Cloth Tushies

Whenever a newly pregnant woman tells someone that they are planning on cloth diapering their baby, they are inevitably met with the same response: a disbelieving smirk. Trust me on this one, I have been on the receiving end of this very annoying gaze more times than I care to count for almost a year now.

At first, I was on the fence about cloth diapering; mainly because of the common perception that disposables are so much easier that has completely pervaded our culture. Then I actually researched it.

Modern cloth diapering is really very simple, especially for the first six months if the baby is exclusively breastfed. My hubby jokes that breastmilk poo is this magical substance. Supposedly, it doesn’t smell bad and it completely dissolves in water, making it safe to just throw the dirty diapers into the washing machine. As to the smell, it’s not horrible, but I find it funny that sweet smelling breastmilk poo is listed often as a benefit of breastfeeding. I can, however, attest to the fact that it does seem to magically disappear in the washing machine.

Once I found out about this magical disappearing act, I was sold. I figured that even if I only use cloth diapers for the first six months, that is still saving the world from at least a thousand dirty disposables in the landfills.

So far, I have been completely happy with the results. We haven’t had one case of diaper rash, which judging from all the diaper rash advertisements, seems like a national epidemic. I also haven’t had to send hubby out at 2:00 am because we ran out of diapers. All this and the cloth diapers these days work the same as disposables, meaning no pins and very few leaks (certainly no more than we have had the few times that we’ve used disposables).

Baby stuff galore:

• Advice Needed: Homemade Diapers
• Finished Funky Baby Quilt
• A Couple Firsts

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Advice Needed: Homemade Diapers

Now that the funky baby quilt is behind me, I am on to my next project. My cousin asked if I could make her some cloth diapers for her baby that is due in July. Evidently, store-bought cloth diapers can be quite pricey, but they are so much better for the environment that I decided that I would go ahead and give it a try.

This is where my readers will hopefully come in. I don’t have a baby to try different patterns on, so I’m praying that some of you have sage advice to give me as I start this adventure in cloth diaper making. As I have googled this topic, I have quickly become overwhelmed in all the different things to consider.

Because the all-in-one diapers are made out of fairly expensive materials, I am hoping to make some covers that have the diaper inserted into it. The other thing that would be handy is that I would really like some real life thoughts on sizing. Each pattern seems like it would only be good on a baby for a couple months. Is there anyway to size them so that they can grow with the baby? I doubt that I am going to be willing to make a set of 20 diapers for my cousin every six months.

This would be much easier if I could make one and then try it out, but I am up to the challenge (hopefully). So if anyone out there has wisdom to share on how to do this, make it cheaper, or make them last longer, I am listening.

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