I thought about cloth diapers a few times while I was pregnant, but the majority of my support system (especially my dad) highly discouraged me from using them. Horror stories of poop & laundry from my brother’s & my baby days were enough to convince me that it really wasn’t something that I wanted to mess with. That held true until Kaden was about 3 months old, when quite a few hundred dollars of disposable diapers later I was beginning to rethink my decision. Then I went ahead & took the plunge into using cloth diapers. One year later I am so glad I did, and here are a few reasons you may want to consider cloth for your family’s diapering needs.

1. Save Money – this one is pretty obvious. Cloth diapers are reusable, so you don’t have to buy more every month. When you sit down & add up how much you spend on diapers (for us it was around $140 a month, which adds up to $1,680 a year! Then take that times how many years baby will be in diapers…), this was a major factor – there are plenty of other things for that money to go towards in our house! The initial investment was around $300-400 for us (we went with gDiapers cloth system), but you can watch for sales & specials on Diapers.com, or even put them on your baby registry! We were blessed by my in-laws who helped us get started 🙂
2. Wet bags – these make cloth diapering so easy! I wasn’t really sure about the whole process of where the diaper goes before it ends up in the washer & had heard something about a diaper pail which sounded super gross, but no worries, wet bags saved the day. They come in different sizes, contain smell & moisture really well, & go right into the wash with the diapers, so everything comes out nice & clean! I bought 2 large & 2 small from Planet Wise & am very happy with them.
3. Keep chemicals off baby’s bum – the skin is the body’s largest organ & absorbs much of what it comes in contact with. Regular diapers are filled with chemicals like chlorine & fragrances among other things that can irritate baby’s sensitive skin & cause diaper rash. I am so happy to say that Kaden has made it to 16 months without a single diaper rash, & I believe the credit for that goes to his lovely, all-natural, cloth diapers.
4. Save the World – I don’t consider myself an environmentalist, but we do have such a beautiful planet, & when I saw in a video by gDiapers that the average diaper stays in a landfill for over 500 years, I was a little alarmed. Part of being a mom is wanting to make the world a better place for your children & their children after them, & by cloth diapering I feel like I’m doing a small part to help do that.
5. They’re just plain cute – I know it’s a little silly, but when I saw all the designs & colors on the gDiapers website I just had to have them for Kaden. A disposable diaper does not even come close to the cuteness of a baby with a little cloth diaper butt. A baby wearing only a diaper is precious. But a baby wearing only a cloth diaper? You just can’t beat that 🙂

So there you have a handful of the reasons that one year later, I am loving our cloth diapers. A final note that has helped me a ton, if you happen to choose gDiapers for your cloth diapering, they have a Diaper Therapy Team that has been priceless in helping me work through any challenges we’ve run into. From diaper leaks to stinky laundry rooms, they’ve helped me pinpoint the cause & find a solution, all while being kind, funny, & genuinely caring (plus, the help is free!) Reason #129 why I love gDiapers 🙂