Confessions of a Cloth Diaper Skeptic

This post is written for the MCNP EB/Expo Blog Carnival with the theme "The Modern Cloth Nappy: The Practical Choice for Moms Today"  We aim to share and spread the knowledge and encourage moms to switch to cloth diapers.  Please scroll below to read the other carnival posts about switching to cloth, cloth diaper styles or preferred diaper for specific times.

I never considered cloth diapering when my son was born for several reasons.

I don’t like poops or handling poops, worse washing them off the cloth diapers.

I don’t like washing dirty nappies.  It’s hard work.

I’m scared of hurting my son.  I had a really bad experience with cloth diapers and clamps when my daughter was a baby.

It’s expensive.  Imagine buying one piece of diaper for 300-350php (around $6)?  And I can’t live with one piece of cloth diaper.  I need to buy a lot!
Using Cloth diapers would mean I'd have to wake up in the middle of the night to change my son's nappy.

Then my son got irritated by the waistband of a disposable diaper.  It was only then that we entertained the thought of cloth diapering.  We bought our first batch of nappies from the Fawn Shoppe – an online store owned by a real good friend of mine.  The first batch was seconded until I got hooked.  Someone from MCNP added me on to their Facebook group.  I didn’t know what it was but I immediately felt

That I belonged.

my very humble nappy stash (with some at the nappy pail)

MCNP – Modern Cloth Nappying Pinays – is an online community of cloth-diapering parents.  It is a venue where nappy mommies and nappy pappies share experiences and their knowledge about cloth diapering.  I love the group's interaction.  Everyone just jumps in and share which laundry or diapering system worked or did not work for them.  It became my go-to group when it comes to Cloth diapering. 

my happy baby rockin his cloth nappy

So what happened to the list of reasons why I should not use Cloth diaper? I found several rebuttals along the way.

Poop problem? Try running it under a running water or pressurized water and see them off.  Or soak the nappy in a bucket full of water.

Washing nappy a hard work? NAH! Get a fully automated washing machine. Drop all the nappies in the washing machine and you're free to do whatever.

Thanks to the snaps, I don't need pins or clamps.  I can fasten the nappy even with the lights off. 

Expensive? Think again.  I own a total of 22 cloth diapers and 40 inserts.  We spent roughly 6000 php (around $130) and stopped buying disposables regularly for more than a year.  Sometimes we use disposables when we leave the house.  If a disposable nappy costs 8php per piece and change them at least 6-7 times a day, that's 48php a day nappy expense.  Multiply it by 365 days, that's 17520 php diaper cost per year.  That would mean that we probably have saved almost 10000 php if we deduct some of the disposable diaper costs.

And thanks to the Cloth diapering veterans, all it took was just to put two inserts in a pocket diaper and you don't have to wake up to change nappies again. 

Cloth diapering is not really simple because there's a lot to learn.  You learn pretty much everything along the way.  But it is not so difficult either.  Even my husband who vowed never to wash a poopy nappy ended up washing the poop off because he feared it might stain the cute nappies.  I have to give him credit for that.  And you should hear him rave about how much we have saved in almost a year. 

Know more about Cloth Diapering at the MCNP Grand EB and Expo on Sunday, March 24 at the 500 Shaw Zentrum.



Other Carnival Posts:
Chronicles of a Nursing Mom - What's in Our Diaper Bag?
Ash 'N Boo - The Modern Cloth Nappy: The Practical Choice for Moms Today
Ms. Masungit - Cloth Diapering Away from Home
Buntis - The Art of Cloth Diapering
Kingdom Cow - Why We Choose Cloth: The Benefits of Using Cloth Diapers
Organized Junk - Cloth Diapers: Know Your Stuff
Changing Nappies in High Heels - Why Cloth Diaper?