cloth diapers: not as gross as you think

i have heard from a lot of people that cloth diapers are gross. i have used them for over a year and here's my opinion: if they were really that gross, people wouldn't use them. 

it wouldn't be worth it. sure, sometimes it's a little gross. but you know what? diapers are gross.

cloth diapers gross some people out. here's my secret -- disposable diapers gross me out!

when a baby poops in a cloth diaper, it's pretty similar to a disposable. i take the diaper off, i wipe her, and i put the diaper in a can. with cloth, we use a trash can with a cloth pail liner in it. (the cloth pail liner helps the diapers "breathe" so they don't gather stink, and we wash it when we wash the diapers.) on wash day (usually about every 3 days) i pick up the whole bag, dump it into the washing machine (without touching any diapers) and wash. 

if the diaper is poopy, you have a few options. a exclusively breastfed baby's poop can go straight into the washing machine as it is water soluble. once baby starts eating solids, poop will start to solidify. sometimes, it can be dumped straight into the toilet. other times, we use our diaper sprayer (aka a hand bidet) that is attached to our toilet. once the poop has been removed, we put the diaper in the pail and continue on with our day! not too difficult at all!

we have never had issues with our cloth diaper pail stinking because there is no poop in it!

we have had issues with our trash can stinking when there is a poopy disposable diaper in it! the poop just sits in a trash can and then a landfill for who knows how long. (no one really knows how long it takes a disposable diaper to decompose because no diaper ever has.) disposable diapers also smell immediately after a child poops in them, which i suppose is convenient because you can change them right away, but they smell horrible! cloth doesn't smell at all!

we also have never had issues with blowouts while using cloth, and we've never had staining or stinking issues. (stains can easily be eliminated by sunning diapers.) 

so there you go -- why i believe that disposables are more disgusting than cloth! :)

letters to julia: month twelve

dear julia,

can i just tell you how much i love you? because it's a lot. it's so so so much.

 

i know i say this every month, but you're so much fun

and i can't believe how big you're getting.

 

we have had a lot of fun this month. you traveled to the philadelphia/delaware area for thanksgiving. you didn't care much for the car ride, but in your defense you were also cutting a tooth. 

you got to see a lot of relatives and meet some that you had never met before.

we had an exciting bathtub fingerpainting experience. you are more than you painted with, but i think that was kind of the point. you loved it.

 

you're such a little person. you have opinions and you love to express them in any way you can. you have bedhead you get the giggles sometimes. you laugh when other people laugh, which is funny because it's kind of like you understand an adult joke that's been told.

 

 

we have done a lot of christmas stuff this month. you met santa claus and loved him! 

you love it when daddy gives you candy canes.

 

your great grandma towns passed away this month.

we traveled to pittsburgh for her funeral.

you met a lot of new people there, too,

and charmed them all.

we went to daddy's work's christmas party and you ate a lot of sweets and, again, charmed everyone you met.

 

your hair is long enough to put in a little fountain ponytail on top of your head.

super cute.

 

you can walk now, but only if you're holding someone's hand.

otherwise you crawl everywhere (and i mean everywhere).

you also love to climb and you are into everything.

you're such a sweetheart. you're so funny. you're a people person and so smart and playful.

you're just the best. i can't believe you are already one year old.

 

i love you, julia.

so so much.

love,

mama

cloth diaper myths "not your grandma's cloth"

recently i asked on my facebook page what people's thoughts were about cloth -- people who have children and use disposable diapers. in my mind, cloth diapering makes complete sense. i can't imagine not using them. i'm not out to try and "convert" everyone because i understand that cloth diapering does not work for everyone's lifestyle like it does for ours. i do think there are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to cloth and i wanted to clear those up.

not your grandma's cloth!
one of the things we heard most often before people saw our diapers was about dunking and swishing, prefolds, and diaper pins. a lot of people don't know how diapers have advanced in the last twenty years. there's elastic around the legs and back, snaps or aplix instead of pins, and attached PUL instead of plastic pants. a lot of people also use a diaper sprayer instead of dunking and swishing to clear the poop off the diaper. 

old:

 

new:

 

diapers are contoured to fit baby. they snap or aplix for perfect fit and convenience.

 

children

letters to julia: month eleven

dear julia,

you. are. so. much. fun.

you are developing the cutest and sweetest little personality. 

you wave at appropriate times now. if anyone says the word, "hi," you'll wave to someone or something and say, "i! i!" you understand the social cues when someone is leaving and you'll wave to them before they even say goodbye to you. you even blow kisses.

you have developed quite an affinity for books. you have buckets (literally, buckets) full of toys to play with and you choose to pull all the books off your shelf and flip through them. your favorite one to read to yourself is, "dr. seuss' abc" and your favorite one for me to read to you is, "my mom loves me." (aww.)

this month was halloween! you dressed up as a parrot, and daddy and i were pirates. you were absolutely adorable.

we also went to the pumpkin farm and you got to meet lots of animals including a cow!

we set up a little tent in the living room. you weren't sure at first, but now you like to go in there just to get away from it all. (LOL)

we went to imagination station with your cousins to see the sesame street display. your favorite thing was putting a ball in a hole. over and over and over.

you're getting so big. you have 6 and a half teeth, and the 8th is on the cusp of cutting any day now.

 

 you crawl around the house with toys in your mouth.

you line up your food on the side of your high chair before you eat it.

we had to go to the doctor because you had an ear infection.

we felt so bad for you,

but you were such a trooper.

 

you've started trying to "crawl" using your hands and feet -- no knees.

 

we went to a baby shower where you met a house-trained pig! 

 

you dance when music starts playing.

you're the best.

i love you so so so so so so much.

love,

mama