Natali Del Conte, CBS, and Cloth Diapers

The Diaper Wars continue but are we making an impact? If you aren’t on Facebook you may have missed the most recent cloth diapering battle.  CBS Eye on Parenting filmed a segment with Natali Del Conte about the difference between disposable diapers and cloth diapers.  Unfortunately the media and guest pediatrician did not do such a good job explaining cloth diapers.

In fact, the piece was incredibly one-sided and only showed Gerber pre-folds (and mentioned safety pins) as the modern cloth diapering option.  For most parents this is what they expect to see when they think of cloth diapers but for those of us in the cloth diapering community it’s a kick in the face.  It’s hard enough getting people to see past their stereotypes of pre-folds, pins, and plastic pants long enough to see how easy cloth diapering really is.  The community was outraged and left Natali and CBS hundreds of comments on their video.  You can go watch the original video on the Eye on Parenting site; Diaper Wars post.

What came next is exciting to the cloth diapering community – the very next day Natali accepted our challenge! She is going to give cloth diapering a try on her own child for one month.  She has already begun her Cloth Diapering Challenge. She’s documenting her and her families journey on her personal blog Mommy (Beta).

How can we help Natali best? Sure our initial response to the video was a slap in the face and we all got a little hot and fired back.  However, we all need to remember that we have the opportunity to spread the word – to advocate – about the modern cloth diapering revolution.  Think back to the first time you Googled “cloth diapers” and found yourself in a sea of information that overwhelmed you.  What was it that made you continue to dig deeper and pursue cloth diapering?  Was it the environmental benefits of cloth diapers?  Was it the money that you would be saving from buying all those paper diapers?  Was it the toxic chemicals that you were trying to avoid putting next to your babies delicate skin?

Here is my challenge to you (and to me) – follow the Mommy (Beta) blog and Natali’s 30-day Cloth Diapering Challenge and give her helpful advice and support on her journey.  Leave her comments explaining what has worked for you.  Provide her links to your own blogs so she can see why the cloth diapering community stands together unlike no other community I’ve seen before.  Let’s prove to her husband and his partner in crime (Daddy on Board) that we aren’t cloth diaper nazi’s – instead we are just parents who are trying our hardest to make a difference in this world – one baby at a time.

While our favorite retailers are sending Natali samples of their products let’s help her with the support that she needs.  Let’s convert Natali from a skeptic to a cloth diaper addict just like the rest of us.  Who’s with me?

Let’s start by telling Natali how long it took for us to become ‘comfortable’ with cloth diapers.  Do you think 30-days is a long enough period for her to “LIKE THIS?”

Me?  I’ll have to be honest with you Natali – it took me several months before I fully accepted cloth diapers.  I WANTED to love them but there is a learning curve.  You will find some diapers that you absolutely LOVE – and some that you just don’t understand.