It's finally spring and it's the perfect time to try new things. Have you ever wanted to try cloth diapering but it seemed too overwhelming? Have you used them in the past with little success? 

At the last trade show I participated in, I heard many stories of people who really did want to use cloth diapers, but something came in the way. Some parents had bought diapers but after a few uses, they began to leak. 

I often hear that people use diaper rash creams with their cloth diapers - this can be one of the reasons why your diapers leak (all diaper rash creams are designed to repel wetness to clear up the rash. Repelling wetness is not good for your diapers -you want them to be as absorbent as possible).

Another culprit can be the detergents that are used when washing the diapers. Although a detergent may have a label that says it's "earth friendly", it doesn't mean that it is cloth diaper friendly. Take a look at the list of ingredients - if there is anything that says "coconut and/or kernel oil", it cannot be used to wash diapers. The oil in the detergent acts much like the rash cream - it will make your diapers repel wetness and hence, they will leak.

Not to fear though, all you need to do is strip those diapers to make them as good as new (you may need to strip them a few times to get them back to being absorbent. I found this out the hard way).

There are many ways to strip diapers that work. Check out this blog post and the responses from other cloth diapering parents who had some great ideas:

Do you have any other questions about cloth diapering? Have you ever wanted to try them out but weren't sure where to begin?

Drop me at an email at: jaclyn@lalaladybug.com ( http://lalaladybug.com/contactus) - I would love to help you love cloth diapering your little one.