The Wagstaffs Go Green!

Today's blog is about our attempt to go green by switching over to cloth diapers. I have always been an avid recycler. It's a quality I owe to my mother who was always saying, "Don't put that in the trash...it can be recycled!" She was always a recycler, even before it was cool to recycle and they certainly didn't pick it up from the blue box on the curb! However, the interesting part is my mom seems to think I'm a little crazy for switching to cloth...in fact I'm a little worried I'll have to buy a box of Pampers when she'll be watching Alex!

Maybe, I can convince her the new generation of cloth diapers aren't so bad. In fact, I'll be honest my first thoughts were of the messy old school cloth diapers with safety pins and stains...how disgusting! That's why I went through pregnancy assuming I would use disposable diapers. Then at about 36 weeks of pregnancy Jeremiah made a comment to me about how hypocritical it was that I was constantly trying to recycle, but was going to pump a ton of diaper waste back into the world. That's when I really got to thinking about cloth diapers and began doing some serious research.

What I found out was that there are a ton of options out there! Sure there are the old school cloth diapers, but there also brands like Bum Genuis, Fuzzi Buns, Happy Heineys, SmartiPants, Thirsties. With names like that, how could they not be cool? I also came to find out that 4 out of 6 of the people I knew having babies this summer were using or planning to use cloth diapers!! WOW! It sure made me feel like a big bum to be using disposables!

After making it through the first few weeks in Pampers Swaddlers, I decided it was time to get serious about the cloth diapers. I ordered a three pack of Bum Genius 3.0 one size diapers and started testing them out. We have had great success with them! Alex seems to be happy in them and we have had no leaking poop explosions. For mom, they have been very easy to wash and dry. Plus, with their fun colors, they are much cuter than the Pampers with their silly little Sesame Street characters! So after our trial week, we are ready to order more and go for the complete switch-e-roo. We'll see what happens when we go to visit Grandma!

Here are a few pictures of Alex in his Bum Genuis diaper--he was a little sleepy when I took them. He is definitely built like his daddy...long and lean with not much of a butt! We keep saying these diapers help give him a little bit of cushion on his bum! =)




Here is a picture from the Bum Genius website that shows how they work.



Wish us luck in our green endeavour!! We'll keep everyone updated on how it goes!