By now, most of you know that we cloth-diaper our daughter, Lorelei (at least, half time). If you don’t, then where have you been? (lol, I kid I kid.) Anyways, we do.
If you are at all curious why, you can check out another post I made HERE on “that other blog” I run.
But, to be honest, I didn’t start cloth-diapering to save the world or to make the environment cleaner. I mean, sure – I’m concerned…but, to be HONEST…my concerns mostly were with my daughter’s health. Approximately 8 months ago, I received some information in the mail. It was an ingredient list of the most common “toxic ingredients” in everyday products – things like Herbal Essences Shampoo and Conditioner (one of our favorites), Johnson and Johnson body washes, and more!! This list really got me thinking. I went online and did some research: I needed to know if this list was for real or not. It was.
And then, it occurred to me. I could be putting all sorts of stuff on Lorelei’s body, without even having a clue what I’m doing. So, a little more research later…and I decided we’d start cloth diapering. At least part-time.
I was tired of her waking up and having her diaper changed and those little “crystals” being all over her tush. It didn’t even look safe. So, we ventured into cloth-diapering.
Our first bunch was some cheap-o Gerber cloth diapers. You know, the sucky kind your parents probably used. The ones that need pins, vinyl pants, and “swishing.” Yeh, um no. Not only did they not work quite as well…they were too…rudimentary for my taste. I am so not your “swishing” type of girl. No thanks. In fact, when we had those, I’d lay them in the driveway and use our garden hose, with the nozzle turned on “high stream” to “clean” them off and into the grass.
I had almost given up when I found a whole new world of diapers. Click HERE to see what I mean. Many of them were JUST like disposables. You could choose between snap or velcro fasteners (snaps were brilliant when the babies started learning how to take velcro diapers off). And, they held up just as well…no BETTER as disposables. No blowouts, ever. Cool patterns and colors, my choice. And no more nasty crystals.
Steven was a little worried, though. Of course, his parents had used the “old school diapers”…(Read: vinyl pants, pins, swishing). So, he had no idea what to expect. And, he let me know really quickly he’d be doing ABSOLUTELY NO SWISHING!
How does he feel about it now, you ask? He thinks it rocks! It saves us tons of money and is great for our daughter. (Would YOU rather wear scratchy underwear instead of luxurious microfleece?)
He even said, “I think if everyone only knew how easy this was, they’d do it to!”
So, I’m going to tell you exactly how easy it is:
First, you put the diaper on. If you get a Pocket Diaper (which I recommend) or All In One…it’s VERY similar to putting on a disposable.
Then, when you take it off…
If it’s a pee diaper, you toss it into the “diaper can”.
We use this one:
It’s made by Sterilite and we got it for less than $10 at Walmart. The top stays down so animals and kids don’t get into it. And, any smell stays in. It’s see through, so you can see when it’s almost full and you need to do some washing.
If it’s a poo, you simply take it to the bathroom, turn the diaper over (above the toilet, not in)…and it comes off. (Thanks to the microfleece). Then, you toss it into the “diaper can.”
After a few days, it’ll be time to wash. Fill the washing machine with hot, soapy water. Then, take the top off the “diaper can,” hold your breath, dump the contents out, shut the lid and let them wash.
When they are done, everything can go in the dryer to dry.
Voila.
I never touch the yucky parts of dirty diapers. And, I never EVER have to worry about not having enough diapers.
