Jessica's Blog

Little Lady's care provider decided to use cloth diapers at her house to cut down on the huge amount of garbage at the end of the day.  Understandable.  Four babes makes for oodles o' diapers.  For the sake of consistency, I just switched us over to cloth as well.  I gotta say, it's been just peachy.

We had done cloth with Big Boy for a while,. but gave up as he had a way of soaking through any kind of diaper configuration we could muster.  Now I wish I would have been more of a consumer and just switched to jumbo absorbency diapers and gotten some inserts... but anyway... lesson learned.

the good:

Our garbage cans don't knock us over with stench anymore whenever we take them out or in.  We honestly have cut our garbage waste by nearly half it seems.  That will lead us to getting a smaller can, and therefore lower garbage bill.

They deliver them.  One less thing for me to remember... although I do have to set the dirties out.  It's like a different kind of garbage day.  But I don't have to go to the store, or hope to keep stocked up.

There's the whole feeling cool about using cloth thing.  I don't drive a prius,  I don't have solar panels on my house... heck, I also know laundering diapers pollute the heck out of water.. but hey.. gimme a little credit, ok??  The landfill (a la baby blues this week) won't be calling us to cry out "Uncle".

A babe rolling and waddling across the room in a big diaper and cover is just too cute.

They work great.

the not so great:

I learned the hard way the other night to not check a diaper by sticking a finger into the side.  Yeah.... major gack attack... who knew she managed to do THAT on a short car ride.  It was raining, we were allll getting out of the car for Honey Girl's open house.  Older sibs stayed in car while I did a  full change out (diaper and diaper cover change).. and used lots of wipes and sanitizer on myself.

I joke about it, but it's something to consider:  The L.A. face and the Oakland booty.  Cloth diapers are just bulkier.  Period.  So while she may be a 12 month size, she wears 18 month size with pants rolled up a bit.  No slim fit pants will look slimming over her booty bump.  But who doesn't like a big booty on a babe?  No, they don't have any effect on her getting around.  You do fold them, after all.

What I don't mind but other's might hate:

Packing it with you.  You dirty it, you carry it.  I have developed a whole new love for the already adored urban tumbleweed (used shopping bags).  I have them everywhere and use them many times over and over.

Making a diaper an overnight diaper requires adding terry cloth inserts.  We launder our own inserts as they are not part of our diaper service.  So I have another reason to stay on top of the laundry.  Double diapering is really very bulky and looks uncomfortable.  Due to soiled inserts, Little Lady's hamper is plastic and has a lid.

I think we may need to get another couple diaper covers.. same laundry issue.  I don't like carrying bare bottomed baby from top floor to garage to dig in laundry for a clean cover.

While I've gotten used to it and can wrangle much of what any of my kids dishes out, cloth diapering a squiggly babe may be a bit more challenging to some.  Especially when she decides she really would like to hang onto her ankles and curl up for a bit so you can't get to her diaper sides to fasten them.. but this is the same with disposables.

I dropped her snappy clip on the rug and when I went and grabbed it, the other end had hooked onto the carpet, so when I not-so-mindfully yanked it up, it spliced right through my finger and I got a cut.  Not a big deal... and we do have a berber carpet.

So we're happy with it for now, and I am thrilled to hear they do training pant service too.  So all those icky underpants that occur as part of the learning process can be just tossed into the hamper and THEY launder them.  Imagine all the hissy fits I could have avoided.  Again.  Lesson Learned.

muchas gracias Tiny Tots.