My Baby Steps in honor of my Babies' Bums

It all started with paper towels, really. We use and abuse them. That is, we used to use and abuse them. Grab one here, two there, a long tug of the roll for that spill over yonder. In the trash, paper towel after paper towel after paper towel. I started to just feel plain wasteful paired with my quick detest of running to the store for yet again, more paper towels. So, I ditched them. For the last time I trashed my paper towels and bought no more. I filled our kitchen drawers with piles of baby wash cloths for sticky fingers and faces, small towels for wipe ups and clean ups. And that was it.

The paper towel story, that is. Then came the Little Boy being a bed-wetter and about a once a week dirty undies accident. The laundry started to add up. All the while the Baby Boy had transitioned heavily into 80% wet diapers and just a once or maybe twice a day poo diaper. (ya know what I mean) I was throwing urinated Little Boy laundry in once a day and trashing pee only diapers every 3 hours. It struck me. Plowed me over really. The cloth diaper monster was knocking on the door of my heart. I could easily being throwing cloth diapers in the laundry with Little Boy's undies/sheets. This, yet again, would be less trash and no more detested runs to the store for purchase of an item I'm going to trash the moment it steps foot in my home. But I ignored him, the cloth diaper monster that is. Sounds much too difficult. Too involved. Too messy. Too yucky. Too much laundry. How do you even use a cloth diaper?

Until now, I finally did some research and purchased the absolute most simplistic cloth-diapering system. I spent less than $40. They got all sorts of beeps and whistles out there to lure you in to spend your moo-la all for the sake of being green and cloth-diapering. Really, ya don't need much. So, I declare myself a hybrid cloth-diapering momma. I still got my disposables, though I have switched to non-chlorinated ones. I'm hearing the chlorine in diapers can wreak havoc on our littlest ones 'areas' and possibly their future reproductive health. The Baby Boy sports a good old-fashioned cloth diaper with a diaper liner for easy cleaning and diaper cover to hold in wetness. He wears them during the day when we're home all day anyways, and keeping laundry going is really no big deal anymore. Then at night time and for out and about, we switch to disposables.

I was always scared to jump over into the cloth diapering arena, but it's really not that scary after all. Perhaps I've created my own arena with my hybrid system. But the 3-4 times a day I'm laundering a cloth diaper instead of throwing one in the trash and putting our cash down the tube, I have to believe I'm making a small difference with my baby steps.

And, hear this, even if you're fully committed to disposables for your baby's bum...don't hesitate to check cloth training pants out as you potty train. I just purchased 2 for the Little Boy. His nighttime bed wetting is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon, and I'm fully convinced he might be wearing a Pull-Up to bed until he's well over the age of 4. Yet again, more trash..more wasted money. So I'm excited about these at $13 a piece, he can stay in Pull-Ups for many months to come without nighttime sheet changing and no trash in the diaper at morning time.

My baby steps in honor of my babies' bums.