Comments on: Pañales: Cloth or Disposable?

By: Ana

Ana — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 16:04:29 +0000

I work full time and sometimes I go ‘What was I thinking!?” I do cloth diapers full time, wash them at home, exclusively breastfeed, pump at work, we did BLW so I didn’t have to make baby food (although I did do it with my first). There has been days, especially right after maternity leave, when I felt so overwhelmed that I questioned my choices. But then I remembered the alternatives and I felt much better. I work very hard to raise my kids as naturally as possible. With my first, not everything went as planned and I did have to make some compromises, but with my second, I had learned from experience and I was more determined to make everything work and had back up plans just in case.
Something that also helps me is to remember that they won’t be in diapers forever, and changing diapers every hour or two although it seems like an eternity, doesn’t last very long. My daughter is now 13 months old and everything is so much easier and predictable. Yes, the laundering is still there, but now it has become part of my routine just like everything else we adapt with after having a baby.
We are fortunate that today we have so many options for cloth diapering that there is virtually one type for each family lifestyle and budget. I am grateful that our daycare was willing to use our cloth diapers and wipes so I didn’t have to use the disposables for that. Before we embarked on this cloth diaper journey, I invested in everything I could (withing reason) to make it go as smoothy as possible. We bought diaper pail (a big trash can), pail liners, wet bags for diaper bag, wet bags for daycare, diaper sprayer, fleece liners, spray bottles for wipes, enough diapers for every other day laundering. Going out has never been an inconvenience for us. The only thing that I do differently than when using disposables, is that I do not leave my diaper behind, it goes into the wetbag and into the diaper bag. Even my husband ( who had more of those “what were we thinking” moments than me) is a pro now!
Also, for those babies with allergies, fortunately today there are so many companies that are committed to the environment and to our health that it is so much easier to find a detergent that is free of all the toxic ingredients that make allergies worse. There is a number of soaps and detergents that are made with cloth diapers in mind and that are good for the entire family’s laundry as well. And for those sometimes unavoidable diaper rashes, there are safer alternatives as well.
However, I do have to admit, I am no super mom, I did use disposables at the hospital and for the first 2 weeks at home to give my body time to heal and adapt to life with 2 children. Fortunately, there are green options for disposables and that is what we used.
I wish there was more advertising for cloth diapering. Although there is a sea of information about them, this information only goes to those who are already considering going this route. It is scary to think about what we are doing to our planet, but if we all stop closing our eyes to it, then we will be encouraged to make different choices.

By: vanessa

vanessa — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 17:05:54 +0000

(cont of my post I accidentally submitted incomplete)
If he has a poo I do change him but most nights he is only wet doesn’t usually poo until morning. If I noticed the slightest redness on his bum I use California baby diaper rash cream. The redness usually resolves by the next diaper change. When we go out which is pretty much everyday I also use pocket diapers with one insert. This usually is good for 2-3 hrs pretty much like a disposable. If its needed I change him just like you change a disposable. The only difference is I save the diaper. When I come home it goes in the dry diaper pail until wash day. It did take me 1-2 weeks to figure out what worked for us. I must say I also had a c section and my laundry room is down stairs. This did not discourage me from cloth diapering what I did instead was use nb disposables for the first week. These were given to me at my baby shower. So cloth diapering can be done and require little effort but you have to use what works. I do also think it’s great that you tried cloth but my suggestion is it sounds like you were using what I call old school diapers. It’s 2011 times have changed cloth diapers have to. I would not suggest talking to women 65 or older for tips when using new age clith diapers. The reason is new cloth diapers are different. They probably haven’t even seen pocket diapers before. They require special soap like rock n green not bleach or boiling diapers like the old days. That is why I said research is so important with cloth diapering if you do cloth and do it right it works!!

By: vanessa

vanessa — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 16:34:34 +0000

First of all I want to say I love the page title and the little note “raising your kids bilingual”. I am also hoping to do the same. I am a first time mom to a now 1 month old baby boy. I have used disposable on my relatives in the past but I knew I wanted to use cloth since I first became pregnant. The main reason was cost. I hate to throw money away. On that note I must say the number one thing that will help a mom cloth diaper successfully is research, research, research!! I cannot say it enough. You need to see what cloth diapers fit your lifestyle. I use pocket diapers bum genius, fuzzibunz and Charlie banana. I also use prefolds with covers and flats. I am thinking you used prefolds and flats with covers because you had to change your baby every 2 hrs even at night. This is more than likely because you weren’t using the best cloth diapers for your needs. Here is what works for me… I use prefolds and covers when I at home and can change my baby more often. In my opinion these are not ideal at night. At night I use a pocket diaper with a doubler (that is two inserts). God blessed me with a wonderful baby that sleeps through the night since he was born. He only wakes up one time to eat and then goes straight back to sleep no fussing no crying. Its wonderful!! I do not change his diaper at night the unless he has gone poo. It is not needed. My newborn does not get diaper rashes and does not leak through.

By: Maybelline @ Naturalmente Mamá

Maybelline @ Naturalmente Mamá — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 04:50:18 +0000

I’ve used disposables and I’m currently cloth diapering full time. The diaper sprayer is a very useful accessory for me and it has made the difference between sticking to it and giving up. I blog about cloth diapers and I always tell my readers that if they don’t want to deal with #2, then don’t have kids ’cause that comes with the tittle, I know it sounds rude but I’ve dealt with it while using disposables and even in the baby’s outfits.

I’m glad you tried it and like you said cloth diapers are not for everybody, but the same happens with disposable.. they are not for everybody, sometimes for allergies, sometimes for the lack of budget.

I like my cloth diapers and the only regret that I have is not trying them sooner.

By: Roxana S.

Roxana S. — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 03:31:51 +0000

That’s definitely a hard one, Tina. Yes, sometimes it does feel as if the little things we’re able to do are a drop in the bucket, but I guess the only way to look at them is that all the drops in the bucket of every one of us can fill up tons of buckets!

By: Roxana S.

Roxana S. — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 03:29:53 +0000

We can’t always get what we want — that’s for sure, Beth! And I surely learned it the hard way!

Thanks for sharing your story and I know exactly what you mean about figuring a few things out in the 16 years between your two children. In the end, I think each person has to do what works for them and respect the decision of others.

By: Roxana S.

Roxana S. — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 03:18:46 +0000

Becca, I agree completely that our world is worth it. However, I can’t lie about the experience I had. I’m not trying to discourage anybody to do it. I’m sorry you felt that way. I think that for those who are looking to use cloth diapers, there is plenty of really useful information out there from those who have done it or are doing it successfully, so this post shouldn’t really discourage them.

As I said in my post, I applaud those moms who do it, but it was definitely not for me. Considering I tried it for almost six months (I breastfed my daughter exclusively for only 3 months and then I supplemented with formula, so yes, I had to scrape poop), I think I tried for enough time to know. It could’ve been the wrong cloth diapers or it could’ve just been that I couldn’t handle it.

By: Roxana S.

Roxana S. — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 03:13:56 +0000

Hmmm… yes, knowing others using cloth would have surely helped. Looking back, there were a lot of things working against me. I was new in town, we experienced one of the worst winters in Colorado in the last several years and I’d only seen snow two or three times in my life, I was pretty devastated emotionally at not being able to birth my daughter the way I had envisioned it, etc…

Thanks for sharing your story with us!

By: Roxana S.

Roxana S. — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 03:11:50 +0000

Thanks, Victoria. It’s definitely not for everyone and God knows I tried, but things didn’t work out as planned and since I started working full time when my son was 8 months old, I know I couldn’t have kept it up with him anyway.

Glad to hear it worked out for you and when it didn’t, you didn’t have a problem switching to disposables.

By: Tina

Tina — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 01:16:57 +0000

I struggled with this issue as well. I bought the cloth diapers and really wanted to do what was best for my son and the environment. At age 45 with my first I had a C section and I had no help at home while I healed from my surgery and my laundry room is in the basement 3 floors below! I gave up I couldn’t do it. I was exhausted from breastfeeding, the c sec pain and sleep deprivation. Disposables for me was a godsend
I often wonder if using cloth makes a real difference. I have read all the arguments for it but when you look at the environmental damage already done by the billions of us on the planet I sometimes feel what is the point?!
Everyday I see and read about how damaged the planet is and how on a day to day basis so much is wasted. For example tons of food thrown away at our public schools. How about those holiday parties where everyone uses plastic plates cups and utensils? What about that Gulf Oil spill and that nuclear blowout in Japan? What about China and all it is doing to poison its waterways and its air? What about all the destruction going on in the Middle East what is the carbon footprint after 10 years of war?
Maybe the real issue is stemming population growth. 9 billion people by the year 2050 can the earth sustain all of this humanity and all of its consumption?
It is overwhelming trying to be health conscious when everything around us is contaminated. From our soil to the air we breath to the food we eat all of it is contaminated. I just try to live one day at a time doing my share but down deep inside I know that it is a drop in the bucket.