I'm a Natural Parent- BUT...

Welcome to the second edition of the "I'm a Natural Parent - BUT..." Carnival This post was written for inclusion in the carnival hosted by The Artful Mama and our feminist {play}school. During this carnival our participants have focused on how mainstream society has affected their natural parenting and how they have come to peace with this.
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I do not cloth diaper with my baby girl.  I know.  <Gasp!>, right?

We babywear.  We co-sleep.  We breastfeed.  We follow baby's natural schedule (I am a stay-at-home mama, so that is the only reason we are able to do that one.).  I make my own baby food from local fruits & veggies we buy at our farmers market each week.  We have switched over to almost all eco-friendly cleaning products (heck, I have even started making some of our own cleaning products!).  Baby girl uses all natural, organic baby wash and lotion. 

But, we do not do cloth diapers.  
I think most people just often assume that we do because of all of the other natural parenting practices we subscribe to.  Sometimes friends will post little cute things about "fluff stashes" and cloth diapering humor to my Facebook page.  And I have to admit that we do not cloth diaper... I then feel a twinge of natural mama guilt.

Now, this isn't to say that I haven't thought about trying it.  But I will be honest- it is daunting and somewhat overwhelming to me.  There seem to be SO many different kinds of them out there!  Ones with removable inserts.  Ones with sewn-in inserts.  Ones that need covers, and ones that do not.  How can you know which ones you and baby will like best?  I often see the cloth diapering veterans advising that you buy different kinds and try them each out, and that brings me to another obstacle that seems to be keeping us from going the nappies route...
The cost.  
Very often the cost of just one cloth diaper is about the same as one entire jumbo pack of disposables. (In our defense, we do buy the natural disposables made without the chemicals and such.) We are on such a tight budget doing it all on a single income.  I know everyone says it saves you money in the long run, but I think that maybe that would have been true for us had we started cloth diapering from the get-go.  Baby girl is now nearing 7 months old.  

And to be frank, the idea of washing all her diapers (especially the messy poopy ones) almost every day?  It doesn't appeal to me.  In the slightest.

Now, I will tell you what does appeal to me...

This. ^^^ 

And yeah... this ^^^ too. ;)

How crazy adorable are these??  I would love to see my baby girl's cute little bum in these! 

Please someone convince me to take the plunge.  (Oh, and then convince my husband to get on board with me too! ;P)

Both of the cloth diapers above are made by my good friend Kassandra over at Green Grizls.

• I'm a Natural Parent- BUT... - Carrie at Frugal Foodie Mama says "We breastfeed. We co-sleep. We babywear. But we do not cloth diaper. This post is about my reasons why I haven't, and why I would still like to try it."
• Am I Really a Natural Parent? - Valerie at Momma in Progress confesses maybe she's a bit more mainstream than she thought.
• I'm a Crunchy Mama, BUT... - Shannon at GrowingSlower has learned that her food doesn't grow on grocery store shelves, but she still has a long way to go.
• I'm a Natural Parent, but...my kid loves a screen - Lyndsay owns her son's love for television programming, ipad and apps.
• Ashamed to Breastfeed - Kym at Our Crazy Corner of the World talks about how she was ashamed and intimidated to breastfeed in public.
• When they gotta go... - Jorje of Momma Jorje shares her EC weakness...
• Love For the Mainstream - Amy W. explains how letting a mainstream family into her life increased her self-awareness, and helps her to maintain balance while advocating for natural parenting.
• Weaning My Nursling - Alisha at Cinnamon&Sassafras reflects on her decision to wean her son, rather than waiting for him to decide.
• I'm a Natural Parent But...My Toddler is a Junk Food Junkie - Chanisa at City Girl Slash Hippie Mom talks about how she's trying to get her two year old to have healthier eating habits
• I'm a Natural Parent - But...I'm Socially Awkward - Shannon of The Artful Mama talks about the difficulties she experiences maintaining her conviction when she experiences social resistance.
• Holding onto connection when traveling - Lauren at Hobo Mama wants to respect her children rather than demand obedience … but it's so hard around family.
• What would the neighbours think?! - Teresa at This Savvy Mama talks about the pressures of balancing life skills with the realities of having two young children.
• French Fries and Diaper Blowouts - Arpita hosts a guest post detailing how, just every once in a while, the chaos of running a business can hamper even the most regimented natural parenting plans, and the sometimes messy (and stinky!) consequences!
• Confessions of a mostly natural parent - Jessica of Crunchy Chewy Mama feels good about many of the choices she makes but there are things she wants her kids to do, practice, and believes that she is not modeling for them.