There are a few big issues in the parenting world that can really get people going: circumcision, vaccinations, breast vs. formula feeding, co-sleeping, and cloth diapers are the ones that come to mind right now. We didn’t have to worry about the first because we have a girl, and we don’t have much choice with the second because daycare requires it. What about the rest? We’ve been co-sleeping since Anya was born, due to supply issues in the beginning she’s a mixed breast/formula fed baby, and finally we have started using cloth diapers.

We wanted to do cloth diapers all along because it creates less waste and is cheaper. Navigating the cloth diaper world reminds me a lot of the first time I logged onto a MOO over ten years ago. Way too many choices, lots of foreign terminology, and tons of people with way too many opinions about how to do things. Seriously, there are at least half a dozen diaper types and probably hundreds of different diaper brands. There are newsgroups and journal communities and blogs devoted to the discussion of cloth diapers. I’m sort of reminded of the beanie baby craze when some of these people talk about getting the latest fuzzybunny AIO with that cute iguana pattern. I just wanted diapers.

I did some research and found what looked good to me. A one-size-fits-all diaper that looked and acted a lot like a disposable, had really great reviews, and came in a starter pack so I didn’t have to worry about what to buy. One problem…this starter pack cost over $400. So, I waited to see if maybe someone would buy them for us, and time ticked by. I really was not looking forward to plunking down that money, so when Andy found someone selling a set of diapers, covers, and inserts online for only $180 we jumped on it. These diapers are a different type than what I had wanted, but I did some quick research before we got them and the reviews were decent.

I knew that the one-size-fits-all would probably not fit baby when she first came home, and so we started things out using disposables. After about two or three weeks, I tried one of the cloth diapers on Anya and it was way too big. Monday I pulled them out again. They are still big on her, but they aren’t falling off. However, they are incredibly massive.

The diapers sort of swallow Anya. When she’s lying down, her knees have to bend for her feet to touch the ground. Her center of gravity has changed from her massive baby head to her huge diaper butt. I can’t get most of her clothes to fit over the diaper, and if I can she takes on the shape of a bowling pin. She’s a cartoon character. A sumo baby.

As she gets bigger, the diapers will (hopefully) fit better. In the meantime, we just sort of laugh at her and are glad that at this age she can’t tell the difference between “laughing with you” and “laughing at you.” (And we use disposables when we go out, so we can get her clothes on.)