I’m a little sad that I’m only just now starting to use cloth diapers, now with my third and final child. Why didn’t I start with my first, back when he was born in 1999? I knew people then who were using cloth diapers and was aware enough that I knew the process of cloth diapering was different than it was for my mother’s generation. But something held me up.
I know exactly what that something is. It’s the same something that holds any of you who are reading this from trying cloth diapers. It’s the poop. I was nervous about having to deal with it more than I already had to. And dunking a diaper in a toilet to rinse poop off? Oh hells NO. Anyone who even remotely knows me knows that’s about the LAST thing I’d ever want to do. I’d rather throw the damned thing away than do that. Which led back to disposable diapers. It’s a lot cheaper to throw away something that is meant to be thrown away, you know?
I was also nervous about the cost. It’s a lot of money upfront. It’s a tremendous savings in the long run, pretty much no matter what you do. But having a couple hundred dollars on hand to start a stash of cloth diapers? Well, that doesn’t happen too often around here. It’s a lot easier to rustle up the $14 for a box of cheap diapers from Walmart than $300 for a couple dozen pocket diapers.
But I’m here to tell you that it’s not as hard as all that. If you are unfamiliar with today’s cloth diapering methods, take everything you think you know about cloth diapers and throw it out the window. I thought I knew, only to learn that I don’t. It’s like learning to read all over again. It’s so much different, so much easier, than I ever expected.
There is no dunking diapers in toilets if you really don’t want to. Honest! First off, if your child is a newborn you don’t even need to do anything with the poop since it easily washes out. You just toss it in the pail and you’re done with it. You can use flushable liners that catch all the poop and just dump them into the toilet. The best solution, the one I’m going to be using, is a diaper sprayer (like Brit mentioned in her post). Just spray the diaper and it’s contents into the toilet and voila. Toss it in the pail and you’re done. And that’s another thing. You don’t have to have a “wet pail” or anything like that. I have a regular garbage can from Walmart with a lid that closes. Inside, I have a waterproof and washable liner and when it’s time to do laundry, I just take the whole liner upstairs and dump the whole kit and kaboodle in the washer. Never have to touch a diaper.
And, believe it or not, I realized that you don’t have to buy your entire stash all at once. If you are still pregnant, you can set aside money each month or buy little by little until the little one arrives. If you already have a child, you can buy a diaper here and there and fill in the gaps with disposables. Using prefolds and diaper covers is a lot easier than I would have figured and it’s VERY inexpensive. Trust me, if I can afford it, anyone can. I use those in the day, when we’re going to be home and it has worked out great. One dozen prefolds lasts me about a day and a half with using the pocket diaper at night. I do laundry every other day.
That brings me to the issue of laundry. You might be thinking: I don’t think I can handle ALL THAT LAUNDRY. I thought the same thing. I can hardly stay on top of the regular laundry around here, after all. Anytime I would look into it, I would see instructions on all the different cycles of wash and the process and get freaked out. But, seriously, it’s not too bad. If I had a real nice washer that had programmable cycles, it’d be even easier. Still, it’s not at all bad. And while I may have piles of regular laundry stacking up around me, I have no trouble getting the diaper laundry done. I do a cold wash or a cold rinse first (depending on how dirty the diapers in the wash are), followed by a wash in hot water. I use maybe 1/2 the detergent you’d normally use (and I’m using Purex Free and Clear, which comes recommended and is so far working really well for me). I finish up with another cold rinse before putting the diapers in the dryer on medium heat. I take the prorap covers out and let them air dry. I also take out anything that has a stain on it. All you need to do is let that lie or hang in the sun and the stain will be gone. BELIEVE ME, IT’S TRUE. And that’s it, ya’ll. It’s that easy. I stuff the pocket diapers with their inserts when they come out of the dryer, fold up the washcloths we’re using as wipes and put them in the container and stack up the fleece liners and prefolds and I’m ready to go. It is as easy as that.
Today’s cloth diapering is all about convenience. Well, convenience and cute patterns, soft fabrics and adorable designs. But convenience and functionality most of all. In the immortal words of Alka-Seltzer and Kathy Griffen, “Try it, you’ll like it.”
Tags: cloth diaper, One-size, Pocket, prefolds, prorap
