Vogue recently published an article about the new "Millennial trend" that is cloth diapering. The thing is, this "trend" has been quietly gaining ground for years and years.
Yes, it's amazing that Vogue covered cloth diapering at all. In fact, I'm thrilled. I hope that it encourages even more moms and dads to toss aside their disposable diaper habit (pun intended) and try cloth for a change.
RELATED: Millennial Parents Start a New Baby-Naming Trend
But, really. I'm firmly in Generation X and I tried my hand at cloth diapering my second and third kids, 16 and 13 years ago. Cloth diapering then was barely getting out of the so-called olden days, and there weren't a lot of options, but I knew they were more comfortable, better for Baby's skin and less of a strain on the environment.
It didn't work out, though.
Because I didn't know anyone who cloth diapered, I didn't really know what I was doing and my attempts were quite comical. I pretty much gave up because it didn't go well (I have a pretty sad photo of my baby daughter, wearing a prefold that is actually hanging out of her cover—sorry, kid).
Is this "trend" gaining some mainstream ground? Yes, I'm sure it is. But did it just start with Millenials? Nope.
However, when my fourth baby was born in 2009, I had already spent my pregnancy researching and preparing for what would go on her bum. I had friends who cloth diapered and had more resources, online and off, to help me through the learning curve. When she was a newborn, we trekked over an hour away to go to a cloth diaper store so I could talk to someone about diapers in person and get a couple dozen prefolds and a few covers. I wasn't swimming in cash at the time, so I left the pricier options on the shelves and came home after spending well under $100 for the set.
This setup diapered her just fine over the next few months, and as I started to come into more work at home, I was able to branch out a little more and sell off her old diapers and buy a few more kinds. Even though I never got super into it, the new release diapers would always pull at me, and it's really easy to see how people can be tempted to plunk down tons of cash for the latest, the cutest and the next best thing (and yes, this is indeed a thing, with hard-to-find prints or colors garnering dozens, even hundreds of dollars.)
RELATED: Packing the Ultimate Diaper Bag
And if I'm being perfectly honest, I still feel this pull, even though my child's been out of diapers for over three years. Does that make me a little weird? Perhaps.
Cloth diapering continues to evolve, improve and be super appealing for moms everywhere. They're adorable, they make babies' butts look fluffy, they can become part of an outfit (fashion!), and they feel awesome. Washing them is actually the opposite of a drag—and that's saying a lot, as I loathe laundry.
Is this "trend" gaining some mainstream ground? Yes, I'm sure it is. But did it just start with Millenials? Nope. We moms have been going bonkers for modern cloth diapers for at least a decade, if not more… and hopefully it will continue.
Because we're moms, and we love going bonkers for baby stuff.
