Three Weeks in with Cloth Diapering

I honestly cannot believe that we're cloth diapering at home.  If you'd told 17-year old me what my laundry pile would look like at 27, I would be all like, 'Whaaaa...?'

But here I am, snapping on reusable diapers on my firstborn and not even thinking twice about it.

While pregnant, I did a lot of online research into cloth diapering.  It's somewhat of an investment at the beginning, but I knew that it would save us money in the long run, and it's supposed to be easier to potty train kids who have been in CD.  Also, August had a recurring diaper rash for his first month because disposables are better about masking the scent of his dirty diapers; with cloth, there's nothing to mask the smell, so he gets changed way quicker when he really needs it.  Since we've been CD, he hasn't had any redness of his cute little tush!  I call that a win.
After just two months of disposables, I can tell you that they are a) expensive and b) oddly smelly.  Not just what goes inside, but the diapers themselves.
Plus, look how cute this kid is in his new duds.  They're like a part of the outfit!

After looking into all of the options and talking with JP, I decided that All-in-Ones would be best for us.  There are a dizzying number of cloth diaper options (just take a look), but this is the easiest and least-intrusive type for us.  We went with Bumgenius Freetimes, which are not only super cute, but should fit him up to over 30 lbs!  I love the adjustable waist, and how many color options are available.

We have two changing stations: upstairs in the nursery and downstairs in the living room.  I spend the vast majority of my day downstairs, and, confession time, we only CD during the day.  We would need way more diapers to do it all the time, and I wanted to have everything consolidated in one location.  August goes through way more diapers during the day, so we're still not using nearly as many disposables as we used to.
Our CD stash consists of 15 diapers and lots of cloth wipes.  This is our set-up downstairs: changing table on top of our Chicco Playard, diapers prepped in a little basket, spray bottle with water, and CD-friendly diaper cream.

The routine goes like this: August needs a change.  Take him to the table, remove diaper, throw it into our trashcan with tight-fitting lid and washable liner.  Spray wipes with water and wipe him down if needed.  Put on new diaper.  Done.

I do laundry every other day, using Rockin' Green detergent in lavender-mint.  It smells amazing.  It's just a cold pre-rinse, warm wash, cold rinse, dry.  Once a week, I dry everything in the sun to bleach stains.
Mia is confused by the process, but I promise that it's easy.  A few extra loads of laundry a week, but with our new HE washer/dryer, it doesn't add up to much with water or electricity.

It's kind of amazing how easy the transition to a mostly-CD lifestyle has been.  I thought it was going to be much more intimidating and scary, but it's just a matter of finding what works best for you and your daily routine.  There are people who are really into it, and more power to them; I can see how this fits in perfectly with a very green lifestyle.  For our small family, it's more a matter of being cost effective and easier in the long haul, while not stressing about being completely rigid.  My motto for parenting so far is basically, 'Be flexible.'  If I'm out and didn't restock the diaper bag with cloth, I'm not beating myself up for using disposables.
I'll post another update in several months to let you know how we've been keeping up with it.  To be honest, I'm curious about how it will work out once he starts solids; we'll find out!