Cloth Diapers- What am I thinking?
Before Isaiah was born, Garrett and I stocked up on G diapers and dug our heels in, “we WILL use cloth or biodegradable diapers.” We determined, after much thought and research, that it was the best for our family and for our community. Isaiah arrived (as well as postpartum depression/psychosis, colic, and infant acid reflux), and our wills for a better planet quickly headed out the door. It became about convenience and quick care. Cloth diapers required washing. I wasn’t washing my own hair at the time, let alone laundry! Whatever I had to do to make him stop screaming and for me not to kill him was IN. Which meant that the involved process of ‘natural’ diapering was OUT. Add to this scenario that I hate pee and poo (if you are one those people weirdos who likes that sort of thing… I think there are websites for that and expensive therapists too!)
A couple of Ambien/Anti-Anxiety meds later and we are all better.
Now that Addison will be here in less than 11 weeks, we have started to revisit the idea of how we will diaper her. After keeping a little boy alive for 2.5 years I decided that pee and poop are not my forte. When I encounter these things I usually follow up with a deep retching noise and have to wave my hands frantically in the air and think about something else. This has been exasperated by pregnancy (duh), but I don’t know if it will go away. I still have that stupid voice in my head, nagging, “your kids have skin allergies- cloth is better… think about the environment, your checkbook….”
**Listen nagging voice! If we had to put a price on my comfort, it would faaaaaaaaar outweigh the pocketbook (and then environment, if we are being honest here).
But alas. I still find myself thinking back to why I don’t use certain detergents, body washes, shampoos, etc. That same reason is the original reason why we weren’t interested in conventional diapers. So. I have a couple of weeks (before I really have to start buying diapers) before I make my decision. Has anyone else out there had experience with cloth diapers? I am bringing all opinions into my knowledge arsenal. Wish me luck!
Here is how my brain processes- there are messy diapers to clean no matter if you are washing them afterwards or throwing them away. I hear diaper sprayers are a must attachment to have for the toilet and help with the washing down of things before throwing into a laundry bag. Once they are in a diaper pail or a laundry bag- you don’t have to deal with it again, just dump it into the washer when you are ready. Now it may just be a whole load of naivety on my part as a first time mom but I feel like if you decide this is what you are doing and don’t give yourself the other options then you will do it. Just imagine this is 30 years ago, and the cloth diapers are way better now than they were then.
I think it is also helpful to have support in numbers- people have given me plenty of weird looks but I just go back to my cloth diapering friends and get encouraged by their experience. It is totally do-able and my conscience feels lighter by not adding 6,000+ diapers into a landfill, keeping chemicals off my baby’s butt and saving money in our account. All of the blogs and websites out there about pro- cloth diapering have been really good encouragements as well so when my mother in law rolls her eyes at me and says ‘well I guess it is whatever you want to do’ then I can say YES- damn right it IS what I want to do
P.S. I haven’t decided which kind we will use. Bernice- the owner of Terra Tots recommended a variety of styles so you have options depending on the occasion. I like this thought. If you haven’t gone to her workshop before the next one is Jan 23rd and I recommend it!
We are signed up for the workshop. My shower is next weekend… and I had hoped I would be decided, so folks can by me the diapers as gifts.
Honestly, since we have yet to start Charlotte on solids, I feel that cloth diapering is actually less mess than the disposables. Or at least, using pocket diapers is less mess than disposables. We never have to fold up a diaper after it’s been sullied, we just chuck it in the bin as-is (our bin seals, so we’re able to keep the smell at bay). We have never had a leak or blow-out problem when the snaps were properly fastened. We’ve never had any diaper rash, which means that we’ve not had to use any of that ointment (which I hate getting on my fingers because I’m weird like that). And we’ve saved a ton of money.
The gDiapers on the other hand, well, I have a love-hate relationship with them. They are harder and more inconvenient to use. The velcro tabs sometimes get stuck to each other and mess up the fabric in the wash. Twice I’ve had to replace snaps.
Whatever works for you is what works for you, but if you want to cloth diaper, I know you can. It’s easier than you think once you get into the rhythm, I promise =)
(Seriously, I could talk about diapers all day long…lol)
I, for one, know myself well enough to know that if I chose to do the cloth diaper thing I would end up with piles or rotting poop pads strewn about the place. Heck, I use disposables and still have poop diapers on the floor…but then, you already knew that.
So until I get a handle on myself, we will continue with the Luvs. But dang it all, the cloth diapers are SO cute it just about kills me…
OK, this is coming from a person still enjoying her remote control roach but I did see something about semi-disposable nappies on TV. They include a disposable pad and are way eco friendly, can even be used as compost.
http://www.eenee.com/
oh and a nappy guide from the Nanny State ..UK..may be useful.
http://www.which.co.uk/advice/nappy-buying-guide/disposable-nappies/index.jsp
Hi! I went to high school with Sadie, and thought I would catch up on her pregnancy when I came across your post.
I have a son who is almost 18 months. We wanted to cloth diaper from birth, but I was nervous about the commitment. At about 9 months, we went for it. It has saved us so much money. I did a lot of research on cloth diapering and decided to go with Fuzzi Bunz pocket diapers with hemp fleece inserts. They are great! My husband even likes them! My son has sensitive skin, and he never gets rashes now. I plan on using them for our future children as well.
I breastfeed him, so solids get knocked into the toilet and any messy ones wash out. They go into a dry hanging bag that unzips at the bottom so you can just dump the bag and diapers straight into the wash. I haven’t needed a diaper sprayer, but it might not be a bad idea for a younger baby. I have 14 diapers and we do a diaper wash every other day. It has taken some trial and error with detergents, wash cycles etc., but if you need any help don’t hesitate to ask!
P.S. fuzzibunzstore.com is a great website and I have never had any trouble with my orders from them. Good luck with your new baby!
Amberleigh
I’ve been 100% disposable from day one, I admit it. I always said I would cloth diaper, but when my son was born, I thought about diaper pins (I hadn’t actually done any research; I know now that diaper pins are no longer in use) and lugging dirty diapers to our apartment building’s laundry room, and the decision was made. By the time my second and third came along, I was doing day care, and I’m not allowed to use cloth with day care, except under special (expensive) circumstances.
But my sister has cloth diapered two babies, and she’s really liked it. She’s tried a few different brands and found some she likes better. Definitely look into the insert situation, because if you hate the idea of rinsing or soaking poopy diapers (which I thought was the only option), there are both washable and disposable inserts. And they might make it easier. And she’s been on a cloth diaper discussion board the entire time too, which I know has made the experience a lot easier whenever she has questions or anything.
I know your shower is soon, so maybe your decision is made, but if you’re interested, email me, and I’ll talk to my sister and ask what kind she’s using now and the location of her discussion board if you’d like to check that out.
Kenny (I am no longer calling you Kendra, your long and awesome comments require I nickname you, as though we are friends) I would LOVE input on where she is getting diapers, how it is going, etc. I am all about advice. She can email me at jasmine@thebrokins.com
I commend you for trying. I thought about it, but then I remembered my kids can leave lasting stains in their clothes if poop leaks out. The idea of putting them into perpetually stained diapers seems unattractive to me.
HA! Meredith, I love you. Thank you for that awesome comment…I totally agree!
hi ladies!
meredith & sadie: the fabric of which the cloth diapers are made rarely stain..especially the synthetic fibers. In all my years of cloth diapering, I only had two diapers with stains…it was a result of diaper rash cream (thanks to MIL) Stains are the least of concerns!
Jasmine: you’ll do great! don’t dwell on the difficult stages ahead. the diapering stage will come and go with a blink. you’ll thank yourself for saving the waste, saving money, and for keeping the planet clean for your children!
AHHH YEAH! Bernice comes in with the one-two PUNCH! TAKE THAT CLOTH DIAPER HATERS
I have a 4 month old who i have cloth diapered for 2 months exclusively but did it here and there until then. I was worried about the poop issue because I chose to use AIOs and Aio Pockets. I didn’t wanna have to ‘dunk’ the entire diaper with the pul on it..I am not really into the diaper sprayer either though because of all the water usage… so although I only have breastfeeding poop for now, when solids start and i have creamy this poop to deal with… I have decided to use Kushie’s flushable liners. I think using cloth is fairly easy…I love that I am not letting old disposable diapers sitting around getting funky…with cloth you must wash them every couple of days which is more often than you’d take out the garbage…plus in the warm part of the year (in the midwest) it is just one medium sized load then out on the line to dry! Voila!
I also like prefolds with a cover b/c I can reuse the cover all day unless there is poo! My little girl has never had a rash from cloth diapering. It is important to use very natural detergent though. I use Rockin’ Green and Bum Genius. Good Luck!
thanks so much! where did you find us?