The Dirties on Diapering

Ok get ready for another crunchy granola post...
I often get asked why we cloth diaper Charlie. There are SO many reasons most of which I learned after we decided to move in the hippie direction! haha In the first few days of Charlie's life, she developed this TERRIBLE diaper rash. We are talking blisters and all. It was so sad. I lubed her up with every diaper cream sold on the shelves at Babies R Us. Nothing seemed to help. The only thing that seemed to help was not putting a diaper on her... obvi this was a messy non-realistic option! After changing her diaper one time, I noticed these little crystals on her cheeks. No, she wasn't peeing diamonds, which btw would have been AWESOME! After doing some research, I learned with these pseudo-diamond crystals thingys were SAP (Super Absorbent Polymer or Sodium Polyacrylate) I also learned that this chemical was banned from tampons because it was linked to TSS.. Wait! back up the train! So a chemical that is not safe for me to absorb into my body for a week once a month is ok for my 7 lb baby to wear for the next 3 years?? I also think this chemical was the root of Charlie's reaction... the poor babe got my sensitive skin (and my huge gap in her front teeth.. another time, another post!) So with just this fact, I began my quest into the cloth diapering world... I learned a TON of other things along the way and I think this video that I randomly stumbled upon sums it up best. One thing that I learned that they didn't cover is the link between males and infertility. My generation is the 1st in disposable diapers (sposies to cloth diapering peeps!) and new research has found a huge increase in infertility in males... some research shows that the plastic of diapers don't allow the testes to breath and they reach a high temp resulting in fertility issues down the road... yikes! Now, diapers when I was a babe have drastically changed. As I am told, my sposies were made of chunky cotton... today's pampers have black magic in them that absorb 3x a babies weight... ok I'm getting a little crazy but what I'm getting at is if those chunky virtually chemical free sposies caused issues, what will we learn 20 years from now when data is released on these relatively new to the market 'dry max' diapers? Scary stuff.


*disclaimer* we opted for the cadillac of cloth diapers so we spent roughly $1600. It can be done MUCH cheaper, but it is still cheaper than sposies and wipes.

Top reasons people don't cloth diaper (myself included before learning about them)
* GROSS! I have to touch poo! --seriously this was my biggest concern. You don't, I swear! I actually got way messier with sposies as Charlie ALWAYS had blowouts.. never had one with the cloth to date :)

* You have to carry around dirty diapers when you are out. This was a huge consideration. We thought maybe we would only cloth diaper at home and do sposies when we go out.... after all limiting her exposure to these chemicals was def a step in the right direction. It really isn't bad. U bring a wet bag which has a little patch to put some essential oil on it to cover up any potential odor. When I change her diaper people have complimented me on the smell :)


* Are the diapers ever really clean? Yes, shockingly! I remember thinking how will my standard washer really clean these diapers, but honestly they come out clean! We have a front loader and thanks to its water saving nature creates a process to wash the diapers, BUT they do come out sparkling!


* All that folding and pinning is too much work? This was my favorite thing I learned! Welcome to the 21st century ladies and gents! Cloth diapers are super easy with snaps and/or velcro. The come in super cute colors and patterns (we use thirsties). 


Ignorance is bliss, which is one of the main reasons why my response to the question 'why would you cloth diaper?' is usually 'Charlie has sensitive skin' which although this is true, it's not the WHOLE truth. As parents we all naturally want to do what's absolutely best for our kiddos, and sometimes that means venturing out of our comfort zone. Cloth diapering is certainly not for everyone, but I will say I have no doubt it would be the majority and not the minority if parents knew #1 the harmful chemicals they are laying their babes precious bums in and #2 how easy it is. Anyone who has watched Charlie (ahem, my dear friend Heather) can attest to the fact that #2 is accurate. Just tryin to get the word out on the Strizeet in a not so 'in yo face!' kinda way.

Sincerely your very crunchy, tree-hugging, granola livin, wannabe hippie friend,
Susan