♥ The Inevitable Decision ♥

I'll admit; I've always been the type of person to fret a lot about the future. Both the future of people, and honestly more importantly, the future of Earth. They tie in together completely, even though many people don't think so.

When I found out I was pregnant, I didn't even think about it. We'd use the diapers they have in the store, the plastic ones that have been all I've ever seen.
One of my best friends, A, had recently had a daughter, and they were using a cloth-hybrid diaper. My brain just couldn't wrap around it. Cloth? Why use that? Aren't the ones in the store easier? I mean, I can't really remember ever seeing cloth diapers in Target or WalMart...
A was very enthusiastic to talk to me about them, and the more she talked, the more I wanted to do it. I won't lie, it was intimidating. When I first told my mother, she seemed a little worried that I'd do cloth, like I was taking a step into the past with the pre-folds and pins, the smelly messy diaper pails, and goodness knows what else. She knows, she did cloth with all three of us.
It was also a fight with my husband to get him on the band wagon. He wanted to do what was normal, and essentially what every one else was doing. He was afraid of poop in the washing machine. What is a washer for if it isn't to get things clean? I couldn't convince him of pocket diapers or all in ones, but it was a start! (Much to his initial dismay, I was sent some lovely pocket diapers from my friend Katy)

So then, much to my surprise, almost immediately after my husband was deployed for Bahrain, the hospital induced me. I was only at 27 weeks. After being in the hospital two days, I had little DD at 2 AM on the dot, on January 23rd. She came into the world at 4 lbs 11.3 oz. Needless to say, the small diapers I bought for her didn't fit. After all that. I was really sad, but I was also on so many meds I was barely aware of what was going on. I do know her preemie disposables were far too large. When DH came home (the Navy did let him come home, because the labor was terrible, and then DD was admitted to the hospital a second time) when DD was two weeks old, we had already spent more than $145 on disposables. He was finally sold on the cloth. We ordered the gBaby bundle and when it came two days later, I was sold. They fit her beautifully, and honestly, I never wanted to put another disposable on her cute bum. Not only did the rash caused by the disposables in the hospital go away within a day, they were cute as could be.
The best part of these diapers? Even if the inserts end up in the trash, they start to mold and decompose within a week. They're completely gone within 60 days. Disposables will sit in a landfill for 500+ years.

Now DD is larger, almost twice the size she was when she was born. She is 100% cloth-diapered now, and I'm glad. I've played around with the pocket diapers that Katy sent me, and I've also bought an itti bitti tuttom which has actually turned out to be my favourite of the lot. However, until I can convert the daycare to the full cloth and not the hybrid, I'll stick with my gDiapers.

Now that the baby is in cloth, I've started to think more of what I can do to help lower our impact. That is what my blog will be for. My journey to becoming more environmentally aware and friendly, whilst teaching my daughter, and convincing my husband.

I give him credit though, he is way more open minded about the cloth diapers than he was before, and has been incredibly supportive. For that, I definitely thank and respect him.

Next post?
Environmentally friendly... shampoo?