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Thursday, August 13, 2009

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Newbie Goes on Vacation

I’m not sure if other people do this, but I made a couple of deals with myself when I started cloth diapering. What if they don’t work? What if they leak overnight? What about when I’m out running errands? In order to convince myself to even try cloth, I negotiated deals. You can still use a disposable overnight; you can use disposables while out during the day. On vacations, I planned on using only disposables so I wouldn’t ruin my trip with extra packing, laundry or other inconveniences.

I didn’t even have a month of cloth diapering under my belt when our vacation came upon us, but in that limited time, I was HOOKED! The thought of having to put a disposable on my daughter made me so sad. I used cloth out and about all day and overnight with no need for my preconceived “deals” so, without question they were coming to Cape Cod with us! Before you start calling me brave, I have to confess: we were staying in a rented house with a washer and dryer so it was the ideal situation for the Newbie. Knowing this, I only brought 10 diapers and 5 cloth wipes. I also brought a small stash of disposable diapers and wipes, just in case.

We had a 4 hour car ride ahead of us, but I knew we would be stopping for food and potty breaks for my 4 year old so I’d be able to change the baby on the road. I opted to stick with cloth. We stopped a little more than half way there and did a quick, and comical, change. The car was packed to the gills so I actually changed my daughter on my lap in the front seat after feeding her. In the Olympic sport of “Maneuvers Moms Somehow Swing” I would only give this a difficulty rating of 6.7 on a scale of 10. I’ve been known to attempt much more difficult feats, of which some I’m proud, some a bit embarrassed. Perhaps I’ll disclose the intimate details once we are a bit more comfortable with each other! The car trip was a breeze with both mommy and 5 month old very happily using cloth.

The rest of the trip couldn’t have gone any smoother. I ended up using maybe 3-4 disposables, between laundry cycles. My always-obliging second born timed her poops perfectly so they ended up in the disposables each time she had one on, leaving me with only 1 or 2 poopy cloth diapers. But my absolute favorite, most wonderful part of vacationing with cloth diapers: the house had a clothesline, complete with the warm sun and beautiful, ocean breezes. Can I just tell you, I woke up early, giddy with anticipation, the first morning that I got to hang my adorable cloth diapers on the clothesline! Only my fellow cloth diaper obsessed moms can appreciate this scene: pretending to be a lot sadder than I was (and I was a little sad) to be missing out on my 4 year old’s fishing expedition with her dad when, in all honesty, I was so excited to do laundry! I had it perfectly planned, kiss the other half of my family good-bye, tuck the baby in for a nap and tiptoe away to my secret pleasure of hanging my laundry out to dry!

All-in-all we had a wonderful family vacation that only reinforced how easy and wonderful my new world of cloth diapering is. I realize that it could have been much harder if I didn’t have such easy access to a washer and my new favorite cloth diapering accessory, the clothesline, but with a little planning, I won’t hesitate to take cloth diapers with me on future trips. Even if I have to do the hybrid of cloth and disposables, it’s well worth it.

Oh, and check out the picture of my new set-up at home. I ordered my clothesline the night we got back. When it arrived I couldn’t wait for the hole to be dug so (cue my husband’s eye-rolling) I stuck it in the umbrella stand of my patio table!

-By Jennifer G.

16 comments:

Candice said...

I've always wanted one of those umbrella clotheslines since the sun is very limited in my yard! I haven't had any vacations while using cloth but if I did I would still use it as long as there was a washer/dryer nearby :) I bet those diapers smelled great sunning out there near the beach!

Kristin said...

I love the clothesline in the table! The power of the sun has been a recent discovery of mine, too - it has really taken care of my stink problem.

Jennifer said...

Ha ha ha... I'm cracking up about the 6.7 out of 10 on the difficulty scale. I've got one for you, I'd rate it as a 9.5 on the difficulty scale of mommyhood. I tried to breastfeed my infant in a MOVING car. Yes, he was snuggled in his carseat and I was contorted into a hanging position over him. Why I did this? Um, screaming child, dark highway, nowhere to stop, didn't want the trip to take forever, thought it would work? Ok, I was clearly on crack. Will never do it again. That was long before I ventured into the world of CDing. Good times.

dannyscotland said...

What a clever way to get started before the hole was dug! I love it.

Stacy Whalen said...

This is a pretty humorous post! I decided to use cloth on our last beach vacation, too. It worked out well! But then the next weekend we went to visit my parents and I forgot the CD detergent. I ended up using Simple Green, Baking Soda, and a bit of oxyclean. I think I could've done w/o the oxyclean, though. BTW, how did you get by with only 5 wipes?

Yara said...

: )
I couldn't do all cloth when we went on vacation because who wants to spend hours at a laundry mat in Hawaii? (not me)
I did, however, hand wash & hang to dry my gdiapers covers & liners (well, after day 1, the maids hung them) at the Ritz Carlton. I can't believe I didn't take a picture of that. Fancy bathroom with diaper covers hanging to dry in it!

hosiewosie said...

what a great story, love the clothesline picture

Brittany said...

What a great, funny post! Your trip sounds like it was wonderful. I love the clothesline in place of the table umbrella!

Ashley said...

I love that you dried your diapers on top of your patio umbrella. Efficient use of resources!

Sarahjenne said...

Awesone story. I thought we'd do disposables on vacation, too, and then the time came and I packed cloth at the last minute!

Amy B. said...

I love the umbrella clothesline! That is great! We haven't been on vacation since I started CD'ing but I can't wait. It'll be an adventure.

TheClothDiaperWhisperer said...

Jennifer,
Oh my goodness- I just laughed and laughed. I have been tempted to do this as well but never did. Glad to hear someone tried this and succeeded! LOL

Adeleide said...

This blog is funny, it was fun to read. I love that clothesline and I would love to have one at our house!! It does sound a bit scary to go on a vacation not knowing whether there would be a washer and dryer. It's a must with us!

Lisa said...

Great story. I wanted to take my daughter's cloth diapers on our trip to Hawaii, but there was no laundry services on site at the hotel, and they didn't allow any detergents to be used in the sinks in the rooms. I will definitely be taking cloth diapers on my next trip though where a washing machine is readily available.

Heather S said...

Love the Clothesline idea!! It's the Fastest way to get those diapers dry huh? I want a clothesline someday!! Not now though, our community won't allow it!

Cloth Diaperer Extraordinaire said...

My favorite picture is the clothesline in the patio table! HAHA! Oftentimes if something needs to be installed I have to do it myself as my hubster is always too busy to do it. Thankfully I'm pretty handy when it comes to building, fixing, installing things! =) Thanks for the chuckle Jennifer!