BY JULIE MURPHY

If someone were to have told me a few years ago that I would become a crazy cloth diaper addict turned blogger, I never would have believed them. I was the girl that wasn’t even sure she wanted to have kids, never mind worry about what kind of diapers they would wear.

So that brings one to ask the question “how did you ever get started using cloth diapers?” Well here goes my answer…

When I found out I was pregnant, I started stocking up on disposable diapers. I was determined to stockpile enough diapers at really low prices so that I would not have to buy any diapers when I had the baby. For the most part I did pretty well. I was so proud of myself that I was “saving” all this money. But it was a lot of work clipping coupons, running around to different stores to match the sales with the coupons and then hoping my store had the size or style I wanted. I was exhausted to say the least.

Then one day, a friend of mine introduced me to these “modern day” cloth diapers called FuzziBunz. My first thought was…wow what a cute name, but I couldn’t possible use cloth diapers because…

• I would have to buy a special washer for the diapers
• It seems like so much work
• I would have to buy the diapers themselves which seems kind of expensive
• Wouldn’t my clothes smell like poop?

Then I began to think “well I could just use them part time and see how it goes.” I mean, what do I have to lose (except running around like a nut looking for the best deal on disposables). So I added some cloth diapers to my baby registry.

With diapers in hand and the baby born, I decided to start cloth diapering my son at 2 months. I chose to do this so I did not overwhelm myself, being a new mom and all (I am grateful that I did this and if you are hesitant about using cloth diapers, I highly recommend it…but that is for another post). I quickly realized how much money I was saving by just using cloth diapers only part time. After I felt comfortable, I made the transition to full time cloth diapering.

Once I started cloth diapering full time that is when the “bets” started rolling in! Yes I said “bets.” My hubby bet that I would only cloth diaper 2-3 months tops. Even friends, family, and neighbors advised me that they had “tried” cloth diapers and it was “way too much work.” If you know me at all, you know that I am ONE DETERMINED woman! If anything, I had to win the longest bet by lasting 3 months. I lasted 3 months…and now am going on 1 year strong. No more midnight runs to the store or clipping coupons. Those days are over. And by the way, my husband is now a huge fan of cloth diapers because of the money we save. At times I would say he is even an advocate for them.

I caught the cloth diaper fever and never looked back.

Did you know you were always going to cloth diaper your baby? How did you get started with cloth diapers? What are your reasons for cloth diapering? 

Julie Murphy is a stay-at-home mom who was thrown into the cloth diapers when her husband bet her she couldn’t last two months on cloth. 11 months later, she is still cloth diapering…and blogging about it at My Cloth Diaper Stash.