My Last Load of Cloth Diapers

Gwen has been using cloth diapers only at night for alomost a year now. We co-sleep and so I kept diapers on her at night and that may have been part of the reason we lasted so long in them. My baby girl will be three in September and today…. today I am washing my very last load of cloth diapers. Some will be sold, some will be donated, but all were loved and will go on to continue the good works that cloth diapers do.

I knew this day was coming, but something about snapping this photo this morning made it kick in. Our cloth diapering days are over. Have no fear, I still love and believe in cloth diapers and I will be sharing all sorts of cloth diapering information for years to come, of that I am sure. My friend just had a new baby (so squishy cute!) and I’m sure that she won’t mind testing diapers out for me, plus maybe one of these days I’ll get a cuddly niece or nephew to snuggle and watch… and test on 🙂

I would like to thank the women and men behind great cloth diapering brands that work so hard to bring quality products to families. Products from companies like bumGenius, Flip, Thirsties, Goodmama, Sloomb, Applecheeks and oh I could go on forever. These products are amazing. Yes they are diapers, but they are so much more than that too.

I would also like to thank all of the people who work to spread knowledge of cloth diapers. Blog readers like you who share cloth diapering articles, cloth diaper users that share their knowledge on messages boards (this is how I discovered cloth!), Facebook and Twitter. Advocates like Kim Rosas (Dirty Diaper Laundry), Calley Pate (The Eco Chic) and Julie Clark (Cloth Diaper Geek) who dedicate their time to writing blogs and working for companies that are full of valuable information about cloth diapers. All of the good that cloth diapers can do would be lost if it weren’t for the passion of these people and those like them – like you!

More than 4 years ago I used my first cloth diaper on Lillian. They have brought something amazing into my life each day since. They helped our family avoid financial struggles when the worst of times were upon us. They pampered my children’s bottoms in delicate, but sturdy cloth that kept them safe from exposure to toxic chemicals. Coupled with recycling and composting, cloth diapers even enabled us to eliminate our need for trash service – what a savings for both our wallets and the environment.

I have been saved the stress of running out of diapers, and my husband has not had to work countless hard working hours to afford diapers that would only later be throw away and collected in a landfill. Cloth diapers have traveled with us, gone through blackouts with us and amazingly – they’re sort of the whole reason I started this blog that I love so much.

As I said, I will continue to write and share about cloth diapers. I will also continue to offer free classes on them locally. I love cloth diapers and I know that many of you do too. Right now I’m a bit emotional seeing my use of them coming to an end – and I’m all rambly now, trying to avoid the elephant that stands behind all of this. My baby girl is well…. not quite a baby anymore. How does that happen?

In closing, I encourage you to share. Share your love for cloth. If you use Pinterest – pin the posts and products that you love! Share them on Facebook, Twitter, with your local mom’s group or church. Support the companies that make the products you love by sharing their works – did you know that many of them have blogs too?!  I personally love the Thirsties and Cotton Babies blogs.

Share your story! How has cloth diapering touched your family?