Hot day = Lazy day (and miscellaneous thoughts)Posted by Rachel on June 8th, 2007
I seriously don’t know how else to cope with the heat than to just stay inside our wonderfully air conditioned home all day. I went out to buy milk & bananas and the walk from the car to the store & back just about did me in. It feels like an oven out there. With the heat index, it’s about 100 today.
Am I crazy for considering cloth diapering our future children? I have read that they tend to potty train earlier, and while I’m not really in a hurry for Kyrie to be potty-trained (I am determined not to stress over when or how it happens) it would certainly be nice to have a head-start on future kiddos. Also, there is the cost issue; and I am feeling a bit guilty for all the disposables I’m adding to the world’s garbage. Not that I think people who do disposables should feel bad over it, but it’s something I feel like I could change, so maybe I should consider it. I dunno…the thought is still slightly daunting.
Um, let’s see…what else? I’ve been thinking lately about how silly I was about parenting before I became a parent. For example, before Kyrie made her entrance, I thought that co-sleeping for more than a few months was silly. Well, my 20 month old princess still sleeps in our bed on occasion, and when she’s not there, she’s snoozing away on her crib mattress set right beside our bed. It seems perfectly natural now. Breastfeeding is another thing I’ve really changed my mind on. I always knew I wanted to breastfeed for at least a year, and exclusively for at least half of that, but I’m still nursing Kyrie as she’s approaching two years old, and again, it’s the most natural thing. I’m still loving it. Nursing a toddler can be really fun and amusing and sweet, not to mention nutritious for her and healthy for both of us.
One last thought: a lot of moms apologize for the fact that they’re still nursing to sleep, or rocking to sleep, etc., at this age. Why apologize for it? I often still nurse Kyrie to sleep for naps and bedtime and don’t really see why this is a bad thing. Not that I think everyone should do it that way…I just don’t see why it’s not a valid way to get your toddler to sleep.
The end. 
June 8th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
No one knows yet, but it’s been estimated that disposables take over 200 years to decompose. The average child goes through 6,000-9,000 before they are toilet trained. We shouldn’t be treating Creation that way.
Besides contributing to turning Creation into a toxic dung heap, there are also many health issues at stake.
MALE INFERTILITY Disposable diapers could be the cause of the sharp rise in male infertility over the past 25 years. It is thought that disposable diapers heat up boys testicles to such a degree that it stop them from developing normal.
SODIUM POLYACRYLATE, which is linked to Toxic Shock Syndrome and can therefore no longer be used in tampons, is the super absorbent gel in disposable diapers. You can find the little “gel balls” on the skin of your baby’s bottom. It is interesting to note that employees in factories manufacturing sodium polyacrylate suffer from female organ problems, slow healing wounds, fatigue and weight loss.
TBT (TRIBULYTIN) In May 2000 Greenpeace found TBT in Pampers® Baby Dry in Germany. TBT is one of the most toxic substances ever made. It harms the immune system and impairs the hormonal system. There is speculation that it could cause boys to become sterile.
DIOXIN Traces of the carcinogen Dioxin have been found in disposable diapers. Dioxin causes liver disease, immune system suppression and genetic damage. It is a byproduct of bleaching with chlorine gas and is banned in most countries. Unfortunately, the USA still allows it.
ASTHMA In 1998 a study showed that childhood respiratory problems, including asthma, might be linked to inhaling the mixture of chemicals emitted from disposable diapers.
UTI INFECTIONS IN BABY GIRLS also seem on the rise with an increased use of disposable diapers.
BABIES POORLY DEVELOPED OUTER SKIN LAYER ABSORBS ABOUT 48 CHEMICALS if you use disposable diapers & wipes and standard baby products. This can be greatly reduced by using cloth diapers and natural baby products.
You really should use cloth next time. It’s inexpensive, responsible, healthy, not much work, and also a bit of fun.
I hope I make it to two years nursing our next child. I made it to six months with Evelyn before I lost my supply from pregnancy and eight with Michael. My poor babies think bottles are normal.
June 8th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
I’m considering using cloth from the beginning with the next babe. I tried it for a brief time with Evelyn but she was growing so quickly then that she outgrew them before I could decide if I wanted to keep up with it or not.
I still nurse and rock Evelyn to sleep at all naps and bedtime. And I am totally unashamed!
I know what you mean about changing your mind…it’s really funny to think about the things I used to say. When you’re actually here, things are completely different.
June 8th, 2007 at 11:22 pm
Sarah, I agree that there are a lot of things we shouldn’t be doing to creation, but we can’t avoid them all. We really shouldn’t drive, for instance. But for some people, it would be really impractical to stop altogether or even significantly limit the amount of driving that they do. We also probably shouldn’t be buying prepackaged food because of all the plastics, energy it took to produce them, etc., but not everyone has the resources to grow & make their own food from scratch. Everyone just needs to decide where they want to draw the line and in what areas they feel able to help out the environment. I don’t think there’s anything sinful with parents using disposable diapers. I just think that it might be better all around to do cloth next time. I’m not 100% set on it, though.
June 9th, 2007 at 7:51 am
I still rock Finn to sleep for naps and sometimes for the night. Hardly a night passes without one of the kids sleeping in our bed (usually the 3 yr old). I nursed my babies for 13-15 months (or, as it turns out, til pregnant again). But you know where I stand on cloth diapers. Bleh. Too gross for me. Not to mention the laundry…we have more than enough of that
June 9th, 2007 at 10:45 am
Yeah, Hollie, the added laundry is worrying to me seeing as how I never can keep up with the laundry as is! I think I’d definitely have to get into a better laundry routine for it to work.
I used to think it would be too gross, but a lot of people have told me that that’s because I’m thinking of the old, plain cloth diapers (the ones my mom used) and the newer ones are so much cuter and easier to use. We’ll see!
June 9th, 2007 at 11:11 am
Rachel, I’ve also been considering using cloth diapers too—the only thing preventing me at this time is the initial cost, because I don’t want just the “prefold” kind that Mommy used. I want the nice, shaped kind. And there are these flushable diaper liners that I would want to use also, to make it much easier and less messy. I know that Evie switched to cloth diapers and it worked great for her.
I agree with what you said about things we are doing to Creation, and that everyone needs to find their own line to draw based on what they can do about it. And Sarah, thank you for the valuable information on disposable diapers and the risks involved. Now I have even more reasons to make the switch when I can!
June 9th, 2007 at 11:33 am
The initial cost is what gets me, too. I’ve seen those flushable diaper liners and I’ve heard mixed reports on them, but they do look great. Unfortunately they’d add on to the cost, but they may be worth it.
June 9th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
http://www.diaperswappers.com
I buy most of my diapers used and then turn around and sell them for 80% of what I paid for them. Other than fabric gradually fading and wearing a bit, you wouldn’t have any idea that they were used. We hardly spend any money on diapers.
June 9th, 2007 at 3:31 pm
As to diaper laundry, it’s simple and mindless. Hardly any folding involved, and certainly not complicated ohmygoshthisdressshirtcanthaveanywrinkles folding. For some reason I actually enjoy folding diapers.
I haven’t heard anything good about G-Diapers from mothers that have tried them. They said they clog toilets pretty often and they also find their toddlers running around the house chewing on the stirstick that you’re supposed to use to help dissolve the diaper in the toilet.
June 9th, 2007 at 5:20 pm
You are not crazy.
I blogged about my switch to cloth diapers last August and September. In addition to what I said in those posts, cloth diapering has been great on our budget, and I’ve built up a supply now, so I only wash twice a week. Washing dirty diapers isn’t as disgusting as I thought it would be, especially when I remember how much money we’re saving.
I just started potty training Samson and Laura Belle this week. Samson was never in cloth and it’s taken him the whole week to learn what is wet. Laura Belle, on the other hand, knows and tells me immediately when she’s wet or dirty.
That said, I think the best head start that you can make on toilet training isn’t cloth diapering, but introducing the toilet into your daily routine. Having Kyrie sit on a potty at regular intervals throughout the day would prepare her for when you decide she should start using it exclusively.
June 9th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
Sarah, thanks for the resource.
Emily, where do you get your cloth diapers? Your experience with them sounds encouraging.
Yeah, we have a little potty for Kyrie and I really do need to get into an actual routine of putting her on (even if she doesn’t go). Thankfully, she enjoys sitting on her potty and she’s gone in it a few times, but I’ve totally slacked off in that department lately. Since we’re going on a road trip across the country, I’ve decided that serious potty-training should wait until August when we get back home.
June 9th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
Rachel (and Rebekah)-
I used large, rectangular cloth diapers (about 12”x24”?) that had to be folded until there were only the prefolded kind available. I loved those diapers! And they were fun to hang outside and to fold. I used them on the first 3 of you children, and they were nice to use because they were so versatile. I could fold them little or big, put two together for nighttime, etc. And they were a lot easier to wash. Besides, they dried very quickly because they didn’t have the think padded area in the middle. Anyway- I definitely think cloth diapers are nice. I especially liked them for newborns. For some reason, my newborn babies always got bad diaper rashes in disposables, even when I changed them immediately! I think disposables are really nice once the kids are older and have stopped breastfeeding and they have yucky poops, though.
Another thing you might consider is a cloth diaper service, if they are still available. Sometimes you can buy used diapers from them if you don’t want to use the service. I really enjoyed having a diaper service with Matthew ( a gift from my church)
I think if I were to do it over- I would start out with cloth diapers for about a year, then start using disposables for nighttime, shopping days, or whenever I needed to catch up with laundry. By potty training time, I would have used far less disposables this way. Of course, I didn’t really use disposables much until child#5, so I guess that’s good. But I really liked having disposables available- much easier
One real advantage of having cloth available is that you don’t have to panic when there aren’t any disposables left and no way to go get any- or maybe you’re out of money!
Some people make their own diapers, so if you opt for that, you can make them the way you want.
Another comment I wanted to make was that I agree that disposables seem to be a deterrent for “feeling” wet and therefore seem to make potty training harder these days for some children (not all)
I feel so old- my baby is 8 now, and diapers are in my past, except for the occasional grandchild change!
WOW- what a long post. I’ll close now!
June 11th, 2007 at 3:25 am
If you can keep up with the laundry, in the long run cloth are way cheaper then disposable.
June 12th, 2007 at 9:30 am
We cloth diaper. I just got an extra washing machine from Freecycle (and when that broke, got another one, people just give them away) so that I could always be keeping up with the other laundry if the diapers were soaking or washing. And the diaper laundry is easy and as others have said, FLATS ROCK! I did finally start buying more expensive ones when I had the grossest pooping two year old imaginable and a newborn.
As a compromise, you could easily and cheaply cloth diaper an exclusively breastfed baby (even meconium comes easily out in the wash) for under $150 initial cost. Breastmilk diapers are not stinky and wash up easily. This would STILL save you loads of money and refuse. Let me know if you want more info, I’m one of those cloth diapering geeks whose tried it all and has opinions
June 15th, 2007 at 12:42 pm