When my twins were newborns, money was tight, really tight. During an online search, I was introduced to the idea of cloth diapering. Hours of internet research later, I knew this was what was going to save my family's budget. I shared with my husband, who was indifferent to the idea, but definitely wasn't willing to invest the hundreds of dollars required for start up. I devised a brilliant idea to eBay off some extra stuff around the house to make enough to buy a few start up diapers, then slowly between clearing out my house and the money I'd save on disposables, I would work up to a full stash. Surely, after seeing them in use my husband would change his mind like all those other husbands I'd read about online.
I stalked eBay for hours watching a waiting for the "it" WAHM (work at home mom) cloth diaper of that time to post a lot of diapers that I could afford. Finally I found my magic lot, two yellow outside, dark grey fleece inner, seconds quality cloth diapers. Because it was the wee hours of the morning, I managed to snag the deal before anyone else could bid it above the balance in my PayPal account. They were ugly, but they were mine and they would save my family budget!
I couldn't wait for my package to arrive. I followed the prepping instructions perfectly and put them on the boys... who promptly peed in them 10 minutes later. So then I had to wash them. Let me clue you in to something here, doing the whole laundry process for two diapers is ridiculous. My husband was irritated at how much time it took and I quickly became discouraged.
No one I knew cloth diapered, I was going it alone, except for help from other moms online. I had too few diapers to make it a success and there were no stores to visit for help or product. Keep in mind, my twins are now 6 years old, bumGenius just turned 5 last month. The cloth diapering world was a much different place than it is now.
A few years passed, the cloth diapering world grew, my family moved to a new city and I had another child. A child that I was able to successfully cloth diaper, thanks to a network of moms who I could call on, a local store that I could visit and amazing new products that had recently been invented.
So why did I write this as the first Real Mom Talk of the year? To give you hope. Cloth diapering is a parenting choice, much like breastmilk or formula, co-sleeping or a crib, baby wearing or a stroller. Parenting choices can be difficult and may require investments of time, effort and sometimes money.
As we think about making positive changes for our families for the coming year, remember to take it one small step at a time. If you feel like giving up, find support. If, after giving it your best, it's just not working out, sometimes you have to let it go. If you choose let it go, don't allow guilt to creep in and steal the joy of just being a parent. Only you can know what's best for your family.
Have you ever tried to make a positive change for yourself or your family and failed? Did you ever try again and find success on the second or third try? Share your story with me.
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