Do you ever catch yourself telling moms that cloth diapers are addictive? Then, you realize what you just said and wonder who overheard you?
I do this often. Actually, now I’ve learned to say it a bit more incognito.
But, it is true! It doesn’t take long for the cloth diaper bug to bite.
You order your first cloth diapers, they come in and you wonder how the heck to use them, you put it on your baby and …. what’s that… yes, you are falling in love with the fluffy cute bottom. It’s almost impossible to ignore the siren’s call. “Buy more cloth diapers.”
You’re pretty sure you’ve lost your mind when you wake up in the middle of the night after dreaming of your next purchase.
I have now been cloth diapering for almost 7 years and although the addiction wanes at times, it never really goes away. There is always a launch to tempt you away from your content state.
Sometimes the obsession is valid. If your baby has a reaction to your current diapers or grows out of them it is your duty to search high and low for the perfect cloth diaper.
There you have it. I’ve given you freedom to release the guilt of buying another diaper (said in the questioning tone of a loving spouse) because it is your duty.
Below is a reprint of a post published exactly 2 years ago today. I can not believe that I sold those perfect diapers seen below. Dummy, I am.
Now be a good mommy and do your duty.
Originally published August 2, 2010 as Emotionally Attached to Cloth Diapers?
What?
Who in the world would get attached to a cloth diaper?! Not me.
Neeeeeever.
Okay, so maybe one time I had a teeny little obsession but I matured past that.
And now I may have reverted just a little bit. But, it’s not my fault! It’s completely the fault of Goodmama diapers. I was doing just fine with my very plain stash for Sterling. Then, I began buying cloth diapers for the new baby.
They’re all cute, don’t get me wrong. How could a minuscule diaper not be? But, Goodmama Newborns are beyond delicious. I’m not exaggerating. Ask my kids (they won’t stop stealing them!) or my friend Grateful for Grace.
She came over one day to let our dogs out and her eyes beheld the beauties tossed like rags in the lounge chair. I wouldn’t normally toss them around like rags but they came in the day we left for a weekend conference. I barely had time to ogle them.
All squishiness and cuteness aside, it doesn’t really matter if they don’t work well, right? I’ll have to wait 4-5 months to test that out.
Before this episode though there was one other time that I just could not part with a diaper. It was one of Paisley’s. It was a terribly UNabsorbent diaper but the print is the most precious I’ve seen. It’s the softest cotton knit with tiny little bunnies on it. Honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever use the diaper again but I kept it for sentimental reasons.
Do you have a diaper that you’ve held on to? I’m sure not. Only I would suffer from this terrible disease ;)
*disclaimer: this post is about 50% written in jest. please don’t go on a shopping spree and blame me
Jane says
Yes- totally obsessed and addicted. I am happy to justify this addiction for me and anyone else. I have to buy something to cover my babe’s bum… Why not, totally beautiful, washable, reusable cloth diapers? Just returned from a vacation and used disposables the whole time. Could not wait to get back to our cloth supplies. This is one addiction to promote and multiply!
jessica says
I’m not alone!! I’ve been using cloth on my first baby since she arrived 3 months ago. Last week we were at a conference and had to use disposables. You just don’t realize how good you have it until you have to use an inferior product… Not to mention the damage to the environment and the risk of chemicals against my baby’s skin. It’s nice to have a support group for my, um, hobby. :) Now I’m off to pick up my new wool cover that just arrived from Sustainablebabyish. Can’t wait to try wool covers!
Tracie Tackett-Penrod says
I am the mother of 4 and I (in a small guilty voice) used disposables for all of them… My first marriage I had 3 children, the youngest is entering middle school this year and my oldest just graduated from highschool. About 2 yrs ago, I met my soul-mate (awwww) and as we are both boderline old as dirt we quickly decided we would like to have a child together before things turned to dust… Our beautiful son was born 17 months ago at 28 weeks gestation (I had severe pre-eclampsia) weighing only 1 pound and 12 ounces! He came home from the hospital at 3 pounds 11 ounces and we had to fold preemie diapers down just to fit! I bought disposables like I had done for years and went on about the very busy dr visit laden, therapy ridden, sleepless life of a micro-preemie mom.
Fast-forward to today and my beautiful little boy has found a new toy, it lives in his diaper… to top it all off, this toy springs leaks often. I swear my itty bitty baby has a bladder the size of a 40 yr old beer drinker… I’m now changing outfits and sheets nearly daily, enter my new obsession *researching cloth*. I’m stuck with the dilemma of “holy crud he’s already 17 months old, can I justify dropping hundreds of dollars on something I may only use a few months?!” We are a single income family, daycare is just not a healthy option for him yet, so hundreds are like thousands to us. I stay up until 4 or 5am reading and dreaming and inventing… I’m obsessed already and I haven’t even bought one yet!! I just wish there was a magical stuffable diaper that could be reused after wet diapers, that was comfortable material against my son’s skin (and legs), that was super absorbant AND that could convert into toddler training pants… HA, he’ll be a 40 yr old beer drinker before I find that out there, and I’ll still be on the computer looking at cloth!
Autumn Beck says
There are many budget friendly cloth diaper options!! And it is NEVER too late to start cloth diapering! Take a look at the budget category and the recommendations tab.
Nikki says
I am just switching to cloth diapers and I got a great deal you might want to share with the readers on your site. At cottonbabies.com they have a buy 5 get 1 free on the bum genius 4.0 ($86), and also if you spend $75 you get a bum genius 4.0 free. So with free shipping I got 7 bum genius 4.0’s for $96, making them about $13.71 each!
Lavanya says
I am new mom of a nearly 10 month old. I cannot but dream about the fitted diapers stitched to a perfect fit for my son – I am planning to start stitching them on my own – at least I am dreaming about it. So, you are not alone!!
Corinna says
Thanks for making me feel “no alone”. I raised my 3 children on cloth. The oldest is 24 younges is 19. Now I am raising my grand nephew. At age 51 everyone thinks I am crazy to be using cloth. But I am a cloth junkie. I have way to many diapers. But I just could not help myself:)
tarin says
I still have the very first diaper I purchased for my firstborn, a drybees hybrid aio and two Blessed Bottoms diapers, 1 aio and 1 pocket with my sons name and winnie the pooh embroidered on the bum. They are no longer usable, but I love them too much to give them away
stephka says
cool post!!!! i am enginering my own diapers since half a year and guess what i dream of?? diapers!!! how crazy is that! even crazier when you know that in germany next to nobody does cloth diapering and if they do, i mostly means flats. so i never thought about this world that i dream of now.
right last night i dreamt about inserts. maybe i should go and see the shrink?
my diapers will be a three-part-modular system for least washing and wasting time and energy. they are like my forth’ baby ;-)