last week i used cloth everything. okay, so as the title implies i cheated several times. but for the most part i did not use any paper napkins, paper towels, toilet paper or disposible diapers. instead i used cloth napkins, dish cloths, flannel toilet paper and cloth diapers. thank goodness kent talked me into testing it for a week before committing to cloth diaper caleb into potty training.
here is the sum up of my adventure: thank goodness i am a mother in the 21st century!! i guess it really it wasn't that bad once i got the hang of it, but man did it take a lot of time. maybe if i had more diapers and liners and i didn't have to wash them every night, i wouldn't have felt so over whelmed by it. and if i had made the cloth diapers myself instead of buying them i wouldn't feel so guilty right now about "wasting" $60 of our christmas money on stuff that will now be stored for emergencies =o/
(by the way, i am going to be posting my laundry kit and sanitation kit the next two weeks so you can know how to do all this in an emergency, and not have to make my mistakes!)
anyway, cloth napkins and dish cloths are a cinch to switch to. i really think that is a done deal in our house.
flannel TP really wasn't so bad either. kent didn't participate, but since our plan is to use paper for bowel movements and flannel TP for urine i guess it doesn't really effect him anyway. i also used a peri-bottle. so aside from having extra laundry (which kent said couldn't be put in with our regular loads =o]) it was a snap.
cloth diapers on the other hand, are a discusting hassle. seriously, unless they are absolutely necessary, like in an emergency or for financial reasons, or you are just extremely committed to lessening your contribution to the landfill by a few pounds, they are not worth the time and effort. i was constantly worrying about leaks and rashes and the bucket of them waiting to be washed each night. i started out using the cheap-o tri folds with plastic pants from walmart and by the end of the first day caleb had a horrible diaper rash (he had maybe 5 his whole life before this week) and his circumcision scar got infected after one night. so i tried a different kind of cloth diaper (the ones that cost a pretty penny) and only used disposible ones for overnight and that worked fine. side from him getting a rash with the cheap ones, he also got yelled at for the first time in his life poor guy. he already has a hard time holding still for changing time but having to do those pins was just too much! natalie came up to me while i was changing him and said "mom, are you frustrated about changing caleb's diaper?" "yes." "well just calm down and maybe next time you can make a better choice." at which point i looked up at her and saw the expression and body stance i must give to her when she is freaking out about something unnecessarily. i just had to laugh! so appearently i can't be a good mother and use cloth diapers at the same time. =o] getting the disposible liners (a single sheet you put on the diaper that can be thrown into the toilet) and the diapers that snap was the key for survival for me. i also talked to a friend so uses cloth diapers (bless her!) and she told me she made hers using this pattern called Rita's Rump Pocket and it has worked for her. the ones i bought were GroVia but they were cheaper at the store i went to then on their website. bum genius is also good. i choose the grovia ones because you can get several uses out of the shell (unless there is a leak but caleb never did) because the liners are outside, but with the bum genius and the rump pocket the liner is inside so you have to wash everything each time you change it. anyway, caleb survived the week and so did i. i'm glad i had the experience, but i'm also grateful that we can afford disposable diapers and the landfill doesn't weigh on my conscience.
i'm sure our neighbors loved seeing those diapers and wipes blowing in the breeze =o]
also this isn't going cloth, but it is defiantely going green: a diva cup! if you want more info email me because it's kinda personal =o]
good to hear I have seriously been thinking about doing cloth diapers.........I have more questions. How cute of natalie to want her bum in picture:)
ReplyDeletemy email is brittfitz1225@hotmail.com. And you've helped me tons!
ReplyDeleteI washed my diapers every night even when I had lots because it seemed impossible not to have a house like urine unless you do! it definitely is pain but you get used to it, if you have to. I didn't switch to total disposable until the part way through the twins. you also have to take into effect the extra cost and water usage when using cloth. I had so much more laundry. so even not counting my time and hassle, it was more cost effective to switch to disposable.
ReplyDeleteHey! I stumbled upon your post because I am preparing a post on using cloth for emergency preparadness on my blog. I do use cloth diapers full time with my family and I contend that it saves money, doesn't take much more time than disposables, is great for the environment in my opinion, and a positive choice for my family. It's a personal choice ,though. If anyone is interested in more info on cloth, I'd be happy to answer. I will be posting about cloth diapers for emergency situations soon! I will say that I would never, ever use pins and plastic or Gerber prefolds, or put them in a wet bucket because those are guaranteed to cause frustration!
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