I don’t know why every family makes the choice to use cloth diapers full or part time, but after answering a lot of questions by parents who do not, most of them have not really made a choice to use disposables. They have fallen into it because they don’t know there is much of a choice. I learned about modern cloth diapers from a friend in 2008 and was persuaded fairly quickly that we would use them to some extent when we had children. At first it was the cost savings and the feeling that I should be more actively involved in what product keeps them healthy and clean in this important and intimate way. Now that our family cloth diapers full time, I feel the same but have learned to appreciate our choice in other ways. These days, babies have been in one time use diapers for at least a couple of generations. Pampers came on the market in 1959. I was born in the mid 1970′s and can remember my parents using prefolds and rubber pants with some of my siblings, but transitioning to only disposables by the time my youngest sibling was born in the mid 1980′s. It seems like this was typical. The result is that many parents of small children now either never saw cloth diapers in use or only vaguely recall cloth diapers in use. They are also influenced by their parents’ generation that made this transition and found the new way of doing things to be a lot more convenient. They haven’t experienced the modern rebirth of cloth diapering that started around 2000 with the introduction of Fuzzibunz pocket diapers. A lot of parents have made the choice to use disposables, but haven’t really made an informed choice. As I said, one of the major reasons we made our choice was cost. Actually, cost was how I got the Amazing E to agree. According to Consumer Reports, American families spend about $2,500 – $3,500 per child to use disposables from birth to potty training. They also say that cloth diapering costs less. Based on our experience, we agree. We have between $500 – $600 in cloth diapers, wet bags, and reusable wipes. That’s it. We use somewhere in the realm of $20 per month in extra utility costs to wash them and about $6 in detergent. The little guy is 9 months old now, about 1/3 of the way through with his diapering days and has been in cloth since birth. So, we would have spent perhaps $1,000 in disposables by now. Our cost in the last 9 months, including the entire upfront outlay for 2.5 years worth of diapers, plus utilities and detergent for the 9 months has been between $800 and $900. And we bought the more expensive pocket diapers. We think it’s a good way to save money in the long term. My other big issue was wanting to be more involved in my child’s hygiene. Why, you might ask? Well, keeping a child clean of his bodily waste is one of the major and important chores of being a parent. I am or intend to be consciously involved in other major daily care choices for my child. I am concerned about the health and social impact of what he eats and wears and how he is educated and entertained. Letting him poop and pee in something I buy at the store, use once, throw away, and try not to think about feels like it doesn’t fit. So I made the decision before he was born to look into the current options for caring for my child’s hygiene.

I'll admit that I originally wanted to switch to cloth because of the cost savings. However, the more I learned about the benefits to the environment and the chemicals that are involved in making disposable; I am even more committed than ever to keep up with cloth and try to help others get started on their cloth diapering journey.

I chose to cloth diaper in an attempt to save money. Of course with as addicting as cloth diapering is, I'm not sure how much money we are saving, because I'm in love with cute colors and patterns for my children. I also cloth diaper to cut down on diaper rash and the thought of my child's diapers sitting in a landfill for hundreds of years bothers me.

I started using cloth diapers 7 years ago when my twins were babies. They both had sensitive skin (as do all 5 of my children) and were having reactions to disposables, not to mention the cost of disposable-diapering twins! We switched to cloth and never looked back. I have since cloth-diapered 2 more children! I have saved thousands of dollars over the years.

Initially, I chose cloth for economic reasons - as a young mother with 3 in diapers (including twins), the cost of disposables was a true financial burden. However, in short time, I fell in love with cloth for many other reasons. Not only are cloth diapers SO much better for baby and the environment, they're really just a joy to use. I changed A LOT of diapers in those early days and using cloth made the experience a great one.

i wanted to originally save money, and then all the other benefits just came with the territory!

I've always used cloth diapers, always will, even when I become a Grandparent (one day).

Honestly, I first started using cloth because I had three children under the age of three and the mess and cost of disposables was overwhelming. Since using cloth and now selling cloth, reducing the impact on the environment has become just as important to me as saving money and reducing waste.

After finding out how much cloth diapering had changed from the notion that it was just diaper pins and plain plastic pants, I chose to go cloth. I couldn't be happier with my decision because my son has a happy tush and we have a happy pocketbook.

I used disposable diapers with my first three children. I really don't know why I never researched cloth diapering before - I guess the market is so flooded with disposable diaper advertising that I was fooled into thinking that disposable diapering was the "only" option. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I never even thought once about using cloth diapers. But that all changed in the summer of 2009, when I was pregnant with my fourth baby at the same time my younger sister was expecting her first. I knew my sister was planning a home birth and was leaning towards more natural parenting so when I was thinking about what I could give to her for a baby gift, I just happened to ask her whether they were planning on using cloth or disposable diapers. She said cloth, and told me a little bit about what she was planning on using and what she still needed. The more I talked with her about it, the more intrigued I became. I began poking around on the internet to pick out something I could buy for her, and to learn a little more. As I looked at and read about cloth diapers and their accessories, I began to think - I could do this, this doesn't look so bad at all! I mentioned to my husband that I was thinking about trying cloth diapers, and his very first reaction was, "No you're not!" But I researched it more and found a great list of cloth diapering myths/facts. He read it and decided it didn't sound so bad after all - plus he loved the idea of saving hundreds of dollars and not producing so many stinky bags of garbage every month. In July of 2009 I purchased my first cloth diaper and then in September made my first large purchase - a rental stash of newborn diapers to be used when my daughter arrived in December. We began using cloth four days after she was born and we were hooked! I was amazed at how much MORE I liked cloth, compared with the disposables I'd used with my older three kids. They seemed so much more comfortable for her than paper diapers, and they worked so much more efficiently - no more "blowouts"! And with a family of six, another load of laundry every two or three days just wasn't that hard. My daughter is now over 2 years old and nearly done with diapers. Last spring she and I were featured in a large article about cloth diapers in a local newspaper, and next month I will be teaching a Cloth Diapering 101 class through our city's parks & rec department. I love cloth diapers and love teaching others about cloth. I try not to pushy or judgmental when talking about cloth diapering with others - if they want to learn more, I am more than happy to share what I've learned over the past couple of years. I feel strongly that every parent should have a realistic idea of what using cloth diapers is like so that they can make a truly educated decision as to whether they'd like to give it a try. I am excited to become a member of the RDA and hope to one day become an RDA Circle Leader to further help promote cloth diapers in my area.