Why I Chose Cloth Diapering
–Raymee Alper
I decided I wanted to use cloth diapers when my baby brother was born. I was thirteen at the time and I loved watching my step mom wrap him up in those cute diapers and tie it off with little pins. I did my fair share of babysitting and nannying and changed a variety of bums, but I never saw anything as cute as a baby with a cloth diaper booty.
By the time I got around to having my first child, my reasons for choosing cloth had grown. Not only was I thrilled about the variety of choices, colors and patterns, I was committed to doing my part to keep paper diapers out of landfills and to make an effort to reduce the costs of childrearing in whatever ways possible. Choosing cloth let me feel good about making an environmental and economical choice, but it also made me feel good about what I was putting close my baby’s skin.
As common with most women in their early 30s these days, my pregnancy was filled with opinions from friends and an inundation of resources to problems I didn’t even know I would have. I did my homework and came across a few different home diapering solutions that were popular and highly-recommended as well as a local diaper delivery service. While I was on board for cloth diapering, I kept coming back to the idea of actually washing the diapers myself and I simply didn’t want to do it.
From my first call with Simply Clean Diaper to the delivery of my first set of tiny, brilliantly white newborn inserts, I was hooked. Kathy and her staff are knowledgeable and supportive and environmentally conscious in every way. Always ready to answer my questions, give advice and even send over a new wrap at the last minute. It was like magic – I woke up to clean diapers once a week. I never felt the panic of running out of diapers in the middle of the night and as my daughter got older, our diaper costs kept shrinking.
A potty-training success story and another baby later, we are still in cloth. I love looking at my babies strutting around in a bright diaper cover, their buns covered in cloth, knowing we made a decision on many levels. They say it takes a village, and I agree. Simply Clean isn’t just a vendor to us – they are helping to make it easier to make the best choices for our kids.