The Love Affair

I fell in love with cloth quite accidently. I purchased the classic starter diapers while pregnant with my 4th son and thought- I will do my part to help the environment. I read a bit on the chemicals and other negatives but didn't get heavy into it.

Then at 7 months we almost lost our son- we fought to keep him inside me for 7 weeks until he was born at 35 weeks. He was huge- 7lbs for 35 weeks but had trouble expelling the fluid from his lungs and was in intesive care for 8 days. He made a miraculous recovery- at day 4 he was on a cpap machine and came home at day 9. All the while I was whispering in his ear that we needed him home, mommy couldn't loose another baby, and kept reminding him we could cuddle all day if he came home. I guess it worked.

Well after all the stress of that experience I was just happy he was home and really didn't think about the cloth- (Honestly was a little scared of it). Fast forward 2 1/2 months I went back to work as planned and was told that they were laying me off (with 5k other workers) but they were going to give me severance and insurance for 3 months, then unemployment would follow. I was estatic. They were going to pay me to stay home with my newborn. Life couldn't have gotten better.

All the while this is going on Marcus has a re-occurring diaper rash that started in the nicu and would go away for a week or so and come back and no matter what I did it returned. So one morning - after spotting my previously washed and prepared cloth diapers sitting there, I thought "I will just try it for a week" and started cloth that minute.

It didn't take but a few days for his rash to be gone entirely and has not been back. But I also loved the softness of the fleece/flannel/cotton against his skin. IT made me feel better knowing it wasn't chemicals.

Then everyday I started noticing how much better I felt, he felt and the family could see we were happier. It seems completely corny but the conversion just sat well with us.

Now I know that I will NEVER use disposables longterm on my children again. Will we use them once in awhile? I doubt it but I can't predict the future nor my husbands whims HAHA. But I go out of my way to never use them because I feel better about it.

I have changed so much from my first birth 10 years ago and my last 7 months ago. With my first I got a drive by epidural, thought that breastfeeding was cool if it was easy, and just thought disposables are what you did. Now, I prefer natural birth, breastfeeding is the only way for me, and I won't use anything disposable for myself or my baby.

How did you fall in love with diapers? What is your weakness?
My weakness is a fat tushy in a cloth diaper that just screams! Like my Lime Green Knicker nappies or my Black Happy Heinys.

Its supposed to be a money saver but we won't break even anytime soon because we buy way to often- they are so cute I just can't resist.