay in business, because paper diapering is mostly all America knows. That's all we do. Without all of the chemicals, dyes, and perfumes... you'd be wrapping your baby in a paper towel. Without the chemicals, paper diapers would not do their job. 

We left her store, with a FULL set of newborn, small and a few one size cloth diapers in tow. We spent $160, and I was in shock on the drive home. All my research had worked, my constant nagging my husband worked. He had agreed, and this is ALL we talked about on the way home. He was so happy that we went, and agreed that we would cloth diaper our son. {you'll notice, that we're re-using our cloth diapers from Cameron for the new baby... saving even more money}.

To this day, my husband LOVES cloth diapering. If you know him, you probably won't believe this... you'd have to ask him yourself. If we had a huggies diaper and a bumGenius diaper laying side by side, he'd grab the bumGenius. They're easy to put on {really... if Danny can do it, you can too}. They're easy to clean {if you child poops... you just rinse if off. I know it sounds gross, but you just rinse it off into the toilet with your diaper sprayer. It takes 30 seconds. Then you take it outside and plop it in a laundry basket. Every 2-3 days you wash them. Plain and simple}. They're cuter {seriously, have you seen a cloth diaper on? They are so fluffy and cute.} They're better for baby and environment.

No, I don't cloth diaper every single minute of every single day. Yes, I've caved and bought the Kirkland box of diapers, and used every single one of them over the course of a few months. But, I have done my part... my part of what I think is practical, and what has worked for us. You do not have to be in cloth diapers 100% of the time to make a difference for your baby and the environment. Even one cloth diaper a day, or a few diapers on the weekends makes a huge difference {you'd also be surprised to hear how many daycares will cloth diaper, as long as you do the laundry}. When we're home... we usually are in cloth diapers. We enjoy them, and we're proud to be a cloth diapering family.

Why did I open my cloth diapering store? For the same exact reason I was sold on cloth diapers. There are not enough stores in the west valley, there is simply not enough knowledge. To this day, I have had 8 families come to my house... asking the same questions I asked my mentor. I have helped spread the knowledge to 8 families who left my house as cloth diapering families {and yes, both Danny and I talk to the families}. Sure, I fill orders online all the time... but it's the true meetings and chats that I truly love.

For more information, please visit this page of my website. I have full cost comparisons, full explanations of the chemicals, and full instructions on what to do with cloth diapers if you are not quite sure of what to do. I can always hold a meeting with you {even if it's via phone, email or Skype}... because that's my favorite part! No! it's not too late to put your baby in cloth diapers! If they're still in paper diapers, there is still time to change.