Hey Girl, I *Still* Hate Cloth Diapers

Confession: I have been using disposables full-time for a little while many, many months. I’ll admit I miss the cute bum running around in the plushness of soft organic cotton. I miss the amazement of how a Snappi just works like pure magic. I miss the smell of freshly sunned cloth diapers with nature’s purest disinfectant and stain remover á la direct sunlight.

What I don’t miss is when Humnoy learned to disrobe a perfectly folded organic diaper. I don’t miss the bleeding hangnail that got caught on the treacherous teeth of the Snappi. I do not miss lugging cloth diapers up and down stairs to the community laundry room.

Yeah, callin’ it – I still hate cloth diapering! Grumble, grumble.

The cloth-honeymoon has passed and that spark is gone. No longer do I get stupidly excited to snap in liners or stuff pockets accordingly and admire from afar when I organized them. I went from OCD cloth mama to who-gives-a-shit-about-landfills Scrooge. I’m a little sad I can’t show my face around at my town’s Great Cloth Diaper Change this year. Last year, Humnoy was only 6 weeks but I dragged my zombie ass downtown ‘early’ Saturday morning with crazy parking and all to be a part of the biggest simultaneous cloth diaper change in the world.

Thinking of trying cloth? Definitely prepare oneself and learn from my mistakes from a reformed cloth mama.

1) Invest in a diaper sprayer.
Sure, try thinking you’re saving money by dunk n’ swishing but it is NASTY. You’ll be introducing solids before you know it and will kick yourself for not having one installed for that first ass-plosion. There’s usually co-ops being run so you can save even more money. It has more than cloth use – it’s a bidet too!

2) Splurge on cloth-friendly detergent and water softener.
Spokane’s hard water causes much more build-up issues in cloth diapers. Build-up usually means that the detergent isn’t getting rinsed out enough therefore causing funky smells and irritated skin. I used Country Save detergent and White King water softener, which are available in your local grocer or I’ve even heard Wal-Mart carries both. Call to find out.

3) Set up a good wash routine and stick to it.
Every 2-3 days is the recommended schedule but you may find that every other day works, especially if you’re piling up more diapers or diapering more than one child. I went longer because I hate laundry and I had bad issues.

Living in this ghetto apartment, I just don’t think I have the patience to keep up with normal laundry and cloth diaper laundry. When we move out of this dump, I will return to the glorious world of cloth diapering and even attempting elimination communication.

Oh, hi. It’s Ryan without a shirt.

What problems have you had with cloth diapers? Any tips for a mama interested in Elimination Communication?

Yeah, I Said It: I Hate Cloth Diapering

I hate cloth diapering right now. It sucks. It grosses me out. Et cetera, et cetera! On top of us living in an apartment building with coin-operated laundry and spending approximately *$40 $28 on washing cloth diapers alone, Humnoy has been having some mean ol’ poops. As most of us everyday folk are unaware, solid fecal matter is “supposed” to be tossed and flushed in the toilet, recommended for both cloth and disposables. Yeah, you don’t see that in your Trivial Pursuit. Breastmilk poop is water-soluble so that wasn’t a problem until he had grabby hands and hungry eyes on big people food. I’ve been implementing what is known as the “dunk and swish” method, where I take a poopy diaper and swirl it in the toilet bowl until the chunky gunk comes off. You say, “Well, buy a diaper sprayer! It’s a cloth diapering girl’s best friend!” Girlfriend, I wish I could if I wasn’t already dishing out *half a month’s a week’s worth of gas money. (Plus, I’m ranting so let me finish).

Dunk and swish (i.e., gross and nasty) from http://naturalfeelsright.blogspot.com

Now, I love that we are not contributing to landfills, extra trash bags, and the like. I also love that I have “cloth diapering” added to my list of mom bragging on your top right column there! But c’mon, I thought I was ballsy enough to withstand this noise until he potty trained but now I’m not so sure.

Here are two scenarios I foresee if I were to make a choice on what I’ll do to keep myself sane:

Scenario One
I don’t offer my 7-month-old any solid food whatsoever. We go cold turkey and ignore his raving banshee screams for some toast. When we’re out and the Husband and I enjoy a meal cooked by someone else, we don’t look Humnoy in the eye so we don’t see that desperate look to try out what Mama and Daddy are eating. Results: Sad and hungry baby; sad Mama and Daddy.

Scenario Two
Keep doing what we’ve been doing, which is baby-led solids, and just live with a soggy pail liner and stewing diapers every three days. Results: Normal, happy Humnoy; crazy, frazzled, lazy Mama (this is normal for me though).

Three months old, before solids 'reared' its ugly head

I know I could just spend the laundry money on disposables every month and that would be the end-all. I’ve come this far and fought tooth and nail with the unsupportive nay-sayers and justifying why I would put up with it. My grandmother would surely show her disappointment, I’m guessing, since I’m trying my best to be a third-world Lao mom. I’ve done a lot of things that others have said I couldn’t from getting fat during pregnancy, to having a natural birth, and practicing attachment parenting. I’ve heard it all, but if it’s at the cost of doing what is natural and best for my baby, then I’ll dunk and swish the shit (no pun intended) out of it. Here’s to eating more pears, Humnoy!

*I’m Asian and I can’t do math apparently.