From Diagnosis to Diapering

“You should consider using cloth diapers.” This was the advice we got shortly after we received the diagnosis of severe hemophilia A, a genetic bleeding disorder, for our newborn son. The hemophilia nurse came to our hospital room to meet our new bundle of joy and to see how we were coping with the new diagnosis. Hemophilia is a bleeding disorder which prevents a person from forming normal blood clots. They do not bleed harder, but longer and internally into the joints and muscles. Since they also bruise quite easily, many hemophiliac boys wear knee and elbow pads and even helmets to prevent bruises or the internal bleeds that over time can permanently damage their joints. Nurse Jean suggested that we either double our son’s disposable diapers or use cloth diapers for the extra padding.

The idea of using two disposable diapers for each diaper change made my jaw drop. A baby can use over $1,000 worth of disposable diapers in the first year, and we were faced with double that cost? Plus, all those non-biodegradable bits of plastic lurking in landfills for hundreds of years! So I looked towards the world of cloth diapering. At first, my mother warned me of the difficulty of cloth diapering with boiling prefolds and unbreathable plastic pants. (My brother also has hemophilia, and she was not able to commit to cloth diapering when he was born over 20 years ago.) As my husband and I both work full-time I thought, “Do I have time for this? Will daycare accept it? How much money will it be? Will it be too much for the daycare providers to handle on TOP of the hemophilia!?” Luckily, a close friend was already using cloth diapers and she showed me how EASY cloth diapering can be and how we were able to save money while doing it. My mother was also impressed at the ease of diapering today and enjoys diaper changes.

We chose the world of pocket diapers as this was the easiest system for our home and for our son’s daycare. Now that he is pulling up (and falling down), we love the extra padding for his bum. So far, we have had no issues with bleeding into his bum and we get to reap the other health benefits like lack of diaper rash. Additionally, there’s the perk of just how cute he looks every day! From a mommy once faced with a scary diagnosis, I have now become a cloth diapering addict. I have convinced many of my friends and neighbors to do the same—not only will they save money and decrease waste in the landfills, but today’s cloth diapers are an adorable and easy “clothing accessory.”

Thank you Nurse Jean for guiding us in the way of cloth diapering!