Cloth Diapering: Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord

Or in other words, as a mother you are going to clean up a lot of messes.  They will be of every variety and combination imaginable.  From flour, sugar, milk, and entire boxes of cereal, to the more offensive variety of vomit, urine, you name it. You may even question your sanity while you are engaging in this very necessary and disgusting activity. (At least I have!)

“Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.”  Isaiah 52:11

I think Heavenly Father was giggling when He inspired that scripture because He knew all that would entail.  Or maybe it was Heavenly Mother that came up with that analogy because She really knew!

So have you ever thought about having food storage for your baby’s bum?

When I was serving as a primary president, our bishop asked the members of the ward council to live off of our food storage for a week.  He also asked us to record in our journals the thoughts and impressions we had as we went about our week without going to the grocery store.  I won’t share everything here but since I had been toying with the idea of cloth diapering it was one of the things that made my list.  After that week my husband gave me the go ahead to invest in some cloth diapers.  I was so nervous.  What about the poop?  What if I’m not at home when my baby messes his pants?  What kind of looks will I get when the other moms realize that my baby is sportin’ Fuzzi Bunz?

I shouldn’t have been so nervous.  It was not as bad as I thought and I like the feeling that we don’t have to buy diapers from the store (I do keep some disposables on hand).  I learned about the diaper sprayer that you can buy to attach to your toilet and knew that was a gift from heaven.  After studying extensively about how to properly care for my diapers I dived in and we have never looked back.  I am a bit of a tree hugger and like the idea that it is earth friendly (disposable diaper production, use and disposal create a lot of waste that takes hundreds of years to decompose).   I think of it as one way of reverencing our “mother earth” (2 Nephi 9:7). Here is a great link with more reasons to cloth diaper: http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/diaperfacts.php.

I definitely do more laundry but with as many children as I have now I feel like laundry is just a regular part of life.  I kind of have a schedule to when I do it.  It is strangely satisfying to wash a load, hang it to dry, fold it up, and put it away.  I don’t know why, maybe because it is one task I can control in my house.

I should also be honest and tell you that I did not start cloth diapering until my fourth baby but I wish I had started much earlier.  Pricewise, in the beginning you do not feel like you are saving that much money but the payoff comes over time and there are definitely cheaper ways to do it than what I did starting out.  If you are good with a sewing machine then you can get started for a bargain.  This link will give an idea of the price comparisons of cloth vs. disposable diapers.  With the baby that came next, most of the diapers were still in good condition so it was great to save even more by reusing them for the next child.  Cloth wipes are another way to save money – just toss them in with the diapers.

So what if you are reading this and thinking, that just is not for me?  Then it just is not for you but do consider chlorine free or other earth friendly diaper brands if that is the case.  There are a lot of chemicals in diapers.  Keep in mind, you are not a bad momma if you do not cloth diaper.  Sometimes we are just doing the best we can.  Again, I did not start until baby #4.   However, I did want to blog about the options available to you.  It does not have to be all or nothing.  You can cloth diaper part-time.  (Don’t tell my crunchy friends but I put an earth friendly disposable on my baby at night.)

 

Did I mention how cute cloth diapers are these days?  I love a baby’s fluffy cloth diaper bum.  They are so soft.  They are not like the diapers we remember our moms pinning on with plastic cover pants.  There are a variety of colors and pattern choices too.  I even found a camouflage one for my friend’s baby whose husband is in the military. So fun ladies! See this link for more information on the four main types of cloth diapers: http://www.diaperjungle.com/cloth-diaper-types.html.  And this link will help you determine which type might be best for you: http://www.diaperjungle.com/moms-who-choose-cloth-diapers.html.

Or maybe you are reading this and thinking, what did the pioneers do?  Have you heard of EC?  Elimination communication that is?  It is a process of learning the cues your baby sends that they need to go potty.  It also entails cueing them to go.  I can’t say I mastered this one but I did do it for a short time with my fifth baby and it was so cool when my infant went in the potty!    Some parents do a combination of the two.  This website can offer more information: http://www.diaperfreebaby.org/.

At times I feel overwhelmed with the process of continually washing my hands throughout the day cleaning up mess after mess.  My first son taught me a lesson I will never forget.   Kyle was supposed to be napping but instead smeared his poo all over the carpet, walls, window blinds, and bedding.  And not just his own carpet, it was all the way down the hallway.  I’m surprised he had enough “stuff” to cover that much territory.  I finally went upstairs when I could smell something funny and could hear his little feet pitter patter down the hallway.

Now, patience is not my virtue, but for some reason I could not even say a thing when I discovered what he had done.  No yelling or scolding.  I did finally find my tongue and we had a thorough discussion about how to handle things next time.  Come to find out this was mere weeks before he died.  I have always been grateful that I held it together that day.  And it is a reminder to be grateful that I have the privilege of being the one to teach my children the importance of cleanliness.  Who was it that taught us to be clean?  The Savior.  So each day we are living out the effects of the Atonement, make a mess, clean it up and move on.

“Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.”  I’m trying.  I can only hope to be as pure hearted and clean as a child.  Every day we have opportunities to turn our hearts to the scriptures in even the most mundane of tasks. So today, I am trying to be clean because I do “bear the vessels of the Lord,” my blessed little children.

 

So do you cloth diaper?  What kind/method works for you?

Have you tried EC?

Do you have a favorite eco-friendly brand of diapers?

Have you used any hybrid versions (cloth outside, earth friendly disposable inside)?

Want to laugh about cloth diapering?  Don’t miss this blog.