I have two beautiful children. Lincoln (Link) is 2.5 years old and Eloise (Ellie) is 8 months old. While Link was growing in my expanding belly, I explored cloth diapers a little bit. I was learning so much about being a new mom and caring for a baby, that cloth diapering, with all of the options, became too overwhelming for me. We received disposables for gifts, and just stuck with those. It was simple.

Then I was pregnant with Ellie. I came up with a mental list of everything I’d wished I’d done the first time around. Fortunately that list comprised of only two things – donate breastmilk and cloth diaper. I began the journey with advice from friends and Google, and made a trip to a cloth diaper store to take a class. I came out of the class knowing what I wanted to use: I would start with prefolds and covers while she was little, and then move to pockets when she grew larger. I shared my plan with my husband and other family members. I received mixed opinions, and the negative opinions just made me want to do it even more: I would prove to them and myself that I could do this. I purchased prefolds and Thirsties duo-wrap covers, and was set for Eloise to arrive.

After a few days of being home from the hospital we were ready to cloth diaper! Turns out, I hated it – the prefolds and snappi were tricky to use and were not as convenient as I was hoping. I was so upset, and I thought my cloth diaper journey was over. With the mix of post-natal hormones, I felt like a complete failure.

But with the wonderful encouragement of a friend, I decided to keep trying. I had not failed. I sold my stash and built a new stash of pockets, which I knew that I liked. Over the next couple of weeks I built up a large enough stash to move Eloise back into cloth diapers, and I was thrilled! They were exactly what I wanted them to be, and I even loved doing the laundry!

Our stash is now completely BumGenius 4.0 snaps, with a variety of colors and prints. I love so many things about them. I love that I do not have to buy diapers anymore for Ellie (unless an exciting new color or print is released!), that I am doing good by our environment, and that her little bum rarely, if ever, gets a rash from diapers. As a bonus – she always looks so cute! I have also mostly moved Link into cloth diapers at bedtime, which has changed our lives because disposables are not strong enough for him overnight.

I am so fortunate that my family has been supportive. They have all learned how to change Ellie’s diapers, and make sure that they are on her correctly. Ellie’s daycare also uses them, so she is 100% cloth diapered.

I am grateful that I have people in my life that helped me along this journey, and I am always excited to share cloth diapers with others. I enjoy being able to support a strong company (BumGenius/CottonBabies) that gives back to others, and I am proud that I am helping out the environment.

Most of all, I love being a mom, and learning what that means. Being a mom is about making the best decisions for your family, and for us, cloth diapering has been the best choice!

Amber Gehring -A Loving wife and blessed mama of two living in the Twin Cities area. Striving to be the best parent I can be! Breastfeeding, cloth diapering, baby led weaning. *Read more about Amber and her family at her blog Then I had You.

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