What a bunch of crazies! Cloth diapering??! You've GOT to be kidding! Right? Well... sort of. Any cloth diapering addict will gush over how easy it is now. What, with all the new high tech fabrics, it's practically like using a disposable diaper. In fact, on cloth diapering websites all over I read, "...just like a disposable! Only you don't throw it away, you just toss it in the wash!" These kinds of statements refer to the "All in One" diaper, commonly referred to as an "AIO". Now listen, I am a dedicated spazoid that loves to cloth diaper my baby... and I will confess that cloth diapering HAS come a long way since I was toddling around in soggy pants.

Modern Cloth Diapers

Rubber pants that crack and smell are a thing of the past, cool clips like the "Snappi" have replaced the need for pins. But despite every cloth diapering fanatic's insistence that cloth diapering is a walk in the park, I must disagree. Cloth diapering IS harder than disposable diapering. The comparison of an All in One diaper (which requires no waterproof cover because it is built right in), to a disposable is just a teensy bit of a stretch. Yes, it's just as easy to put on. You can whip that puppy on a squirmy toddler just as quickly as you can fasten that Huggies® on your run away 2 year old. BUT, while you ARE supposed to shake the solids from that disposable, nobody does... and regardless of the cry of the Dedicated Cloth Diaperer... you DO TOO need to rinse (and *gasp* sometimes dunk) those poopy cloth diapers in the toilet.

Don't Get Me Wrong, It Takes Effort

Before my conversion to cloth, I was told by every cloth diapering mother I met, that a simple liner cut out of polar fleece would solve forever, the common woes of dunking. "Poop doesn't stick to fleece" they said. "Just shake the solids into the toilet and throw it in the washing machine. In theory, this is a great idea. In reality, there are some hang ups to this peachy solution to this common fear about cloth diapering. Sure, big solid big-kid poops DO, in fact roll off of fleece - quite beautifully, in fact. Exclusively breast-fed babies don't need any fleece because their mustard poop just dissolves in the washer. But there is this period of in-betweeness that, I'm sorry, REQUIRES SOME KIND OF RINSING!! When your baby starts to eat a bit of mashed banana, avocado, or rice cereal... his poop will no longer look like the little mustard streaks of his early infancy. Nor will they be nice and solid like toddlerdom poopies. No, they will be very liquidy and mooshy. Fleece or no fleece. Throwing that in your washer results in brownish yellowish, and sometimes chunky wash water.

But It's Not as Hard as you Think

I know that as far as bacteria goes, the hot water kills it, your dryer kills it. You've got bacteria all over your underpants and your washer water goes to the same place your toilet water goes. I'm not queasy about that. But floaties in my washing machine just kinda make me wanna retch. So I dunk. I rinse. I swirl that diaper around in my toilet laughing that I insisted to everyone who balked at my grand idea of cloth diapering that you no longer had to perform such icky tasks (which incredibly, aren't that icky).

There are flushable liners, but I don't think those solve any problems either. Mushy poo is mushy poo. Have you ever tried lifting a thin piece of paper out of a mushy-poo diaper and tried to carry it without dripping mushy poo all over to the toilet to flush? Even carrying the whole diaper... you're already in the bathroom you might as well DUNK THAT PUPPY, because the liner didn't keep all the mushy poo from oozing all over the sides and back of the diaper, so check over your shoulder to make sure no one is looking and swish away. Then try to figure out how to carry the dripping rinsed diaper back to the nursery to drop it in the pail. Tell yourself to put a diaper pail in the bathroom next time. Resolve to look up where to buy a "Mini Shower" on the internet when you finish the laundry.

Why I Love It

But you know what? Myths and truths aside, I still choose to cloth diaper my son. I love it - even though cloth diapering takes a little more effort, a little more time, and quite a bit more dedication.

I wrestle with my squirmy baby in the wee small hours of the morning, trying to get that prefold to stop slipping out from under his bum with one hand while at the same time, trying to fasten the wrap in place with my other hand, all the while my third and fourth hands are holding up his legs and tickling his chin. I do extra loads of laundry every few days. I lay my stained diapers out in the winter sun, bleaching them white but at the same time, turning them into stiff little popscicles that need to be tossed in the dryer to soften. I stay up long after my baby is in bed, hunched over the sewing machine working on my latest diaper sensation. I spend money on expensive fabrics for my son to poop in. I am so overjoyed at the sight of a newly sewn diaper that I break out the camera and email pictures of it to all my online cloth diapering fanatic friends. Why?

Sure, you've probably heard all of the eco arguments before. Disposables aren't really disposable, they fill our landfills with plastic encased poop nuggets that don't biodegrade. Single-Use diapers use up depleting resources like trees and are full of the evil, harmful chemicals that cause cancer and sixth toes to grow. Washing cloth diapers 10 million times a week only uses water that is replenishable. It's better for the earth, it's better for the baby. Look, all that save the planet stuff is just kind of an added bonus for me. I'm really not very "crunchy", I forget to recycle, I don't remember which day is "Earth Day". I simply despise shopping and don't miss running to the store for diapers and wipes. I like reusing stuff. I love bargain shopping. I'd rather shop from my computer chair than at the mall. I like feeling like I'm frugal even though I spent oodles on those cute knits you just have to have for the diapers you're just going to cover up with a diaper cover and clothing.

I Get to Feel Cool

What I really think it is, at least for me, is this subtle little high I get from cloth diapering my son. Yeah, it's harder. But it's the kind of hard that you feel good doing. For some strange reason, folding diapers is full of zen. Prefolds blowing in the wind looks so down to earth beautiful, I've taken pictures of my clothesline. Looking at my freshly stacked flannel fitteds in my son's drawers warms my heart. I get to say, "I'm not only doing something I feel is better for my baby, but I'm doing it even though everyone else out there thinks it's too hard. Hey!!! I'm COOL!!"

Back to the F.A.Q. index