Whenever someone wants to sell something, they usually give all of the pros and none of the cons - or very sugary versions of the cons. Well, I believe in honesty and integrity and so I will let you in on my true feelings toward cloth diapers - what I don't like about them and why I still love to use them.
My problem with cloth diapers is cleaning the poopies. It's just gross. It's gross with a disposable diaper (which, did you know that you are supposed to dump the poop in the toilet before you throw those away?) but it's nastier with cloth because you've got to get your hands in there and get the poop off before you throw it in the wash. When we first started cloth diapering, I dunked the diaper in the toilet to get the poo off. That's what I read that your supposed to do. Yuck. Then we upgraded to our toilet sprayer. It has its advantages over the dunking for sure, but it doesn't change the fact that it's still poop! Sometimes I have flashbacks to when I worked in an assisted living center changing super-sized "briefs." Shudder.
Well, then, why do I use them even though I'm sometimes tempted to use our long-distance-travel disposable diaper stash? Ok, I confess, sometimes I do use them when I know there will be poo coming soon, but for the most part, it's all cloth at my house. Even though I sometimes get so disgusted about cleaning the poop that I contemplate just hiding it somewhere until my husband gets home, I can usually just put myself into diaper-cleanup-mode and be done with the task without even thinking about it.
And then there are the real perks:
- My daughters' reproductive organs aren't constantly being exposed to nasty chemicals
- They hold diarrhea like you would not believe. Honestly, the girls both had a nasty bug and we put disposables on them thinking that they would be better, but they leaked everywhere (ew) while the cloth diapers held everything in.
- I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that when I run out of diapers, I just have to go into the laundry room and put away that load of laundry that I've been putting off and, just like that, I have more diapers. Hurray for saving money!
- They're cute. I love showing them off.
- Cloth diapers are also wonderful for tall, skinny babies. My kids all have tiny waists and the pants that fit their waists are usually way too short. But since cloth diapers are thicker they keep pants on well and my girls' ankles stay covered.
The truth is there are days when I get into the mindset that disposables are more convenient, but then I remember that it's just what I was conditioned to believe. (Thank you advertising!) Because in the end, a poopy diaper is still a poopy diaper, no matter what kind of diaper it is.
The poopies really aren't that bad until they get older. Although, I've never had to deal with them without a toilet sprayer! I can't imagine the toilet swishing dunking method... ew : /
ReplyDeleteThere are so many more pros than cons about cloth diapers. Even though my dad makes fun of them. He calls them "home made" or he asks where the "real" diapers are. lol I love cloth diapers and I'm so glad that you sell those awesome covers : )
That's one of my favorite things about breastfeeding - with a cloth diaper you just take the poopy diaper and throw it in the wash/diaper pail. My parents (and others) make fun of me all the time about the cloth diapers. Apparently, I'm cheap. They just don't understand how great they really are!
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