On Becoming Those People

Let's just face it; we are not "those people." You know, those people.... those really great people out there.  I'm not a baby wearing mom because it hurts my back after awhile and I have trouble reaching around my bundle of joy.  I wish I was a breastfeeding mommy, but that didn't work out the way I planned either.  Truth be told, I'm not even a natural birth mommy, as peanut was delivered by emergency c-section. 
We're not green because it's trendy.  I freely admit we chose some green options because they are frugal.  Alright, I'll say it. We're cheep.  I don't make my own baby food because I want peanut to eat all organic, non-hydrogenated, preservative free healthiness.  I do it, because $.99/lb strawberries go a lot further than $0.50 /jar baby food does, especially when my little darling can eat three jars a meal, three meals a day when he's feeling ambitious.
We got into cloth diapering because of the cost analysis.  If I had had more time, I probably would have found a way to sew my own diapers, to save on that initial cost too.  Yet, I'm not the one home all day like my husband is.  Rightfully so, he was concerned about dealing with the stinkies while wrangling a busy body boy like ours.  When I returned to work, peanut became a nights and weekends cloth baby out of practicality.
But not anymore.  Peanut is now an almost full-time cloth baby (we still disposable at night--which is another topic of conversation).  We're becoming those people who can make cloth work. When Rich and I talked about the way I wanted the pregnancy and breastfeeding and all of that to go, diapering options were low on my priority list.  I knew I wanted to cloth, but I would have gladly compromised in order to do the others as I originally intended.  Life throws curve balls and we just get to roll with them.  I'm so indescribably excited that I can now count ourselves among "those cloth diapering people."  It helps reduce some of the mommy guilt.  I feel like I've at least gotten one thing to work out as planned.
  Rich has been fabulous through this process.  He's really the most amazing dad and husband any family could hope for. I know I couldn't do it with out him. I truly am so grateful.

Cloth to Cadillac

            Could we travel for several days using cloth diapers? During a spring break trip to visit family we set out to test our cloth merit.  We’ve never been a staunch cloth family.  We don’t cloth at night, and only recently have we clothed in the afternoon shortly before I return home from work.  Largely due to the overwhelming amount of stuff you already have to pack for a little man we have avoided long travel with cloth up to this point.  I had survived an overnight trip to my sister’s using cloth, but one night supported by my parents is far fewer than three, especially when three results in the need to do laundry.  We packed a bag of disposables just in case.

            Largely we packed hybrids—Flips with stay dry inserts and organic cotton inserts, GroBaby Shells and an Econobum.  In a plastic bag we placed a single load of powdered detergent.  We also traveled with a large home-made wet bag.

            I really loved traveling with the hybrids and believe it was a smart choice compared to the bulk we’d have had with our pocket diapers.  We soon learned a few lessons for next time.  We should have also brought a travel sized wet bag, since we weren’t always at the grandparents house and were separated from a storage container for dirty dipes save spare plastic grocery bags.

            Normally we like to soak soiled dipes.  After our first night, we learned we hadn’t brought a bucket.  The solution was a soak in the washing machine.  We’d brought enough to not need to wash until shortly before our return.  We ended up washing sooner than we’d plan, to ensure we didn’t interfere with our host’s laundry.  Instead of line drying the inserts, we used the dryer.  We don’t usually use the dryer, but oh how soft it makes them—especially the organic cotton.

            As a tangent adventure, we packed our homemade baby food ice cubes.  Our commute to Grandmother’s House took all day, as we were detoured to help move furniture from great-grandmother’s home.  Our cubes were all melted by the time we arrived.  We monopolized grandma’s ice cube trays and refroze an interesting conglomeration of foods.  For the remainder of the trip, peanut dined on veggie surprise and fruit medley.

            In short, we did it.  We’re still not one of those die hard cloth families.  We cheated and left peanut with disposables when he was left with family sitters.  We learned from our mistakes.  No, it wasn’t as easy as it is at home.  But we did survive and are no longer afraid to attempt it again.

Great Cloth Diaper Change

       Saturday marked the inaugural great diaper change (http://greatclothdiaperchange.com/) and peanut and I did our part to get our hometown on the world record map.  We had the opportunity to participate at a local children’s learning center.  Our event was hosted by Tender loving Cloth Diapers LLC.  I was elated by the experience.

            We had committed to cloth diapering while we lived in Savannah.  In Savannah we attended a cloth diapering class at a locally owned boutique which really answered my questions and alleviate my husband’s apprehensions about cloth.  We knew where to go to for cloth and that there were other people in the area who used cloth.  When we moved back home weeks before peanut’s birth, we lost that sense of community support.

            I think that’s what I loved about participating in the Great Diaper Change.  Sure, there were several cliques who obviously knew each other well, but it was a terrific opportunity for a working mom to socialize with other like minded parents.  Suddenly, I no longer felt like we were the only family in town to use cloth.

            I loved seeing the variety of diapers used.  Oh, how charming are all the colors and styles. There are actually two cloth diaper retailers based in the area who hosted events (Sweet Cheeks is the other). I loved that both publicized their events and got the area talking. 

            I also loved to see the variety of children’s ages—all in cloth.  Some held week’s old infants.  Other parents walked along with squeaky shoed toddlers and kids who spoke in full sentences.  It’s amazing how much change our Peanut will go through in two or three years.

            As for Peanut, he had a pretty good time.  There was a ball pit he crawled through.  He tried to keep up with the bigger kids, or at least was very intent to watch other’s playing.  From a dentist vendor, he received his first tooth brush. It’s blue and maize for Michigan, and kept him entertained for most of the event. 

            Approximately 10 minutes before the official record setting time, we filed into the room and found a place on the floor and prepped for the change.  Peanut took his post fairly well and was moderately well behaved with minimal squirming.  Yet, the longer he waited the squirmier he became.  Waiting for the final minutes to pass seemed to take an eternity.  When the whistle was blown and we began the change, he settled long enough to single-handedly complete a quick change. 

            As a bonus, we received a “swag bag” with a free insert and we also won a new diaper to try out.  Although it took a little more of my Saturday than I’d intended, I believe it was time well spent.    

Cloth Blog Hopping

I love cloth diapering--even if I work too much to cloth diaper full time.  I so want to work on convincing my lovely support crew that it's not that hard.  Anyway, please stick around to find out how it goes.

Adventures in Cloth Diapering

For the past two weeks we've taken the plunge. Peanut is now large enough to fit his one-size cloth diapers and we're giving this cloth diaper thing a whirl. We bought a variety of diapers before he was born and he's finally gained enough weight that he's not swimming in them.

What we've tried and learned so far:

The Wet factor:
We learned we have taken the super absorbency of disposables for granted. Peanut never cried to complain in his disposables when he was wet. He rarely complained if he was dirty. Not so with the cloth. In cloth, when he's wet he's unhappy and we all know it. Consequently, he gets changed much more frequently in cloth. Lately, he is now also fussier in a wet disposable diapers too. Still, we're thinking this might not be such a bad thing--especially later on for potty training. Besides, it is probably best if he's not sitting in that for longer than he has to.

Overnight leaks
After the first few nights, we decided that cloth was not for overnight for us. I'm sure we could super stuff his pocket diapers, but after a few leaks and restless nights, we're back to disposables. Also, the first week we tried, Peanut seemed so small and the cloth diapers seemed so bulky, I was convinced that more than 1 insert and doubler in there and he'd be miserable.
As an aside, I also didn't pre-wash my dipes, which may also have contributed to the leakage. We've had far fewer leaks since they've been through the laundry.

Snaps vs. velcro
Snaps can be a bit tedious, especially when he's squirming. We can get a much snugger fit with the velcro. However, even in just these first few weeks, the velcro is beginning to show a little wear and I'm curious how long it will last. The snaps will last forever, which is good since I hope to pass some of these down for the next little one.

Cost factor.
I confess--I'm a cheapskate, which is why cloth diapers are so appealing.
There are many cost analysis of cloth diapers out there which will give a much more accurate assessment. We bought our dipes sporadically and on sale, so I couldn't give an accurate start up cost. I'd guestimate that we were in the $200-$300 price range. My husband still isn't sold on the cloth--especially while he's home alone with the peanut. There is a little more organizing and work and he's not comfortable leaving the baby unattended while he tends to the diaper mess. This means we only cloth in the evenings and weekends while I'm home. We're eliminating at least 4-5 diapers daily, maybe 10 or more on the weekends. At this rate, I don't think we're saving a boat load. However, the way I see it, we've already made the investment, we might as well use them. I'm hoping to at least recover the start-up cost.

The stink factor
Yes, collected wet diapers begin to smell ripe after a few days. We do laundry every other day. Wet diapers are gathered in a zippered wet bag. As previously noted, I'm cheap. I made my own hanging wet bag from PUL bought at Jo Ann's. I'd bet it's no where near as nice as a Planetwise or other professionally produced bag, but it gets the job done for far less. I'm not sure it will hold up, but for the $7 invested, I'm not out much if we don't keep up with cloth diapering.
As long as the bag stays closed, the stink really hasn't become an issue yet. We really need a second bag for laundry time, but with a tight budget that is not yet in the cards.

The dirt on dirty dipes
Peanut is formula fed, resulting in one large sticky mess daily. Oh how I want a diaper sprayer for Christmas! I shake the diaper in the toilet, flush and repeat several times to remove the bulk of the solids. I then head down to the utility sink and power wash the remnants. I do a brief soak to help reduce stains and plop the wet mess in my wet bag. So far so good, but a bit more labor intensive than I'd imagined. (I wish I could have stuck to breast feeding). I can understand why my husband would not want to handle this while he's on his own with the baby.

Pockets v. Hybrids: We have several Bum-Genius 3.0, a fuzzi-bunz a knicker-nappies and several pou-ponds (a deal we found on e-bay). We also have 2 flip shells, 3 gro baby shells and 1 econobum shell. We have only flip microfiber inserts. For most occasions, we love our hybrids. They take up so much less space for travel, or even storing wet diapers. Without a diaper sprayer, they are so much easier to shake out the solid messes than messes in pocket diapers. They also dry pretty quick (even line drying). As a negative, however, my husband has more to "think about" with the hybrids. Before he changes the Peanut, he usually asks which way is "the right way." This might also be a factor in why he doesn't cloth diaper during the day. Although we've only had leaks when we first started, I sometimes question their absorbency and if they'll be able to keep up with him as he grows.

For longer periods of time, we trust our pocket diapers. They are easiest for my husband and family to figure out. I'm not crazy about the excess bulk, but think this may diminish as he grows and is no longer on the smallest setting. They also take up tons of space in the small travel wet bag we have.