The last week of my maternity leave I had to take Elsie for her two month checkup. This was my first time taking Elsie to the doctors without my husband. He had to work. I wasn’t nervous. However, I was ready to get it over with.

The doctor told my husband at her last appointment, that at her next appointment, she would receive some of her shots. My mom and friends who have kids, have warned me that there is a good chance I may cry when she receives her shots. I figured that to be true, so I mentally prepared myself.

The morning of her doctor’s appointment, I put her in one of her new pink striped, summer dress with a yellow seahorse in the top right corner. As her mom, of course I had to look my best too. So I dressed in comfy pants, a cute top and 1920’s inspired hat to go with.

I parked in the parking lot, and followed COVID guidelines that the doctors’ office initiated. A couple questions later and Elsie and I were on our way in. 

As soon as we walked in, it didn’t take long until we were in our own room, waiting for the doctor. While we waited the nurse came in and checked her weight and height and gave me papers about what to expect at the age she was at (at that point she was a little over two months). The nurse let me know that the doctor would be in soon. It felt like time went incredibly slow as I waited for her arrival. I didn’t think I was nervous about Elsie getting her shots…but I was. The doctor finally came in and started talking about what type of shots she would be receiving today. I realized she was talking to me, but for some reason I couldn’t comprehend anything she was telling me, except the words “shots” and “she most likely will get a fever”. There it is. The most dreadful of sentences a new mom could hear. I was terrified. The doctor told me what I should expect and how to take care of her, once she got her fever. She told me, but I still felt like I had no idea what to do.

The nurse walked in soon after the doctor left, with needles, small jars full of liquid and pink, My Little Pony bandaids. Here we go. One each cute little thigh. I didn’t cry, but my heart broke as she cried and wailed, wondering why her mother would put her through this pain.

As we left the doctors office, I started to strategize and plan out how I was going to conquer the inevitable fever. I know the doctor told me how, but I still needed a mommy game plan. 

Since my husband was at work, I didn’t want to worry him. I wanted to prove to myself that I could handle my first “mommy challenge”…which consisted of help from my parents. I called my mom and dad to pick me up some children’s Tylenol as well as lunch from McDonalds, because I was hungry. I could have ran to the store by myself with Elsie, but I knew she wasn’t going to be up for that idea, so this seemed like the best plan.

It was around noon, when Elsie got the dreaded fever. Even though I knew all I had to do was give her a drop or so of the medicine my parents brought over, I was freaking out a little bit. I called my mom almost in tears to ask what to do. Thankfully, I have the best mom in the world, and she was able to calm me down and gave me step by step instructions. I followed her instructions, gave Elsie the medicine and we both lay down on the couch and took a nap.

As Elsie lay on my stomach sleeping, it was the most peace I have ever felt. I felt so at ease listening to her snore. It was very relaxing.

When she woke up, there was a huge smile on her face, and I knew that her fever had gone away. It was the best feeling ever.

My husband came home later that evening and I told him all about how Elsie and I survived her first fever.

Being a mom is terrifying. It is also very exhilarating and full of so much love, you don’t even know what to do with it all, but to keep loving your baby even more.

While I was pregnant, I remember my mom asking me if I planned on using disposable diapers or cloth diapers. At the time I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to use. She continued to tell me that when I was a baby, my parents used cloth diapers on me for a week…if that. My mom noted that it was a very messy process that resulted in my parents switching over to disposable diapers. Mom ended up using the cloth diapers that she had as dust rags.

Quick side note, I was born in the 90’s, so cloth diapers back then were way different than they are today and a lot less messy.

Before I was pregnant, one of my good friends bought cloth diapers for her little girl. I was curious what they looked like, and how much of a pain it really was to use them. When I walked into her nursery, my friend opened the dresser drawer and immediately my eyes grew wide, as I glanced over all the colors and patterns. She pulled one out and showed me how they work. Honestly, it didn’t seem as bad as I thought.

Fast forward to my pregnancy, a couple weeks after my conversation with my mom and I started wondering if cloth diapers was the route my husband and I should take. We started to do the math and watch YouTube videos on how to use and clean cloth diapers. I would have gone to a class, but because my pregnancy was during the pandemic, I had to research it myself. My husband and I did some rough calculations comparing cloth diapers vs. disposable diapers and it looked like it would save us money. See what we came up with, at the end of this article.

Here is what I have learned and experienced since using cloth diapers. I love fashion and accessorizing, so the patterns and different colors was one of the first things I noticed. They have patterns for boys and for girls. On the diapers are buttons that allow you to change the size of the diaper; so that the diapers can grow along with your baby. On the back of the diaper is a pocket that holds an interchangeable cloth pad. The idea is to change the cloth pad out once the baby has peed in the diaper. At first when I started using them, I didn’t really realize that you could use the cloth diaper longer, unless the baby has soiled it. So now for each diaper I change the pad out once, before putting my daughter in a new cloth diaper. I’ve noticed that I don’t need to change the pad very often, because the pads are very absorbent. There are a lot of options when it comes to picking out cloth diapers, but my favorite ones are Alva Baby brand. They seem to be well made and have a variety of colors and patterns to choose from.

Another tip, that I couldn’t find while searching and watching YouTube videos, was when to start using them after your baby is born. My good friend, the same one that showed me what cloth diapers looked like for the first time, started putting cloth diapers on her daughter after one month. That way you are not adding more stress to your plate on trying to figure one more thing out as a new mom. So that’s what I did. It worked out smoothly. We used disposable diapers until our daughter was 4 to 5 weeks old. However, we still have a box of disposable diapers in the nursery that we keep on hand for emergencies. If we plan on going somewhere, I stick them in my diaper bag just in case.

To make washing easy, my husband and I purchased a cloth liner for our diaper pail, so when it is time to wash the cloth diapers, you dump the diapers out of the bag and throw the bag in with them. I make sure to set my washing machine to heavy soil and cold wash, just to make sure everything gets clean.

I’m extremely happy my friend showed me the cloth diapers that she purchased for her little girl. The diapers are so cute, they have saved my husband and me money, and most importantly they make my daughter’s butt look even cuter!

The following is a very rough estimate of the cost of disposable versus cloth diapers.  Assuming a slightly optimistic potty training age of 24 months, that the baby starts out using eight diapers a day, and the number of diapers used per day decreases linearly over the 24 months until the point of being potty trained, a baby would need just over 3,000 diapers.  Laundry costs vary depending on the type of machine and the cost of utilities in a given location; a laundry cost of $0.50 is assumed.  Total laundry cost for cloth diapers is calculated as 3,000 diapers / 18 diapers per load * $0.50 per load.

 

The Cost of Disposable Diapers

Cost per Diaper: $0.19

Total Cost: $570.00

 

The Cost of Cloth Diapers

Cost for 18 Cloth Diapers: $113.37

Cost for Laundry: $83.33

Total Cost: $196.70

 

Dollar Difference: $370.30

Percent Difference: 65%