Cloth Diapers, here we come!

I admit, my first desires to cloth diaper came from the little bit of hipster in me desiring to be in on the latest trend. I did a lot of research and scoured all kinds of blogs and asked all kinds of advice from people who cloth diaper. The more I researched, the more cloth seemed do-able. When it came down to it, I convinced Andy to cloth diaper after reading this article about the cost of cloth vs. disposable. Our conversation went something like this:

Me: According to this article, even if we choose the most expensive diaper option, we will save $1,000 on diapers until the baby is potty trained. Even including laundry.

Andy: Okay then, let's do it. 

What can I say? Money talks. 

After 8 weeks of using disposables, and cringing every time we had to drop another $30 on a box of diapers, we are finally in transition to all cloth. I bought 6 BumGenius One-size, All-In-One (AIO) diapers from kellyscloset.com and they came in the mail a couple of days ago. AIOs are supposed to fit Ethan from birth (I don't think they would have fit until 4-5 weeks, he was a little guy) to potty training. They are the most like disposable diapers. You just put them on, take them off and wash them. 

After one night of cloth diapering, here are my opinions so far:

1. Cloth diapers just look so darn cute it's all I want to dress him in.

2. His diaper area looks so much better. We don't have problems with rashes (*knock on wood*), but he was always red and had big indents around his legs with the disposables. After just a few hours of his first cloth diaper, everything looked better. 

3. The AIOs are really bulky because they have two really thick flap inserts. I'm a little worried about some of his clothes fitting over them. I also don't know how many can fit in the diaper bag when we are out and about!

4. Since the AIOs are all sewed together, they are supposed to be line dried. This took 4-5 hours outside yesterday when it was 90 degrees. I can see this being a problem once I start back at work and don't start the laundry until 4 or 5 p.m.

5. We need WAY more diapers! We put the first one on him after dinner last night and I am down to two clean diapers already this morning. I knew this going in, but I wanted to try out a couple of different styles before going all in and purchasing a whole set. 

Now, we need to decide if we are going to stick with the AIOs or try a different kind of system (like these ones). I also need to get and/or make some cloth wipes. It's a big pain to have disposable wipes and cloth diapers and remember not to throw the wipes into the wet bag with the diapers. 

All in all, so far so good.

And because who doesn't love pictures of babies in cloth diapers...

One month!

Me: Can you believe Ethan is one month old?
Andy: It feels like he's always been with us.

That conversation pretty much sums up my feelings about the last month. Some days feel like they last years and some days are over before I've even showered. Okay, lots of days are over before I've even showered, not necessarily because the day goes quickly.

We've had lots of visitors and lots of help, for which we are very grateful. Ethan got to meet all his grandparents this month. He's been to church several times (and consistently cries only during the quiet parts). We are starting to be able to get out and about more, he even visited the capitol building (which echos baby screams quite nicely). He watched his first Alabama football game and he is growing like a weed.

Here are some one month pictures and info:

Likes: laying on the floor, watching the fan

Dislikes: this one is still a mystery to us...

Milestones: He is starting to focus on our faces more, and we are getting a few smiles and coos out of him. He's also pretty good at holding up his head!