The History of Diapering

I stumbled on this article on the diaperjungle on the history of cloth diapering.

What surprised me the most was that using wool in the diapering process is a recent revelation. We talk about how our grandmothers and great grandmothers used flat diapers (about a three foot square single layer of absorbent cotton) with all the negative things people associate with cloth diapering - pins, plastic pull on pants, etc. I had it in my mind that before then, women - especially those in areas where sheep herding and wool usage was commonplace - used wool in some form for their diapers.

How times have changed - but not really! the article mentions how when sposie dipes first came out they were considered a luxury item that most could not afford. May I suggest that the same is true today? Think about the cost of college - it's increasing six to eight percent a year! At that rate, we'll all wish we banked the difference every time we re-used the cloth dipes and passed by the diaper aisle at Wegmans! How about "affording" the long term consequences of all these diapers that have been disposed of?

It surprises me (and it shouldn't) that there are still so many negative stereotypes abounding in relation to cloth diapering (pins - ouch!, plastic pants - eww!, diaper rashes - actually are more frequent with disposibles). A simple Google picture search for "cloth diaper" reveals so many cute pictures of modern cloth diapers! Cute prints, velcro tabs, pocket diaper illustrations, adorable modern babies in cloth. Only one picture of a baby in a prefold with pins. Don't people Google everything nowadays? Goodness - we've made Google into a verb it's so popular!

Modern cloth diapers have really just come about in the past ten years - I'm excited to see what is next! Let's marry the natural elements with experience and technological advances and come up with the super cloth dipe!

The Flats and Handwashing Challenge

I am really excited to be participating in the Flats and Handwashing challenge coming up May 23rd - May 30th. Kim from Dirty Diaper Laundry extended the challenge recently & to be honest, I sat on the fence for a while on it. I recently got a few flats from diaperswappers (Ikea flats), and started using them during the day. Oddly, I like them. They wash really easily & the fit is so customizable. So, I wasn't too worried about the actual use of the flats, it was the handwashing!

So, you may ask, WHY is it that I've decided to overcome this whole not wanting to handwash diapers thing and participate? Well... there are a few reasons...

Firstly, I like a challenge and the change to our routine -mix it up, spice it up. I stay at home with my baby Finn & we have had a long cold winter, so I welcome the change!

I'd like to get more comfortable with flats. I feel like, though I use them sometimes currently, I always fall back on my pocket diapers as my comfort zone. using them exclusively for a week will probably push my outside of my comfort zone.

On one of my long walks, I decided that I'd like to go camping this summer. my Hubby and I didn't get to go last summer since I was very pregnant & I just love the area where we typically go and miss the adventure of it all. So... being the practical person (logistical ninja) that I am, I thought to myself "how are we going to cloth diaper in the middle of the woods?" Indeed - how? I cannot imagine going to be one with nature and using plastic nappies... So flats and handwashing might just be the ticket!

My husband and I are passionate about saving money and showing others to do the same. We have a financial education business where we teach families and help them achieve their goals and dreams. Cloth diapering is one easy thing that you can do to positively impact your savings. Take the $2000 some-odd dollars that you save cloth diapering your baby and put it into a college savings account for them! Or - more likely, take the extra money you save and help your family not go into debt. Flat diapers are probably one of the most affordable ways to diaper your baby (aside from making your own diapers from repurposed clothing - which would be practically free). So to defray the upfront cost of cloth diapers, a family could buy a modest stash of flat diapers, use them while saving the money they aren't spending on sposies for pocket diapers (if they want). In this way, you don't need any more money to start cloth diapering than what it would cost for a BJ's sized box of sposies.

I love cloth diapering. I also love being a resource for others & enjoy getting the word out there. This challenge will certainly turn some heads & I'd like to be able to say that I have been there, done that before suggesting to someone that they use flat diapers, and/or cloth diaper without access to a washing machine.

There's the why - now, HOW?

Well, Jon agreed to make me a bucket washer like Kim made on DDL. I have 12 flats on hand, so I might buy a few more in case I find myself using them two at a time (kite or origami fold with a pad-folded flat added for my heavy-in-the-morning pee-er).

Also, I need to finish up a few covers I've been working on. I have 2 covers that fit him right now. I cut the sleeves off of 2 sweaters (100% wool) that I don't wear anymore for longies, and I felted up the body of the sweaters to make wraps. So I really need to get going on finishing those up so that I have more than 2 covers!

For night, I am going to try 2 pad folded flats in a pocket dipe to start.

Last week, Finn and I participated in the Great Cloth Diaper change. It gave me the feeling that it was a once in a lifetime type of event. I get the same thing from this challenge. It's really exciting to be involved in a grassroots movement taking place in nurseries across the world.