Why I Used Cloth Diapers and Why I Ditched Them (The Pros and Cons of Cloth Diapers)

When Heidi was a baby, I was determined to be all crunchy-granola type mom.  I do extended breastfeeding, make my own baby food, avoid unnecessary medications, natural remedies, natural childbirth, baby wearing...the whole she-bang.  Part of that is cloth diapers, of course. Except when Heidi was a baby, we lived in a apartment and didn't have a washer/dryer, so I didn't use cloth at first.  However, when we moved into our own house with a washer/dryer when she was around 20 months, I eagerly invested in cloth diapers and used them ever since. Until I stopped.

I used them because they were cheaper, cuter, environmentally friendly and more natural. I even belonged to this whole cloth diapering playgroup.  Why there was a whole playgroup centered around cloth diapers, I will never know.  But, I did meet some nice moms through it. 

And I kept using them through the rest of the kids. Until I stopped recently after using them for several months with Annika.  Here's why. 

First the pros:

Cloth is cheaper:  Cloth diapers can definitely save money, especially if you use them for more than one child and pass them down.

Cloth is more natural:  I mean, I'm not really sure what is inside disposable diapers, but whatever it is it is not natural because it can hold a ton of pee and not smell and still keep the baby dry. That's gotta be some weird chemical stuff. 

Cloth is cuter: Honestly, I think this is what draws a lot of people towards cloth.  Cloth diapers come in all sorts of cute patterns and colors.  Mommy likes to place dress-up with the baby. 

Cloth is better for the environment: Probably anyway.  They say disposable diapers end up in the landfill for like a gazillion years.  So even with the extra washing and energy, it still probably comes out ahead of disposable diapers. 

Now the cons:

Cloth is more work:  And, I don't just mean the work of washing diapers.  Although there is that.  But the work of changing diapers.  Cloth diapers need to be changed VERY frequently. As in as soon as the baby pees in it one time.  For some babies (like mine) that could be just about every 30 minutes.  Two hours is probably the maximum. This can be rather annoying, especially when you are out and about.   And forget about overnight.  You have to put SO MUCH CLOTH on a baby to last overnight (especially if the baby is nursing all night).  SO MUCH.  As in the diaper ends up being SUPER THICK and probably uncomfortable. I gave up night-time cloth diapers very quickly.  For years, I had a happy compromise of using cloth during the day and disposables at night and when out of the house. I did that for most of my kids. 

Even still, I would say that I would change on average 10-12 cloth diapers a day as opposed to 5-6 disposable diapers.  So that's about double the number of diaper changes.  

Cloth leaks: I've never had a disposable diaper leak pee.  I have had a few blow-outs in disposable diapers, but never really had one leak pee.  Cloth diapers on the other hand leak frequently.  And since my babies basically nurse all day long, they also pee all day long, which means each day usually involved at least 1 outfit change due to diaper leaks because I would forget and go longer than 60-90 minutes in between changes.  Sometimes I would change 2-3 diapers an hour.

Cloth stinks: When I used cloth, I had enough diapers to last several days between washing.  I could easily go 4-5 days...that's how large my stash was.  However, that also meant that the dirty diapers were sitting around for several days in the diaper pail.  It just didn't smell good.  It wasn't that there was anything wrong with my diapers.just that any pee-soaked cloth is going to stink after a day or so, especially when you are talking about an older baby.

Cloth is more complicated:  This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it is a factor. There are many different types and styles of cloth diapers and different people have different preferences.   Sometimes it can take a bit of experimenting to see what you like.  Plus, different types of inserts/diapers go with different covers/pockets.  Over the years I had accumulated quite a large stash (mostly given to me by other cloth diaper drop-outs).  It was all fine when I was changing the baby because I knew what goes with what, but if someone less familiar tried to change the baby.  Well, let's just say there were a few times the baby was dressed in two fitted diapers and no cover or some other mishap that resulted in diaper malfunction.

Cloth is bulky.  When she's wearing cloth, the answer is yes.

Why I ditched the cloth: I just recently stopped using my cloth diapers and went all sposie with Annika.  The main reason being the leaks and increased number of diaper changes. I just couldn't deal with it anymore.  I figured I had done my dues to save the earth and I just needed a break from changing diapers every hour.  I was also tired of dealing with the stink from the diaper pail.   And I no longer feel like we are in a place where I feel so financially strapped to stretch every single penny.  So, I'm giving myself a break for awhile. 

I will likely bring the cloth out again when it comes time for potty-training. I'm a fan of doing it early and i find that cloth does make potty-training easier. 

What about you?  Do you use cloth diapers?  Have you tried them? Did you stick with it?

Any hey look, it's Sunday.  So I figured I would link up with Rosie for My Sunday Best.

It's in the 60's today, even though it's February, which is why Elsa is wearing a summer dress. Here is what Elsa, Annika and I wore today. 

Then Ben decided to get in the picture, so now we have a nice family picture minus the three older kids, who are much less cooperative when it comes to picture taking,

That Special Delivery Baby Hammock. How it's Working Out for Us from 0-3 months

Back in July I posted about our Special Delivery Baby Hammock which I received for review.  This is a sponsored post, but all opinions and experiences contained within are completely my own. Since then a lot of people have asked about how that is working out for us, so I figured it was time for an update. 

This is Annika.  Our very own Special Delivery Baby Hammock tester. 

She just turned 3 months old.  And despite the fact that she holding a light saber and has the name Annika, we are NOT big Star Wars fans or anything. Pinky-swear.  At least, I'm not. Just had to clear that up.  She may or may not have 1 or 2 older siblings who are big Stars Wars fans that may or may not have given her a light saber to wave around.  

You can read her birth story here, if you are interested in that sort of thing.

So, back to the Special Delivery Baby Hammock.   How's that working out for us?  If you remember correctly, I was looking for something that would help Annika nap out of arms. We co-sleep at night (very happily) so I was not concerned about night-time sleeping.

First of all, Annika almost always falls asleep either nursing, riding in the car, or riding in the sling.  She's not the type of baby who just goes from awake to asleep all by herself.  None of my babies have ever done that with any regularity and she isn't any different. 

Second of all, her favorite place to sleep is next to me, in the sling or being held (by me or anyone else).  She's smart that one!.  I say this because I want to emphasize the fact that Annika isn't an "easy" baby who just falls asleep by herself.  She is your typical velcro-baby born to parents who are too lazy to encourage independent sleep...even with the fifth baby. It's so much easier to just nurse to sleep.

When it comes to the Special Delivery Baby Hammock, there are really three factors to be concerned with: safety, effectiveness and ease of use. 

Let's talk about our experience.

Is It Safe?:  Yes, it seems very safe to me. Very.  Even if it is bumped or rocked, the baby is well protected and supported inside there.  I think it would be very difficult for a baby to climb out of it or fall out.  A toddler could probably climb out on their own, but one could simply hang it close enough to the ground so it is safe for a toddler to do so. 

Accidentally bumping it with the baby inside does no harm whatsoever so long as it is hung to be clear of any obstacles it could hit.  The hammock just swings gently and the baby is still safe, snuggled inside.  Our dog is always bumping into ours, because it is hung at just the right height and it just gently sways a bit and she is fine.  Heck, we are always bumping into it, and it just sways a bit, and she is fine.  I do think it is super important to hang the hammock in a location so as to be free and clear of anything it could hit.

Now, if someone were to actually pull it back and swing it hard, they could hurt a baby, but just bumping into it is fine.  If you have older children who are likely to do that or likely to run into it really hard, I would be sure to hang it in an out of the way place. 

Can a baby roll over in it?

Annika has been able to roll onto her side while in it. 

However, she is fine on her side and is able to roll back onto her back all on her own.  I do not think a baby would actually be able to roll all the way over onto their belly while in it. 

The fabric itself is very thin and breathable anyway, so even if a baby's nose were to get pressed up against it, the baby could breathe right through it. 

I'm a pretty paranoid mom, and I'm not worried about the safety of it at all. 

Does it work?  Sometimes.  Actually the older she gets, the better it seems to work.  When she was newborn, she would sleep in it occasionally. 

 As she has been getting older and bigger, she seems to do better and better in it.  Lately, I can usually get at least 1 good nap a day out of it. Sometimes more than one. That's amazing!

There are two reasons why I think the hammock works better the older she gets.  The first is that as she gets heavier, the hammock hangs down further and the fabric is pulled closer around her, so she is more snuggled into it. 

Also, the heavier she gets, the more responsive the spring is, and the more she is able to "bounce" herself back to sleep if she startles awake or wakes up. 

It says on the website that the spring isn't responsive until 8 pounds.  Annika was 7 lb, 7 oz. at birth, so it took her until 2-3 weeks to reach 8 pounds.   However, even at that weight, the spring wasn't that responsive to her movements. 

 As she's gotten bigger, it's definitely gotten better.
So, I don't know that it works super well for really tiny newborns (although she did sleep in it sometimes as you can see from the above picture), but it's working pretty well now that she is 3 months old.  I would say that around 2 months is when we really started to get regular good naps out of it and I noticed the spring bouncing more when she moved.  Annika was 10 lbs, 8 oz at her 2-month check-up, so I'm thinking that 10 lbs might be more of the "magic weight" where the spring works better and the baby hangs far enough down to really be snuggled inside the hammock.  If you have a big baby, it might work really well for you, starting at birth.

  
The other reason that the hammock is working better now that she is a bit older is that developmentally she has more defined times of sleep and wakefulness.  She's  out of that newborn, sleep/doze/catnap phase and now has more definite periods of naps with longer periods of being awake.  She typically falls asleep nursing, I wait until she is "good and asleep" and then I put her in the hammock and she stays asleep. 

The super awesome thing is that lots of times she'll wake up and start moving and I'll hear the hammock bouncing a bit, and then she falls back asleep and sleeps a bit longer

On that note, it is a tiny bit noisy in that makes a small amount of noise when the baby moves in it.  You can hear the spring.  That is awesome during the day, because it let's you check on the baby without actually "checking" on them.  However, I imagine that some people might find that disturbing at night, if the hammock was in their room.  We don't use it at night, so it's not a problem for us.

Ease of Use: The Special Delivery Baby Hammock is very easy to install and use.  It comes with an eye screw to screw into the ceiling, but I bought a door clamp which made installation a breeze.  Super, super easy.  It takes a bit of practice getting a baby into the hammock, but once you figure it out, it's really easy...just takes a bit of practice. 

It is also completely wash-able.  I've already taken it off the wooden rod, washed it, and put it back on.  It wasn't difficult at all. 

Would I recommend it?: Absolutely! I wish I had it earlier with other babies. Annika definitely takes naps in it outside of my arms, which is all I wanted out of it.  I will say that if it doesn't work for a newborn right away, keep trying.  Annika sleeps in it better now than she did as a newborn, so I'm glad I kept at it. There is also plenty of room for growth.  I'm pretty sure Annika will easily fit in the hammock for another year or even two (she's been at about the 40th percentile...so she's not a big baby). I think it will work for quite some time with her.

I'm very confident that she sleeps in it better than she would in a crib or a bassinet.  The swinging/bouncing of the hammock when she moves in it, definitely helps soothe her back to sleep.  Furthermore, since the fabric is soft, there is no risk of plagiocephaly or "flat-head syndrome" from lying in it.  

And, since the last time I posted about the hammock, I linked up with My Sunday Best, I figured I would so again this time. 

Here's what Elsa (who always wants to model for pictures) and I wore today.  Elsa did wear shoes to Mass though.  I promise.  My children all just adverse to wearing shoes anytime they don't have to. 

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Hope everyone is enjoying this fall day!

My Sunday Best - 28 weeks, Free Clothes and Posts I Want to Write

Linking up with Rosie for My Sunday Best.  28 weeks.....start of the third trimester!! Yay!  All my other kids were born sometime during the 38th week, so I'm hoping this means I only have 10-11 weeks left.

Here's what we wore:

I thought this was a cute action shot of Elsa.  Ignore her totally worn out in the knees on her tights.  We'll have to change those. 

Elsa is modeling red for Pentecost.  How liturgically appropriate of her.  Yeah....we totally did that on purpose. <wink>

John is modeling his new "church shirt" from Schoola.

My sweater and pants are both from Schoola....which is a new online thrift shop I just discovered.  I like it better than ThredUp....although that is good too.  Schoola donates 40% of their proceeds to schools and I think they have more variety at lower prices.   Part of this is probably because they aren't as picky about brands as ThredUp  and they definitely carry more off-brand clothing.  They sell clothing for woman and children, so there is lots to see and find there.  They don't allow returns, but if you buy something and it is incorrect or not as described, they will take care of you!

If you buy something through my link at Schoola sometime during the next 60 days, you get $20 credit....and so do I!!  So , go click my link and get yourself some free clothes.  There are lots of things you can find for less than $20....plenty for less than $10 even.  Everyone loves free clothes...right!

Oh....and if you use my link at ThredUp, you get $10 free...and so do I.  So if you haven't tried them out yet, you should!

Hey...I'm giving you like $30 worth of free clothes!  You're welcome!

And even better, I'll give you a promise that I will write these posts.  Sometime in the hopefully not too, too distant future!  My blogging has been rather sporadic lately, but I really WANT to blog.  Finding the time is hard though.

Why I decided to skip the infant car seat.

Homeschooling: the good, the bad and the ugly. 

Why I don't wish for time to slow down.

How we choose baby names.

You can look forward to those.  Or not.

Go check out some more Sunday Best at Rosie's!

First Holy Communion, What I Wore Sunday, Sunday Best and Thoughts on Pregnancy

Rosie is hosting a new link-up called My Sunday Best,  and since I like Rosie and I like her blog and I like posting pictures of what I wore Sunday....here we are!  It's similar to the old What I Wore Sunday link-up, but that one seemed to sorta peter out. 

Today was a special Sunday.  John had his First Holy Communion today!

He was not a fan of having to dress up and all the pictures, but I think he liked the First Communion part.

We celebrated by having friends and family over and a gluten-free, dairy-free cake wreck of a cross cake.

Here's some pictures of what I/we wore.

John doesn't like to have his shirt tucked in, as you can see.

Baby Bump: 26 weeks

Shirt: 14 year old maternity shirt from who knows where?  Seriously.  I bought it when I was pregnant with Heidi 14 years ago. Haven't worn it that much, but never got rid of it for some reason

Pants: non-maternity, non-buttoned, that's what belly bands are for dress pants.

Boots: old and from somewhere?

I'm wearing pants because I don't like the way I look in dresses while pregnant.  I just feel like pants look better with a big belly on me.

So 26 weeks pregnant already.  I find that hard to believe.  I don't really like being pregnant.  Physically I feel fine. I've never really struggled that much physically.  Mentally, I just find it sorta exhausting.  Mostly because I never REALLY know if everything is okay with the baby.  I mean, I go to the doctor and everything and is fine and I feel this baby kicking and squirming quite a bit.  But still, you just never really know.  Pregnancy just seems like an uncertain time, because you don't really, really know that all is well with the baby until she is born.   I'm always super aware of how often the baby kicks and do a lot of kick counts and try to wake the baby up so I can feel kicking.  Usually it's fine, but it seems like sometimes this baby goes through a few days where she is really quiet and moves less frequently and then she goes back to moving a lot.  I assume it's just a growth spurt and she's doing lots of sleeping, but it freaks me out.   With my other kids, I can just look at them and tell they are fine.  They are acting normal and running around and it's fairly easy to say that they are healthy.  With an unborn baby, I feel like I never really know.   I mean, here is your child that you already love, but you can't see them, so at any moment you are never 100% sure they are okay.  So, I worry. 

Maybe that's just me??

Anyway, Happy Sunday everyone!!