Cloth Diapering

I started thinking about cloth diapers when Halle was a baby after I saw a Dateline (20/20? I don't know- one of those type shows) that chronicled how many diapers an average American child goes through before they're 3. The thought of that mountain of diapers in some landfill thanks to my kids (me) made me feel sick.

A few months later I was reading a magazine with an article on all of the chemicals used to make disposable diapers, and what those chemicals might be linked to. Scary. (Yes, I do understand that everything around us these days is full of potentially harmful chemicals.)

Not long after that my circle of friends broadened to include two families that cloth diaper- call it positive peer pressure (if you must) but I finally decided to try it out. I bought a couple of brand name diapers and made a couple of my own, including this recycled t-shirt diaper:
And this one (I couldn't find many good pics on my computer):It took a while to figure out what works best for us (there are SO many different kinds out there!) but now that we have, it really is a breeze. Believe me, the gross factor is the same as with any kind of diaper. Tools of the trade:
The bottom two rows are the ones I have made. My favorites are the pocket one-sized snap diapers, but I've tailored the newest ones that I've sewn to fit really well and although I don't have a snap press ($$) I've figured out how to make the velcro work for us.