Woman of the cloth

I remember the first time my friend Amber told me she used cloth diapers. I honestly thought she was crazy. Like many other people, I had preconceived images of folding big, bulky burp cloths over baby’s bottom and pinning them with diaper pins. Sure, it’s a no-brainer that cloth diapering is better for the environment, but putting poo in my washing machine was not something that appealed to me. I pre-judged her as a granola-girl. A tree-hugger. Then, I became one myself.
One day, Amber and I met for lunch and she had to change her daughter’s diaper. Watching her remove what I thought was a diaper cover, I was astonished to discover that the darling little pink thing was actually the diaper! I asked a few questions, became intrigued and started doing some of my own research on the matter. What caught my eye the most, is that cloth diaper babies don’t blow out of diapers when they have an explosion of the brown variety. How could this be? It was rare that a disposable diaper, no matter the brand, held all that little Hannah had to offer.
I became almost obsessed with searching for the cutest, most functional diapers on the market. I compared prices, styles, ease of use and care. Then, I ran it by my husband, who looked at me like I had worms coming out of my ears. So, I bought one. His reaction after seeing one for the first time was the same as mine. These are not your grandma’s cloth diapers.
“They’re cute, right?” I said.
“Sure,” he said. “Not at all what I had expected.”
I think he was skeptical. So, I made the switch. Just like that. Other than the laundry factor, there’s really no difference between actually using the cloth diapers. They go on, and come off, just like disposables do. And they’re adorable! The colors and patterns are so fun. And most of the cloth diapers these days are polyurethane lined, so they don’t leak. The advantages to this style of diapering are endless, at least for me and Hannah. We haven’t had a blowout or a major leak since we stopped using the disposables full-time. No more stinky trash can! Hannah’s “waste” goes right in the toilet. They last through the night, which wasn’t happening with disposables and we are not producing diaper trash, which can take hundreds of years to break down. I was really bad at guessing sizes with disposable diapers, and would suddenly have 50 out-grown leftovers when my babies had a mid-night growth spurt. I was pleased that many cloth diapers come one-size-fits-all and can grow with baby until potty-training time. I could go on and on.
Hannah has the cutest-dressed tush in the Luebbe house for sure, but I realize cloth diapering is not for everyone. If I had two kids in diapers, I may feel differently. Some people still look at me like I’m cuckoo when I tell them we do it, but it’s very popular in this generation of babes. Maybe we are all finally getting wiser about how we’re treating our good ole’ Earth.
For more information about cloth diapering, visit   www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com or www.cottonbabies.com.