I’m a half-crunchy mom. I prefer to give birth in my bathtub but am not anti-vax or against mainstream medicine. I breastfeed well past a year but don’t buy only organic or GMO free. I love to wear my babies but have never been one for co-sleeping.
When I was expecting my fourth child, I decided for the first time to try out cloth diapering a newborn. I had used cloth on my second for night wetting and kinda liked it so I thought “how hard can it be on a new one?”
I did tons of research, talked to other moms who were cloth diapering pros and ordered every reasonably priced newborn cover available on Amazon along with a dozen different inserts. I did the math and even if we hated it (and hubby was sure he would), we would only need to try it for a month to come out ahead over buying the disposable brand I’ve always preferred. It seemed I had nothing to lose by trying.
I decided to go with covers instead of pockets or all-in-ones as this is what I’d used with my daughter and I liked the idea of being able to reuse covers between washings. I waited like a kid for the ice cream truck each day as my covers and inserts arrived. I marveled at each, read the directions for washing and meticulously assembled and folded each one to wait out baby’s arrival.
My very wise cloth-diapering expert friends advised to stick with disposables until all the meconium has passed (apparently that stuff stains like nothing else) so on day 5, once the glorious breastmilk poo set in and I got to the bottom of my newborn disposables, I went for it and made the switch.
Diaper 1: before I even got it on, little man sprayed me. And the bed. And the diaper. (Something his big brother never did in our 2 1/2 years together!)
Diaper 2: the liner I used sucked and baby boy was wet nearly from head to toe (I’m telling you, this kid can pee!)
Diaper 3: we make it through dinner and while his clothes stay dry, the cover is wet against his so skin so is unable to be reused.
Diaper 4: diaper change before bed and while everything stayed contained in the diaper, the liner was apparently not centered and poo had also engulfed the cover.
Diaper 5: too big for my little (9 1/2 pound) man despite being a “one size” for 8 pounds and up.
Diaper 6: 2 am, Little man was soaked again and he nor my husband was too happy about it. I grabbed the last disposable and as I tried my best to get everything changed and re-situated in my middle of the night, new mommy, darkness induced stupor, the little guy sprayed me again! And the bed, again. But I managed to spare that last glorious disposable from the flood! Until I zipped his pajamas and “pffffft!” Poo.
Diaper 7: I grab what I have nearby and throw an insert in.
Morning comes and he’s dry! I finally got it right, a cover actually made it through! I head downstairs for breakfast. I cockily sip my coffee, “look at me!” I thought.
I grab baby out of his high chair and he’s wet. Again. From his knees to his neck. I carry him precariously slung over my arm up the stairs.
Diaper 8: My last cover. This time I throw two inserts into the cover and everything else into the laundry.
Cloth Diapers: 1, Me: 0
You may have won this round, cloth diapers, but I’m not about to give up! I will win at cloth diapering, you just wait…
You made me laugh so hard I had tears. Love it.
Thanks, but it was certainly not funny at the time!
Haha this was too funny! I’m half crunchy as well, I like to call it “chewy”, but I’ve never tried cloth diapers before. I can’t believe you are sticking with it! You go girlfriend!
Thanks, Amber, I think “chewy” is a great way to put it! We’re finally getting the hang of the cloth and really only leak once in awhile at night now and I actually really like it, especially the not having to run out for diapers and saving all that money!