Cloth Diapering

Yea, you read that right... I'm a weirdo.

I have had interest in cloth diapering since probably around the time we started trying for kids (2007). However at the time I knew nothing. I assumed I would have to go through a diapering service to do such a thing and then would it REALLY be cost efficient to cloth diaper. I'm not really the "go green" type, So it has to prove worth while money wise for me to make a "green" decision. Riley shot that idea down right away, said it was gross and he wouldn't do it and bla bla bla. So I dropped it, for a while.

Nearly 2 years ago my friend from middle/high school gave birth to twin girls. To save money (A LOT of money) she decided to cloth diaper. I've been reading her blog since she was pregnant, and it made me want to look more into the modern cloth diapering options. I would read her blog posts about using cloth and would root for her when she was having a tough time, and get so excited when she would post a tips or stash post. So that I could see first hand what was and wasn't working for someone that I knew personally, not some stranger on the Internet getting paid to do a review.

When I first found out I was pregnant back in August I mentioned to Rye that I was still thinking about cloth diapering. Went over a few of the options on HOW to do it, and then gave him the price rundown. If we potty train at 2 1/2 years (I could be dreaming) then for the 30 months IN diapers it would cost between $40-$72 a month for diapers which adds up to $1200-$2160 spent in diapers alone. However I can build an AMAZING cloth diaper stash for well under $400 and then be set for and children we have. Laying out the numbers for him was ALL it took and he was game. So I started my research and felt SO unprepared and under educated. I spent hours upon hours reading or watching reviews. We had a deal that we wouldn't buy ANYTHING baby until I was 12 weeks (which didn't happen). After my mourning period I got back into the game (fertility appts and such) and decided I should still try to gain as much cloth diapering knowledge as I could before I became pregnant again.

So here I am, 6 months pregnant and feeling ready for the challenge. I want to say I have 20-ish diapers and so far my cost is at $200. I've been watching the online sales and every time one strikes I buy 2-3 diapers. I am hoping to have a stash around 30 diapers (plus a stash for newborn) Which means I'm almost there, then I only have to worry about the newborn stash. I'm holding out for a big purchase of the "best of the best" I keep hoping they will go on sale, but if not I have an amazon gift card waiting in the wings ready to help me make the cloth diaper purchase I am most excited about.

Riley will be installing our diaper sprayer either this weekend or next, Cause I want to make sure it's done before he leaves. He also has to move OUR washer and dryer into the new house and move the ones that belong in housing out to the garage. We bought our fancy front loaders 3 years ago and it has the sanitize setting on it (which was another reason Rye decided to go along with this). Rye has been a champ about this, the man has never changed a diaper in his life, and yet is is totally game to do cloth diapering. I am hoping that when he gets home from deployment he will follow through and learn how to change diapers like a pro, I'm sure he's so looking forward to that.

I'll take pictures and post my "stash" in the nearish future. It'll be interesting to see how well it works vs my expectations of the entire thing. Overall though, I am excited. The money we don't spend on diapers can go towards other things (you know like race entry fees)... Speaking of, Rye has a half marathon this weekend, so I will be blogging about that this next week!