Honestly, I want to tell you that cloth diapering is not as dramatic as everyone makes it out to be. For us, it has been a really easy choice. I'm not joking about the "US" part either.. they Hubby has been on board from DAY 1! (As soon as I mentioned the money savings, of course!)
Here's the deal: I do a couple extra things every week that someone who uses disposables doesn't have to do. In return, I am saving over a thousand dollars and I don't ever have to worry about running out of diapers. Also, my baby has only had a significant rash (one that didn't go away by the next change) ONCE when I was on an antibiotic and nursing and he ended up with a yeast rash.
Let's get to the root of why people are mostly opposed to cloth diapering: the thought of having to deal with poop on something you don't throw away. Now, I have used both disposables and I'm a 6 month user of cloth diapers so I'm semi-qualified to tell you this: Poopy diapers are not nearly as big a deal when they are cloth. We used disposables for the first couple weeks while letting the umbilical cord heal and twice when we were in the Hospital with The Baby. We also used them the whole weak of the yeast infection to let us know immediately when he was wet.
We are so stinkin' spoiled in cloth! Disposables are literally crappy. For one thing, they do not absorb the liquids from the "semi-solids" well. The solids clog the holes where the liquid normally passes through and the whole mess just sits on top. Disgusting. Cleaning up after a poopy disposable is equally disgusting. You use about 10 flimsy wipes if you're using disposable wipes as well. Yuck! After this experience, it is no wonder why people dread the thought of bringing all that home.
Cloth poopy diapers are a totally different experience. The cloth allows the moisture to be wicked away from the solids. The result is, you have a somewhat small, dry mess sitting on top of the cloth. If you're baby is not completely on solid foods yet, you can pretty much get away with throwing these directly in the wash! So, to me, this isn't a big deal. Plus, you use less wipes to clean up with. If you're using cloth wipes, it is even easier. Cleaning a baby with a washcloth is way easier than a flimsy disposable wipe!
Now the one caveat to the whole "throw the poopy diaper in the washer" routine is when the baby gets more solids in its diet and more "solids" appear at the other end. This needs to be gotten rid of in your sewer system before going in the wash. BUT! There are great solutions to this other than the old nasty "dunk and swish" of your mom and grandmother's era! (More on that later!)
You really don't even have to carry poopy diapers around with you if you don't want to. There are so many different choices, from liners to hybrids, etc. (More on that later, too!) But, you may be still trying to get over the fact that I carry poopy diapers around with me. Perhaps you're thinking about how flippin' nasty your baby's diapers smell in the can or Diaper Genie even. Here's a little secret: Diapers don't stink nearly as much when they are cloth. The chemicals (chlorine, etc) in disposables make everything smell soooo much nastier when they combine with the smelly poop. But, poop itself does stink some, so I carry a wetbag. Basically, this is like a watertight REUSABLE, WASHABLE ziploc bag! It keeps all the smell in (As long as you don't leave it in the car to marinate for a couple days).
So, if you're still following along and haven't been too grossed out yet, I commend you! Before I became a mom, I thought, "How am I going to do this? I am so disgusted by grimy kid-fingers, slobber-covered drooly faces, crusty yellow noses, and dirty bare feet?" But, something inside me changed when I had The Baby. I grew Christ-like love for him. Jesus washed all those disciples' dirty feet with love, even though he knew that they would, the next day, betray or condemn him. I guess having a baby is similar to that... You are disgusted by all the other kids, just not your own, because you LOVE them and want to take care of them (except Jesus loved all the kids, whether they were his own (saved) or not (unsaved)).
So here's another secret of cloth diapering (time for my smug look again): I've had only a handful of blow-outs, in cloth, The Baby's whole life. They occurred only in times where I made a mistake. Either The Baby was growing out of the size cover I put on him or I didn't set the size setting properly, or I didn't "prep" a diaper properly (more on this later, as well). Seriously, the way I hear my friends talk about blow-outs, it sounds like it is a weekly occurence in their life. For people who don't like touching poop or dislike the thought of cloth diapering because of the "dirty" factor, this is pretty nasty. I even have friends who have admitted to throwing away clothing because of this!
Not having rashes, not having those chemicals touch baby's skin, not having as many blowouts are all great reasons to cloth diaper, but the primary reason we do is to SAVE MONEY! I've had a friend and read studies that try to dispute cloth diapering as a money saver, but there is just no way that it isn't in our lives. I will one day break some of those studies down, but we have figured out that cloth diapering costs us (on average) $1.75-$2.00 extra per week for laundering costs. Now, the initial investment on our part was about $300.00. (We did get about $200.00 in free cloth diapers from our family and friends for our shower, but we could have bought everything we needed for $300.00 if we had been pickier).
Most of the diapers we chose were One-Sized diapers meaning they fit from about 8lbs(a couple weeks old) to 35 lbs (potty training). They also all have a one-year warranty on them for defects. They are truly designed to not only last from one child, but MULTIPLE children (Music Minister: I hope you're reading this. With all the kids you're wanting, you may need this!). Even if we don't get blessed with another child, we will probably spend about $600.00 total on diapers and washing and drying. If you shop the sales and get bargain disposable diapers, you would still be looking at spending a minimum of $750.00 to $2,500 until your child is potty trained!!! So, no matter what, you're going to save money if you use cloth. That is, unless you get seriously hooked from all the seriously cute patterns and end up having. an. addiction. to. buying. new. fluff. <ahem, no problem here of course)
The secondary reason why we cloth diaper is the environmental impact. God has charged us with taking care of his Creation! Psalm 24: 1-2 (NIV) says "The Earth is the Lord's and everything in it; for he founded the seas and established it on the waters." The majority (over 90%) of the 20 BILLION disposable diapers that are sold each year, do not biodegrade. In fact, it takes the average disposable CENTURIES to biodegrade. Also, the chemicals in these diapers is NOT a great thing (see this Wiki about Dioxin) To me, this is not being a responsible steward of the great and magnificent Earth that God has entrusted us with.
So, you get all that, but you just can't get over the "rinse-factor" once things get more solid? Read a package of disposables. They tell you that you must get rid of solids in your sewer before disposing. Have you ever rinsed a disposable? Ha! Anyhow, there are all kinds of things you can do to take care of this matter in cloth. There are flushable liners that you lay in the diaper to "catch" solids. There are hybrid diapers that are waterproof cloth cover and contain a disposable insert. A friend I know uses these while she is out and uses cloth at home.
Or, just get over the poop thing and deal with it, much like wiping a nose. There's a diaper sprayer ($20.00) that attaches to your commode water line and you can easily spray it off into the toilet. You can do it at the time of the changing or do them all at once before wash time. I will keep a wet bag hanging on a hook in the bathroom to put them directly in. Then you just empty the wetbag directly into the washing machine at wash time! Easy Peasy!
Honestly, I think that this only adds about 30 mins of actual time to my routine each week as I have everything set up well. I would save even more time if I only had one type of diaper, my favorite, the Bumgenius Freetime. The payoff in money and "warm fuzzies" in my heart and on my kiddo's bum is really worth it!
Surprisingly, my husband is 100% on board with all of this. He loves that we are doing this and that I took the initiative to learn about it and do it! He loves that we save money and he will even do diaper laundry if I'm not feeling well. He also does a lot of diaper changes in our house and he will tell you that everything I've said about disposables being "crappy" is true! He HATES them and loves our cloth, especially the BG Freetimes, as well!
Here's a photo of The Baby in a BG Freetime! It's not your mama's Cloth:
Next up: I'm going to tell you HOW to CLOTH DIAPER if you are sold on this. If you aren't, I am not going to judge you. It's not for everyone, especially as some daycare facilities don't allow it. (Which I think is ridiculous because it is seriously so easy that all the daycare workers at our church do it with a 30 second lesson!) Also, it would be VERY hard to do this if you don't own a washer and dryer, although I have heard of people who do it.
If you're not completely sold and you want a little try-out, let me know! I would be so happy to show you things in person and let you test a few out for a bit and see how easy it is!
Happy Earth Day, Readers!
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