I have 3 in cloth diapers; Emma 4 months, Alea 3 years, and Riley who just turned 5 and only needs them at night. I have used cloth diapers on and off for 10 years now and I am amazed and dare I say it, in love, with cloth diapers that are available today. I started out with Motherease diapers 10 years ago, and they were good but the problem with them was me. I didn’t know about laundering them in the right detergent, not using store bought diaper creams, ect. I don’t think many other people did back then either, come to think of it. I stopped doing cloth diapers when I had the twins and had 4 in diapers. I felt that it was just too much for me, at the time. But when they did get rashes, I would give them a break from paper, I would put them in cloth. But I didn’t know how wonderful cloth was. I just thought of it as an alternative. That is until recently, when I tried cloth myself.Disposables nowadays are super absorbent. So absorbent that they suck away natural oils that help protect and balance. I recognized this during the six weeks postpartum that I had to wear disposables myself. It got to a point that it was downright painfully dry and I didn’t want to use disposables at all this time around. I didn’t care how hard it is or what mess I had to deal with, I’m finally going cloth! But when the time came, I found out that cloth not only was pretty simple, it was WONDERFUL. It felt like not wearing anything at all.
It cool, smooth, soft and just plain LOVELY! I mean no wonder; I didn’t have plastic next to my body anymore. And it was in that “ah ha” moment that I realized what I was doing to my babies. I only had to wear disposable on a small part of my body, at the most for 8 weeks continuously. My poor babies had to wear that non breathable, over absorbent, plastic for 3+ years straight! How awful!!!I didn’t care what it took; they were going cloth exclusively, even if it was 3 children at the same time. And surprisingly, it really is just an extra load a day. Oh and I did find the right detergent this time, Rockin Green, of course! I love the smell of clean cloth in the morning. I love that my babies are getting that extra love of cloth every day. I love the cute fabric nowadays. So much so, that I think that I am addicted. In fact, today, my daughter proved that I am. A package came in the mail and Alea came up to me while I was opening it and said, “Is it a diaper for me? Is it pink?!”
Olivia Merrick
Mother of 8 children
www.pushingthesuburbanenvelope.blogspot.com
9 comments:
What diapers are you using now? Do you like fitteds, pockets, prefolds...? I'm curious to hear what a mother of eight whose diapers get lots of wear and tear would recommend as the best kind of dipe to buy. Way to go on diapering 3 at once!
Nice! Sometimes we don't know the extensive benefits of cloth until we've tried it on ourselves!
Great post!
I really enjoyed this post. I keep thinking it will be overwhelming to cloth-diaper more than one baby, but there really isn't any reason it would be.
I wonder if I am just abnormal, but when every I use disposable pads, I hate the moist feeling of them. So, I use tampons whenever possible. Luckily, in the last 3.5 years, I have only had a few cycles due to pregnancy and breastfeeding. I don't think cloth pads would feel any better. But, I guess it does give me insite into how my kids feel in any diapers!
Kudos to you for your determination!! I just love cloth and I'm glad that I put down the sposies as well!!
Great job, mama!
I had a similar experience! Several weeks post partum, I developed hives after 24 hour exposure to the plastics! I wasn't brave enough to try mama cloth until last year, (after switching to CD for the kids, and seeing their preference for cloth) though I don't have enough cloth for myself, and frequently wrap flannel around my disposable to protect myself from the plastic.
(Lol- I'm a different Stephanie than has already posted here)
Kudos to you! I've had a hard enough time convincing myself to CD, though I've been kicking around the idea of using Mama Cloth for a little while now. Do you use it exclusively, or use a Diva Cup (etc) concurrently or what?
It was actually that I was considering reusables for myself when I had that "Eureka!" moment. If I would seriously entertain the thought for myself, why on Earth wouldn't I for my baby?
Don't know if I could go "cloth" for myself... Something about blood versus poop and pee completely grosses me out!
BTW- Did you hear about the Rockin Hard detergent voluntary recall?
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