This is often the (unvoiced) response I get when I tell someone I plan to cloth diaper my children. What surprises me is that I've found so much information on modern cloth diapering and so many people still think it's a sheet and pin deal that leaves your house smelling awful and your washing machine yucky. Of course since I haven't actually had the opportunity to start cloth diapering, I can't say from personal experience that any of that isn't true. But I've never been one to listen to nay-sayers. If anything, when someone tells me what I want to do is crazy or it won't work I work that much harder to prove them wrong. I'm sure I've mentioned before that I go through many crazy obsessions in any given year. So I can understand why some of my family just sort of nods noncommittally when I say I'm going to use cloth diapers.
I suppose every cloth diaper (CD) supporting blogger has to add a post explaining how modern cloth diapers work. Otherwise, how would my friends, family, and followers find out about the benefits of using cloth? So here are my reasons for choosing to use cloth diapers.
1. They're so much cute than disposables!! There's hardly anything cuter than a pic of a baby in nothing but their diaper but sposies come in white.... and denim if you pay extra for that. Modern cloth diapers can be made in a spectrum of colors and even prints. It's kind of lame for a number one reason, but first impressions are the most staying ones and I got interested in cloth diapers from pictures on a blog that I followed.
2. Cloth is MUCH cheaper than disposable in the long run. It requires an initial investment to build your cloth diaper stash, but once it's built, that's it. And since most people want numbers when it comes to describing price differences, I'll be generous to sposies. If you keep your baby in diapers from birth to 2 years and use the cheapest popular brand of disposable diapers you'll still pay AT LEAST $2500 for diapers over that course of time. Then another minimum of $2500 for your next child (if there is another one). Or, you could get a variety of cloth diapers and spend $1500 dollars (and that's including the extra washing you'd be doing). These approximate numbers come from Diaper Decisions. You can check out the link yourself to look at the chart. Cost is the point that has sold my husband on cloth diapers. He said he really can't argue with me if it's cheaper.
3. You can shrink your carbon footprint a bit using cloth dipes. I can't remember all the numbers for the amount of waste that disposable diapers contribute to landfills but I remember reading it's somewhere around 4%. That may not sound like a lot, but think of all the different junk that we throw away (I'm sure it's well over 100 different items) and that puts it into better perspective. I'm not the most environmentally conscious person, but I do try to buy organic and drink from one water bottle to reduce some waste. The water and power used to cloth diaper does not compare, especially if you are using an EnergyStar machine.
4. This should actually be above number 3 because it is more important to me than the environment, but cloth diapers are much healthier for your baby as well. Diaper rash jumped from 7% to 70% in the years after disposables started being widely used. There are chemicals in cloth diapers that make me remember why I stopped getting chemical relaxers. Babies in cloth diapers have a much lower occurrence of diaper rash, and working in a child care center I have seen some really bad diaper rash. It pains me to know that these parents are unaware of how they could easily make their children more comfortable. It pains me even more to know that many of them wouldn't switch to cloth even if they did find out about the benefits of cloth.
5. No more blowouts! My experience in the center makes this a big benefit for me (and I'm sure my husband will appreciate it as well). There's nothing like cuddling a sweet baby in your lap and then...'SPOLSION! Poop all up the baby's back, down their legs and on your clothes. It's not the baby's fault, blame the flimsy diaper. Disposables have enough chemicals in them to make them super absorbent when it comes to pee, but they aren't generous enough to handle big loads of poopie.
This is turning into a long post, but I think that's ok. If you're bored, come back later and finish reading. I would also like to address the problems that people usually voice about using cloth diapers.
1. The Gross Factor: Maybe I'm weird, but baby poop only bothers me when it is of the extra stinky peanut-butter-sticky variety. I know that will happen, but when we get to that stage I plan to buy a diaper sprayer to attach to the toilet. Spray the poop into the toilet and drop the diaper in the wet bag. I change other people's babies all day at work. I'm sure I'll have no problem with my own children. Besides, most people don't know this, but you're supposed to dump the poop out of a disposable diaper into the toilet as well. Check the package. They don't all say it, but I did find it on a pack of Huggies I think. Landfills aren't meant to dispose of human waste (that's why we have sewage systems), but no one pays attention to that.
2. The Smell. This is a joke. I have no idea why anyone would think a bag full of cloth diapers (where solids are dumped into the toilet) would smell any worse than a bag full of sposies that still have poop in them. I've never been in a house with cloth diapers, but I can tell you that a trash bag full of used disposable diapers is disgusting. It smells awful and will stink up the whole room if not thrown out in a timely manner. They change our diaper trash at work about 2 or 3 times a day and it still gets bad sometimes. I think I'll take cloth diapers in a zipped up wet bag over that.
3. Incovenience. I'll address most of this in another post explaining the different cloth diapering options out there.
4. My Washing Machine! This makes me lol. When your kid has a blowout in a disposable you'll throw his poopy clothes in the washing machine. Infant poop before solids is usually water soluble anyway (breastfed is anyway). And when the poop gets solid you'll be dumping it out. But all of this is beside the point to me. It's a WASHING MACHINE. It is made to wash dirty things and not get dirty itself. If your kids are outside playing in the mud and they get their clothes dirty, would you worry about the mud staying in the machine after it's done? When you put your dirty dishes in the dishWASHER do you worry about the dishwasher having moldy food in it later? No, because these are machines meant to wash and get things clean. They would be very illogical if they stayed dirty every time they cleaned something.
I'll be stepping off my soapbox for a while now. I'll be back to explain the different styles of cloth diapers and what I think will be the best fit for me. Until then, if you have anymore questions or concerns about cloth diapering, just leave me a comment :)
Friday, July 29, 2011
I want one too...
This is an introduction to my new blog. Many of you are probably friends of mine and are laughing at me starting over. Well, as you may (or may not) already know, I have caught a baby fever measuring at about 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Which I think means my brain is frying. Anyways, I've been looking at lots of momma blogs out there and while I love, love, love many of them, I feel like I would like to share things about my family in my own special way.
I'm a bit weird, and I say that with pride. I've always loved being just a little different from most people that I know. I was a little tomboyish growing up and didn't become really in touch with my feminine side until late high school/college. I've been married for a little over 2 1/2 years now to my bestest best friend forever, Nigel. We don't have any children yet, but are hoping to start trying soon. Sometimes I think I hope more than Nigel does, but sometimes I get the impression he's just as anxious as me. He's just more Vulcan about it.
What, I think, will make this blog different from other popular momma blogs is that I am a laid-back, no-worries, video-game-playin', only-cooks-on-weekends type of girl. For now anyway. Soon I hope to be a laid-back, no-worries, video-game-playin', baby-food-makin', cloth-diapering, working-at-home mommy. I have a sneaking suspicion that my video games will be isolated to the weekends if I work at home.
I want to make the world a better place, one child at a time, one less disposable diaper (sposie) per diaper change. I want keep my life as natural as can be while staying plugged in. My husband and I are both complete tech junkies and urban (or suburban) dwellers so there's only so much natural we can comfortably handle.
I'm a rebel for no apparent reason, but I do usually have one. I work with young children, aiding their development and caring for them while their parents are working. I do that, but I don't really believe in daycare. I take comfort in knowing that I give some (definitely not all) unfortunate children most of the love and attention that they get during the day. And I say "not all" because I know a lot of parents hate having to take their babies to a sterile looking environment where they are cared for by other people. I am, however, infuriated by the parents that drop their kids off at 6:15 and don't come to get them until 5:00, bring them to school when they are obviously not feeling well, and.... wait, I'm getting off topic. I may be anti-preachy preachy sometimes, but I'll talk about all the daycare stuff at a later date. This entry is for introduction, right? I think I've sufficiently introduced myself. Hopefully this will be a successful blog about my unapologetic approach to life and family.
I'm a bit weird, and I say that with pride. I've always loved being just a little different from most people that I know. I was a little tomboyish growing up and didn't become really in touch with my feminine side until late high school/college. I've been married for a little over 2 1/2 years now to my bestest best friend forever, Nigel. We don't have any children yet, but are hoping to start trying soon. Sometimes I think I hope more than Nigel does, but sometimes I get the impression he's just as anxious as me. He's just more Vulcan about it.
What, I think, will make this blog different from other popular momma blogs is that I am a laid-back, no-worries, video-game-playin', only-cooks-on-weekends type of girl. For now anyway. Soon I hope to be a laid-back, no-worries, video-game-playin', baby-food-makin', cloth-diapering, working-at-home mommy. I have a sneaking suspicion that my video games will be isolated to the weekends if I work at home.
I want to make the world a better place, one child at a time, one less disposable diaper (sposie) per diaper change. I want keep my life as natural as can be while staying plugged in. My husband and I are both complete tech junkies and urban (or suburban) dwellers so there's only so much natural we can comfortably handle.
I'm a rebel for no apparent reason, but I do usually have one. I work with young children, aiding their development and caring for them while their parents are working. I do that, but I don't really believe in daycare. I take comfort in knowing that I give some (definitely not all) unfortunate children most of the love and attention that they get during the day. And I say "not all" because I know a lot of parents hate having to take their babies to a sterile looking environment where they are cared for by other people. I am, however, infuriated by the parents that drop their kids off at 6:15 and don't come to get them until 5:00, bring them to school when they are obviously not feeling well, and.... wait, I'm getting off topic. I may be anti-preachy preachy sometimes, but I'll talk about all the daycare stuff at a later date. This entry is for introduction, right? I think I've sufficiently introduced myself. Hopefully this will be a successful blog about my unapologetic approach to life and family.
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