View Full Version : DIAPERS. (What was the process in your home as to choosing)?
Whenever I reflect on simplicity and frugality, diapers come to mind, as does the two-sided divide that separates the two camps (cloth or disposable). There is no in-between, you have to pick a side, but which?
How did you decide on which type to use? Did you go through a process of carefully considering each before arriving at a decision? Or, did you simply wing-it and go with what you felt was best for your situation (at the time)? Maybe you based your decision on what everyone else was using (at the time)?
early morning
1-31-11, 7:14pm
Had my kids in the 1980s. We're pretty conservation minded, so it was a no-brainer. We used cloth, washed and line dried, toilet trained the kids pretty early. It really wasn't a big deal for me. And we both worked outside the home. Kids went to home based day care when family wasn't available and we had no trouble taking cloth diapers - we provided the plastic bags for the wet diapers. We did use diaper liners on changes where we were pretty sure they were going to be needed.
The husband flat refused to change a cloth diaper. Period. End of discussion. I worked full time...
i never questioned that i would use anything but cloth. this was the 80s in the midwest and i was a full time mom. i only bought disposables for vacations. it is so easy to throw them in a bucket of water, and then when its full, pour the whole bucket, water and all, into the washer. run it on the spin cycle for a few minutes to empty the soaking water, then wash as usual. i can't imagine doing it any other way.
I used cloth, also in the 80's. I would put the dirty diaper (not poo) in the washer that had water and a little bleach in it. At the end of the day i would just run it through. Now when my daughter turned one, she started having a diaper rash problem. I would put her in disposable until it cleared up then back to cloth, but she kept having the problem so we used disposable until she potty trained.
When I had DD (2008) we were living in an apartment building with one shared washer and dryer for ten families, and I just couldn't imagine dealing with cloth. I used these two other anecdotes to make myself feel better about that:
(1) A very ecologically minded friend who is a scientist did some calculation by which, in California, the environmental impact of the water used to wash cloth diapers was much greater than that of putting disposables in the landfill, and used disposables for her kids.
(2) My mom started using cloth diapers for me in the mid-70's, but I developed a terrible rash. Switched to disposables, rash disappeared. Those failed cloth diapers are still around her house being used as dust rags.
I've tried cloth diapers with each of the oldest three kids and DH, who does our laundry, always ended up crabby about it and we'd switch. He's accomodating of almost all of my quirks, and I have many, so I let this one go. I'm lucky enough to have a husband who's willing to be the one who wakes up with babies in the middle of the night almost exclusively, who does the laundry, washes the dishes, takes over almost all sick care of children (and me), provides almost all of our financial support, fixes anything and everything that needs fixing and still takes the time to bring me flowers and take me out on dates. I figure it's worth the compromise to keep him happy. :)
Why not both? I used both. I especially used disposables with newborns at night. Mine would sleep for longer periods of time because the disposable did a better job of wicking away the moisture. That meant I got more sleep which helped me be a better mom. I don't do well with sleep depravation :)
Thanks for sharing your insight/experiences. I've grown to accept the use of disposables courtesy of SL members who helped bring to light important points as to the pros/cons.
Cloth in our home (always), economics/environment being the biggest factors, at times two in diapers also helped solidify the cloth decision for me, as did convenience, i.e., no emergency trips to the store for disposables, no running out of diapers in the middle of the night during those 2 am pants changes.
Just seemed like the right thing to do. My mom did it, family (both sides) did it, a few friends, a few neighbours. It's difficult not carrying on tradition.
I had fully intended to use cloth diapers and I tried for awhile with my first but I only lasted a couple of months; I was pregnant again and that was one thing that sent me 'over the edge'. And then there were two and I was just to worn out to try again. The boys are 11.5 mts apart.
Gardenarian
2-2-11, 6:16pm
The husband flat refused to change a cloth diaper. Period. End of discussion. I worked full time...
Yep, same for me. I had signed up for a diaper service and they actually sent someone out to give DH a lesson in diaper changing. He wouldn't go for it...
...but I developed a terrible rash. Switched to disposables, rash disappeared. ...
with my daughter, it was when we used disposables that she would get a rash. with cloth, she did not. it probably depends on a lot of things, including the brand of disposable, and the type of laundry detergent ...
I always used cloth diapers. Disposables gave my first baby a terrible rash, so I decided to stick with cloth. I grew to really like cloth and developed an easy routine of soaking them in a diaper pail with Dreft laundry soap (poopy diapers were rinsed first in the toliet), then on wash day pouring the excess soaking water into the toliet, carrying the diaper pail now with just dirty diapers downstairs to the washing machine. Then I would wash in hot water again with Dreft (do they still make that brand?) and vinegar, with two rinses. They would always come out clean, soft and smelling wonderful. They would then go outside on the line or in the dryer, depending on the weather. I used plastic pants over the diaper to keep them from leaking out. I washed those by hand usually as they would get brittle and tear easily if washed in the washing machine too often.
I always felt really good when I put a soft, clean, white diaper on my sweet little babies' bottoms. :)
Albeit occasionally, mild diaper rash and irritation made cameo appearances in our home, but never as a result of wet or dirty diapers, rather me mimicking the typical 60's- 70's mom and using rubber pants too often. Like all the time too often.
My kids bottoms were always at their best throughout the summer months when they typically ran around in just a plain pinned diaper- sans rubber pants.
I hand-washed rubber pants too Wildflower. If I didn't I was replacing them every other month or so.
Float On. I know that "over the edge" and "worn out feeling". My last two are only 13 months apart (adopted) and my only saving grace were my two daughters who helped with everything baby related. Having two extra sets of hands changing and feeding and bathing and holding made all the difference in the world.
Just wanted to touch on waterproof pull-on pants and diaper rash for a minute. Those of you who used the old style elastic leg hole/waistband plastic- vinyl pants over your kids cloth diapers, how did your children's skin (butts) stand up to them? Were the "pants" the weak-link (in your home) as to the cause of diaper rash, or did rashes result from other factors such as laundry detergent (residue), drying, inadequate pH balance, etc?
I used cloth diapers for my first three, partially for conservation reasons and partially for financial reasons. The twins were born when my oldest was barely 2, so there was a year where 3 of them were in diapers full time, and another year where Anya was in diapers at night while Maya and Lyddeth were in them full time. There was just NO WAY we could afford that many disposables! Plus, it was nice to be able to throw a load in the washer at bedtime, throw them in the dryer in the morning and have a whole boatload of new diapers instead of having to go to the store all the time. :)
My son was born when the twins were four and only in nighttime diapers. I tried him in the cloth diapers, and he was just so wiggly. Now, I'd probably changed, I don't know, 8 zillion cloth diapers at this point? I definitely had technique! But, he was completely insane at diaper changes! By the time he was 3 months old I'd already stabbed myself with the diaper pins more with him than I had with all the others put together. And I was tired, sooooooo tired. I'd been changing diapers for six years solid at that point, and I just didn't care anymore. So, he was in disposables.
If I have any more, I'd definitely do the cloth (unless the next one's like Tiernan, but very few children are like Tiernan. He's a special blessing :) ) I always loved the process of cloth diapering, and there's something really great about a cloth diaper babybutt! Don't get me wrong, there are good things about disposables, too, but there's a real satisfaction to cloth :)
Just wanted to touch on waterproof pull-on pants and diaper rash for a minute. Those of you who used the old style elastic leg hole/waistband plastic- vinyl pants over your kids cloth diapers, how did your children's skin (butts) stand up to them? Were the "pants" the weak-link (in your home) as to the cause of diaper rash, or did rashes result from other factors such as laundry detergent (residue), drying, inadequate pH balance, etc?
I always used the cheapy vinyl with pins, and my girls didn't have bad diaper rash issues. When they did, it was because they had diarrhea, or we'd been in the car a lot recently (or they'd been sitting in their diapers longer than normal for some other reason). As long as I made sure to keep up with the pants so that the elastic wasn't too tight, it really wasn't a problem.
Djen. I love your username and avatar!!! Your name has a sort of European ring/flair to it. Working from your avatar I'm thinking "Disco Jen"??? Am I close? :)
It's so calming hearing from other moms who's kids stayed the diaper course (at night) till age 4. At one point I was convinced I was the only mom in the world still diapering bottoms (that age) in my home. On the front of multiples..., you just can't beat the old cloth, pins, and pants standby's. IMO it's a must do method for such circumstances.
My kids were all good about lying still at change time, yet I still poked myself dozens of times! :) (Confirmation that our brains work faster than our fingers)! ROTFLMAO!
I sized pants up one to two sizes. Easier to pull on and off- especially when baby was wet, room for an extra diaper or two under (night-time), and no ghastly red elastic rings. Still, my kids seemed to get rashy (occasionally). Chafing more than anything, between their legs. Bulky double diapers maybe...
Did you line-dry Djen?
early morning
2-12-11, 2:58pm
Just re-found your thread, Mrs. M! I didn't ever have a diaper-rash problem with the kids, thankfully. I never used very much soap, either! And no bleach - they got bleached by laying them flat on the grass to dry as often as I could do that. Grass is very whitening! And what do a few stains matter on a baby butt, lol? As for pants, I didn't like the pull-on ones. I found these really nice vinyl ones that snapped up the sides, and used those almost exclusively. They were easy to hand wash and dry, and lasted really well. They also were pretty easy to repair with duct tape when they did crack.
Early morning! So nice to hear back from you. :)
Gosh, snap-on pants. (Talk about a walk down memory lane)! I remember them (babysitting days), diaper rash pants they were. (Moms switched to using snap-ons when rash time hit). 3 or 4 snaps running up each side???, you unsnapped them and brought the front down (like a diaper) at change time, or you could leave them "snapped" and pull them off and on like normal pantie styled rubber pants. I never used them, just the old-fashioned pull-on pantie styled ones. Such a sucker for tradition I was! :laff:
I never tried the grass drying trick. Talk about super nifty! (Going to remember it for other whites come spring)! Thanks for that.
Tammy, Peggy, Wildflower, how about you guys? Care to weigh in on the diaper rash/rubber pants issue?
Wildflower
2-13-11, 4:48am
Mrs-M, the only rash problem I remember related to the plastic pants was simply the occasional heat rash on very hot days. On those days I used medicated powder when I diapered baby and left the plastic pants off. That was in the late 70's and early 80's. I know these days they tell you not to use powder on babies' bottoms.
I always used the plastic pants when we went out and at bedtime. Pretty much left them off at home otherwise.
What a fond memory - remembering my now adult DD's toddling around in their pinned cloth diapers. I remember I had a variety of cute and colorful pins, which I kept stuck in a bar of soap next to where I changed diapers. The diaper pins would glide right through the diapers with no struggle as long as I kept them in that bar of soap.
I always used the plastic pants. I would wash them in the washer on cold or warm, and never put them in the dryer. They stayed soft for awhile, and when they got too crinkly I would buy new ones. I also bought some wool diaper covers for the first baby. They were supposed to be better at keeping a baby cool, as plastic can hold in the heat and sweat. But they also would get soaked with urine pretty quickly, after only a few changes, so I went back to plastic pants after that.
Now that I think of it, the plastic is most like vinyl, and I really don't like using vinyl in anything. But at that time, I didn't think about that so much.
My daughter would get a rash when I used disposable, and always cleared up when I used cloth. My sons didn't get many rashes at all. I used cloth about 90% of the time for all of them, except for the first 3-4 months of my third one's life, as I was pretty tired with 3 kids ages 5, 2 1/2, and newborn. But then I got tired of trying to burn the disposable ones in the trash - we lived in the country and didn't have trash pick up. So it was actually easier to just use cloth, and not have to go to the store all the time for the others.
Wildflower, Tammy, thanks for dropping by and sharing your insight. Baby powder? I was the QUEEN of baby powder!!! LMAO! (Quietly laughing to self over the thought of what might have gone through the minds of my kids at the time. "Oh- oh, here comes mom again, and she's packing powder, a washcloth, and a clean diaper and rubber pants")! :laff:
How often did you change out the rubber pants (diaper change time)? I seldom did. Being an older mom and from the era when everyone still used cloth diapers, standard routine was, you used rubber pants (full-time, day/night), and you kept using them (same pair) till they were either wet (elasticized leg openings) or soiled. That's how my mom did it, kids I babysat got the same. (Must be right)... I know differently now. Maybe that's where I ran into problems with irritation and rashes in my home. (Bacteria, ammonia, damp elastic leg hole bands/gathers, etc).
We used disposables. We considered cloth, but never got around to it, because of the extra work involved.
I worked full time, and my wonderful wife had ZERO support when I was not around...... and when I was, she had to go and help look after her invalid mother. She, and I chose getting much-needed sleep instead of washing and drying the cloth ones.
I don't remember that I had any schedule on changing the rubber pants out for a new pair ... but it seems like they were soaked enough after a night shift that I would start the day with a new pair. I know I had about 6 of them, and I washed diapers every other day, and I think I remember washing 2-3 with every load of diapers .... so I probably used a new pair every morning, and if poopy.
MagicRat. A newcomer. Welcome aboard! :) I definitely appreciate both sides of the "cloth versus disposable" argument/debate and respect the decisions of others as to choosing one over the other. It really does boil down to what's best for each family's situation/circumstance.
Tammy. No schedule in my home either, and ditto on the changing out of the pants first thing in the morning. That's what I did. Rubber pants followed diapers into the pail and it was a fresh start for both. Sometimes I cycled between two pairs of rubber pants over the course of day, allowing the second pair to "air" out back on the line between changes.
Wildflower
2-18-11, 3:27am
I changed the plastic pants out every morning and sometimes again and again, especially during the teething stage. My youngest DD had terrible diarrhea each time she was cutting a new tooth. I would usually handwash them and then hang to dry in the bathroom. If they were too messy they would go straight into the diaper pail for a good soak and then were washed with the diapers.
Hi Wildflower. How fast I forget! LMAO! Ah yes, good old "grumpy pants" diarrhea. Yep, a rubber pants change per every diaper. When extra bad, I'd dip into the elastic waist of the pants and pluck pins from diapers (rubber pants still on), then pull off both rubber pants and diapers together, same time, one bundle! (Provided for a safer and cleaner method of transporting "baby's pants" down to bathroom)! Always used two diapers per change for diarrhea bouts.
Speaking of double diapers, Wildflower, Early Morning, Tammy, Djen, did you double diaper? I did, but not in the beginning (typically), at least not during the day (unless we were going out). When my kids were little (newborn) one diaper folded in half then patterned into shape was enough to get them through the day (two for night), by 9 months- two for day- two for night, three for night (toddler stage) if needed. I knew when my kids were wet (at that stage) because when they were freshly changed they'd waddle, but if they were wet the padding between their legs bunched and they'd walk normal! ROTFLMAO! :laff:
I single diapered all the time, except at night after about 6 months old.
Hi Tammy. Thanks for stopping by. Doubling (to the best of my knowledge) is standard among cloth using mothers). Don't really know of any mothers who never did, but back when my youngest (not adopted boys but last child) was still toddling around with a rubber bum, a mother asked me why DS's diapers were so padded. I explained to her that I was using two diapers- and I even referred to it as "double diapering" so she'd understand, yet her reply was, "I've never heard of it before"...
It was odd for me to hear such a thing. I almost replied, "didn't your own mom show/explain to you about it/how to do it"? I felt sorry for her thinking maybe she didn't have a mother to show her things and to help her. Long story short the mother thought it was the neatest thing she had ever heard/seen.
sugarbowlbaby
2-20-11, 8:30pm
When my 27 and 26 year old were babies, I used mostly flats, but had a few prefolds in the stash. When my last baby (7 years ago) was born, I started googling "cloth diapers" and couldn't believe all of the options out there. After looking at a few of them and learned the lingo, I decided to try making my own. As some of you may remember, I had a cloth diapering business for a few years. I am not in the business any longer and of course my 7 year old is not wearing diapers (although there are times, I think he acts "that age"-but that is another story). My diaper was a fitted flannel without a pul barrier. I prefer 100% cotton because of it's durability AND absorbency. My diapers had elastic sewn inside around the back and the legs. They really helped contain the sometimes explosive messes. If I ever had any littles in the house, they would definately be cloth diapered.
Wildflower
2-21-11, 3:50am
I started double diapering when my little ones were about 6 months old and triple diapering at nighttime. :)
Hi Sugarbowlbaby. Thanks for your input. I hope your decision to opt out of your home-based business was the result of your own choice and fruition, not one related to a faltering market/poor sales. (Your product line was beautiful).
Flats were my choice too, still think of them as being the best option for simplicity/economics, but if I were raising children again I think I'd incorporate prefolds into the mix just for change. I remember the panicked rush that took place when I was settling the boys into our home and how one night (while out shopping) my oldest daughter grabbed a pack of diapers (Pampers) from the store shelf and asked if we could buy them. I remember my answer to her was something along the lines of- "definitely not", followed by, "there's cloth diapers at home and that's what we'll be using". I think the new babies were somewhat of a novelty (of sorts) for my two girls, knowing they'd be helping with the changing.
Hi Wildflower. In seeing your and Tammy's replies Re: double diapering, I pretty much had all of us SL moms pegged as being double diapering practitioners! :) Just had to appease my own curious desire on account of the one mom I met who hadn't heard of it before...
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