Welcome to this week's installment of the Diaper Diaries. I hope you enjoy this interview with Ashley M.

siyb: who are you, where are you from, and tell us a bit about your family.

AM: My name is Ashley, I am a stay-at-home mom to two girls, 3 yrs and 11 months. We live in rural Nova Scotia. My husband is currently a part-time carpenter and a part-time land surveyor, and will be going back to school in the fall. I am a blogger and love writing about my girls and our family in general.

siyb: why/when/how did you start cloth diapering?

AM: I started looking into cloth diapers when I first got pregnant with our second child, but Hubby dismissed it and told me I was crazy. Third trimester I started looking into it again, more determined, and made the choice to try it. When she was born I had one diaper that fit her, and used it often until she was big enough then started full time, and love it. I wanted to cloth diaper because, after buying diapers for our oldest I couldn’t imagine spending the money on them again, just to throw them out.

siyb: What do you LOVE about cloth diapering?

AM: First, the fluffy bum! Second, the money we have saved. Not that long ago someone complained about the cost of a box of diapers, when I thought about how much I have spent on CD I realized that I would have only gotten 2-3 boxes of diapers for the same price.

siyb: what do you NOT LOVE about cloth diapering?

AM: The only thing I don’t love is when we’re out somewhere and have to carry around dirty diapers. I do miss being able to throw a diaper in the garbage when we’re in town.

siyb: what kind of inserts do you prefer and why? how many do you use in each diaper?

AM: I prefer bamboo, but only use them as a booster at night right now with a microfiber insert. Through the day we use one of the microfiber inserts that came with our diapers.

siyb: do you use a changing table? if not, where do you change your baby?

AM: No change table here. She gets changed either on the sofa or the floor. As she is getting busier I use the floor more so it’s safe when she’s rolling and crawling away.

siyb: what is your best cloth diapering advice for a newbie?

AM: To not give up or listen to opinions of people who haven’t tried CDs. Oh, and once baby is eating solids, you’ll find a new routine, it’s not so horrible.

siyb: have you gone on vacation and used cloth diapers? how was that experience? got any advice for others who are reluctant to travel while cloth diapering?

AM: We went camping not long after we switched to CD full time. With no laundry facilities we had to bring all the dirty diapers home. I didn’t have a wet bag big enough and instead had to use a tight sealing tote for the dirty storage. All in all, it wasn’t too bad and we are planning another camping trip for this summer.