My brain hurts. Who knew there were so many cloth diaper options? I mean, seriously. I just need someone to tell me what to do, I'm all ears! So far I've come to the conclusion that you just have to find what works best for you. The only issue with that advice is how do you go about finding what works best when you've never done it before? I mean where does a newbie start?
I'm definitely looking to do cloth diapers for a couple of reasons. One, they are budget friendly. Two, they seem to be healthier for baby's bum, breathable, un-chemical, and helpful when potty training. Three, they are budget friendly. Can I say that again? They are cheaper! Too much? :) But with that being said (multiple times) I still want cloth diapers that are durable and low maintenance which includes being relatively easy to wash.
With all those criteria in mind, I think I've settled on prefolds. Yes they take a little more time when actually diapering baby, but the washing seems more manageable to me, and besides being the cheapest cloth diaper option, the laundry process is a key factor! I'm bad at laundry on a good day, I don't need something that requires tons of extra steps and that takes forever to dry. I need a two wash cycle, dry in the dryer diaper and it seems like prefolds fit that bill.
Now the question is, which prefold? Gosh, I think my eyes are permanently crossed from reading 20 or so blogs and articles on this topic for the past three hours. And reading reviews really screws up your thinking. No one diaper is 100% recommended. China or India? Bleached or unbleached? 100% cotton or some with polyester? One size or multiple sizes? Hmm on a normal pregnancy night this dilemma would call for a huge milkshake. Unfortunately that can't happen (due to my horrible decision to forgo sugar) so I'll sip my water instead and vigorously pin all of these articles to my growing "Cloth Diaper" board. On a more positive note, my mom has a friend whose daughter uses prefolds, I have acquired her number in the hopes of getting some of my questions answered!
Even though this night seems frustrating, I have to say it has been enlightening. I haven't reached a decision yet, but I feel myself getting closer. Closer is good, closer is progress, and progress means that my inner nesting self that tends to get freaked out can tone down for the time being. 33 weeks, I still have time to make a decision and purchase what I need. Not tons of time, but enough.
Writing all of this is definitely making me think I need to reign in the overwhelmed portion of myself before it gets out of hand. Having a baby isn't going to limit the amount of decisions I will need to make. If anything, it will add more to my plate! So learning to manage these decisions in a one step at a time fashion is a must. In my opinion, this means the research part of this decision is pretty much covered, time to move on to another phase! So with that in mind, I think I will hangup the cloth diaper topic for tonight and lift my glass of water in the air and make a toast. Here's to tomorrow, hopefully some sleep and a conversation with a knowledgable cloth diapering mom will provide some clarity.
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