We recently got back from a trip that took us far from home for over a week. We were staying in several different locations, none of them with terribly easy (or cheap!) laundry access and not a lot of extra time to spare. We went to Disney World, clear across the country, and then on the Disney Cruise, out at sea. We knew that our cloth diapers wouldn’t be a good solution for us on this trip. It was going to be stressful enough trying to manage two toddlers far from home without having to worry about misplacing a beloved fitted diaper or fighting stains.
We purchased a package of disposables that would fit both children and the day before the trip, I did one last load of diaper laundry and then put the kids in ’sposies (as they’re so affectionately referred to in the cloth diapering community). On the plane the next day (and oh boy, we were on the plane for a loooooong time!), I noticed a smell. I wondered if it was my older son, who these days has an odor all his own. I had recently changed my daughter and surely it couldn’t be her. Maybe it was just the smell of the plane.
The next day, amidst our fun in the Magic Kingdom, I noticed the smell again. I noticed it whenever I picked up my son or daughter from their strollers or when I held them in my lap. It was… the disposable diapers. They SMELLED.
Whenever so much as drop of urine would hit that diaper, the smell would start and it was awful. I don’t know what to compare it to, other than to say that it made me think of a gas station bathroom.
I’d always heard people in the cloth diapering community say that disposables stink and I always thought they were a little nuts. After all, I used disposables on my oldest and used them for two years on my middle child. I never noticed any smell! And if they smelled as bad as people said, I would have noticed that, surely?
Apparently not.
I’m not sure what causes the stink, but my best guess is there are chemicals in the absorption gel in the disposable diapers that react and cause an odor.
I got used to the smell, best as I could, over the next week. But I was so happy to get home and put one of my daughter’s fitted diapers on her again. And my son ran to the changing table and picked out a pocket diaper, insisting I put it on him. I think he missed his cloth too!
The disposables were great as far as convenience went. After all, that is why they were first made, right? So that people would have a simple option when out of the house or traveling. They served their purpose. But I have not been sad to shelve the diapers we had leftover and doubt we’ll touch them until we next go on a vacation like this. And if we don’t go on another vacation where we need to use disposables? We’ll donate them. They’re not that great for everyday use, believe you me.
Has anyone else besides me noticed the ’sposie stink while on vacation? Isn’t it just AWFUL?
I hate the smell that sposies have now. I never noticed it until I started having to use cloth training pants and Pullups (naps and bed only) since my LO can’t fit in her CDs anymore. She’s 2 1/2, and not quite ready to potty train, but I can’t afford more CDs right now. I go thru so many pairs of underwear, but it’s better than having to smell those pullups all day long!
LOL, this is something I complain about when we travel too, and people think I’m nuts. There’s something about that baby powder smell in the mix that really makes it awful.
When my son poops in a sposie, everyone in a 12 foot radius KNOWS, immediately. But when he poops in a cloth diaper, I usually have to pull it back to check. It’s nowhere near as “fragrant”!
I always wondered by people made such a big deal about diaper genies, and then I spent two days in a small room with a trash can full of used disposable diapers. 0_0 Now I get it. And I am SO glad to get my son back in cloth when we get home!
I’ve always noticed the stench with disposables. That could be one reason why I knew I wanted to CD from the beginning. And, the diapergenie… I saw bugs once and that was all I needed not to give it a second thought!
We’ve used disposables on occasion (like moving across country) and hubby and I both notice the smell. It is icky! Our older kids even noticed and kept telling us the baby had pooped (which he had not).
I just got back from a 10 day vacation a couple of days ago. It was the first time I used sposies on my 8 mo old. I relented because of laundry issues as well.
I also noticed the smell. It was so icky.
I also EC so my daughter (who has the fattest thighs you can imagine) is usually in training pants at home. I had the most difficult time pulling those pull up sposies over her legs. I hated them and could not wait to get home.
I love the part about your son. It makes me wonder what all babies would choose if they could.
I do agree with you that they have a smell. And ITA with Jennifer that I have to usually do a visual to check for poop in our cloth
That said, I am incredibly grateful for Sposies while on vacation at the beach ~ cloth diapers and toddlers and ocean and sand are a right mess 
I love being at the point in my cloth diapering journey that I can love and choose cloth, yet have the freedom to do what is best and easiest for my kids and myself while on vacation without any guilt.
I noticed the smell for the first time when my friend changed a Pampers brand diaper near me on her tiny infant. Then, when my friend brought her baby over to visit my family, after she left, my husband was like, “I think the cats peed somewhere because it STINKS!” and I said, “Nope, that was the disposable diapers. You can thank me later.” (since it was a challange turning him to cloth before our daughter was born) I think those who use them are used to it — however gross that is. I do have to say though, that we, too, just got back from a trip and I bought my first pack of sposies. I got 7th Generations and the odor was VERY minimal. I was impressed….Although 2 out of 3 poo’s came out of the diaper. WTF? In 15 months of CDing, I haven’t had that happen!
I, too, have noticed the terrible smell that disposables have when wet! We have cloth diapered from the beginning, due to finances, and we bought a pack of ’sposie’s when we left for a 10 day camping trip in August with my 7 month old daughter. It was pretty bad. I was SOOOOO glad to get back home and back into cloth diapers! We gave away the rest of the package. Next year I am going to have to figure something else out. Suggestions?
I to recently traveled with my 6 month old baby, and found that CD is so much better than disposables. I recently purchased All-In-Ones from a local store called Cuite Poops and Bottoms, located in Orland Park, IL. It has the ease of disposables, but is so much better with keeping the smell away. They also keep my baby’s bum much drier, and so far I haven’t had a diaper rash.. I couldn’t recommend Cloth Diapering more.. Luv Them!!
Thank you for your recollections about the smell that disposable diapers produce. It is just another reason to use cloth diapers. They are so much more environmentally responsible and cheaper by far. However, I think even the staunchest of cloth diaper advocates would give mommy a break for using disposables on vacation. They may be stinky, but when traveling they are really mother’s little helpers.