Adieu to Cloth Diapering
Depending on who you’re talking to and how old their kids are, there are conversation trends among new parents.
First, of course, it’s how much sleep you managed to get. Then there are delighted crows when you’ve slept well for a week. Then there are concerned conversations about “sleep regressions,” regressions being bad changes from what just started happening a few weeks ago. When you meet someone new, you find out how old their baby is and pick an appropriate topic. Just got your immunizations? Dreading teething? Rolling over? Smiling all the time?
It’s like the collage days when you had a least three questions ready for anyone you met–major, dorm, professors, sports. I like it. It’s nice to have easy things to talk about with new friends again.
Anyway, you mark off very short periods of time with large markers. This week, after five months, we’ll mark off “cloth diapering.” We used a cloth diapering service because I don’t have my own washer and dryer. I paid them $20 a week, and they picked up our bag of dirty diapers (and cloth wipes!) and dropped off a fresh set. I loved the idea of not throwing anything in the landfill, and it was nice that Lux never got any diaper rash. We’re stopping because we’ll be traveling, and mostly because in our small apartment the stink of seventy wet diapers after a week, is bit intrusive. Especially now that it’s cold and we don’t keep our windows open.
My favorite part was this big fresh stack diapers that came every Tuesday, seventy of them. I’ll miss this pile of newly washed, green-trimmed linens.
4 Comments
johanna k
hope the change goes well. h has never had a diaper rash and I believe it was the selection of less mainstream diapering products.
Rachael
and you helped ease me into it! Joe is delighted we are moving on, I have to say.
Hannah
There is something wonderful about those fresh stacks of clean diapers that you didn’t have to wash yourself. And there is something not so wonderful about the stench as you lug that heavy blue bag of soiled diapers to the door every Thursday. Overall, we are loving our diaper service (even if I suspect the diaper delivery man doesn’t like me, due to our finicky apartment buzzer and tendency to accidentally expose myself when he comes to the door right after a feeding). Violet has had quite the battle with diaper rash, however, despite (because of?) the cloth diapering.
Rachael
Glad you’re liking them! Like everything with raising babies, Violet’s rash probably has to do with her actual sweet sensitive skin, rather than what you’re doing. I do change Lux’s diapers all the time, usually sheerly out of boredom and habit. If you have a washer and dryer to wash the covers with in your house, I think that will help. Having to keep up with those was partially what wore me out.