November 12, 2008

Cloth, cloth and Dipees!


So, I officially made up my mind 100% to do cloth diapers all the way with this baby. A little bit of a history : I tried with my older 2, and while it was great for a little bit, then things would get crazy. I LEARNED that EDUCATION in every area, INCLUDING DIAPERS is VITAL FOR SUCCESS! I found out , while researching more and educating myself more on cloth diapers, that I WAS DOING IT ALL WRONG in the first place. Yes, I read the instructions that came with the diapers on how to wash them, and I thought I did it right - best "greenest" laundry detergent, etc, etc. It turns out that you have to be careful with those, as many have ingredients that while safe and natural, but will clog your diapers causing it to LEAK. Plus the fact that you have to prewash unused diapers for the best absorbancy... That way you will never have leaks. Yeah.... I wish I was smarter then to read more. I just figured that the leaky part is just a part of a cloth , and finally I got tired of them. So, now that the lesson was learned, I went and found a few good old diapees from my son, when he was a toddler, washed and preped them , and put my 2 year old in them. And -SUCCESS - NO leaks, BETTER absorbancy, and she is NOT happy with being wet ( I am not really suffering to make sure she has all sorts of "feel dry" cloth liners , that I have for a baby - I WANT her to be uncomfortable, so she can get potty trained faster) , and she much rather prefers to try and use a potty on time ( Hooray! It's been a little of a challenge with her...) . So, yeah, I officially completely made up my mind, and feel a little not so smart for not doing the educating job properly before But believe me - i surely did now. I found some amazing diapers, that are an absolute beauty, and a breeze to use, plus, cannot tell you more about the fact of money saving here! But the main reasons for using cloth is the baby/child itself. When my little son was less then a year old, we started researching in that whole "why cloth" thing. And there were quite a few shocking things that we found out. While it is OK to use a disposable on occasion ( like going out, and really not wanting to bother with taking a change + the bag to hold the soiled one ) , it is really NOT good for the baby/child to be sitting in it 24/7 for at least good 2 years. Why - just google, it will be a VERY long post if I start naming the reasons. Even when we went back to disposables, we started using the G-diapers ( which are half disposable/half reusable)
Those , at least were safe, but they did cost - just as diapers would. But there is one thing that I am going to post : Just do an experiment. Take a new diaper ( huggies, pampers, or anything else), cut it in half, and then put a half of diaper on the palm of your hand and take a glass of VERY cold water and pour it on the diaper. And then observe your reaction of shock. The very , very cold water that you were pouring on your diapers will not be feeling cold on your hand at all. The diaper will be VERY worm, and if some of the pieces fall out on your hand, they will be HOT. It is because of CHEMICAL REACTIONS that are happening to make the absorbency possible. Now think - this chemical reaction is skin tight ( literally) to your precious baby. You know those red bottoms? Diaper rash? Yeah... 80% of those are chemical burns. Just do your research. There is nothing like doing an experiment for yourself and reading/seeing facts with your own eyes.
Anyway, but if you ever decide to try cloth - email me! ( or post a comment) I'll surely be happy to help! Now that I know how...

3 comments:

  1. Hooray, Olya! I'm a cloth-proponent, as well. Thanks for reminding me why it's so important. :o)

    Hey, I recognize the Kissaluv photos in your post . . . is that what you're using? What do you like for covers? I just love wool . . .

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  2. Wow. I had no idea about the world of cloth diapers. Thanks for inspiring me to check things out, Olya.

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  3. Hi...I'm the wife of Justin's cousin Tyrel. I've thought seriously about cloth diapering a couple times. I didn't know enough when our first (now 22 months) was a baby and he is in the beginning stages of potty training now. I think I'll try with our next one though. I'll have to get your recommendations at that time.

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