If at first you don't succeed... Part One

I wanted to talk a little bit about how I first got into cloth diapering because - gasp! dirty little secret! - my first try was pretty much a failure, and it's probably a pretty good case study of what not to do when you first start cloth diapering.

First, why did I start cloth diapering? Long story short, I thought they were cute. The Pumpkin was almost a year old, and I (as much as one ever does) had the mommy thing down, so I was ready to try something new. Plus, I always hated the characters that were all over disposable diapers, and when I discovered that there were these lovely, character-free diapers out there, I was all over trying cloth.

Another member of a moms' board I frequented used cloth (BumGenius 3.0s), and she raved about them - how easy and functional they were, how green, and how much money she saved using cloth. Knowing no one else who used cloth, I ordered three BG's to check them out (there were no retail stores anywhere near me), loved them (the colors, the ease-of-use, the fluffy bum), and ordered a dozen more.

I then found myself with fifteen pocket diapers, a modicum of cloth diapering know-how, and a baby who, it turns out, is a VERY heavy wetter.

We started with leaks at night, so I went back to overnight disposables. (Did I mention we were cosleeping? Yeah, good times when you wake up in a puddle of baby pee!) For me, having disposables in the house was like having a house full of cookies when I'm trying to lose weight. I was trying to make this change to cloth, but every time something went wrong I used a disposable instead of trying to identify the problem.

It also didn't help that I'd taken a one-size-fits-all approach to cloth. The BumGenius diapers that I bought during that time were fantastic - they are still a big part of my diaper stash, but I've since learned that for many babies different times require different diapers. And it's just a little harder to find the right solution for some babies, especially for overnights. (I think baby boys can be particularly challenging at first because gravity is not exactly working in your favor when they pee!)

So long story short... the nighttime leaks turned into part-time diapering which turned into cloth not becoming part of my daily routine which about four months later turned into a big pile of fluffy goodness sitting unused in a basket under my changing table. So sad, right? Luckily, the Peanut came along eventually, and I tried again with much more success. (More to come on that next time.)

So how about you? Have you tried and failed to use cloth before? Did you go back, and if so - how? Please share your story!