Try Cloth Diapers Risk Free

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Like Tweet

Giving Exclusivity a Shot

It is my official due date and our little isn’t here yet which has given me a little more time to contemplate what I’ve committed myself to- exclusive cloth diapering from day one. There is not a single newborn disposable diaper in my house and I’m a bit nervous. I’ve been cloth diapering my 18 month old since he was about 1 month but defiantly not exclusively.

My decision to cloth diaper exclusively has been a process but it started with recalling my early experience with my first son. We waited to cloth diaper him because he simply couldn’t fit into our stash of Grovia one size diapers and I hadn’t purchased any newborn fluff. Instead of investing more money, we decided to just use disposables until those scrawny legs could fit into a one size diaper. Consequently, my son developed a horrible, persistent rash from the chemicals in the disposable diapers. It took several weeks for diaper changes to become bearable for his little bum. After a lot of research, I discovered that many moms had issues with this particular brand of disposable diapers, that the company was aware of the issue and that they were not doing a thing about it. It made me sick but by that time, he was fitting into his one size diapers. We’ve stuck largely with cloth diapers but have used disposables on rare occasions like family trips and when our son has been especially sick (spraying large amounts of diarrhea off diapers just doesn’t sound fun at 9 months pregnant).

But I want things to be different this time. There are very few things in life that I’ve committed to absolutely, especially when it comes to being a mom and a homemaker. I’ve found that personal grace goes a long way in conquering the everyday tasks; that when I get too bogged down on how I didn’t accomplish this or that, I just simply get too discouraged, making it harder to actually move forward. So when the idea to exclusively cloth diaper popped into my head, I immediately dismissed it. Why would I add something like that to my growing list of commitments and tasks? Surely it wouldn’t hurt a soul if I just used a disposable here and there. Hardly anyone cloth diapers exclusively anyway. I’ll never be able to hold to that commitment...and on and on.

Some of these thoughts are legitimate but most of them are excuses and so the thought continued to nag at my mind. And then I started entertaining the idea by visiting Kelly’s Closet and browsing through their newborn cloth diapers, which was a big mistake. It took a few days to convince myself that I didn’t really need those posh, adorable newborn diapers that were just hitting the market, even though I really wanted them. It was a challenge but I convinced myself that I wasn’t going to spend money we didn’t have on something we didn’t need when there were more economical choices. Kelly’s Closet had the perfect sale going (as they usually do). This go around they were offering a free newborn diaper if you spent some said amount on newborn fluff. PERFECT! I decided to order the Bummis newborn pack. I was pretty excited to get my package and the surprise free diaper was just a bonus. I now have all the tools to be successful and I know I can exclusively cloth diaper this baby if I set my mind to it!

As I look to my very near reality of an 18 month old and a newborn, I anticipate some challenges. I anticipate days where I just wish I had a disposable diaper. I anticipate being tempted when I walk by the baby section at the store. But then I’ll just recall that early diaper rash my son had and be thankful that I live in a time when cloth diapering is so easy, convenient and where I have a wealth of free information online at The Cloth Diaper Whisperer to help troubleshoot any issues I might have! Wish me luck! I'll report back in a few months.

Mindy Hill is a cloth diaper addict. But more importantly, she is mom to an amazingly spirited 18 month old boy and is awaiting her second miracle of life due September 26th. You can follow along on her journey at happilyhillafter.blogspot.com.

5 comments:

Secret Mommy said...

You go, girl! My oldest son was 20 months old (and still in dipes) when my youngest son was born. They were both exclusively cloth diapered until the oldest potty trained FINALLY just before he turned 3. Now I'm cd'ing the "baby" and just found out I'm preggo with #3. I also used newborn prefolds and covers until he fit into one-size dipes. :) You can do it!

Mindy said...

Good for you! I had all the one size dipes and my babies have been big, so I didn't get newborn dipes. Big mistake. We ended up using disposables part time and endured tons of leaks in ill fitting one size diapers. Oh, and get a good diaper friendly stain remover. Newborn poop can really stain.

Megan said...

I'm going to take a big guess here and assume you're talking about Pampers diapers causing the rash. That happened to my DD when she was about 16 months and is the reason I decided to cloth diaper my new son. With my daughter, we just switched to Target diapers because she was so close to potty training and I'd never considered cloth, but with my son I couldn't imagine going back down that road. Interestingly enough, I have 3 Pampers Cruisers to this day: 1 of the original, good ones; 1 of the chemical burning horrible ones; and 1 of the current style, which is actually not the same as the ones causing burns. The company claimed everyone with chemical burned children were bad parents or crazy and quietly changed their formula. You're absolutely right - they didn't care about the parents and I will never buy a product from them again.

Nicole said...

good luck mama! you'll do great!

Unknown said...

If I can do it, you can too! I am new to CD and this is my fourth baby. I decided to go ahead and give it a shot, but had my foot on the disposable door. It wasn't long before I let it slam shut. Cloth diapering a newborn was not that hard. Okay, breastfeeding poop is a stinker to clean, but it was so much easier once we installed our Potty Pail. I love this thing and it has made my "exclusivity" a breeze. Okay, I broke down a few times and used some samples/freebies, but I regretted it when she had a major poop blowout and they didn't hold... ugh.

You can do it, but if you don't, that's okay too b/c a new baby is difficult enough. Congratulations and I hope it all works out.