Guest Post by Alicia whom I found through a comment on Facebook. Thanks Alicia for your words and for sticking with cloth diapering even when it wasn’t the most convenient of options. XOXO – Calley
Most users refer to cloth diapering as an “adventure”. It certainly is a process of learning, adapting and educating. You must explore your values and why you chose to ditch disposables. As your baby grows and his patterns change you must adapt the way you diaper, just as parenting styles develop with your baby. Cloth-toting moms love talking about diapers! Educating others about the benefits and ease of use is the best way to convert other families to this earth and baby-friendly way of life.
My husband and I live in an apartment with our two-year old son, Joey. We use the laundry mat in town to clean diapers. Using a diaper sprayer, we rinse them REALLY well so we can wash only once a week. It is recommended to wash every three days, but at $2.00 a load we wait until all the diapers are dirty! I hold off for a sunny day to wash so I’m able to dry outside. It saves money and gets rid of those pesky stains. Go natural-the sun really works!
My son doesn’t have a problem leaking at night using cloth. I use Fuzzi-Bunz and double stuff with one layer of microfiber and one layer of hemp. For day we love flats. They are cheap, dry fast and aren’t bulky as Joey runs and plays. Our entire collection is twelve prefold flats, four Flip covers, 9 Fuzzi-Bunz with inserts, a pail liner and a travel wetbag.
The only time we did have issues with leaking is when my husband and I both worked full-time and we used disposable diapers. Every night Joey would soak through his size 5 diapers. I was constantly changing crib sheets and pajama pants. I used more disposables each day than when we use cloth and was up frequently at night to change diapers and clothes! Once we transitioned back to cloth there have been no leaks.
Some “small space” issues we run into are related to drying. With no clothesline, I must arrange the diapers strategically to allow as many as possible to get sun. Our collapsible rack often collapses in the yard. Living in Michigan, there isn’t always a sunny day each week!
The money saved by using cloth diapers is worth much more than the extra effort it takes to wash and dry. Actually for me it took much more time and effort to find sales and clip coupons to make disposables cheaper. I had to change my son’s diaper much more frequently and we were up more at night due to leaks. Saving money and time are in addition to the benefits of keeping the chemicals of disposables away from my son and out of the landfills.
There are ways to make cloth-diapering work in any situation. Just like parenting, it takes adapting to changes. For my family, it is a commitment that we feel great about and are proud to spread the word!
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