Cloth Diapering Like the "Good Ol'Days"

This week marks the start of the 3rd Annual Flats Challenge. I heard of this challenge last year and I was ready to participate until my little bundle decided he wanted to "cook" a couple more weeks. So we are taking on the challenge this week for the first time!

Day 1: Why take the challenge?

I am one of 7 children, yes, 7. My mother cloth diapered all but two of us and I admire all her hard work. She stayed home and worked her butt off without any of us ever really noticing just how hard she had it sometimes. I think that now as grown ups, all of us kids have come to admire her in a whole different light. With that said, I want to complete this challenge to connect with her on that level... Juggling 4 kids and hand washing diapers will definitely be a challenge for me.

I want to have this experience under my belt to educate other moms in my "underserved" community. South Texas is considered a low income region and compared to the rest of the state, has a 14% lower median household income according to the Greater Texas Foundation. I want to explain that it CAN be done because I managed to pull it off. So many parents in my community struggle daily to feed and clothe their children. I can't imagine having to diaper them as well... but if I can spread a little knowledge to someone who might not otherwise have thought of cloth diapers as an option, I will! Sometimes in life, things are simple and uncomplicated but we fail to see the answers because of our stressful situation. Maybe I will only help one mom, maybe I can help many. Whatever I can do to educate mommas out there, I will do it.

Being green is another good reason to take this challenge. What better way to diaper your baby than by using flats? Cotton diapers, reusable, and energy efficient! We recycle everything we can here at home. We make our own compost. We buy less. We try to be environmentally conscious when making any decision. Cloth diapering just makes sense, it is effective and simple! So upon meeting other like minded mommas, I throw out the cloth diaper idea in hopes that it sits in their mind. Once the option is there and they see how simple and green cloth can be, it won't take long for them to make the switch! :)

I will be posting pictures of my little guy in his trim flat diapers daily... and I will be trying my best to stay on top of diapers laundry ;) haha! Wish me luck!

Ben wearing a pad folded flat diaper and a Best Bottoms Aplix cover.

~Norm