Making a Change

by Elizabeth Wickoren

As I'm nearing my 10th anniversary of becoming a mother (now a mother of four) it's interesting to see which things I've changed as each new baby came along, and which things have remained the same.  Some of my new mom instincts and ideas have been very beneficial and needed no upgrading.  Breastfeeding is one of those.  I have breastfed every one of my children for over a year (some of them for years) and I am very glad that I did.  Another great idea I had was to do extensive research into schools when my oldest son was very young.  By the time he was three I had found a really amazing local school that went from preschool to sixth grade and seven years later we are still enrolled there.  The only difference is that now I have three children attending instead of just one.

Not everything has been so rosy though.  Some things have required a little learning and tweaking along the way. 

For example, my second son was a very light and fussy sleeper as a newborn.  I thought the only way to get him to sleep was to lay him on his tummy.  With my third child I learned about swaddling and though she was as fussy as her brother, a quick wrap settled her right down.  Lesson learned.

One of the changes that has had the biggest impact on our lives has been our switch to cloth diapers.  You wouldn't think that something as simple as a diaper would be so important, but for us it has been.

Cloth diapers didn't even cross my mind with babies #1 and #2.  I had no idea people still used them.  I figured disposable diapers were newer and newer was better.  But when baby #3 arrived 20 months after baby #2, I found myself diapering two children at once.  My husband was still in school, money was tight, and I was not enjoying those weekly runs to the store for $20 packs of diapers.

I started looking for other options and I feel so thankful that I stumbled across cloth diapers.  I had no idea how much they had changed.  There were no pins, no folding necessary, and I was saving a ton of money. 

The reason I got into the cloth diapering world was purely financial, but once I was in, I was amazed at what I learned.  For example, children who are cloth diapered are often toilet trained sooner than children who use disposable diapers.  This was certainly true at my house.  For me, the age at which each child has toilet trained has correlated directly with how many months they spent in cloth diapers.

Cloth diapers are also much better at containing diaper contents than disposables.  It was a relief not to have all the newborn poopy blowouts up to the shoulder blades like I had with disposable diapers.  It just makes sense if you think about it.  No one would wear paper clothes, at least not outside of a doctor's office.  Real plates and silverware work better than paper plates and plastic flatware.  It stands to reason that real diapers would work better than ones made of paper and plastic too.

Family and friends, upon hearing that I had switched to cloth diapers, often said, "Gosh isn't that a lot of laundry and extra work?"  I could honestly tell them, "No, it's really no big deal."  They don't take any longer at diaper change time.  And three loads of laundry a week isn't going to make or break anyone.  At least now I didn't have to make all those diaper runs to the store anymore.  There were always diapers in the house.  I really found that it made my life easier, not harder.  And those three loads of laundry a week?  They were my favorite loads.  Folding diaper after diaper of soft, fluffy cuteness was way more satisfying than folding dingy sweat socks.

I was the first of my friends and family to try cloth diapers, at least among those who weren't senior citizens.  But I certainly wasn't the last.  I felt like cloth diapers were this great secret that the big box retailers and mainstream parenting culture had hidden from me and everyone else.  Why was something as fantastic as this not offered at my local Babies 'R Us?  I wanted to tell every mother I knew about cloth diapers so they wouldn't have to be in the dark either.  So that's what I did.  At first I just told everyone I knew, but this summer I got the opportunity to work for a great local company, All Things Diapers.  I get to talk to tons of new moms every week when they come in the store, and even teach classes about cloth diapering, babywearing, and swaddling in their community resource room.  And it's not just me.  The whole staff is knowledgeable and passionate.  It's very exciting to be able to contribute to the growing awareness among parents that there are alternatives out there.  There are other ways of doing things.

Don't get me wrong, I realize that cloth diapering isn't the answer to every situation.  If you don't have your own washer and dryer and don't have an affordable diaper service nearby, disposables might be the ticket for you.  But the important thing is just to know that you have options.  Then you can make an informed diapering choice instead of just taking whatever Target has to offer.

Next month I will have a decade of mothering under my belt.  But if there's one thing I know, it's that I don't know nearly enough.  I know diapers inside and out, but as a mom, there's always more to learn.  Especially about teenagers.  I can only imagine the things I'll learn in these next ten years as my oldest becomes an adult and my baby goes from toddler to tween.  But I'm sure, as always, I'll be making changes.

About the Author:

Elizabeth Wickoren is a mother of four and works at All Things Diapers as a parent educator and Girl Friday.  To learn more about cloth diapers and all things baby, please check out the All Things Diapers blog or come to one of the FREE classes offered by All Things Diapers.