Guest Post from Tara over at Crunchier By The Day!

I have a great guest post written by Tara from Crunchier By The Day!
Enjoy....

Crunchier By The Day
Before I tell you about my journey into the world of cloth diapers, let me tell you a little about who I am. My name is Tara and I am a 28-year-old SAHM to Megan and wife to Michael. Can you guess which job comes first in this household? Megan is 14 months old and a very high-maintenance little girl. She has been from the beginning. It took us 2 months of struggle to establish a good breastfeeding routine. I originally planned to return to work when Megan was 6-months-old. However, she had severe acid reflux and Mike felt it was best for me to stay home and give her the attention and care she deserved instead of paying someone else to attempt it. I am forever grateful for that decision. That choice directly led to our use of cloth diapers. I became a very frugal shopper and avid coupon clipper, but my "Fuss" (as we have come to affectionately call her) was allergic to every diaper except Huggies. She also was/is very petite, only in the 25th percentile on height and weight. So, we had to buy the "Little Snugglers" instead of the "Snug and Dry" which come in a bigger (and, overall, SLIGHTLY cheaper) box. Up to this point, cloth diapering had only been a random conversation: "Maybe if we find a diaper service", "Is it really going to save us money?", etc. I was put in charge of researching; and research I did! I started pooling my internet friends and found a few who used CD's on a regular basis.
I finally bought my first cloth diaper on September 25, 2010. Megan was 5 months old. I was thrilled when I got my 2 Flip covers and 6 inserts! I threw them in the wash immediately. Since then, I haven't looked back! We have been slowly building our stash as we have a little extra money here and there. I was proud of being able to CD even part-time. After all, one cloth diaper was one less 'sposie we had to pay to throw away. I ordered some prefolds and started using those in my covers as well. I kept mainly using CD's at home because I was afraid of using them while out and about. I received my final "push" to being a full-time CD mom when Huggies changed their diapers and they quit being absorbent enough for my heavy wetter. Of course, the change also started to irritate Megan's Fussy Butt.
In the last few weeks, I have even been able to travel with my diapers! Granted, it was only a 3-hour trip each way but it was a major step for me. I have been able to gain confidence in my ability to fully commit to cloth diapering as well as showing others just how easy it can be! My mother-in-law has been very supportive from the beginning. She babysits twice a week and is even willing to change cloth diapers while Megan is with her. She did use "old-fashioned" cloth diapers on her children and continues to be surprised by the new designs available now...even if all the different options are a bit confusing. During the Fourth of July holiday, I was able to show off my fluff to my family and I explained how simple cloth diapering had become. My Great-Aunt who had used flats with her kids (with "plastic pants," as she said), thought the pocket diapers I had were amazing. She loved that they were "all in one." My 15-year-old cousin was impressed, and I think I may have converted her for future use! She even said they were "cool."
 I do have a few friends who don't understand why I cloth diaper. One was even a bit disgusted as I put a poopy diaper in my wet bag. Those are the people I will never convince to cloth. I love being able to show off Megan's fluff every chance I get and educate anyone who is curious about the new way to cloth diaper. I fully intend to start out with cloth diapers when we have our second child. Truthfully, the only reason I didn't with Megan was fear. I had no idea what I would be getting into, my only references were my mother and mother-in-law, and I couldn't imagine myself "putting poop in a bag and carrying it around." LOL. However, with all of the benefits of cloth diapers (including the fact that my 14.5-month-old daughter now knows the difference between "clean butt" and "dirty butt"), I decided to give it a shot. I am SO glad I did! I have been afforded many opportunities since starting cloth to educate others and even test out new products myself. I will NEVER go back to sposies!!