What about the POOP? That’s right, there is no escaping it and we all have to deal with the poopy diapers.
Make a Poo Pact! Since most of my readers are mommies I’m specifically talking to you. Most of us have supportive husbands who only ‘agree’ to go the cloth diaper route because it will save them money in the long run. Admit it – when you first told your husband you were going to use cloth diapers he probably laughed at you. Mine did! I actually remember the reaction when I brought the very first cloth diaper into the house. We had friends over and the guys spent hours making fun of me and my decision; while my girlfriend laughed a little quieter. They all asked me “but what about the poop? What do you do with that?“
What’s a Poo Pact? I decided on day 1 of our own cloth diaper journey that I wasn’t going to ask my husband to deal with the poop; unless he wanted to. I made a pact with him that he could leave the poopy diaper for me as long as he promised not to complain or use disposables while I was gone. I realized tonight that I’m not the only one who makes poo pacts. A husband of a friend of mine does the same thing – they are new to cloth diapering and he refuses to clean the poop!
How do you handle the poo? Well if you are breastfeeding exclusively the poo is water soluble and will wash off in the laundry. During that stage I would still rinse the diapers and inserts in the sink because I was afraid of the staining. Once your baby starts eating solid food the poo becomes more solid and less frequent. Unfortunately it also brings about the sticky poo – seriously sometimes it’s like creamy peanut butter! It’s down right gross, I won’t lie to you! But it does get easier. As your baby becomes a toddler the poo becomes even less frequent and even more solid. So solid that many times it plops right off the diaper. This is the dream poo – the poo that you pray for!
Here’s my cheat sheet for each type of poo –
Wet poo – rinse and place directly into a wet bag.
Sticky poo – One option is the diaper liner. Either flushable or fleece the liner will keep the poo off the diaper. I actually prefer the flushable liners. The second option is to invest in a good diaper sprayer or dedicated spatula to remove the poo into the toilet. The diaper sprayer is essential for removing sticky poo from the diaper. Then place directly into a wet bag.
Solid poo – Dump, plop, and flush – but beware of the splash! Then place directly into a wet bag.
Updated 2014: Again, another area that has had a few advancements over the past few years is diaper sprayer accessories. The best invention since the diaper sprayer is the Spray Pal! You can use this with your traditional diaper sprayer or in a sink or tub.
But why do you LOVE poop? OK – so I don’t love poop but with the Poo Pact I love my husband more. If I don’t expect him to clean the poopy diapers then I can’t get mad at him when he leaves them sit on the bathroom counter waiting for me. I love that the Poo Pact has saved my marriage from one more pointless battle. I love that my husband gets just as excited as I do (about cloth diapers) when he’s talking to a new parent. I love that my husband is honest about his hatred for poo. I love that my husband loves me enough to take the cloth diaper challenge with me. And I love that on occasion – he’ll even clean a poopy diaper!
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A Poo Pact, without naming it we had one from the start. That was a *biggie* for my husband using cloth. He never wanted to have to clean the poo diapers. He leaves them for me when I’m not home, and no biggie, like you I’m just glad he is using the cloth and not sneaking in disposable. Even though I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t now, he loves cloth almost has much as I do.
Our little one is six months and we just put in a sprayer. I was dunking before and can say a sprayer is the greatest thing ever. Makes poopy clean up so much easier, not to mention faster and less messy. Is it a must have? Probably not I mean you could survive without one, but it does make poopy diaper clean up much better.
Tracy Martin
Life of this sahm
http://www.audsbabydays.blogspot.com
Poop. Call me crazy but I love talking about poop! Especially to Dads and ESPECIALLY to moms on the fence that say “Ya, but would have to deal with ALL the poop!”
The first thing to understand is with cloth you are actually dealing with LESS poop! Cloth diapers, and especially the right ones ;), you will not have blow outs in.
That is why I love cloth diapers so much! I dont deal with NEARLY as much poop as when we used disposables on my oldest. Like clock work – EVER time she pooped it was e v e r y w h e r e. Once we switched to cloth I can wholeheartedly say that we have not ever had another explosion. Nothing up the back nor out the legs mess ever again. NEVER.
I love the idea of the Poo Pact, though I can say that I am thrilled that such a thing is not necessary in my house. As my husband is an RN, he deals with much nastier things than my dear daughter can dish out with her diaper. Occasionally he might comment on the large amounts of poo he has discovered, but he has never backed down from a dirty diaper yet. I love my man!
I have to agree with Julie from Rump-a-rooz on the the blowouts. The only time I have experienced them is when we have had our little one in disposables for some strange reason or the other. Cloth diapers are great for containing poo.
The concept of having a dedicated spatula is interesting to me. I might have to consider getting one, it would be easier than my current method. Thanks for another great blog, Eco Chic!
Right on! Hubby & I totally live by the Poop Pact and we didn’t even know it! lol Thanks for sharing Calley.
CJR
Share these with your readers: http://www.everythingbirth.com/BMS0030-p-Bummis.html
The liners are soft like cloth and really inexpensive.
We flush our poop and never rinse and we’ve had no stains!
My daughter likes the trip to say “bye bye” to her poo and it helps her with already making the connection with “poo goes in the potty.”
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!
My husband and I have a poo pact too! It was one of the agreements we came to when I decided to use cloth! My husband is also now an advocate for cloth when he previously scoffed at the idea!
We have a tacit poo pact, too. The funny thing is that our first daughter was mainly in sposies, and my husband had no problem cleaning up all the poo that got on her clothes from the many blowouts! You’d think it would be just as easy to clean up the poo from a diaper. . . No complaints, though, because we’re both happier with our twins in cloth—and we, too said good riddance to the blowouts.
We must have an unspoken poo pact because that’s what happens. I dont care one bit either. I’m just stoked that he has never ever ever complained about using cloth, especially because he didn’t have a choice!
I used to dunk and swish, now we have a sprayer and it’s WAY better. But I think I’ll buy myself a Potty Pail for my birthday. I tried to make my own and it doesn’t work right.
And I have never had a blowout in a cloth diaper. There was a few days I needed a break (mastitis) and did sposies and had blowouts and wet clothes all the time. Never anything like that in cloth!!