Cloth Diapers

Have you ever felt like you don't belong?  That's how I felt this morning at MOPS.  The topic was saving money and diapers and this group of women were discussing some great diaper coupons they found.  When they were through gushing I asked, "Has anyone tried cloth diapers as a way to save money?"  A silence fell over the table and it were as if I'd said a bad word.  One woman spoke up and said she'd tried it but it didn't work.  I asked her what kind she'd tried and shared the kind I used and how much I loved them.  A few others asked a couple questions, but then the coupons were brought back up as if cloth were not an option for them.

This incident brings up two sets of questions for me:  #1.  Am I really relating to other women at MOPS anymore?  Have I ever?  Should I find a "green" mothering group to attend instead?  #2.  Why does the mention of cloth diapering stun people?  Why won't more people consider trying?  And why are people's assumptions tied to pre-folds?

Before this incident I've been thinking and have come to the conclusion that this will more than likely be my last year in MOPS even though I can technically go for two more years.  It's not that I'm appalled that no one took my suggestion, but that I even had to bring it up because my values and ideals are so far removed from most others'.  I think I used to relate to these women, but more so concerning lack of sleep due to two babies, craving adult conversation, and a break from my kids.  Our family's sleep is now usually un-interrupted.  Facebook and my daily schedule of being out and about fulfill most of my need for adult conversation.  I now  find a break when I go to church, when the boys are at school, and while I'm at school.  My use for MOPS is fading as the boys grow older and I enter back into school.  I'd love to find a "green" mothering group, so maybe I should look into that.

The answer as to why the suggestion of using cloth stuns people eludes me.  Especially when more and more people are going "green" in so many other areas.  To me it's a given not to fill our landfills with dirty disposable diapers that may never decompose.  Is it the added "work" of using cloth that scares people away?  Is it the "yuck" factor?  And why people's assumptions are still tied to pre-folds when this is the 21st century must be due to lack of advertising!  If only Parent magazine, Vogue, and other glossy magazines made cloth diapering fashionable and trendy!  How much the disposable diaper companies would hate this!  It might go as far as to put them out of business!  But alas, we are far from that point.  Until then, I will continue to share my fun - yes fun! - experience of cloth diapering with anyone who will listen, even if that means feeling like a black sheep.