Everything you need to know about cloth diapering

1. It's not hard!
2. It's not (that) gross

I think some of my family and friends thought I was a little nuts when I said we were going to use cloth diapers but 5 months going strong, I don't regret it! I can't imagine how many disposable diapers we would have gone through by now. Sure I know friends who received lots of diapers at their baby showers but unlike the cloth diapers I got those disposables won't last forever. The one package of newborn diapers we did use was gone after just 2 days! What I'm trying to get at here is that cloth diapering is a big money saver.

There are a  lot of guides online to cloth diapering, I'll share some of my favorites later on, but some of them are so long that I think they make the process seem intimidating. My goal is to give you a quick and dirty guide to how I have diapered my daughter and show you how easy it is.

My supplies:

Pocket diapers: our overnight diaper

• 1 package of newborn disposable diapers
• assorted wipes (whatever we got at my baby shower)
• about 30 pre-folded cloth diapers assorted brands
• 6 one size pocket diapers assorted brands with 7 inserts
• 4 one size Flip diaper covers
• 4 newborn/small size diaper covers with umbilical stump snap
• 1 wet bag
• All Free and Clear detergent
• 1 diaper bucket with lid

Boobs & BMs: my new obsession with the miracle of the digestive system

Maybe I'm a little weird but the first time my baby girl left me a golden gift in her diaper instead of the nasty newborn tar, I was so excited I had to take a picture! Don't worry, I'll spare you and, okay, maybe that's more than a little weird.
It's just that here I had proof that everything was working just as it should. My body was making the food she needs to thrive, her body was processing it just fine. The miracle of life! or at least digestion. ;-)
The day before we had gone to the pediatrician for her first check-up. She was down 5 ounces from her birth weight. We were assured that was normal but I was still anxious that she would gain some weight by her weight check a few days later lest the Dr start pressuring me about supplementing. Seeing her first breast milk stool was amazing reassurance that my body was continuing to provide for her.
It also signaled that we could graduate from disposable diapers to cloth. We'd held off until she'd finished passing meconium because we'd been warned the nasty tar would ruin/stain our beautiful new cloth diapers. And there came another miracle, okay not a miracle but something awesome: no more watching our diaper stash dwindle away with every diaper change. The first night home she dirtied 5 diapers in a 2 hour span and I began to wonder if the case of newborn diapers we had would be enough to see us through. Now I can just toss her used diapers in the wash and have them back good as new 2 hrs later. No trips to the grocery store, no counting the cost of each diaper change.
Back to the boob juice: in the next few days, my little girl provided abundant proof that she was getting plenty to eat. By the time we headed back to the dr for her weight check I was prepared to tell the office their scale must be broken if they told me she hadn't gained any weight. Sure enough she'd put on 7 ounces in just 3 days!
Now my little jelly bean continues to prove her healthy appetite. She eats like crazy and that is just fine with this proud mama!