Diaper Diaries (Pt.2)

Sep 21, 2009 by desiringvirtue

First Impressions

Oddly enough, when people think of cloth diapers they don’t think happy thoughts. Many people have bad memories from past experiences and others have yucky misconceptions about them. I was influenced by both of these culprits. My mom had used cloth diapers briefly when I was born and didn’t like them, while I simply couldn’t imagine not being able to roll up a dirty diaper and throw it away. Richard was more open to the idea do to monetary savings, but I assured him that the savings would not be worth the cost! Thus began our disposable diaper usage.

I want to go ahead and get the misconceptions associated with cloth diapering out of the way before we even begin our discussion. I truly believe that only happy thoughts should come to mind when thinking about this wonderful diapering alternative!

Misconception:

They are too difficult!

The biggest reason I didn’t cloth diaper from the beginning was because I thought it would be way too stressful. I had limited experience with CDs (which basically means none); I knew that they weren’t exactly like the old safety pin diapers, but they still seamed way to complicated  to change for my taste. Plus, I would have to wash diapers on top of my normal laundry load. This did not seem helpful in the least.

Truth:

They are easy!

Seriously, before you throw out the cloth diaper option I want you to know that difficulty should not be your reasoning (especially if you are a stay at home mother). The kinds of cloth diapers that are available now are amazing. Changing your baby’s diaper only includes one additional step when you are using a CD (plopping the poo in the toilet) before rolling it up and sticking it in a diaper bag like you do with a disposable. Washing them is as simple as putting them in the washing machine and letting it do the work for you. Doing one more load of laundry every two days really doesn’t disrupt your life that much!

Misconception:

I don’t have enough time!

I thought it would take too much time to change and clean cloth diapers.

Truth:

I do have enough time!

As I mentioned in the introduction to this series, I probably averages an extra 7 minutes a day on Elliot’s CDs. This is not an insane amount of time, but it pays insanely big dividends in the long run!

Misconception:

It is too yucky!

Dirty diapers are disgusting enough, so why would I want to mess with a diaper that I have to clean after every change? That just seemed like I an inconvenience of the past.

Truth:

It is yucky, but not as yucky as you might think!

When you become a mommy, bodily fluids become  a primary part of your daily life. Soon the chunky spit up that once made you cringe and change your soiled blouse is worn as a badge of honor throughout the day because you know that more is soon to follow. The same is true with cloth diapers. You just get used to it. I was actually surprised by how little interaction I actually had with the poo in Elliot’s dirty diapers. I just plop as much of it as I can into the toilet and then  any remaining residue is taken care of in the wash.

In many ways you cut down on ickiness with CDs because you don’t have dirty diapers sitting in a diaper pail for a week at a time. There were times when I would  be changing our Diaper Genie and it would be FILLED with fruit flies because the poo had just been sitting in there for days! Yuck! Well, with cloth diapers that doesn’t happen because your diapers are getting washed regularly. Also, you cut down on the amount of blow outs you have with CDs. When Elliot was breast feeding his poo was very runny and would always shoot up the back of his diaper and onto this clothes. CDs have elastic around the waist as well as the legs so the poo is contained better!

Misconception:

They are too expensive

There is such a huge up front cost with cloth diapers that I thought I would rather just pay more over time.

Truth:

Really?!

Ok, this truly was one of my reasons for not doing cloth diapers, but it was one of the worst. Yes, there is a large up front cost when you buy CDs (the most expensive, easiest, top of the line brands can cost up to  $350 for a set of 18 diapers!).  I realize that is a ton of money to spend on diapers, but lets think about this for a second. Cloth diapers are a one time cost. A conservative estimate of the amount of money you will spend on DDs before your baby is potty trained is around $2,000!  That isn’t even including wipes, diaper rash cream, and Diaper Genie refills. Without going into detail at this moment on the exact costs, it is obvious that CDs are the real deal!  Let’s also remember that cloth diapers can be used on more than one child, so the savings are exponential! If you register for your diapers ahead of time and get them at your baby shower, you may have no upfront cost whatsoever!

Misconception:

My husband will never change a cloth diaper

I thought cloth diapers would be so difficult that even if I made the commitment to use them, my husband and other family members would find them too confusing and want to have nothing to do with them.

Truth:

He will when he knows how much money he is saving!

As I said before, the kinds of cloth diapers available now are almost as easy to change as disposables. Richard had absolutely no difficulty changing Elliot’s CD for the first time. The rest of my family was so intrigued by these “space age” diapers that they quickly learned how to change them themselves.

Now that we have broken through some of the common misconceptions that people have regarding cloth diapers I will introduce you to the incredible variety of CDs available today….

To go to the next installment in this series just click here!

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