Diaper Decisions

Before my baby, Roy, was born, I decided I wanted to use cloth diapers, but I was too overwhelmed by the many different kinds to invest in any. Then a friend made the choice easy -- she gave me her full set. It took me a couple of weeks to work up the courage to try them, but once I did, I was hooked. Well, kind of. At night and during long stretches away from home, we stuck with the ultra-absorbent disposables that got us through those first couple of months.

If you're considering cloth, you don't have to go 100 percent from the get-go. Start slowly, advises Bryana Guckin, owner of Diaper Junction, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and mother of three: "Get a few different kinds and rotate them in with your disposables." No matter which kind you use, know that babies usually go through ten to 12 diapers per day; toddlers generally go through six to eight; and kids being potty trained usually only need up to four diapers a day.

Follow this breakdown of the general types of cloth diapers to help you decide whether cloth diapering, full- or part-time, might be for you.

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