Cloth Diapers Part 1*

When I found out that we were expecting not one, but TWO babies, my whole world flipped upside down.

Now, I've written before about the twin omens and about how I knew that it was twins before the first ultrasound but I never really acted on those feelings, because, well…

I thought I was INSANE.

As it turns out, I wasn't insane at that moment (but maybe now I am a little bit)

With the news of twins, one of the hardest things for me to swallow was the idea that I would have three in diapers.

Diapers are expensive, not to mention gross. It was overwhelming to even consider how many diapers we would go through in a month.

Gideon would go through about 5 diapers a day and newborns are supposed to go through 6-8 a day.

21 diapers…In 1 day.

630 diapers in 1 month.

Costco diapers cost about .35 cents per diaper.

$220 a month for disposable diapers.  (One more reason I hate when people tell me that I got two babies for the price of one)

Anyhow, those figures were nearly crippling for me. Even if I only changed their diapers half of the predicted number I would be spending $110 every month on diapers.

Enter Cloth Diapers.

I don't even know how the idea crept in, but I joined a cloth diaper support group on Facebook. I then researched everything I could possibly need to know/do to begin cloth diapering. I had two main questions:

1. Would it really be less expensive?
I found a "starter pack" of Best Bottom diapers that cost around $500 ($600 if you go with hemp/cotton inserts, which we did). This pack of diapers comes with 9 covers that are size adjustable, 18 daytime inserts for each size of diaper, plus 3 nighttime inserts for each size. It would cover the needs of all three of my children from birth to potty training for less than what I would spend on 3 months worth of disposables! 

2. Would it really be better for the environment?

Here's a link to the environmental effects. 

I know that not everyone can afford to shell out $600 to start cloth diapering, but there are many less expensive ways to go about it. I factored in convenience when I chose what brand I would use, and that upped the price significantly. I also had 3 babies from the get go so I couldn't build a significant stash over time---I had to do it right away. On top of all of that, I also have an amazingly generous aunt who funded our starter pack. Without her help we would definitely still be building our cloth diaper supply.

The other huge benefit is that cloth diapers are WAY cuter…

Nothing worse than an ugly disposable sticking out of a cute dress!

 Ain't nothin' more manly than working on your bike in your underwear.

*Part 2 will come at some point and I'll talk about how we care for our cloth and the pros and cons we've personally seen as we've implemented using cloth diapers. In the meantime, head over to Kelly's Closet to find more information!