36 weeks: in defense of cloth

Here I am at 36 weeks. Getting big, but I'm hopeful that the weight gain is slowing and/or stopping soon!

I would like to give a defense for our choice to use cloth diapers, not that I think I owe any explanation, but just so you can understand our reasoning for such a decision. I have always felt burdened by the amount of disposable diapers that will lie in landfills for hundreds of thousands of years, but I didn't think there was any alternative until my wonderful friend Debby announced she would be using cloth diapers for her little one. I learned from Debby that cloth diapers are not what they used to be; in fact, they are quite easy to use and quite reliable. Let me lay out a few reasons why cloth is better:

1. They are cost-effective. I found a good priced brand of one size pocket diapers for which we paid approx. $6.50 each. In total, we paid about $200. Cloth diapering saves about $1000 per year, so considering that these diapers will take a baby from birth to potty training AND that you can use these diapers for subsequent children, that can add up to A LOT. (Of course if you pay your water bill, you would have to factor in the cost of doing more laundry. For us, that isn't an issue yet.)

2.They have super cute patterns. Sure, they might be more bulky than the disposable types, but who really cares?

3. Cloth diapered babies have less diaper rash. They are exposed to fewer chemicals, since disposable diapers are processed in factories and what not (this is clearly not a science lesson).

4. In case the idea of cloth diapering shocks you, let me take it one step further and tell you that we will be attempting to use cloth wipes. Yes, you read that correctly. Here's another great way to save money. And if you are already washing cloth diapers, you might as well wash some wipes, too.

5. Most importantly, going natural and utilizing reusable items is a way that I feel close to God. To me, it's important to take care of God's creation as much as I can, and using cloth diapers and wipes for our baby is one big way that I can do that. This is an important value for TJ and me, and we feel that it's a great way to introduce this value to our baby early on. So I really don't care what the naysayers have to say about our decision because to me, this is partly a faith issue.


I don't judge others for not making the same decision as us with this, BUT I do wish that parents would at least consider the option. I feel like our society doesn't even act like this is an option. We wonder whether we will have to use disposable diapers when we bring our children to the nursery at church or with babysitters, and it's kind of sad to me that we would have to do that. We will have to change our ways to accommodate and fit the norm. I hate the idea of it, but sadly, it might be what we have to do.