Diaper Do Not

Someone did the unthinkable. And really, I am to blame. Warning: if a disposable diaper (sposie) ends up in your diaper pail and consequently in your washing machine…you’ll be sorry.

I really am to blame. I’ve cloth diapered three children and I still cannot do it consistently overnight. The offending sposie even being IN the house is my own fault. I’ve tried every suggestion known to a CD mom and the ammonia smell in the morning is too much for me. Leaks are not an issue, just smell, and now that I’m pregnant again, I just can’t deal with it first thing in the morning (you may throw insults at me now, I know, I’m bad). So I use one sposie a night. Well…it came back to bite me.

Diapers were supposed to be washed the day before but one of the five children in my house under age five (I also run a home daycare) locked the bathroom door and then closed it. The bathroom that contains the diaper pail, of course. After my husband wrestled the door to pieces that evening, I decided the diapers would wait until morning.

I quickly dumped the contents of the pail (again, I’m pregnant, I don’t do smells) into the washer and without so much as a second glance at the contents I closed the lid and began my diaper routine. The diapers were already being washed “late” and I was in a hurry.

Let me tell you how well a disposable diaper fares after a soak, rinse, wash, and extra rinse. As I pulled those diapers out of the washer they had an odd feel to them. A slippery, unnatural feel. There, in the bottom of my washer, was a bloated mess of paper and…gel? Yes. Gel. A lone sposie had gone rogue.

I about tossed my cookies right then and there but not from any offending smells-I was just that upset. I was scared for my precious cloth stash. What had I done????

I am 99.9% sure I didn’t put that sposie into the diaper pail. My three year old has been “helping” me lately with dirty diapers, but after finding a Babykicks in our recycle bin I’m pretty sure he may have deposited the sposie into the wrong receptacle also. No matter, I still should have looked before washing.

As I hung my diapers on the line I had to vigorously shake each flat, cover, fitted, AIO, and pocket (I like a wide variety of diapers). Thousands of tiny gel particles flew off my diapers and stuck to my clothing and hit me unforgivingly in the face. That’s what every pregnant woman wants to do in ninety degree heat. Shake clean diapers for forty five minutes while standing in the sun. I’m not sure what was hotter, the noon day heat or my temper. Each pocket and AIO had to be turned inside out and shaken again as gel was trapped inside.

The good news is my stash is not ruined. I have since used and washed my diapers multiple times and I don’t have any stinkies or leaks in my diapers. I consider myself very blessed. But be please be warned: it was an awful mess.

Jenney is a stay-at-home mom/home daycare provider. She blogs about cloth diapering and life in general at www.thedraystoday.blogspot.com