My love affair with cloth diapers, Part 1

That's right...Part 1. I have so much to say I couldn't fit it in one post. :)

Before I was even pregnant, I knew I wanted to use cloth diapers with my baby. And it wasn't even a financial decision. The huge amount of waste created by disposable diapers is something I cannot ignore. I think it has a lot to do with the time I've spent in Latin America. Trash, and the way it's handled, is different in third world and developing countries. Litter is everywhere, and something I saw all over--in parks and ditches, on the side of the road and on the beach--was disposable diapers.

In fact, toward the end of my four and a half months studying in Central America, my group visited a dump. There were countless families living IN the dump, making a "living" by collecting recyclables that had been thrown away and selling them. Years later I can still smell the stench of that place. In my mind's eye I can see the endless expanse of refuse, and the innumerable amount of disposable diapers contributing to one of the saddest sights I have ever seen.

Here at home, our trash is better hidden from us, and after enough time passes its easy to forget what happens when my husband wheels that grey can out to the curb every Tuesday. But somehow the emotion connected to disposable diapers has never worn off for me.

Let me be clear that if you're a disposable diaper parent, I'm not judging. There are a lot of ways I could further reduce my own environmental impact. However, of you ask me about my cloth diapers, I'm liable to talk your ear off...and if you express an interest in using them I might actually jump up and down.

I've been pleased to find out that cloth diapering is actually easier than I thought! And I have become a total cloth diaper snob:) On the occasions that Emerson has been in a disposable, (and yes, that happens occasionally), I hate how they smell and the way her poor bum looks afterward.

In this series I plan to describe my cloth diapering journey, and hopefully help someone that wants to cloth diaper but is not sure where to start.

So, what are your thoughts on cloth vs. disposable? Why would you consider (or NEVER consider) cloth diapering? What questions do you have about the actual day in and day out process of using cloth? Leave me your comments and questions and I'll address as many as I can!

Want more on cloth diapers?  Read about my love affair...Part 2 and Part 3.  Or see how it all works Day to day with cloth.