May Cotton Booty Box
Despite many people claiming that we are crazy, we intend to attempt cloth diapering with our baby. The fact that disposable diapers take 100’s of years to biodegrade has always swayed me towards cloth. I can be a bit of a hippy about things, (though I certainly shave my pits and use deodorant) and would much rather reuse things that always use disposable items. I’ve been concerned about the Earth since at least middle school and even wrote and performed a song with a friend about saving the Earth for our math class. It had nothing to do with math, but that teacher was naive enough to let us leave class for 15 minutes each day to write our song.
In addition to the saving the Earth properties of disposables, they are a money-saver and tend to be healthier for the baby too. Doubters like to point out the cost of washing/drying so many diapers, but people I’ve talked to say their water/electric bills only went up $5-$10, especially if they mostly hang the diapers to dry. I already hang most of my clothes to dry, so that’s no biggie to me. I’m also not afraid of the extra laundry because I know it won’t be all on me – Lo will do laundry as much, or more, than me. And yes, after babies start eating “food”, their poop gets NASTY. But we’ll have a diaper sprayer attached to the toilet to flush away some of the grossness before washing.
We’re incredibly lucky that my SIL went first with the cloth diapering for her little girl – because she’s a huge proponent and resource for cloth diapering and her advice has already been invaluable even though we haven’t started yet. I was really excited when she decided to cloth diaper because I knew when we had ours, I would want to try too and it’s always easier when someone else has gone first, lol.
We probably won’t start cloth diapering until the baby is a month or two old because the “one-size” diapers don’t fit newborns and we don’t intend to invest in an additional set of diapers to fit the baby right away – especially since we’ll be fairly overwhelmed with babycare in general.
I’ve already been collecting quite a stash of diapers and probably have over 1/2 the amount I’ll need purchased already. I’ve just been buying them when I see them on sale, and have bought several used diapers locally. When I saw there was a new cloth diaper subscription program called Cotton Booty, I decided to try it for a month. I actually signed up after the box contents were released because they were still sending out May’s box and I knew what I’d be getting and that it would be worth the price. The boxes are supposed to come with a brand name cloth diaper, a fun item, and a sample or so. You can specify girl, boy, or neutral. The price is $24.99 per month, or $19.99/month for 12 months.
Cotton Booty May: Gender neutral
BumGenius Freetime Cloth Diaper – I’ve already ordered one of these when I saw them on sale, and they seem like a pretty good all-in-one diaper. Since I’ve never cloth diapered, I have no idea what will work for us or the baby, so I’ve just been buying a variety. Cloth diapers have such great resale value, that if they don’t work out, I know I’ll be able to easily resell.
BabyLegs Leg Warmers – I love these bee-striped leggings – and they are great for a boy or girl. I showed them to Lo and said “Look – Steelers leggings”, and he said “Crew leggings!”. That works for both of us.
Cj’s BUTTer sample – From what I can tell, this is a diaper cream. Obviously I have no way of knowing whether this will work, but it’s a cute little container that will be easy to carry along with me. Plus it’s cloth-diaper friendly, so if it’s something I like, I won’t hesitate to order more.
While I was happy with the box overall (considering I knew what I was getting), I don’t see it as a big money-saver and didn’t order for a second month. I can get that diaper for $19.99, the leggings for $5, and the sample for $1.99, so I certainly didn’t lose out on money, but since I won’t know what type of diaper I’d be getting each month, I’d rather purchase the ones I want on my own. I’d also intend to buy diapers with natural-type lining, like organic cotton or bamboo, because there’s less of a chance of the baby having a reaction to those materials. Even though I’m not renewing, I still think it’s a really cool program for those who just want to try a bunch of types of diapers, and it’s always fun to get something in the mail.
Check out Cotton Booty on Facebook – the customer service is fantastic and they are very interactive with their customers on there, answering questions and posting details.