MONEY - diapers

Adoption is expensive.  It's the number one reason I hear from others as to why they feel they cannot adopt.  The costs can seem astronomical, especially here at the outset.  Believe me when I say, Zack and I share this sentiment.  We do not have a lot of money to throw around.  Therefore, Zack and I are trusting in the Lord and his provision.  He has already provided for us in ways we never thought we'd get to witness.  We are planning on doing some fundraising.  First and foremost in importance, however, we feel it necessary to bring our personal finances and savings in humble submission to God.  If I was giving to a cause like this, it would  be encouraging to know that they are trying to be good stewards.  Thats what we aspire to be.
  In a series of posts about this topic, I'd like to highlight ways that we try to save money where we can.  Also ways we try to use our spending power to do good.  This has been heavy on our minds as we begin the adoption process- how can we maximize the money we already have?
  The picture I've included is one way we are trying to do just that.  Yes, since Kian was born, we have been one of those "cloth - diapering" parents.  The picture is a representation of my stash.  About half of the parents we know also do this, so we are not alone.  There are several different approaches.  There are many fantastic options in the cloth diapering world, yet many have large up front costs.  All in ones, pocket, hemp, fleece, organic cotton, etc.
  We decided early on that we were quite happy with buying a few covers (the colorful ones in the picture), and using hand me down diapers from my mother.  To that we ended up adding some cheap gerber trifolds from an amish store, a few more covers bought second hand, and a few more cloth hand me downs from a friend.  (i love knowing that we are using diapers that were on my butt!  these things are lasting generations!)  We also use cloth wipes.  When our second one was to be born, we knew we would need more of those in our stash (hello, twice the poop!).  I bought flannel and terry on sale (a few bucks), and made some of my own.  I hardly feel more thrifty when making one diaper purchase every other month (we use pampers at night and with certain sitters).  So there you have it.  Maybe the second cheapest way one can do cloth diapers (besides good old rubber pants, which we do also own just in case we get in a bind!)
   On average, those with two in diapers spend about $80- 100 a month on pampers.  We spend about $10.  Sometimes nothing.  Hooray for saving money! When trying to eke out for adoption expenses, every little bit counts!