Friday, September 10, 2010

The Start of My Cloth Diaper Journey

Here goes for yet another "transition" period in our lives of self employment!!

A few months ago I was sitting watching the news about the oil rig explosion, no one was saying much about it then, although I am in an uproar.  Did anyone realize it was Earth Day?  An anniversary of Earth Day at that, which I hold highly in my book of special days. Well maybe it was hormones from expecting the delivery of our second child, due in May!  So, my outlook of how I was going to raise my children began to change drastically. 
I presented my "diaper" case to my husband, and that was the beginning.  I was determined to cloth diaper Althea.  I had tried with Abbey, much to my dismay I bought the wrong diapers, although they were very absorbent, I bought six.  The problem, the directions say to line dry, it is winter so can't hang them outside, they took two days to dry!!  Not so good to test cloth diapers every few days, I did like them when they were clean and dry!!  So I tell my husband what I plan to do after many days of reading about cloth.  He is all for it as long as we keep it up.  My how cloth has changed from when I was little, to it's resurfacing in the past few years, 6 years ago with Abbey and now with Althea.  We really have great resources available to cloth diaper the old way, or the new way.
I have successfully cloth diapered Althea so far.  It has been great, I get such personal satisfaction from this act everyday, and those diapers that I bought for Abbey 6 years ago, I have them and cannot wait to use them!  So why am I here writing this?  People I run into do not know what Althea is wearing.  "Where did you get those diaper covers?", they ask.  "Those are her diapers, not covers." I respond.  Then the explanation and everything that I have been doing is discussed.  So many people do not know that there are other ways to cloth, than pins & prefolds!  Bum Genius 3.0 are the diapers I have the most of, I love them.  Jenn @ Cotton Babies has done a fantastic job designing these.  I want more of the new 4.0's.  But what I want more, is to inform people of our options in cloth diapering.  We are making informed decisions on childbirth, breastfeeding, organic foods, etc.  I do not think people realize the environmental impact of disposable diapers.  It is just an everyday thing like using paper towels, and plastic!  There are alternatives.
So my plan is to have T-Shirts made, write on this blog, and spread the word of cloth diapering made easier than using prefolds & pins.  Cotton Babies & Bum Genius have been a huge part of this for me.  Our plans do not stop there for bettering the world we live in.  Abbey attends a Montessori school, where they teach our children peacefulness, conservation, and responsibility.  My husband has a great plan for something recycled, we will see more of that soon.  We are planning a huge garden with a friend of ours, within the city limits.  So our year ahead will be very exciting and busy.
As the President is speaking on the television, on the day before 9-11, I wish everyone peace and happiness tomorrow and the days following.  Please think about your actions, and try to make a change.
Thanks for reading my story,
HM