Joiner

Why am I joining?

Because I'm afraid of flats.

Ha!  Isn't that funny?  I've used cloth diapers for over two years.  I've used just about every kind of cloth diapering system available.  I'm one of those mamas that love the simplicity of prefolds and covers and for that I have been called "hard core".  I have shared what I have learned with others through this blog and posts to message boards. 

So .... me?  Afraid of a cloth diaper?

Well, how do you fold them?  Are they absorbent enough?  The other mamas don't talk about them as much.  There's no Awesome Brand that everyone clamors for.

I went with prefolds and covers.  Then investigated pockets when that was required for daycare.  I've used fitteds with covers, fitted with woolies, hybrid systems.  I've used zorb, bamboo, hemp, cotton sherpa.

I've never used flats.



With the stress of the semester I got a little burned out on using cloth.  Being on the tenure track means that every single day I have to take steps to make sure I still have a job in two years.  I pour my energy into accomplishing everything that I need to between 8 and 4 so that I can devote the few remaining hours before 8 pm to the greatest girl in the world. 

My Knickernappies are leaking so bad that daycare only wants me to bring the Thirsties pockets.  Which we don't have enough of for the three days a week that she is at daycare.  I force my mom to use prefolds and covers on her childcare days to save the Thirsties pockets for daycare, but I've still found myself on Thursday mornings without enough diapers to send with her for the day.  I don't want to buy more Thirsties pockets, even used, since we are so close to potty training over the summer.  We just need to get through May, I can't imagine buying diapers for just 6 or 4 or 2 weeks.

The diaper totes in her room are overflowing with fitteds that I saved to use with woolies, only her woolies didn't fit and I didn't crochet her any more.  There are pockets that are too big that I bought long ago on clearance thinking she would eventually fit a size Large diaper (which she won't).  There are leaky pockets that might just need new inserts, and there are diapers that I would feel bad even giving away because it might ruin some poor unsuspecting mama's experience with cloth diapering.  There's no time to do even the bare minimum around here to keep the house clean, let alone go through the diaper totes.  So I just cram clean diapers and training pants on top and keep going day to day.

So the other reason I'm interesting in doing the flats challenge?  Something new.  Something to help recharge my batteries on cloth diapers.  Something to help launch us into potty learning for the summer.  Something to help round out my experience with cloth diapers.  So if my girl does end up being an only child, and if I really am at the end of my cloth diapering days, then I will have tried everything, I will have done it all.

It's not going to be expensive to do the challenge.  It's not going to be a big investment like tons of new pockets would be.  And at the end, when I donate all my old diapers to charity because I can't deal with listing them all online to sell, then I can write them off my taxes for next year.  Sounds like a win all around for everyone to me!