The Great Cloth Diapering Experiment

I can't believe I'm going to write an entire blog post about diapers. I thought I was dull before, but this is probably going to take the cake.

Mmm, cake.

Anyway. I spend a lot of time on the internet, as I'm sure you are well aware. And during my forays into the mommynet I learned about cloth diapers and how today's cloth diapering systems bear only a smidgen of resemblance to my mother's prefolds, pins and soaking-in-the-toilet system. In other words, you could diaper your baby in something like this:

HOW CUTE ARE THOSE?

The whole diaper thing didn't really gross me out, as it did some guy I saw on A Baby Story one afternoon a few weeks ago, who used LATEX GLOVES to change his baby's diaper. (I would think that would be a dealbreaker. "Can you handle dirty diapers? No? All right, don't bother calling again.") So washing the diapers myself didn't seem like a big deal. The reusable-ness appealed to me, as I am something of a faux-environmentalist. But mostly I couldn't see spending a frillion dollars every month on DIAPERS. That you THROW AWAY.

Not that those diapers up there are cheap. No sirree. This cloth diapering thing, if you are going to be a snob like me and buy brand new easy-to-use pocket diapers, is a considerable investment. Especially when you consider how many diapers a two-month-old goes through in one day. Which is: A TON.

I read a thing or two and tried to get a grasp on all the different options, but after a while the plethora of cloth diapering websites and forums got completely overwhelming. And when things get overwhelming I email Maureen, because Maureen has a PhD in something ridiculously brainy and probably knows how osmosis works and how airplanes stay in the air. (I have no idea how airplanes stay in the air. This is why I ask for the wine as soon as I buckle up.) Also, she has a son named Jack who wears cloth diapers, so she obviously knows her stuff.

Maureen sent me a behemoth of an email about cloth diapers which I read, oh, fourteen times, and still didn't know what I should do. Finally I decided to treat her email like that Baby Bargains book. I skipped to the end and bought whatever she recommended. In this case, BumGenius one size diapers from Cotton Babies.

I bought two. They were the cutest things EVER. I may have put them in my purse and made all my friends examine them and tell me how adorable they were, when I'm sure they were just humoring me and thinking to themselves, "Obviously she has not encountered newborn poop." I bought five more on sale and figured that was enough to experiment with. I'd try them on my new baby and if it seemed like it was going to work, I'd buy more.

Then I brought home a SMALL BABY. His entire body fit into one of those diapers. He laid helplessly on the changing table while his mother laughed herself into fits. So the diapers went back into the drawer and around the six and seven week mark I was thinking they were probably going to stay in there forever. Phillip, for one thing, was not too keen on this washing diapers scheme I dreamed up. (Although I'm not sure why he cares, since I don't remember the last time he did a load of laundry, AHEM.) Also those paper diapers are EASY. No fuss, no bother, just twice as much trash as we used to produce. My mother seemed to act like cloth diapers were as ridiculous as breastfeeding and, well, I just wasn't feeling the SUPPORT, people. And you know how I require, I mean appreciate, affirmation.

But I did not spend my last paycheck on cloth diapers for nothing. And then my mom was all, "You should try them!" bringing the the number of things on which I thought I had her pegged but didn't at all to about 478. So earlier this week the boy started wearing his puffy fleecy cloth diapers. Not at night, because I'm "starting out small". Not out and about, because the diaper bag is already bulging and I'm still getting the hang of them. And not every day, because I only have seven diapers and some days that's not enough to last until bedtime. But so far so good. I've had one leak and I'm pretty sure that one was my fault, not the diaper's. The baby doesn't seem to mind them. And OH MAN are they ADORABLE. They make him look somewhat disproportionate, but I've got drawerfuls of too-big clothes so that's no problem either.

What I am not so sure about is what to do with the diapers between wearing and washing. We bought a cheapo trash can at Target (Maureen did not advise this, by the way, Maureen advises buying a trash can sophisticated enough to take you to the moon) and lined it with a plastic garbage bag. So when I change a diaper I just remove the insert and fling both pieces into the pail. The icky ones get a little bit of rinsing, but that's it. Then I wash them, but with only seven diapers it's not enough for a whole load and I don't want to wash them every day. The solution, obviously, is to buy more (which I will, soon) but I still have to figure out this diaper pail thing. It seems fine to me, but Phillip is TERRIBLY offended by the odor. I guess my nose doesn't work, I don't know. I haven't noticed anything too objectionable, although I can hardly be surprised to see that our definitions of "too" are wildly different. And I'm also going to have to use cloth wipes, because I hate sorting the cloth diaper from the disposable wipe. What a pain. And if you're already washing diapers it's not a big deal to wash a wipe as well.

So I need to figure out the post-use storage and also the rinsing and washing. I'm just winging it right now. It seems to be working fine, but I'm not going all out yet.

While I think about this, you guys can look at this picture and ruminate over the wonder that is 1) super cute green diapers and 2) my friend Neighbor's husband offering to change my baby's cloth diaper. I KNOW! Just the fact that Phillip diapers the baby sends my grandmother into a dead faint.

P.S. The baby gets his shots this afternoon. PRAY FOR ME. He will be fine. I will be the total wreck throttling the nurse holding the giant needle.

Comments

[Arwen]

In re the PS, you are absolutely right. He will be totally fine (and even better in the long run, since he won't get diptheria or whatever and die) and you will probably cry. At least, I did. Is Phillip going with you? I had Bryan hold Camilla's hand during the shots while I hid in the corner, and then I grabbed her and nursed her while telling her all about how this hurt me more than it hurt her. SO cliche.

I have always wanted to try cloth diapers, but like you I would want the expensive ones and we don't use that many diapers any more, and anyway I'm just going to potty-train Milla at eighteen months and that will solve all my problems, right?

Heh. Seriously, I guess I'm just too cheap/lazy. Maybe next time? I think you are awesome for doing it.

[Tara]

we use cloth, too! I just bought a $15 trash can from Target with the lid that you push on and it opens. I line it with one of the wahmies washable pail liners. Easy and no stinking. :)

Good luck with the shots. I didn't think I would cry, but I did when she did. At least it's over quick!

[Christina]

only you can make the topic of cloth diapers both interesting and hysterical! I swear, you are just the Queen of Funny Blogging. :-)
We did the cloth diaper thing with child #1 - with a service so all I had to do was dump them in a pail and the nice man gave me new clean ones every week. But still that was too much work for me and after the 9 months or whatever that my mom paid for, I switched to disposable. And I read somewhere that the soap/water required for washing cloth diapers was about equivalent in "bad for environment"-ness to disposables in a landfill, so then I didn't even feel guilty! (and if that's not true, don't tell me, I don't need any more guilt!)

[Laura]

OH...I just love you my West Coast friend...I wouldn't even consider cloth and Annslee's go straight to the trash in the garage immediately..of course she poop trained at 20 months so it wasn't that difficult. I will admit those are some cute cloth ones though...but no, I will not be using them for Malia. Maybe switching to cloth will save you enough $$ to not work : )

[Maureen]

Hee! I do, in fact, know how osmosis works AND how an airplane stays in the air. By some miracle, you chose two things that a chemical engineer actually is supposed to know. But don't ask me to EXPLAIN you how an airplane stays in the air, because I'll just mumble something about lift and Bernoulli and then change the subject. Osmosis, however, I can explain all day. But don't worry, I won't.

Don't forget to get some Trader Joe's bar towels to use as overnight doublers. I'm so glad you're finally trying them! Cloth diapers rule!

[Kate]

Mmmm cake.

I don't have a kid. I'm still focused on the cake.

I wore cloth diapers with the big safety pins and everything. Good luck with the stink :)

[Kanuck]

I was at a baby shower just last week where the topic of cloth diapers was discussed in great detail, and one woman swore by putting the dirty diapers in a pail of a vinegar solution (don't recall how dilute) which helped with the odour/pre-cleaning. I think she said she dumped the whole thing in the wash machine and drained off that solution then washed. I'm sure Teh Internets can give you more info on the exact procedure, but she swore it was like magic!

[karianne]

I'll have to forward you on the post that I wrote for Bec's first shots. You have gotten this stuff down so much better than I ever have, and I'm sure that you also did much better with shots. I'm almost crying remembering.

Kudos on the cloth, even in tiny amounts. I"m so proud. We had a diaper service for the first month with Ivy and just couldn't handle them. They were too bulky, but the ones you have look great. I think that I maybe used 10 on Bec before he grew out of them. Great job!

[Mau]

Oh, and also, re: the diaper pail smell. Maybe try the Wahmies liner? Maybe that helps keep in the smell better than the plastic? I'm just making stuff up here in an attempt to encourage using something washable over something disposable, but it really might help. And if you do switch to a wet pail system (like vinegar in the bucket) don't forget to store the pail somewhere a crawling baby can't tip it over. The tub is a popular storage place for wet pails, according to the internet.

[Maureen]

Oops, that above comment is me, not "Mau."

[Rosie_Kate]

Delurking (hi!) to say-- make sure there's a lid on your diaper pail. Dry Pail (no water in it) is fine, just don't let the dipes wait more than two days. Cold rinse, hot wash (with good detergent containing no enzymes or fillers, like Bio-Kleen), cold rinse. No baking soda, or vinegar, esp. if you have hard water, which I know you don't because you live in the fabulous PNW, not the midwest.

Oh, you can also get "Deo-disks" which give your diaper pail a lovely citrus smell!

[carrie]

Hey, I just asked you about cloth diapering on your other post, but I should have read this first!

We cloth diaper too. I've done it for both of my little men.

We use FuzziBunz, and I also launder them myself.

I have 18 diapers in size medium and large. Smalls, I only bought 10 of because they grow so quick and it didn't seem like I'd be geting my money's worth out of them. Holy moly, I was washing every other day though! Right now I only have to wash every third day, which is nice.

I use disposables at night, because I got leaks at night and didn't feel like stuffing the diaper so full that my poor babe couldn't bend his legs.

I use a little Bio-Kleen, baking soda, and white vinegar in my wash, and hang them out to dry.

In between I don't soak them in anything. i store them dry in a large kitchen garbage can with a foot pedal. When I'm washing the diapers and the can is empty, I dump a splash of bleach in there and some water and let it soak. I dry it out and spray some Lysol in there, and I'm good to go. We've never had a problem with odor coming from the can (well, unless we open it. ha).

[Emeth Hesed]

I use FuzziBunz and I absolutely love them. They're SO cute and soft and good for my baby.

Pee diapers are not any trouble to clean, really. It's the poopy ones that are yukky. I wash the diapers every morning so there is hardly any stink. I don't do anything by hand, just dump them in the washer, cold prewash, then hot wash and cold rinse.

I also kind of do EC (elimination communication, aka infant potty training) when I'm not too stressed out, so I usually don't have poopy diapers to deal with. She almost always poops first thing in the morning when she wakes up, so I rush to the bathroom and hold her over the toilet where she does her business instead of in the diaper.

During the day, if I'm at home, which I usually am, I keep her in baby panties which a friend made for me, or with no diapers at all, um, just naked, that is. When she starts squirming, I take her to the potty and she pees for me.

It may sound weird, but infant potty training is what most people in the world do now and what people have done since time immemorial. It's only the "advanced" countries that don't do it and train their children to soil themselves for the first couple years of their lives.

Anyway ... keep up the good work. Whether you EC or not, using cloth diapers will make it easier to potty train him later.