newmomsnewfamilies_clothdiaperingmadeeasy_gloriang.pdf

7/27/2019 NewMomsNewFamilies_ClothDiaperingMadeEasy_GloriaNg.pdf

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CLO

TH

DIAPERINGMADEEAS

Y

GLORIANG

photogra

phofadisposablediaperfloatingin

thearcticmiles

awayfromhumanhabitatfueledmydailydeterminationtosave

atleastonedisposablediaperfrombeingusedandcreated.One

clothdiaperafter

another,daysaccumulatedintoyears;now

our

secondbornisusing

theclothdiapersweboughtforourfirstborn.

ABestofall,clo

thdiaperslivelongaftertheyfray,thinorpillthey

servewellasrags,

kitchentowels,handtowels,burpclo

ths,babywipes,

etc.Infact,theywe

regreatnursingpadsduringsleepthos

efirstfewweeks

postpartumandbetter-than-imaginedpostpartummenstru

alpadsthatfirst

weekpost-delivery.Plus,diapersingoodconditioncanbe

resoldorpassed

ontonewmoms.Somemomsevenmakeartoutofthem.

Stayingentirelyonclothisrare,fortheverymoms

whoinspiredme

touseclotheventu

allyresortedtodisposableforconvenience.Irealized

thenIneededtosharehowImadeitthroughtheyearsthus,mycloth

diaperingtipsfollow.

***

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ALL-IN-ONESOROTHER

Ifyouhavenoideawheretobegin,y

oucanstartclothdiaperingin

oneo

ftwoways:

(1)all-in-ones(diapercovers+clothdiapers)

(2)diapercoverssoldseparatefromclothdiapers.

Anall-in-onemeansthatthediapercoverandtheclothdiaperisall

inon

epiece.Typically,youputaninsertintothediapercovertosoakup

thepeeandreplacetheinsertwhenwet.Usually,youalsohavetheoption

ofo

ne-size,whichmeansyoucansecure

thediapercovermultipleways

asyo

urchildgrowsfromnewborntopotty-trained.Theonlydownfallwith

all-in

-onesisthatonpoopydaysyoumay

runoutofthembeforelaundry

day,especiallyifyouareoperatingonthelo

weststart-upbudgetpossible.

Option#2(diapercoversseparatefromclothdiapers)givesyouthe

flexibilityofcleaningthediapercoversseparatelyfromtheclothdiapers.

Sofo

rverypoopydays,perhapsonlytheclothdiapergotpoopybutnot

thediapercover.Inthiscase,youcanreuse

thediapercover.However,you

encounteradifferentproblem:whichsystem

ofdiapercoverswillyouuse?

Diapercoverscomeinthreediffere

ntfabrics:cotton,wool,and

microfleece.Cottontakesthelongesttohan

gdry,ifyouareonlyscrubbing

thepartofitthatgotpooonit.Woolandmicrofleecearesimilarbreathable

materialsthatwickawaymoisturetoreduc

ediaperrash.Thedrawbackto

wool

andmicrofleeceisthatsomekidscan

havesensitiveskinandmaybe

allerg

ictothesematerials.Inaddition,wooldiapercoversnaturallycontain

them

oisture-wickingsubstancelanolinandneedwoolwash,asoapthat

relanolizeswool.C

LOTHDIAPERINGON

ABUDGET

Clothdiaperscomeinthreefabrics:(1)cotton,(2)hemp,and

(3)m

icrofleece.Cottonsoakseasily.Hemp,evenifsameweightascotton,

cans

oakupmorefluidthancotton.Microfleecelosesitsabsorbencyover

time.

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Beforeyouchoosewhichsystemisbestforyou,askthesequestions:

6.7Howmany

childrendoIplantohave?

IknewIwan

tedtwoormore.

6-7HowoftencanIdodiaperlaundry?

Idolaundry

onceevery7-9days.

617Whatismy

initialoperatingbudget?

Isetaside$500forclothdiapering.

647Arehouseh

oldmembersandchildcareprovidersc

ommittedto

usingcloth?

Inmycase,yes.

SohereishowIsta

yedwithclothdiaperstheeasyway:

.8

Igot2bigd

iaperpailsat$16apiece.

-8

Ipurchased

72cottonprefoldsthatwereabout$1

apiece.

18

Ipurchased

10hempprefoldsthatwereabout$4

apiece.

48

Igot24microfleece-hempinsertsthatwereabou

t$5apiece.

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Igota$12

5newbornbundlewith80biodegradablediapers,12

newbornd

iapercoversforthefirstmonthpo

stpartum,and6

smalldiapercoversthatfitmychildupto4monthspostpartum.

58

Igot6medium

diapercoversthatfituntilmy

childturned15

monthsand

6largediapercoversthatfituntilm

ychildbecomes

36pounds(over3yearsold).Thesediapercovers

areatabout$15

apiece.

Altogether,Iinvestedabout$550inthesystemInowuseandhave

listedabove.Ispentmuchmorethanthatbefore,investinginandtrying

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differentclothdiaperingsystemsbeforeus

ingthesystemIchoosetouse

now

andthatiswherethe$550comesf

rom.Toadjustforinflation,if

youweretoemploymysamesystemnow,expecttouseupto$600

altogether.

DAYDIAPERSYSTEM

Iusecottonprefoldsduringtheday

whenIamathomewithmy

children.Iwantmychildrentogrowupaw

arethatwhentheypeeorpoo,

theywillfeelthewetnessinthecottondiap

ers;thelongertheygowithout

changingoutofthewetdiapersthemoreuncomfortabletheywillfeeland

them

orelikelytheywillgivemecuestochangetheirdiapersassoonas

theypeeinthefuture.Microfleecediaperswickthemoistureawayandcan

trick

childrenintofeelingnowetnessintheirdiapersatall.

Daydiapersusuallylastabout1-2hou

rsforveryyoungchildrenand

upto

4hoursforolderchildren.Newbornscanuseatleast12diapersevery

dayforthefirstweeksoflife.Astheygrow

andtheirbladdersizeincreases

proportionally,youwillbedownto8diapersperdayby3monthsold.

Thesenumbersvary,ifyourbabyisbornbe

forefullterm.

ELIMINATIONCOMMUNICATION

Duringtheday,Icombinecloth

diaperingwithElimination

Communication(EC).ECisearlypottytraining.Somepeopledoitfrom

birth.IstartedwhenIfeltready.Whenmychildwastwomonthsold,at

every

diaperchange,Ibroughthertothetoilettoseeifshehadanything

elsetoeliminatebeforeputtingonanewdiaper.

Inthebathroom,Isimplyholdmychildoverthetoilet.Iholdher

underthethighs,kneesbent,withbacklean

ingonme.Isoundoutpssto

indicatetohershecouldpeeorpoo.Some

mamasmakegruntingsounds

forp

oo.Idonot.Atfirstyoumayfeel

weirdandyourchildmaybe

confu

sed.Justbeconsistent.Beforemydaughterwas3monthsold,she

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pickeduponmycues.Whenshepissed,Imentionedthewordpee.As

shepooed,Imentionedthewordpoo.By3monthsold

,sheunderstood

whatthosewordsm

eant.

EConlyworksifyouhavesomewaytoenforceits

consistency.You

getintouchwithyourkids'bioneeds,whichareoftenafterlatching/eating

ornapping.AnotherbenefitofECisthatyourkidsten

dtobedaytime

potty-trainedbefore

twoyearsold.

TRAVELDIAPERSYSTEM

Idouble-layer

mykidswhenwegooutfortheday.I

usemicrofleece-

hempinsertstopu

tontopofthecottonprefold.Sothe

microfleecethat

isnexttomychildren'sskinwillwickawaythemoisturetothehemplayer

andthentothecottonprefold.Thishelpskeeptheirskinandtheirpants

dry.Thisdouble-la

yersystemlastsatleast4hours.Iftheypoo,Iusea

plasticbagtobring

thewetdiapershome.Forlongertripsthatcanlastup

to8hoursbeforeadiaperchange,Iutilizemynightdiapersystem.

NIGHTDIAPERSYSTEM

Ifiguredouthowtogetafullnight'ssleepwitho

utgettingupto

changediaperswhe

nmyfirstbornwas4monthsold.Iusedamicrofleece-

hempinsertoverahempprefold.Sincenighttimeiswhenkidsareleast

active,Icansafely

havemychildreninthesenightdiap

ersforupto12

hourswithoutdiaperrash.Inthemorning,Irinsetheir

diaperedareain

warmwater,patitd

ryandrediaper.

Kidsonlystay

rash-freeiftheydonotpoopatnights.Youwillonly

getafullnight'ssle

epifyourchildtendstosleepthrough

thenight.Ifyour

childdoesnottend

tosleepthroughthenight,thereisnos

enseinusingthe

nightdiapersystem

atnights.

5.

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Incaseyouforgettoswitchtonightdiapersatnight,putawoolor

microfleeceblanketunderyourbaby.

DIAPERLAUNDRYM

ADEEASY

Inmyearlydays,Iused2separatediaperpailsoneforpoodiapers

ando

neforpeediapers.Ifilledthepoodiap

erpailwithwatertosoakthem

befor

ewashing.Iusedaspecialbrushtoscrubthepoooffofeachdiaper

befor

eIputtheminthediaperpails.

Aftermysecondchildwasborn,Istop

pedsoakingandscrubbingpoo

diape

rs;instead,Irinsedexcessbreastmilkpooofforscrapedsolidpoo

intothetoiletbeforestuffingeverythingintoonediaperpail.

Onthedayofthewash,upto9dayslater,Iloadthewasherwithbaby

detergent,loadthediapers,setthewashcycletoHotWashwithWarm

Rinse,andthenputnon-chlorinebleach.

Diaperswithbreastmilkpoomayretainatemporarylightyellowish

stain

evenafterthenon-chlorinebleach.

Thesestainsdisappearona

clotheslinewhenlefttobesun-bleached.

Aftermysecondbornarrived,Icarednomoreabouttheselight

yellowishstains.Ijustkeptthestainsfrom

touchingmybaby'sskin;the

stainsleftanyway,usuallyinthenextwash.

EASYDIAPERCHANGES

Splitpants,usedbyafellowclothdia

peringmama,isapairofpants

with

aholewherethecrotchissupposedtobe.Getamicrofleecepairof

pants

,cuttheholeandputthatpairofpants

onyourchildfirst.Thendiaper

him/her.

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Babylegwarm

ersarealsogreatdiaperpantsjus

tslipthemonup

tothethighs,thendiaperyourchild.Buythematthesto

reormakeyour

ownbycuttingoffthetoeportionofalongpairofoldsocks.

FINALTHOUGHTS

Iusethesame

tubeofdiapercrme,thesamecanofbabypowder,the

samebottleofbaby

shampooandbodysoapIfirstbought

formyfirstborn.

Theseitemswerela

rgelyunnecessaryduringthefirstyear

oflife.

Diapercrme

sealsmoisturesowetnesscannotge

ttotheskinnor

canmoistskindryouteffectively.Bestthingfordiaperrashisnakedtime

fortherashtodryoutandoliveoilfortheskintobecom

esmoothagain.

Somemamasevenuseoliveoilinplaceofdiapercrme.

Nakedtimeis

bestemployedimmediatelyafteradiaperchange.Ten

tofifteenminuteso

fnakedtimeinthesunshinesansoliveoilisgreatfor

babiestomaketheirownVitaminDandstaywarmatthesametime.

Babypowder

isbestusedtoeliminateheatrash.Di

aperinghasbeen

finewithoutit.WithEC,bythetimeIgetmychildrenb

acktothediaper

changingarea,theirskinistotallydryevenifitwasslig

htlydampbefore

frombeingdiaperedup.

Soapandshampooisonlynecessarywhenyourch

ildstartsplaying

inareasexposedto

others'germs.Inmycase,myfirstb

ornwassuchan

avidteetherstuffingallkindsofthingsinhismouththa

tIneverlethim

anywherenearplay

areasorsandboxesuntilhewasnearly

oneyearold.

Babywipesarealsooptionalifyouuseclothdiapers.Iusethe

remainderofthediaperthatisnotwetordirtytowipeo

ffexcesspooor

peeateverydiaper

change.IfIcannotgetintothecreases,Iwipewitha

newdiaperorrinse

thewholeareatopatdry.IfItakem

ychildrentothe

toiletforEC,Ijust

usetoiletpaper.Infact,Istillusethe

same100-count

packageofbabywipesIfirstgotformyfirstborn.Ionly

usethispackage

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duringtraveltosanitizehands/utensilsbef

orefoodorforpoopydiaper

chang

esontheroad.

H

appyClothDiapering!

***

BookwritingandpublishingcoachGloriaNgisbirthing

herforthcoming

book,Tw

oFeet,Three

Continents,a

tributetoherchildren'st

hreehomelandsthatincludes

experiences

oftricontinen

talmotheringinAfrica,Asia

andAmericaduringthefi

rstyearofherdaughter'slife.

Followheradventuresatw

ww.GloriaNg.com.

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