Get ready for it. It’s happening. We’re about to become a cloth diapering family. Yep. True story. After some deliberation (although not much), we’ve landed comfortably on this option for Baby K’s little bum…and we think that he or she will soon be sitting comfortably as a result.

Now, in the handful of “Oh, you’re cloth diapering?” conversations I’ve had so far, my observation is that people react one of two ways to this idea. There’s the “How great! You’ll love it! Good for you!” response, and there’s the “So you’re cloth diapering? Why did you decide to go that route?” kind of response. Both are fair, and I’m happy to address either. We’ve decided to give this a go for three reasons: baby’s health, our budget and the environment. As we’ve learned more and more about the benefits of padding the peanut’s behind with natural and/or organic materials, we’ve also grown a great appreciation for the options, technology and functionality of cloth diapering as it exists today. The companies who produce cloth diapers are smart and savvy, and they’re turning out items that are nearly hard to resist–soft and absorbent materials in a plethora of combinations to suit a family and its needs as baby goes from newborn to potty-trained. (It doesn’t hurt that they’re all super cute, too:)

We’re still getting acclimated to all of the options in front of us, and we’re being choosy to make sure that we go about this the right way from the beginning. Neither one of us could fully commit without the acknowledgement that there will not be a plastic tub or box of mostly unused cloth diapers in the corner of our basement somewhere–we’re all in. Yes. This means I’ll be doing a lot of laundry (was kind of planning on it anyway:) and getting the hang of a few logistics that we would have otherwise lived without. BUT, it also means soft, safe materials up against baby’s skin, the ability to use and reuse diapers from the day baby’s born until he or she is out of them altogether, far less of a footprint on the planet, and in theory, more money in baby’s college fund and less in the diaper pail.

I’m sure there will be days when we both say, “What were we thinking?!” Of course not every dirty diaper is the same, and of course some will be more traumatizing than others (especially on dad, I think). But we’re excited about this, and about the chance to do something we think might be great for our family. We’re also blessed to have this store practically in our backyard and filled with knowledge and resources we know will be of help as we learn the ropes.

Currently, there are two cloth diapers and one diaper cover under our roof, and we have a long way to go on stocking up before we’ll be ready to keep a newborn in cloth all day long. Still, it’s a start, and we’re fully invested in making this new direction a reality. Grandmas and Grandpas, get ready to learn even more about diapers than you ever knew when you were raising and changing us! Baby K can’t wait to spend time with each of you, and cloth diapering the little one will seem as natural as can be before you know it. Cheers to the impending arrival of the little one–and to the integration of cloth into our lives for years to come. Bottoms up!

thinking the babe will be precious with a little padded bum (if i may say so),

mm