I'm ashamed to admit that I used disposable diapers exclusively for my first 5 kids. Last year, I discovered cloth diapering & I'm now really kicking myself for not trying it sooner.
One of the big things I've encountered when talking to other cloth diapering Moms is a pervasive fear of diaper pins. I really don't understand what the big deal is about pins. Pocket diapers and All in Ones are very convenient, but it can be expensive to use them exclusively. Cloth diapering does save money, but laying down $400 all at once can be a budget buster for a lot of people. Using prefolds to pad out a diaper stash can really help when it comes to giving up disposables, on a budget. Pins are not the only way to secure a prefold, but if you've got an active toddler like I do, it is a GREAT option. Today's diaper pins have a locking head that prevents the baby from opening it. Pinning is the one closure method that always keeps my 2 yr old's diaper on. Pinning also allows for the ultimate snug fit. I do understand the fear of poking the baby, but if you put your hand between the inside of the diaper & the baby, you only have to worry about poking yourself. My daughter is old enough that she understands that she must hold still when I'm pinning her diaper. With a younger baby, I would recommend having somebody else hold baby's hands out of the way the first few times, but once you get the hang of pinning a diaper it is super quick & easy. The snappi is a cool new invention for fastening a prefold, but beware before buying one, there is a warning on the package that it is not safe to use without a cover. This means, if your baby can take off the cover, your baby shouldn't wear a diaper fastened with a snappi.
Pins are really inexpensive, give them a try! You may just find that they are the Diaper Houdini solution you've been looking for!
3 comments:
I am old enough to remember babies before pampers-- LOL and one thing I remember is some how sticking that pin into me at least once a month but better me than baby- we had a certain way of holding the pin to protect baby -
I needed to raise one g'kid and I am not ashamed that I did use disposable - I know there is the great debate and think one has to do the best one can at the time- for me it was not so much being easy as being worn and tired and past my prime for babes in diapers-I see many wonders now days and I do think that it is ok to enjoy what we can if we need too-e we are blessed to have a choice now.
huggles from Meme
I know exactly how it feels to regret not using cloth diapers earlier. I didn't use cloth on my first and I just started using them on my 14 month old! I wish I would have known how great it is!
I must admit that I'm afraid of pins but I only have a few AIO's right now so I have to use them, and you know what? They're not bad at all! I had all these cloth diapers that I used as burp cloths so I took a prefold and folded up a plain white gerber and used it as extra padding in the middle and it works great!
It gets a little damp when wet but it doesn't leak anywhere and the pins are so much better than the velcro because he takes the velcro off and runs around naked!
I thought I had to use the expensive $20 a diaper things but I found out that the other way is just as good. While the AIO's are great, I use prefolds and pins in between.
Thanks for the great post. People should know it doesn't HAVE to cost a lot of money to cloth diaper!
As a father of five sons, I had the fun of changing many cloth diapers. We used pins, and I can remember only poking myself once, and that wasn't very hard. We ran the pin through our hair before we attempted to pin the diaper. Doing that provided just enough oil on the pin to make it slide smoothly through the diaper. I felt a lot more secure with the cloth diapers and plastic pants then and now. I don't understand why young parents put up with as many leaky disposables and the awful job of cleaning up frequent "blow outs." I try to use cloth diapers with plastic pants on the grand kids when they are over. Our investment of $200-300 bucks over the diapering life of our kids was a wise investment. Occasionally dry the diapers and plastic pants in the sun. It is a great way to get rid of stains and kill germs. Just a few thoughts from a middle aged man, who enjoyed diapering his kids.
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