My Biggest Fluff Mistake

I have been covering Little Bear's bum in cloth for over a year now.  Before I was pregnant, I thought of cloth diapers as the folded "towels" that my mom put on with pins and gum pants - And there was NO way that I was dealing with pins, gum pants and worst of all - poop!  While I was pregnant though I started doing some research on cloth diapers because I figured that (1) it could save me money and (2) it would be good for the environment.  When I learned how different cloth diapering had become and how good it could be for my wallet, the environment and baby's bum, I was convinced!

Unfortunately here is where my biggest fluff mistake occurred.  And I want to put this out there to save other new fluffy mommies from making the same mistake that I did...  I was sucked in by the commercial advertising.  If you go to google and search for cloth diapers, of course it brings up the "name brand" diapers and when you go to their sites they do an excellent job of selling you not only on cloth diapers in general by their brand specifically.  Being completely new to this fluffy world, I had NO idea of all of the OTHER options out there.  BumGenius had me hooked!  The statistics, the pictures, the videos, the info, the reviews they posted...  It all sounded so amazing!  I bought into it - literally.  I got the 24 pack starter kit (all white of course - boring, I now know), the pail liner, the diaper sprayer...  And that was it.  My order came and I was ready to go.

Several weeks later Little Bear arrived and I morphed into a zombie mommy.  I had decided to wait until I made it through the first weeks before jumping into cloth diapering.  I figured that I would have enough on my mind learning how to care for a newborn, breastfeed, and get some sleep myself.  Washing diapers was one less thing I wanted to think about.  And although I LOVE my fluff, I am so glad that I didn't overwhelm myself with it right away!  So when Little Bear hit ~6 weeks, I was ready to take the dive into cloth.

I loved his little fluffy bum, the very first time I saw it in cloth!  It was so cute and I thought that I was the best mom!  I was saving money, saving the environment, saving his bum!  And I had diapers that I could reuse with future children or sell to another momma.  For awhile this was the case.  Then I started to discover some of the cloth diapering challenges...  overnight diapering, ammonia stink, stains, rashes.  I got online and started doing some research and this is when I truly discovered the world of fluff!  There were so many types of diapers and manufacturers of diapers (including all of those WAHMs that I had never heard of!) and so many accessories and opinions.  It was overwhelming but addicting at the same time!  I wanted to try everything (and I still do!)  but I had a basket full of white bumGenius diapers and I couldn't bear to waste a bunch of money.  

Slowly I have started expanding my horizons and trying some new things out whenever I need something or get a chance.  I have discovered that I do love pockets but that I hate microfiber.  I have found a washing routine that seems to be working for me.  Most importantly I have discovered that the best advice comes from moms (and dads) who have been there and I wish that I had spent more time researching blogs and discussion boards before I dove into cloth.

Now don't get me wrong, I do love BumGenius diapers and most importantly I LOVE using cloth!  But they aren't the only thing out there and they weren't necessarily the best choice that I could have made. So if you are thinking about cloth, don't get sucked in my all of the big name diapers.  Take your time and talk to those who know.  Be sure to explore the options and experiment with lots of brands and types to find what's right for you and your baby from the beginning.