Cloth Diaper Challenge Hits The Road
I nearly blew up my mother-in-law's laundry room washing diapers but, other than that minor mishap, traveling during the first weekend of the cloth diaper challenge was mostly a success!
My husband's mother hosted an early Thanksgiving dinner, so we packed up our Rumparooz, SoftBums, and FuzziBunz and headed to Grandma's house in Pennsylvania. The downside of traveling with cloth diapers is that they take up a lot more space than "sposies" (or disposable diapers for those of you unfamiliar with diapering lingo). Since I am currently using all-in-ones, I had to bring the padded inserts, the diapers, the detergent, and the wet bag. That is significantly more stuff than just a squished-together stash of sposies.
Also, you have to plan your departure carefully. I didn't want to leave a soiled diaper sitting in the wet bag in my apartment waiting to welcome me home with its fragrance. I tried to wash as close to departure time as possible and then take the baby in a clean diaper out the door. It did get a little hectic in the rush to leave.
My mother-in-law sent me a text message on Friday saying, "You're going to bring disposables for Grammy to use, right?" She has been following the challenge and wanted to preemptively opt out. I told her I would, but I forgot to pack them. She looked a little worried but in the end, I changed all the diapers while she was busy with turkey preparation, so it wasn't an issue. She definitely seemed concerned at the thought of cloth diapering though, which I can surely relate to.
Now about that exploding washing machine: I didn't know that my mother-in-law turns off the water valve that leads to the machine in-between washes. She said you're supposed to do that, but I never have. It did not occur to me that the water wouldn't be on, so I threw the load of diapers into the machine, turned the dial to rinse, and walked away. A few minutes later as we were peeling potatoes in the kitchen, my father-in-law yelled from downstairs, "There's a loud buzz coming from the washing machine that seems very wrong!" Oops! I felt like a jerk. An idiotic jerk. Note to self: Don't try to wash diapers without water. It doesn't work.
Several blog commenters suggested I use diapers with flushable inserts for travel, but my stash of Charlie Banana disposable inserts did not arrive in time. Instead, we used Rumparooz and FuzziBunz during the day. I like these because they are slimmer and easy to prep in advance for my husband by putting the inserts in ahead of time. I like the SoftBums at night because the fold-over insert is thicker and provides extra protection for my little man's long nights. (Thank goodness he is a good sleeper!)
Other than the extra travel bulk and washing, I really did not feel encumbered on the road with cloth diapers. So it took a little more preparation. It really was worth it for the feel-good points you give yourself for doing something good for the baby's bottom and the environment. I'm really starting to like this now that I've actually had some hands-on experience. I don't want to call it a success just yet but so far, cloth diapers FTW!
Editor's note: This post was originally posted on CBSNews.com's Eye On Parenting blog here.
Diapering, banana, charlie, cloth, clothdiaper, diaper, diapers, funnibunz, natali, natalidelconte, rumparooz, softbums in C. Pooping
Reader Comments (27)
It's really great that you came around. You sound like you enjoy the cloth diapers a lot. Not even far in and you're starting to sway to the cloth diapering side.
I recently went on a weekend trip for the first time has a cloth diapering momma too and your right it does take a little more preparation. I did CD laundry that morning and of course right before we left to hit the road little one pooped and I had to leave a poopie CD behind. Yes it means more luggage. My husband laughed at me cause of the big bag I packed full of our cloth diapers. Hope you continue to enjoy your Cloth diapering journey.
YAY! I'm glad it went well on the road. I've been anxiously awaiting your update. I think that what most people fear most is traveling with cloth diapers! Now that you have seen how easy it is/mastered that...you're golden!
I have to admit...I laughed about the washer...nope diapers don't come clean without water...
(I've never heard that you are supposed to turn off the water to the machine between washings...)
Good for you for trying this, I'm glad it is starting out on a positive note! Can't wait to see what happens on your adventure.
I too spent this past weekend at my moms house! The last diaper before we left just went in the dirty bag to be washed the next day at Gramma's house rather than just leaving it behind. I am so glad to hear how much you're liking cloth! Once people see how easy it really is, its a lot easier to get over the fear of cloth
:) I'm really excited that you're blogging this! So many people don't realize how easy (and fun!) cloth can be! I love each diaper change, knowing it's far more comfortable for my little one, healthier for her. and for the environment too. I hope this can inspire others.
Ok, that is a toitally reasonable FUBAR. I don't know anyone on earth who shuts of the vale to their washer - even my OCD mom. I'd have done the same.
(currently on the road with cloth diapers)
I have to commend you for doing so well traveling with CD's so soon into the game. Traveling with CD's is pretty intimidating to even some die-hard cloth diaperers. Personally, I have used diapers (flats and prefolds, actually) on trips and during my baby's week-long hospitalization at 4 months old, and while it does require a bit more room and preparation, it's really not any more inconvienient in my experience.
Anyway, good for you!
I'm happy that you are giving this challenge your all. I felt genuinely bad when you were so viciously attacked after your on-air segment. For me, cloth diapering is a choice I feel good about, but do not look down on others who do not share my views. If you decide to stick with it, more power to ya, but if not-don't stress. Good luck to you, I know it's a big change from sposies and I'm impressed you took on this challenge.
Yay! I'm glad it went (mostly) well. I steal one of my husband's duffel bags and use that to put diapers and wipes in when we travel with cloth diapers. It's the perfect size and it opens wide so I can easily get the diapers out when I need them.
yay! I can totally relate to the 'much more organization" thing lol. I always end up packing a small rolling backpack when we travel, just of diaper stuff. we do the wash the night before thing too. Sounds like you've caught up to the curve. I want to send you some flowers or something for being such a great Lady :)
LOL it can be a little hairy when planning for trips. We used gdiapers for our week in WI this summer. That worked well. Actually, I did cheat at night for that trip and used some extra disposables we had for some reason *GASP* I've been CDing for 3 1/2 years now and for me- I think that's why I've been successful. I do my best but give myself leave to take a short break when needed. Ex, the overnights on a long vacation(which gdiapers don't do well for heavy wetters at night in my experience.) or if my kiddo gets a gnarly teething rash and i want to use a non-CD-friendly cream. It's never been all or nothing for us. We flex as needed. I guess now that we've been doing it for so long and I've figured out a system that works for us, there's just not as much need to go back to disposables. Practice makes perfect!...... Oh, and didn't your MIL CD your husband??!! My mom CD'd 3 out of the 4 of us, my MIL CD'd probably 6-7 kids... yet both of them act like they can't do cloth. What gives?? LOL
Good for you! I think it is great that you are giving this a try and EVEN traveling with cloth diapers! You are doing a great thing by sharing your experience for others to read!
Yay! I'm glad it went well and is going well so far! It definitely has a learning curve but it's an awesome thing once you get it down! Traveling with them is a big step so I give you major kudos.
Yeah, Natali! Good job traveling successfully with cloth diapers! You're right, it's not that hard once you get the hang of it. I'm so glad you had a positive experiece, exploding washing machine aside, of course! Keep up the good work and the positive attitude!
Way to go Natali... it looks like a sucessful travel time to ma. I sure do have some funny travel stories... I'll be sharing them this week on my blog: http://cjrthemommyblog.blogspot.com. Hope you stop by to get a good laugh! lol
CJR
I'm totally with Stacy! All in Ones and Pocket dipes are going to be super bulky for traveling. That's one reason why I love my gDiapers! So trim and totally not bulky! I also use disposables when traveling to my mom's or stepmom's house. CDing doesn't have to be an all or nothing deal.
It's great you have such a great attitude about CDing! I started my cloth experience with my little boy when he was 7 months old and now that we're 2 months into it, I can happily say that my choice to switch is the best choice I've made in a while! Yes, it can be expensive. Yes, you do have to learn a bit. But you get used to it. Honestly, I thought I had found the perfect disposable diaper and bought a big ol' stash to last a while. Then I bought one cloth diaper that was on sale which came with 2 pairs of leggings..... and it all started from there.
A little advice from a mom who figured out things by trial and error. TRY DIFFERENT DIAPERS! I did the 30 day test drive from diaperjunction.com and it was great for trying out diapers. Many will say this but it is very true. Try pockets, AIO or AI2s, prefolds and covers, etc. After a little while, you'll figure out what works for you and your baby. From personal experience, double stuffed pockets work well for me for nights, and premium prefolds/flip inserts and covers work well for me during the day. For brand suggestions, I love bumGenius and Flips. Great quality and they do their job well. Other brands are good too but quality wise, bumGenius has my top vote. Ok, softbums are wonderful too I must admit! The size adjustment thingy is great!!!
Warning: Fluff can become an addiction.
LOL ;)
Good on you! Traveling is scary at first for sure. I gotta say though, even though you said you can relate, shame on your MIL for not being supportive. Specifically asking you to bring sposies for her to change? Changing an AIO (especially with velcro) is NO DIFFERENT than changing a sposie. I guess I'm just really lucky, my mom and MIL are extremely supportive of our choice to CD our son Anytime someone watches my son, I expect them to change his diaper just like they would if he was in sposies, but I don't expect them to do the laundry part. I don't even care if they take the insert out of just a pee diaper, I'll do it all - just change his bum! :) Don't mean to be negative, just hoping that all around you will be supportive, especially your family.
Wow, that's awesome! Good for you for committing to this journey. I have to say we have been CDing our daughter since birth and we even used disposables for outings initially. Eventually I realized that taking cloth on the road wasn't that big of a deal, but I really wasn't comfortable with the idea in the beginning. Kudos to you for being brave! Hope it continues to go well for you. :)
if this was facebook, youd have 7534987328456329846723498732846324762856 LIKEs. lol.
so glad youre enjoying it! and, for future reference, you can go to babies r us and get g-diaper inserts [just the inserts] and use those in your diapers. they can be tossed, flushed, and the wet-only ones can even be composted [the plants actually like the ammonia...go figure!]
Glad you had a great trip! I have never heard of turning the valve off between washes, and I would have made the same error! Glad to see you are enjoying the fluff :)
This is great! I love that you responded to the criticism of your article by taking up a trial of cloth diapering challenge.
Just to put in my $.02, as if you haven't gotten enough, I am new to CD'ing with this baby as well and was intimidated by the choices at first. I ended up going with prefolds and covers because of the expense and because I couldn't decide on anything else. I also received a large stash of fuzzi bunz from a friend but after using both, I really like the prefolds the best and my daughter just turned one.
One of the advantages of prefolds is the ease of washing, they are much faster drying. I recently discovered that I love fitteds and am probably going to invest in some.
For overnight diapering, I really recommend wool over whatever diaper you are using. Even if you use a pocket diaper or something, just put wool pants over it and you will not have leaks (most of the time). You can even make your own wool pants with recycled sweaters which appeals to me as the most environmentally responsible choice.
Good luck with your trial! I hope you stay with CD'ing. The smell of disposables now really makes me sick and I hate the thought of putting those chemicals next to my baby's skin.
Wow! Congrats to you on your CD adventure so far!
I have had amazing results using the GroVia diapers with either their disposable bio-soakers or the gDiaper disposable soakers for extended travel - the GroVia ones are especially great for poopy diapers since they are gusseted! I LOVE my cloth at home, and even for short trips of a day or two... but a week in a hotel trying to do cloth isn't for me. These two disposable inserts don't seem to give my little one skin irritation like the regular sposies either - though sometimes after a few days she'll get a little more red... so next time I'm going to bring a few thin sheets of fleece along to use as a liner on top of the disposable insert to see if that helps. They will be less bulky to pack, I can store all the liners for the trip if I need to and wash at home. Oh the other benefit of doing extended travel with the disposable inserts is that they take up less room to begin with, and as you use them you gain room to pack your souvenirs! haha! But if you are able to do cloth the whole time you're on a trip, all the better! Even the biodegradable disposable inserts are more of a strain on the environment than re-using the same cloth insert again.
I'm looking forward to hearing more as you keep up with the challenge. What a great reflection on your character to react to the initial firestorm the way you have. I hope that you gain many fans and followers through this experience.
I LOVE LOVE this quote: "Other than the extra travel bulk and washing, I really did not feel encumbered on the road with cloth diapers. So it took a little more preparation. It really was worth it for the feel-good points you give yourself for doing something good for the baby's bottom and the environment." Congratulations!
As for the bulk, I second an earlier commenter on the use of flats and prefolds - they pack down WAY better than the pockets and all-in-ones...