I recently commented on a post regarding advice for new parents that I would like to expand upon, along with some reviews. I know everyone and their grandmother out there is writing about cloth diapers, but I would like to share my experience with cloth diapers that is also paired with the practice of Elimination Communication (EC), Natural Infant Hygiene, or whatever else people call it these days.
I would like to start with a story that got me sold on EC. I was still in college and not even planning to have kids when I took a communication course that had us present the types of communication between two groups of people. While most students chose the stereotypical female/male and old/young groups to compare, I was lucky enough to be in a group whose creativity allowed us to compare the communication between a mother and a child. It was one of those projects with an eye opening experience that inspired me with the ways I could have a much closer connection with my future children. After some information gathering, I stumbled upon this practice called Natural Infant Hygiene, which was how things were done in the era before diapers replaced human connections. In this busy modern world, however, there is sometimes no alternative, but I was determined to try it. I was going to listen to my baby and help him reduce dependency on diapers.
And I did just that.
Sure, I didn’t practice full-time EC (and still don’t) and I didn’t start right away, but it was a huge change once it happened. My son was 3 months when we first started pooping into the sink (at that point it was still all liquid) because he just didn’t have consistent cues for when he wanted to go and, most of the time, he just pooped during his feeding. At about 3 months, he started sending signals right after a feeding, so I had the time to run to the bathroom (the movement stalled him for a bit), undress him, and eliminate. At this point, I was using the gDiapers system, which was extremely messy (maybe due to the diapers being a bit large) if we didn’t use the sink for some reason (if it happened during a nap or a feeding), but really great when EC worked. After a week or so, we used only one disposable diaper per day, which was during the night.
At around 6 months (when my son was able to sit pretty well), we began using the potty. It worked great since he also started eating some solids at this point, so the poop wasn’t all liquid anymore and would be tough on the poor sink. Aside from a few rare mishaps, we never had a poopy diaper anymore, saving a lot of work and a lot of diapers.
I think we used disposables for some time because he outgrew the gDiapers and I haven’t decided on a new cloth diaper. But I have become unhappy with disposables for the same reasons why I never wanted to use them in the first place: they are extremely wasteful, expensive, bad for the environment by adding tons more garbage to sit in landfills, and worst of all, all those plastics and chemicals touch my baby’s skin (doesn’t the smell of new diapers bother anyone else?). I decided this was a battle I was going to win, ordered a few cloth diapers to try out, and told everyone who cared for my son to use them. Some family members were resistant to the idea, claiming that disposables were just so much more convenient, but I didn’t want to hear it. We quickly phased out the disposables and now only have a few for emergencies when somehow we run out of cloth ones and there is not enough time to wash them before sleep. Personally, I haven’t used a single disposable diaper in at least 7 months.
Somewhere around his 8th or 9th month birthday, my son started wearing underwear at home when he was awake and we have taken him to the potty to pee every 10-15 minutes. That time has been increasing since then and depends on how much liquid he drank recently. Now, at 17 months, he can go for an hour without using the potty, but if he has a lot to drink at a meal, he needs to use it more often afterward. He also sometimes points, grabs himself, or cries and clings to my legs when he wants to show he needs to go. Yes, it takes work, and yes, we have accidents sometimes, but in the long run, it’s a lot better for future potty training to start this early, and it has saved a lot of money on diapers. Cloth diapering parents recommend buying some 20+ diapers, while I have only 6 and they last 1-2 days, depending on how much he wets. One tip for cloth diapers though: rinse them after use while they wait to be washed in the washing machine. It can get smelly and you don’t want all that soaking into the diapers anyway. I would love to wash diapers by hand and air dry them, saving more money, but I have found that hand washing doesn’t get them as clean and air drying takes forever and leaves the fabric rough and not as absorbent for the next time.
Here is a quick review of the diapers I currently use:
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- Imagine One Size Pocket diaper – this one is my favorite and I don’t use anything
else for naps and nighttime sleep. I stuff two gDiapers pads in addition to the original insert for the night to make it thicker. The lining on this diaper is super soft and it takes a lot for it to feel wet. They were also the cheapest diapers I bought – go figure. - BumGenius 4.0 One Size Pocket diaper – this is my second favorite, but I only use it for walks or when we go somewhere and he is awake. Although more expensive than the Imagine diapers, their lining is thinner, smoother, and more prone to feel wet, so I don’t trust it to not wake my baby up with discomfort.
- Best Bottom diaper – my least favorite by far. At first, I loved the idea of snap-in inserts that you can remove without replacing the entire diaper, but there were problems with that theory. The diaper still smelled after wiping it, the sides leaked, and the inserts weren’t very absorbent. I only have one of these and I use it as a backup for when we go shopping or on short trips when I don’t want to waste the other diapers.
All in all, I am extremely happy about using cloth diapers, and even happier about practicing EC. I believe the two ideas go very well together for the frugal, environmentally conscious, and baby-centric parents and I would recommend them to everyone who has or will have children. I would be happy to answer any questions about EC, cloth diapering, or other baby needs.
