Cloth Diaper Myths Debunked

* I meant to post this tomorrow (Monday) but accidentally posted it tonight. 
Oops.

When I tell people I cloth diaper (or when they ask, since I usually don't come out and tell people) they always have questions. Most of the questions I get could be chalked up as 'myths' of cloth diapering. People usually don't have any idea what its all about. I had no idea either until I started looking into it. I had to convince myself, Josh and everyone around me that it was something we were capable of doing. There are a lot of misconceptions and misinformation out there, so if you're curious, here is my attempt to debunk some of the myths.

1. Cloth diapering is gross.

I don't think anyone in their right mind would call diapering a baby glamorous. Whether you're changing a disposable diaper or a cloth one, it's gross. You're dealing with the same stuff. One thing about cloth diapering that I didn't realize is how little I would have to touch. With pocket diapers, all you have to do is pull out the insert. Bumgenius inserts have a tag on them that I make sure is at the back of the diaper and that makes it super, super easy to pull the whole thing out without touching anything. 90% of the time, the tag isn't even wet. From there, I throw everything into my wet bag. I don't roll it like I would a disposable and I don't have to secure any velcro because I mostly use snaps. When there's solid waste (can I just say poop? Does that gross you people out?) I jiggle it over the toilet for 3 seconds and then flush it all down. No scraping, no swishing, just a little jiggle and the poop is flushed away. On the rare occasion that it doesn't jiggle so nicely, I just grab toilet paper, give it a little wipe and then flush. Wiping isn't a big deal. Remember the book Everyone Poops? Well, I'm pretty sure everyone wipes too, so I don't mind doing it. BUT we're going to buy the supplies to make a diaper sprayer soon. It should cost around $20 and then I wont have to wipe any poop off anymore!

2. Cloth diapers must be so stinky.

This one kind of goes along with the gross myth, but it's worth putting in its own category. You know what is stinky? Disposables. I'll admit, we don't have a diaper genie, so that problem is probably adverted with one of those, but fill a regular old trash can with disposables and you'll know what I mean. They are awful. They don't have a 'normal' poop smell either. It this weird fragrance/chemical/poop smell that I absolutely cannot stand. If you leave a cloth diaper out, of course they're going to smell. Pee mixed with microfiber creates this nose and eye piercing stench that makes me want to pass out BUT I never smell it. The diapers go directly into the bag and I swear its got some magical smell retaining force field. It took us about a week to get a washer and dryer in our new place and I had diapers sitting in the wet bag for 4 days or so. Guess what? The bag didn't stink at all. Granted, when I opened the bag and did that first load, I got a quick whiff of it, but once again, diapers are diaper and they stink no matter what. If it would have been a bag full of disposables, it would have been stinky too. The difference is one smells like poop infused chemicals and one just smells like poop.

3. With all the extra water you use, it isn't good for the environment and probably doesn't save you money.

This one is the biggest comeback for the disposable diaper companies to use. Did you guys know there's an ongoing feud between companies? They're fighting over poo. Kinda funny, right? Anyway... Yes. I do 3 more small loads of laundry a week, BUT water is a renewable resource. I know that it takes a hefty process for man to collect the water, clean/process the water and have it ready for us to use, but I don't think its a fair argument considering that disposable diapers are dumped into the earth and don't compose. Plus, you have to take into consideration the chemicals used in the diapers and the packaging and process that it took to get them and yaddy yaddy ya...  Basically, any human life is going to have an impact on the environment. We can't stop that, but cloth diapering is a way to lessen that impact because you're not dumping thousands of diapers into the ground. Plus, I have a dirty little secret... I don't shower every day. Nope, I don't. It's an every other day event for me.  Somehow, I still manage to have friends and find a husband. Because of my unconventional hygiene, I justify the extra loads of laundry every week even more. :)

Now, because taking care of the environment has turned into a political hot topic, please know that I don't care if you use disposable diapers. I do some things that are horrible for the environment, so I don't think any less of someone for not using cloth. I really, really don't. I think its funny because some people have assumed that I assume mothering superiority because I cloth diaper. Well guess what? I hated breastfeeding. There I said it. I hated it. I wasn't just frustrated with my supply, I genuinely hated the act of nursing a baby. *Awaits the fiery darts that will surely come my way for that comment* Formula production does a doozey on the environment compared to breastfeeding, so I really have no right to preach about the environment. Ok, moving on....

Our water bill really hasn't increased since the babies were born. I mean, maybe it has by a couple bucks a month, but do you think we'd be spending a couple bucks on diapers? When we use disposables, we use Luvs. At 16 diaper changes a day, and $40ish a box, we'd be spending $70-$80 a month on diapers. There's noooo way our water bill has spiked that high. Plus, if you really want to get technical, think of all the plastic trash bags (or diaper genie refills) we'd go through each month. More $$$ thrown away. We do use disposable wipes, but don't spend more that $20 or so on those. I just could never hop on the cloth wipe bandwagon. I like that disposable wipes can double as face/hand wipes and I like how continent they are. I know we could be saving more, but can't bring myself to try it.

4. Cloth diapering is so complicated and so much work.

No it's not, but it sorta is. I wont lie and say that it isn't any more work. Obviously, doing a 2-3 extra loads of laundry is more work. However, they're little loads and the washing machine does 98% of the work for you. I usually fold my diaper laundry during morning nap time or after everyone has gone to bed at night. It takes at most 15 minutes, but that's usually just because I get distracted by other things. If I sit down and do nothing but fold, it takes no than 7 minutes. I know that because I timed it once. To me, and extra 30-60 minutes a week is worth the thousands of dollars we're saving over the next 2 years. If we continued on the 16 diapers a day, $80 a week pattern, we'd spend over $8,000 over the next two years. I admit, that's a high estimate since the number of diapers will probably decrease and I hope to have them potty trained before or right when they turn  3, but I don't think it's a stretch to say we'll be saving at least $,4000 between the twins. So yes, it's worth the extra work to me.

As for it being complicated... I was trying to think of a good analogy for this and came up with baking a chocolate cake. Some recipes call for oil and some don't. Some call for white flour, some call for wheat. Some call for butter, some don't. Some call for condensed milk and caramel. Some call for egg whites, some call for the entire egg. Some have you bake it for 20 minutes, others need to cook for 40. You see? Baking a cake can be complicated. I know it's a stupid comparison, but I do think its valid. You talk to one person and they'll claim their cake is better than their neighbor's cake. They think they have the perfect or easiest or tastiest recipe. The same thing goes for diapers. There are a gazillion options out there. Different brands, types, fabrics, washing routines, detergents to use, etc, etc. It can be complicated if you try to mix a lot of kinds like I have, but for me our 'recipe of diapers' is perfect for us. Kinda like how a cook can make up their own recipe that's perfect for them. Does that make any sense? Did you follow that moronic analogy? I'm a bit shocked that I just compared diapers to chocolate cake. I guess that's what happens when you become a mom... Honestly though, cloth diapering doesn't have to be complicated. You can pick one brand or style of diaper and use it the entire time your child is in diapers. You can use the same detergent and washing routine and never change a thing and never have any issues.

So see? Cloth diapering really isn't that bad. I promise I wouldn't be diapering twins this way if it wasn't. I fully understand that it isn't for everyone (just like breastfeeding, because again, I hated it) but if you're thinking about giving it a try, know that it isn't as scary, stinky or gross as some people make it sound.

Plus, it's super, super cute. 

Cute, right? 

I think so.