Feeling a Little Crunchy

I mentioned in my post the other day regarding preparing for Juliet that I've been feeling like a "crunchy" momma lately.  It's a newer term for me too, so don't feel bad if you're shaking your head in confusion.  According to Urban Dictionary, a crunchy mama is a mom "who supports homebirth, breastfeeding, baby wearing, cloth diapering, co-sleeping, gentle discipline, etc."  So basically, a hippy! :)

I'm not into home births personally and I prefer a bassinet next to the bed to actual co-sleeping, but everything else applies.  Or at least will, when Juliet arrives.  I've been feeling extra crunchy because Michael and I have decided we're going to cloth diaper! 

Before you wrinkle your nose at me and tell me that's disgusting or say "good luck with that" in a snotty voice, ask yourself if you really know what it means to cloth diaper babies in the here and now.  Gone are the days of pins and plastic pants and dunking poopy diapers in the toilet.  Cloth diapers have come a long way from generations past.  And thank goodness for that.

When I was pregnant with Evie, we considered cloth diapering.  I already knew I was going to breastfeed and make as much of my own baby food as possible--why wouldn't I consider cloth diapering as well?  Sure, it wouldn't be as simple as throwing a disposable diaper in the trash can after every use, but I'm not a fan of doing something just because it's simpler.  If I were, I'd eat at McDonald's every day.  In the end, we went with disposables because we didn't have a washer and dryer in our house, and didn't know when that would change.  Cloth diapering didn't fit into our life at that point in time, and I'm okay with that.

But this time around is different.  We have our own washer and dryer.  I'm not juggling being a first time mom and college.  And I remember how guilty I felt after buying each box of disposables, knowing I'd just be filling the landfills up with more and more waste.  I'm ready to tackle cloth diapering head on.

I'm not going to get into all the reasons why I think cloth diapering is awesome, mainly because it's one of those hot topics people love to argue about.  I've never really understood why people can't just choose to disagree and move on with their lives. Whether you choose bottle or breast, cloth or disposable, daycare or staying home--it's your choice, and I respect that.  Please have the courtesy to do the same.

But what I will say is, cloth diapers are freaking adorable!  Seriously, I can't wait to put Juliet in them. 
 

Aren't they fabulous?  These are Best Bottoms hybrid diapers, the diapers I'm hoping we'll love the most!

We contemplated starting Juliet in disposables until she fit into the one-size diapers (which could be anywhere from birth to three months), but we decided to go with a newborn cloth diaper rental program instead.  It will allow us to start her in cloth diapers right away without making a large investment in newborn diapers that fit for such a brief time, with the added bonus of allowing us to try a few different kinds to see what we like.  And we'll only spend a maximum of $80 to rent the diapers for three months!  You really can't beat that.

With the newborn rental program, we're going to try Little Joey's AIOs, bumGenius AIOs and Fuzzibunz Pocket diapers.  We're also going to buy a few Best Bottoms at the recommendations of a few friends who use them.  For all you moms out there that cloth diaper, please feel free to chime in with your favorite kinds and brands!  I'm a research fanatic so I think these will be the best fit for us to start with, but I'm always open to hearing first hand experience.

I could go on and on about cloth diapers, but I think I'll just say this:  don't knock something until you've tried it.  I'm hoping we'll love cloth diapering (and thankfully Michael is just as on board with the idea as me), but we also know it's going to be a struggle.  Just like anything to do with parenting is.  Heck, I had a lot of people tell me breastfeeding was way too hard, and they had no doubt I'd quit within a few weeks.  I breastfed Evie for over twelve months.  I'm not a quitter, and I hold fast to my convictions.