Sarah F. is an army wife, as well as mom to eight-month old son Boston and two half-chihuahua/half-dachshunds that she adopted at only 7 days old. She blogs at Dogs, Dogtags and Diapers about raising (and cloth diapering!) her son. She began cloth diapering when she discovered how much money she could save by forgoing disposables…and how much cuter cloth diapers looked on her little one!
Q: How have cloth diapers changed your life?
I didn’t start cloth diapering until my son was 3 months old. I had heard about them before, but never seen anyone use them in person, so always imagined that they were all prefolds with a pin. My close friend has a daughter who is one day older than my son and showed me her adorable cloth diapers, they were not at all what I was picturing! She let me borrow a few of them for a few days, and I instantly fell in love. That same day I put in a big order to a co-op and bought a few used diapers from a friend. It’s been an addiction ever since.
Cloth diapering has changed my life by saving us so much money. I have a fairly good sized stash of diapers, and I have only spent approximately what 2 months of disposable diapers would have cost us. Plus, they will last until he potty trains as well as for any following children. In the end it will be a HUGE savings. It’s also a good conversation starter – when it’s warm out, I like to dress my son in a cloth diaper as his “pants” with a t-shirt over it. So many people have asked me about them and complimented me and I’ve even convinced quite a few moms and moms-to-be to convert over to cloth diapering.
Q: If I could travel anywhere, I would go to…
If I could travel anywhere, I would go to Russia. All of the pictures that I have seen of the buildings in Moscow are just amazing to me and I would love to see them in person. Quite a few books that I have read are also set in Russia and that makes me all the more interested hearing about the great landmarks that are all over, especially in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Q: If I could live in one outfit for the rest of my life, it would be….
If I could live in one outfit for the rest of my life, it would probably be just jeans, a blank tank top and my purple Converse sneakers. That is my favorite outfit and it’s very comfortable. I have had those Converse for quite a few years and they’ve seen better days, but I love them!
Q: If you could offer one piece of advice to a new mom/dad, what would it be?
Trust your instincts! There are so many people who are going to give you advice, whether you want it or not. Family, friends, doctors, strangers. But YOU are the parent, and you know best. No matter what books say, or what other babies are doing, or what your mom tells you, if something doesn’t seem right to you then you are probably right. Don’t measure your babies’ progress by those around you, as every baby is different. If the doctors are telling you to start feeding solids and you know your baby isn’t ready, trust your instincts! It applies in almost any situation regarding your child.
