Guest Post: Our Cloth vs Disposable Compromise

Today is the last scheduled guest post in the infant diapering series. Today we have a family that used a different option - the best of both worlds ... Here is Amber's story in her own words:

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When it comes to diapering, there seems to be two distinct schools of thought.  Disposables vs. Cloth.

Unfortunately, quite early in our pregnancy the hubs and I realized we weren't on the same team.  The hubs had heard horror stories of leaky, ineffective cloth diapers and he was horrified of prefolds; his friend had been pinned to hers as a child.  As an environmentalist, I on the other hand couldn't stomach the thought of disposables filling my garbage can (and the landfill) unnecessarily.   I tried to explain that there are oodles of cloth diapering options that don't require the use of pins, but when it all came down to it, the hubs didn't want poop in the washing machine and he didn't want to deal with all the extra loads of laundry.  I argued that the laundry wouldn't be an issue, but the hubs wouldn't budge.

It would seem we were at an impasse, but we found a middle ground that we could both agree on.  Diaper Service.

Guest Post: From "Perfect Mom" to "Perfect Guilt Free Mom"

 

Today is the second last guest post in the infant diapering series. Today we have a story that went from "the perfect mom" to the "perfect guilt free mom" ... Here is Maija's story in her own words:

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I was a breastfeeding, cloth diapering, organic baby food making and proud baby wearing Mommy.  In short, I was “that” mom.  The “perfect” mom.  That is until I actually had children of my own.

When I was pregnant with my first child (a daughter) I was twenty four years old.  By today’s standards, I was slightly on the young side to start having babies.  But I was married (for two whole months before I got pregnant) and had a supportive family and because I was the eldest of six children, I had grown up with babies  so I felt prepared.

Plus I loved to shop in the baby boutiques.

I spent quite a bit of time and a considerable amount of money in these boutiques.  I researched, I compared and I discussed with shop keepers and other moms in the store until finally I bought.  Most of the decisions I made were based on consumer reviews or in person advice from other moms, but some, like the cloth diapers, were based on sheer cuteness.

I didn’t choose cloth diapers.  They chose me.  How can you resist all the bright colours and cute designs?   I nodded politely as the sales girl explained the environmental benefits and the easy washing instructions while I counted how many shades of pink they came in. 

I went home with a starter kit.  A $200 starter kit with a whopping five diapers in it.

As the big day slowly got closer and the baby showers were done I began to unpack, wash and then pack a hospital bag and a diaper bag.  Both were placed by the front door of our home, waiting for our little baby girl to make her appearance.

The first few days in the hospital were a blur.  While this is not a story of my pregnancy or of my daughter’s birth I will mention that neither were as simple as I had hoped and we spent just under a week in hospital.  On the day we were finally to go home, one of my favourite nurses was helping me pack up my things and noticed in our hospital bag one single cloth diaper.   It was washed and ready for use but in all the commotion I had forgotten it was there. 

“What’s this?” she asked.

“Oh” I said looking up from trying to not-so-expertly latch my starving infant “I’m going to cloth diaper.”

The nurse smiled, and left the room for a minute.  She came back with a stack of disposable diapers and put them into the bag destined for home.  “Take these just in case” she said.  I was too tired to care.

Guest Post: Cloth Diapering was in the Old Days

I am posting this weeks Infant Diapering guest post a day early - and it is a good one. Dana from The Sears Fam shares her story of diapering her 3 boys.  Here is her adventures in her own words: 

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I was a first time Mom to Joshua at 21. Cloth Diapers never even crossed my mind. I was so new to Motherhood and being so young I didn’t have other Mommy friends who had any ideas to give me. So I read everything on Motherhood, babies & needs that I could get my hands on.  This being five years ago there was nothing in the Magazines about cloth diapering at least where I lived. I thought nothing of Cloth diapering, it was just something my grandmother did. All the Magazines told me how many diapers I needed to buy for the newborn stage, so I did. And then I just kept buying disposables.
(Read I never even gave cloth diapering a thought.) 

We used Walmart Diapers, cheap and they hit the garbage as soon as they were “used”. I never thought twice about it, that is until I became Pregnant with my second Son, Mason.

Guest Post: A New Mom's Experience With Diapers

Another adventure in infant diapering guest post - this one from Jessica (dramaticmama on twitter) who is a first time mommy to a brand new gorgeous boy.  Here she shares some funny stories on her first experience with diapers and how she found them to be: 

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My name is Jessica, I am a new mom and my baby boy is just over a month old. While pregnant, I contemplated using cloth to disposable diapers. Since I hadn't ever changed a diaper before and I was scared of poop, pee and didn't know how my stomach could handle cleaning a cloth diaper, I decided to use disposable ones.

I love them (even though I don't like the price and how they are not green). They are easy to change, and when Dustin goes to the bathroom and it goes up his back, out the sides and all over the place, I just throw the diaper out and I am done. No cleaning and washing.

I have been a parent for just over a month, and have 2 funny stories that stand out in my head.

Guest Post: Combining Cloth & Disposable Diapers

Today we have another post for the Infant Diapering series from Ginger (@rambleginger) on her families use of both cloth and disposable diapers and how & why that works for them.  Her is her adventure in her own words:

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To explain how we approach diapering in our house you need to know a few things about us.

1. We are a "whatever works on any given day" kind of family.

2. We are prone to taking the path of least resistance to keep our sanity.

So it makes sense, given those two things, that we do a combination of cloth & disposables with our son. How did we get here though? Well....

Before I got pregnant, I was one of those people who would proclaim "Cloth diapers? I could NEVER do that!" Not because I thought it was bad, or gross, or weird, but because I'm lazy and it seemed like a LOT of extra work. I mean, a baby is going to add enough extra laundry (which I hate), why pile on to that?

About halfway through my pregnancy, I had a conversation with one of my best friends that changed my mind. She had two kids under two, and, I was shocked to find out, she had gone to exclusively cloth when her second was 2 months old. She told me all the benefits she had experienced & then she said "It's not that hard. If I can do it, YOU can do it." She said it with full sincerity, and I believed her.

Guest Post: We Love Using Cloth Diapers (Even Daddy) !

This weeks guest post on Infant Diapering comes from Alexis (Jacksmom4life) who is a new mom to a gorgeous baby boy.  Today she shares with us her experience in using cloth diapers and why she loves them:

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Cloth diapers were never a twinkle in my eye until I started talking to my sister again.  I found out she was using cloth and was very interested in them.  I started researching them and what it was all about.  It’s amazing how far cloth diapers have come since I was a baby 27 years ago.  There are so many different kinds, diaper services, cleaning routines.  There is tons of information and great diaper companies out there.

My husband and I were very much prepared for clothing, feeding, diapering, and caring for our baby, but little did we know that there would be so many funny things to come from changing a diaper.  As anyone with a boy knows, they can pee all over the place.  Up in the air, on you, on their face, on anything laying close or far away from them, you name it… they can hit it.  So as new parents my husband and I learned how to be very quick at changing a diaper.  While learning how to be fast, I do have to say, I have been peed on too many times to count.  I think sometimes my almost 4 month old, holds it just so he can get me.  He smiles as I scream, and then I laugh at him.  I guess it’s kind of a game now, on who can be faster.  Me to cover him up, or him to pee on me.

Guest Post: Late Starter Elimination Communication

Time for another guest post on infant diapering and today we have a goodie! Julian (@pocketbuddha) from Pocket Buddha shares with us her adventures in late starting elimination communication.  Here is her adventure in her own words:   

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Late starter Elimination communication is an adventure. An adventure that is awkward and sometimes difficult but can also be really rewarding. My decision to adopt Elimination Communication (EC) techniques with my son when he was 10 months of age was not an easy one. I had a few major misconceptions to deal with before I could accept the practice. (You can read about how I overcame those first impressions here) When I finally decided on EC, like when I put my mind to anything, I dove right in head first.

Looking back, I think I may have been a little ambitious about the whole thing. My intention was never to ‘potty train’ my infant, I knew that EC is a slow and gradual process for families, and especially families who decide to get started after their babies are 4-6 months of age. I knew that toilet learning wouldn’t be an overnight success. What I didn’t appreciate is WHY it is a slow and gradual process. It’s not because using the toilet is a learned skill that evolves as children develop (although it is and it does). It’s because teaching a child how to use the toilet is a learned skill that evolves as parents develop.

At first glance, teaching a child how to use a toilet sounds easy. After all, actually using the toilet is easy for me so what could the big deal be? According to my research all I had to do was show Oliver how to use the toilet by welcoming him into the bathroom and letting him see what it is for, ‘offer the potty’ after naps and meals when it is likely that he will eliminate, then learn his elimination cues, and build his association with the toilet over time by ‘catching’ more and more eliminations. Sounds simple no? As it turns out, none of those steps are without their obstacles.

Guest Post: Adventures in Cloth to Disposable Diapers

Starting off my new guest post series on Infant Diapering is Erin (@Jmomma07) from Emommyhood.com.  Erin shares her adventures in using cloth diapers and her decision to switch to disposable diapers.  Here is her adventure in her own words:

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When my second son was about 8 months old I began cloth diapering.  We are a family of four on one income and the budget is very tight.  I was struggling a lot with trying to stay within my grocery budget every week, so I was looking to see where I could cut things and try to save money.  Honestly there is not much to cut, so I thought that eliminating the cost of disposable diapers would help. Also...I don't get out much and I really really do love my cable and didn't want to give it up.  It is my form of entertainment and the one thing that could be cut. Plus, Noggin and Nick Jr are pretty popular with my kids..especially on a day where I'm sick or need to finish cooking dinner.

It took some convincing to get my husband on board because it is a chunk of change to get started.  They are really not cheap, but you have to look at what you will be saving in the long run.  I also thought about how I could cloth diaper my next child from day one, and by the time that child is potty trained, I will have saved big..really big.  So, we made the splurge and bought the diapers.  I really liked it at first, they were the cutest things and he looked adorable in them.  My 3yr old who is potty trained also wore them to bed.  The extra laundry and occasional scraping poo off a diaper really didn't bother me and the grocery budget had some more wiggle room.