In case you were wondering

Three-and-a-half weeks and half-a-dozen explosions later and I was so ready to get back to cloth diapers. Now that I was a full-time disposable diaper-er for nearly a month, I think I can more honestly say that I prefer to cloth diaper (most of the time). Here's why:

- At least here (or in any big city I would guess) you can't just open the back door and toss the stinky offender into the big black garbage can (aka: personal dumpsters) for the garbage man to pick up on his rounds next week. Here, you have to put your shoes on, walk a half a block, and touch a dumpster to throw a diaper away. Unless you want it sitting in your house. Sans-diaper genie (do those even exist in Italy?). Stinky. So the whole "convenience" of just throwing them away really wasn't convenient at all for me. Rather, I'd have a sack of dirty diapers by the front door waiting for the next time I felt like putting on my shoes and braving the cold. And the dumpster. And finding my keys.

- Explosions. Remember that up-the-backer that happened just hours after I put a disposable on Ada for the first time in over 9 months? It wasn't the last. I had more than two a week. And it stains. And it's nasty. And I hated it worse than I hate occasional cloth diaper leaks.

- I would forget to change Ada. A redeeming quality (that can easily be used as a crutch for forgetfulness/laziness/non-attentiveness) of disposable diapers is they can last for HOURS (read: 8, 9, 10, 12, 18?) and not leak (unless it's poop. Then you're toast). I changed Ada before church, some time before 8 AM, and didn't realize until NEARLY TWELVE HOURS LATER that I hadn't changed her since. That's gross. And I felt terrible about it. And the entire diaper was damp. On the outside. I shouldn't use disposables. I'm too prone to take advantage of the system.

- Disposables are expensive (especially in Costco-less Italy) and they hurt the environment.

- Ada had two bouts with diaper rash (see: I would forget to change Ada). It's no wonder why--the moisture just sits there trapped against her skin in the unbreathable plastic germ sauna. Yummy.

- It was so hard to get a disposable on her. They're so flimsy and thin (part of the reason why people like them, so this isn't all bad) but it means that every wiggle (as in, approximately 23 times per second) I would have to readjust the diaper, re-flatten, recenter . . . the games never end with The Lou. She's a flipper. With gDiapers, the Velcro tabs are in the back anyway. And it stays flat and open despite baby-hyper-activity. I could give you a play by play of why it's easier. But just know, for me and my baby, it simply is.

- Cloth diapers win the cuteness contest every time.

Mikey wouldn't agree with all of these. He admitted he was a bit sad to return to cloth because, in his words, "I don't like dissecting the diaper." But we're compromising. Disposables for night-time and church. Cloth the rest. I think we're really going to be happy with it.

An up-the-backer

"Ten months is respectable."

I hear this (or something similar: "Nine months is respectable . . .") often when Mike gets in a cloth-diapering rut. He doesn't like having to put the diaper in the bin or flush the liner. I keep telling Mike he's not sick of cloth diapering, he's sick of diapering. Period. (Mamma mia, have we got many more years of changing diapers ahead of us . . .) Diapering isn't fun or glamorous any way you slice it.

In preparation for our big (read: way too painfully short) trip back to The States, I bought a package of disposable diapers last week. Ada and I determined it would be best to test-drive said disposables (I had no clue what size to buy, which kind to get; I felt a bit silly and was glad my friend was there to walk me through it) before we got on a plane and had some unforeseen catastrophe.

This was Ada's first time in a disposable diaper since she was just weeks old and we were still cheering for every bowel movement. The days of cheering for poops are long over.

Diaper covers drying on the bathroom radiator.

The diaper was only a few hours old when I noticed an unsightly looking stain on the back of Ada's shirt. Upon closer inspection I realized what it was: an up-the-backer explosion. This was a mothering first. And an unwelcome first at that.

So far, I'm not overly impressed with the disposables. I even went for the more expensive option (nearly 8 Euros for 20 diapers), thinking they would for sure exceed all diapering expectations and make me want to switch over to the ease and simplicity of disposables.

Sporting the disposables. I must say it makes her bum look so tiny comparatively...

Nothing is easy or simple about changing Ada's clothes. It takes lots of singing, and distractions and tears and time. She's not a big fan of getting handled.

I'll be interested to see what I think after a week+ of using disposables in Utah. Bets on whether I'll make the switch?

Advent Calender: Christmas candy

Christmas Song: Christmas Wish by She & Him

A diaper update

*Skip this post if you find yourself offended by words like "poop"

Solid foods brought with them two things: better sleeping (I know, I know, they say solids don't make babies sleep through the night. All I know is that she was a good sleeper, then a bad sleeper, then we started her on rice cereal and now she's a good sleeper again. Maybe it's coincidence...) and nastier poops.

I know quite a few cloth diaperers who quit at 6 months for various reasons. The reason I seem to hear about the most is, "It just got gross." Indeed. Squash can do a number in the diaper department.

But I have found a renewed love for cloth diapering as we have entered this new and lovely phase of it all. Diaper liners + flushable wipes = my place never smells like poo (a bonus in the baby world). As lovely as diaper pails are, I swear they're always stinky. When I nannied out East the summer after Mikey and I got married, one family kept their diaper pail on the back deck. No one ever went out there but the brave soul who had an insatiable craving for a grilled hot dog.

Let's face it, poop belongs in the toilet. Not on the deck, or in the nursery, or in the garbage can for that matter.

So I now place a flushable liner on top of the cloth when I suspect that poop might be just around the corner. (Another magical power moms have is the Poop Predictor). When it arrives, I take out the liner, flush it down the toilet with the wipes, and take care of the rest of the diaper as usual. Viola!

I'll say it again: cloth diapering IS SO DOABLE.

Doth Cliapering

Or cloth diapering if you don't have mild dyslexia like we do. . .

I've been asked for an update from a few friends on how this whole cloth diapering adventure is going. For those interested, here's my recap of the cloth diapering adventure so far.

First: Why cloth?
I have a few reasons and I think it's pretty much the same reason that everyone else these days cloth diapers.

1. Disposables are ex.pen.sive. Most estimate anywhere between $2,000 and $3,000 bucks. Sure, sure, you can get GIANT BOXES of diapers at Costco on the cheap, but after asking my parents (who go with generic brands 90% of the time unless a formal test--aka "hey Paige, which of these syrups do you think tastes better?--reveals a far inferior product) if Kirkland diapers stack up to Huggies and they both gave an emphatic "NO" I decided to price out name brand diapers. Ka-ching! Ka-ching! Ka-ching! Personally, I'd rather spend that on a hot date. Or a pedicure. Or paying hospital bills (ha).

2. Plastic disposables take 500 years to decompose (When I told my mom this she skeptically said, "What?! Disposables haven't even been around for 500 years. How they heck can they claim that?" Good point. But I believe it. Can't they do some science and figure it out?) and Americans alone toss 50 million a day. That's 20 billion a year. So while I don't expect the world to cloth diaper, and I admire mothers whether they use cloth or disposables, I feel a little less guilty by reducing the gross amount of trash I already produce.

3. They're freaking adorable. When I diaper my baby, I get the same feeling I used to get when I would put on a cute pair of undies. It's a simple pleasure.

Sporting a Golly Molly Pink gDiaper. And a Barbie Band-Aid courtesy of the Doc's.

Second: What brand?

There are an overwhelming number of choices for the new-cloth-diaperer. After a considerable amount of research, I went with gDiapers for a variety of reasons. One of which was because of the hybrid system (aka cloth and disposable--but not just any disposables. Flushable, biodegradable disposables!) I wasn't sure if the babysitting grandmas would be as excited about cloth diapering my child as I was. This also gives me a nice option when I travel or don't have time to do laundry or feel just plain lazy. I also thought the gDiapers were the cutest. Ever. The little "g" on the bum basically screams "Gee! I'm darling!" Yes, "g", yes you are. So far, I love them.

There are three parts to every diaper which seems like a lot of complication, but it's not. At all. There's the cover (the colorful exterior), a plastic, snap-in liner, and a hemp insert (the actual cloth that is next to the baby's skin). Most often, the only part I have to wash is the insert. I have 3 dozen of these and it's perfectly sufficient for full-time cloth diapering. I have 10 covers and 6 extra liners.

Our stash. Disposable inserts are folded on the left. The covers are lined up in the front, and the cloth inserts are stacked behind.

Surprisingly, I hardly ever use the disposables. I think we've used somewhere around 20 in a month and a half? The grandma's (and other babysitters) were actually totally fine to do the cloth diaper thing once I introduced them to the system. I use a wet/dry bag from Planet Wise (after a great tip from a friend). When I change a diaper, I have the clean one already loaded, swap out the dirty diaper (cover, liner and insert) and set it aside until the new diaper is on. Then I'll shake the liner and wipes into the Wet Side and put the cover/liner back in the dry side (unless it was a poopy diaper. Usually what I'll do in that case is unsnap the liner and toss both the liner and the insert into the Wet Side and put just the cover in the dry side). Basically anything dirty or wet in the Wet Side and anything clean and dry stays in the Dry Side. I've never smelled a thing and I carry this bag with me everywhere (unless I don't have Ada with me. That would be weird).

Third: Bottom line

So far, I have yet to have even a hint of a blow-out  (which is amazing considering our little Ada Lou saves them up for a good 2 or 3 days and unloads all at once) or a rash. Laundry has also, surprisingly, been a non-issue. I do it every other day which may sound killer. But guess what?! The loads are smaller so it doesn't seem as bad AND I HAVE YET TO LOSE A SOCK since we have started doing it so often. What a perk!

The cost upfront seems fairly considerable, especially when facing all the other costs that come with having a baby. But we found that by ordering through Diapers.com (first time users got some 30% cash back deals on diapers) it was completely affordable and HOORAY we haven't spent a dime on diapers since. (When Ada grows out of this size, however, we'll have to order the next size up...) Plus there are always sales and deals to be had. Always.

I'll keep you updated on how I like this cloth diapering business once the real poop arrives . . .


Questions? Email me. I've got a lot more where this came from.