Real Diaper Week
Great Cloth Diaper Change
The big day is here! All week, we’ve been posting about cloth diapers to celebrate Real Diaper Week. Each day, Great Cloth Diaper Change organizers suggested a topic for cloth diaper education.
- Monday: Basic Cloth Diaper Care
- Tuesday: Environmental Benefits of Cloth Diapers
- Wednesday: Cloth Diapering on a Budget (I LOVE this one!)
- Thursday: How to Use Cloth Diapers in Daycare
- Friday: Traveling with Cloth Diapers
Today, I just want to share how cloth diapering has simplified my life.
My youngest is about to turn twelve years old. Before he was born, I caught the cloth diaper bug. I loved the most outrageous, the most beautiful, and the newest cloth diapers. I had made very simple contour diapers for his older sister, but I went all out for my son.
The funny thing is, after pushing the boundaries to see how amazing and colorful I could make cloth diapers for my children, I realized it wasn’t necessary. I realized that I preferred the simple flat diapers I used with my daughter—flannel on one side and terry on the other. I preferred an old t-shirt or a towel to the fitted diapers that filled my drawers.
I kept using all of those diapers until they were threadbare, but I reached for my flat diapers first. I’ve heard a lot of experienced cloth diapering parents say similar things. When I’ve talked to parents at festivals and fairs about cloth diapering, I always ask, “What kind of diapers do you use?” so I know where to start the conversation. Of the cloth diapering parents, at least half say, “Prefolds.”
And, yet, I hear people talk about “modern diapers” as if cloth diapers are different now than they were 20 years ago or 40 years ago. There are certainly more choices, but they still do the same job—and most parents still use simple cloth diapers at least some of the time. There is no magic in the idea of “modern” other than the shiny thing it represents to attract attention.
The cool, the hip, the new attracts parents to cloth diapers, but I don’t think it keeps them using cloth diapers. Diapering is really a very simple job: catch the wet and the mess so life with baby can focus on something other than elimination. Diapers that do the job without fuss keep parents using cloth diapers.
I went the long way around, but I have arrived at a preference for the simplest cloth diapers. If I had it all to do over again, I would use terry nappies or flat birdseye diapers with wool covers. Nothing else. No huge stash, big brands, or fancy variations. No special instructions or big deals, just one of the tools a parent uses for a baby.
Cloth diapers helped me embrace simplicity in my life.
Now, head out to your nearest Great Cloth Diaper Change and celebrate the resurgence of this simple tool.
Image © Riderofthestorm | Dreamstime.com
