I quit cloth diapering.
There, I said it. The cat’s out of the bag.
Actually, I quit at the end of January. I’ve kept it a secret all this time. I’ve been careful not to talk about it. I’ve been careful not to post any photos of Aveline in which she’s obviously wearing a disposable.
Why did I hide it? Because I was afraid of the backlash. I was afraid of the Mama Mafia.
The Mama Mafia is brutal.
But this week, I made another decision. I decided I’m not going to be intimidated, nor am I going to make excuses. I’m going to be honest. Because truthfully? Cloth diapers are gross.
Before you stick your hand through your computer screen to grab me by the throat, let me say that again. Cloth diapers are gross. They just are. It’s a fact you can’t really argue with. You can downplay it and talk yourself through it in order to save money, but you can’t deny it.
I reached a point, nearly a year in to cloth diapering, when I asked myself, “Ok, how much money am I actually saving?”
And so The Great Disposable Experiment began. At the end of the trial period, here’s what I learned.
The Cost of Cloth Diapers vs. The Cost of Disposables
- It cost approximately $5.63/week ($22.50/month) on electricity, water/sewer, and detergent to use cloth diapers.
- It cost approximately $6.25/week ($25.00/month) to use disposable diapers.
And that’s not even counting the hundreds of dollars I spent purchasing (used, not new) cloth diapers.
A savings of $2.50/month? I quit cloth diapering.
Fellow mamas, let’s be brave. Let’s be free. I’m done hiding behind the mask of fear. My baby wears disposables. Now you know.
And you know what? I’m ok with that!
Reading in the car — Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry. So sad. So good.
This backpack has been a lot of places.
The town of Cocoa = ubiquitous surf shops and signs with strange grammar.
Impaled shark on sign post. Also, brother. The glasses did not make the trip home; they were swallowed by a wave.
Not sure what “off price shells” are, but they are selling out.
Sans toddler! Thank you, Mom and Dad, for our very first full day away from Aveline. This was the first time in a long while that we both sat down simultaneously while at the beach. ;)
Snacks. And I didn’t even notice the cheerio until just now!
Once John edits the footage he took while he was here, I’ll post a link! Until then, you can 
The Oaxacaborn Blog 