2005-07-24 - 9:29 p.m.
It's been a year since we started trying to conceive. That means a lot of things, one of which is that it's also been a year since I started to research cloth diapering and got sucked into the wonderful world of fluff.
This is the advice I would give to the me-of-one-year-ago who had not yet spent any money on fluff.
Buy 2 dozen unbleached Chinese or Indian (it doesn't matter which) prefolds and 5 covers: to be exact, one Mother-Ease Air Flow, one Bummis Super Whisper Wrap, one Aristocrats wool, and a pack of Dappi nylon pull-ons. Buy a pair of Dritz pins and a Snappi.
You can always buy more diapers later if you find that two dozen isn't enough, and you can always buy more of your favorite cover later once you figure out what your favorite cover is (or you can start trying the zillions of other covers out there). If you discover that you dislike prefolds, you can use them anyway while you try out fancier diapers one at a time until you find something you love. Chances are, though, that the prefolds and covers will work just fine and you'll save yourself a few thousand dollars and a lot of frustration.
Finally, don't obsess over making sure baby's bottom is covered in 100% cloth 100% of the time. If you want to use disposables every once in a while, just use them. A pack of disposables every few months is cheaper than a hardly-used stash of pockets or all-in-ones that will be a headache to research and care for.
This advice only applies to people like the me of a year ago who don't want to get obsessed but are in danger of being sucked into it. If you want diapering to be your hobby and have the budget to match, then by all means, buy one or six or twenty-four of everything and knock yourself out. But I suspect I'm not the only one out there who'd like to save both money and frustration!
