cloth diapering- the good, the bad and the ugly

My journey to cloth diapering started when I found out I was pregnant with my first child. I had never given it much though to what kind of diapers my child would use until I was searching youtube for some money saving option for raising a baby and BAM! I got smacked in the face with cloth diapering. I thought, "well if it worked for my grandmothers then why couldn't it work for me?" I was excited at the prospect of saving money but then I discovered it wasn't my grandmother ball game anymore. I did my research and figured out with the pros and cons were to cloth diapering. I will talk about the different type of cloth diaper option in another blog but here is a simplistic list of pros and cons:

Pros

1. Less expensive: you can cloth diaper a child from birth til potty training for as little as $100 as appose to disposable diapering, which usually costs anywhere for $2,000- $4,000 per child from birth to potty training. And you can use your cloth diaper stash on your other children as well, you don't have to buy brand-new diapers for your second and third child.
2. Healthier for your child: With cloth diapering you can use natural products exclusively that don't contain the nasty chemicals that some disposable diapers have. I recently read an article where the content of a Huggles disposable diaper leaked on to a 18 month old while he was sleeping and he got 2nd degree burns from it.
3. Better for the earth - a child goes through thousands of disposable diapers a year. If you cloth diaper, you are saving those from going in to the land fill.
4. More convenient: In my opinion cloth diapering is more convenient because you never have to go to the store to buy more diapers. Yes you do have to wash them but you're doing your babies wash anyway and I wash his cloth diapers and his clothes on the same day.
5. Children tend to potty train at an earlier age: My little guy is only 8 months old so I'm not at that stage yet but I've done a lot of research that shows that cloth diapered children tend to potty train at least 3 to 6 months earlier then children in disposable diapers because they can feel the wetness and are more aware their bodies.
6. Numerous different options: Your options for cloth diapering are endless. You can choose all-in-ones, all-in-twos, prefolds with covers, fitted with covers or even flats with covers. Then there are different types of covers which include wool, fleece or PUL, which is a waterproof material. Not to mention you have mainstream options, work at home mom brands and you can even make your own. Every diaper brand will fit differently on different children, so keep trying options til you find what works for you!
7. You can use them for more than one child:
8. They are cute: Need I say more 
   

I guess I can't talk about the pros without talking about the cons.

Cons

1. Washing: Yes you do have to wash them. The pee is easy to handle, just do a cold prewash first. Now I think where people get squeamish is when it come to the poop. Exclusively breastfeed baby poop can go straight in to the washing machine. Babies who eat solid food need to have the diaper rinsed/sprayed in the toilet first before you put them in the washer.  That being said, depending on how big your stash is that will dictate how often you have to do wash. I personally do my son's wash every third day. I use prefolds and covers, pockets and all in twos and I love them! They are easy to clean and one of the least expensive options.
2. Addicting: Now I know that sounds crazy but cloth diapering can be addicting. There are so many cute options and styles. It can save you a lot of money but not if you keep buying more. 
3. Night time diapering: A lot of people struggle when it come to cloth diapering at night. I have had nights where I wake up to a wet unhappy baby who needs a new pair of jammies. It does take some trial and error but you can come up with something that works for you. Right now I use 2 folded prefolds and a cover. It works for now but there may come a time where I have to find something different. The good news is that there are many different things to try. A lot use hemp because it is extremely absorbent.

I'm sure you could come up with more hurdles but I believe they can be overcome with some trial and error and creativity.  Feel free to leave comments or questions below and keep an eye out for my post on types of cloth diapers coming soon. Happy Cloth Diapering J