It All Started with a Little Bet...

 

Today is the first day of a Blog Hop Event to celebrate the Great Cloth Diaper Changes on April 21st! Each Day I will be posting a new and relevant post on different Cloth Diapering topics. 


Today's Topic: Cloth Diapering 101...."it all started with a little bet"


So if you are like me, when I first started Cloth Diapering the only things I knew were:

1. "Fuzzibunz" were the only brand of cloth diapers.
2. I could probably get away with 8-10 diapers, tops (ha ha, I know, so naieve)
3. I need to buy a small washing machine for my cloth diapers.
4. I will never use cloth wipes. End of Story.

Boy have things changed...fast forward 9 months...

1. My Stash now includes: Fuzzibunz, Flip, Bumgenius, Okeo Popo, Happy Heinys, Rumparooz, Kawaii, Booty Buns, Tiny Tush and Softbums to name a few! And I do know that there is more than one company that makes cloth diapers.
2. I have about 40 diapers (not that I need this many by any means, just addicted, and winning a few)!
3. No need for another washing machine, both diapers and all my clothes still come out just as clean (this was the hubby's biggest fear)!
4. I am using cloth wipes and loving them!

Now I am a full blown Cloth Diaper Advocate/Addict. You may ask how did I make the transition? When I told everyone that I was going to Cloth Diaper these are some of the responses I got...

• "that is so much work"
• "I tried it before and it didn't last, you are crazy"
• "why?"
• "what about the poops?"
• "why would you use cloth when there are disposables?"
• "don't you have to pay for a cloth diaper service"
• "your clothes are going to smell like poop if you wash them in the same machine as your diapers"
• "I bet you can't do it for more than 2 months."

And the last response provided my motivation!!!I like to say it all started with a "Little Bet" from the hubby. He had neighbors, friends, and family all guessing "How long I would last" doing the cloth diapers, and to be honest, I had doubts in the back of my mind too! But this was a challenge, and I could at least do it past the 2 month mark for a win!!

Little did I know that what started out as a Bet would turn into a love of fluff!

The first few weeks of cloth diapering were an adjustment. I had to figure out among other things, my wash routine, the storage of the diapers, traveling with diapers, nighttime diapering, stink issues, and the stripping of diapers (not in that dirty kind of way, but in the same sense a poopy dirty kind of way)!

After I got it "down to a science" I have been on cruise control ever since. Cloth diapering has become second nature to me! I do have the "occasional road bump" but with each problem comes more experience for the future little bums I will be diapering:-)

One of the biggest helps I received was from bloggers who used cloth diapers. I would ask questions, watch tutorials, and read articles to help me better understand a particular issue I was dealing with. I encourage everyone who dives into the world of cloth diapers to take advantage of all the Cloth Diapering Bloggers out there! They provide a wealth of knowledge, information and experience. This is infact the reason I started my blog, My Cloth Diaper Stash. I wanted to provide a fun and informative site for people to learn and ask questions about Cloth Diapering. I love recording my adventures along the way to share with others!

And before I forget, the hubby has turned into a HUGE cloth diaper advocate! He now brags to his friends about how much money we save with cloth diapers and how well they work! He even goes to my blog on occasion! He will not wash the poopy diapers out, but I can live with that:-) 

So there you have it...it all started with a bet, and ended with a partner in fluff!

If you want to learn more about the basics of Cloth Diapers, Check out My Cloth Diapering 101 posts. I am adding to it every week, so if you see a topic you would like me to post on, feel free to shoot me an e-mail.