have i mentioned that we are a cloth diapering home? well we are.. most days. I think that I should provide for you an honest review of cloth diapering. Have you ever noticed how cloth diapering mama's go on and on about how AMAZING it is.. about how much healthier their baby's skin is.. how much money they save.. how they're doing their amazing part to save the environment... and most importantly how it's soo easy! lol.. WELL here is my review on cloth diapering. IT'S Freaking hard work! It stinks.. its messy ... it costs a lot because a) cute diapers are addictive b) you keep thinking to yourself "Self if you buy more diapers you'll have to do laundry less often" and c) sorry I don't think there was a c... i was just on a roll!
Bottom line... some days I'm just not sure what the heck I got myself into. And on those days that I just can't wash out one more poopy diaper I have what I call 'Disposable' days. Those are the days that I, without guilt or shame, use disposable diapers all day long. The trouble lately is that I am going on day #4 of Disposable days.. yikes... Do I like cloth diapering? Absolutely.. I think! lol...
Can I tell you about this magical tool that cloth diapering Mama's are told will make their lives better? A diaper sprayer. It's this nifty cord thingy with a sprayer that attaches to your toilet so you can spray the poop vs. rubbing in the toilet bowl. Doesn't that sound fanfreakintastic? I thought so. And so a diaper sprayer was installed in my bathroom. Guess what? it sprays.. it sprays EVERYWHERE!!!! ughhh... I have tried to lower the spray's power thinking that would help but nope... it sprays.. all over my feet and since my shower curtain hangs conveniently right beside the toilet I am forever washing it out because I am convinced it isn't just water that's spraying but also particles of poop..... sigh....
This is what I'm convinced of. Disposable diapers were invented because cloth diapers are a lot of work, and slightly disgusting. UNFORTUNATELY they were not created in such a way that the environment wouldn't be destroyed, babies skin wouldn't become rashy, and yes I have read all the research on how babies who wear disposables have been found to have some cancer gene or something in their skin.... sigh....
Bottom line: I will continue to be a cloth diapering Mama because I do see the benefits.. but I will not lie and say it's sooo easy!
I will say this - the only times my son has "pooped up his back" has been when he's been wearing a disposable! Yeah one for the cloth diapering team! :)
K - here is my memory lane poop story....
So one day not too long ago my son and I were sitting on my bed playing. He was clad in one of his over the top adorable cloth diapers (for all their cons nothing can beat the adorability of cloth diapers). To set the stage - I have a white bedroom. Pristine white duvet, shams etc. and purple accents. Very fresh, pretty bedroom (my husband LOVES me for it!) so there we are laughing and tickling and have a wonderful time. I went to stand up my son and noticed oozing green stuff pouring from the side of his diaper... NOOOO!!!! I yelled and leaped from the bed (baby in arms) Please note that in leaping from the bed with him in my arms meant that that oozing mess was now all over me as well... At the time all I cared about was my bed... That child managed to saturate my duvet cover, duvet, sheets AND MATTRESS!!!!!!! I did tell you earlier that he is a world class poopster right? oh man... I have never been sooo grossed out in my entire life. I'm pretty sure Wado got a call that day saying "We need a new duvet, duvet cover and sheets NOW.. possibly a mattress too because I cannot deal with this."
Needless to say both myself and the little peanut went straight to the shower to rid ourselves of the nastiness...
I was successful (if that word can even be used here) to clean my bed... To a casual observer my bed is still white. But I can see where the stain is. Pristine white is a colour of the past :( My sister in law has always told me to enjoy my white (its my favourite colour) because one day I would have kids and would never be able to keep it white.... I think she cursed me!
The next few days were most definitely Disposable days! Can you blame me?
Well - I hope you weren't reading this while eating.. if so you have my sincerest of apologies.
That's all the poop stories for today! :) I'll tell you about all the mishaps of diapering and winding up covered tomorrow.
For now my bed is calling my name :) My less then pristine white bed that is....
Here's to the hopes that we all will have a messless day tomorrow :)
And if you're a cloth diapering Mama.. forgive me for my brutal honesty today.. I shall not give up no matter how hard it becomes. :)
Imagine living in the day where you had to HAND WASH not only diapers, but menstrual rags, bedding, and everyone in the house's underwear and clothes! There are certainly some perks to modern day diapers, too--rubber pants & pins, oh my!! That's the way I did it when Taylor & Jake were babes, however I must add I had a diaper service making cloth diapering life a heck-of-a-lot easier. I think you're awesome for cloth diapering, even when it's not the easiest option out there. I might have to add...you might have been the last person I would have expected to use them ;) Go blogger mama!!!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pottypail.com/
ReplyDeleteYou need one of those :)
I can control the pressure on my diaper sprayer, so there is no crazy spraying everywhere.
I really don't find cloth diapering that hard, but my 9 month old doesn't poop very frequently and when he does it usually ends up in the potty instead of his diaper (we practice elimination communication part time). My only complaint is my front loading washer. It takes FOREVER to wash anything... and it's even worse for diapers since I don't have a rinse cycle, so I need to use a short wash cycle which takes almost 40 min. before the actual wash.
Tamara - I KNOW!!! it wasn't that long ago either! My mom has shared a few of those "rags" memories with me... as for surprising you... what can I say! I'm a mysterious and surprising woman! One of these days i may even finish (or at least start) a cup of tea! :)
ReplyDeleteNessie - Thank you.. I will look into this pottypail.. looks interesting. I keep saying that my son will be potty trained by the time he's 1 yr! lol possibly wishful thinking.. Although my friend's daughter has used the toilet only to eliminate since she was 6 months! So i know it can be done.. its more about training me than him though at this point.
I too have a front loader and find that wash time is ridonkulously long!
Thanks for the comments ladies! :)
Hi Erin,
ReplyDeleteSo long as your blog isn't too girly or x-rated, I will follow you.
My blog is boring: political debate, science controversy, and religious opinion.
http://paradoxicalx3.blogspot.com/
Oh, Alethia is my pen-name.
ReplyDeleteOwen
Erin, with Kiana I tried cloth diapers. For about 3 days. None of her clothes would fit over them, it made her butt so huge (they were custom sewn, but nothing so "fashionable" as what is out now).
ReplyDeleteYou are just ASKING for disaster with white anything and children. Get out now, put it away and pull the duvet set out in about...oh... 32 years.
Might the voice of science speak and say that you cannot find a "cancer gene" in the skin of disposable-diapered babies? Our genes are God-given from the moment of conception and nothing we do from the outside can alter what is there.
I do applaud cloth diapers from an environmental standpoint. Now, what to do about all the geriatric diapers we throw out by the hundreds per week (just at my hospital alone)...
I don't agree with Cara. You can alter what's there from the outside. That is partly why certain groups (for example, those that live in very polluted areas) have higher cancer rates. Genetics are only partly responsible for cancer, the rest is environmental.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I know a lot of cloth diapers out there aren't very trim, but I've never had trouble putting clothes over my daughter's and then my son's diapers. Most of my diapers are very trim though partly because I made them that way :)
I'm NOT completely against disposable diapers. There are times when we have to use them. My son is a bad sleeper and we use disposables (corn based ones) most nights. He's sensitive to wetness and I'd have to change his cloth diaper, while he cries, every time he wakes up (which is every 2-3 hours). I admit that I wish I could use cloth at night... especially after this morning when I found a lot of gel beads on his genitals.