I have been on the cloth diapering bandwagon for over two and a half years now. I bought my first cloth diapers and covers while I was pregnant, to get an idea of what all the mamas on the message boards were talking about. I've been an addict ever since. When my daughter was born, she was tiny. She was about 6 weeks old when I started to cloth diaper her most-of-the-time, and at about 2 months we went full-time prefolds and covers, and haven't looked back.
But today, I'm at the end of it. I'm just about done with cloth diapers. I know I'm just overwhelmed. I know it's just a culmination of events making me feel really foul. But I'm about to go buy a pack of sposies this afternoon and call it done.
Our diapers are all in really bad shape. Thirsties Duo Diapers are designed to hold up for 200 to 250 washes. I got our first ones in November and December, 2009, so they've been laundered two or three times a week for a year and 4 months. We're getting close to that 250 washes mark, and they look it. Our covers look pretty crappy too. The laundry tabs are pulling off, the leg elastic has poop stains, and the tabs are curling. Not to mention all the crap that is stuck in the velcro.
I don't want to invest in more diapers, though. Since we're sortof potty training, and will be hard core potty training as soon as my classes are done in May, there is no sense in buying more diapers. Besides, if I'm spending money, shouldn't I be buying cloth training pants?
Bringing me to my next rant. While there are thousands of kinds of cloth diapers on the market now, the cloth training pants selection isn't so grand. Which is a good thing, I guess, because I'm not overwhelmed with choices. Yesterday I bought a set of Gerber waterproof training pants at Target. The smallest size they had was 2T, and they are WAAAAY too big on my kid that still wears 18 month sized pants. My biggest peev is that the outer, waterproof layer isn't PUL. It's PEVA. Plastic. The absorbent layer? Is polyester batting. They sewed a cheap Gerber prefold inside of even cheaper plastic and sold it as training pants. I can't put my kid in these for a minute, let alone all day at daycare.
So I can't decide what kind of training pants to get, my diapers are all a shitty mess, and then ...
My plumbing backs up. There is standing water in my basement.
It's a long story that either means there are roots growing into my sewer line or my kid accidentally flushed a cloth wipe. In that case I'll write a blog post so fucking funny I'll win an award for making the most number of people pee their pants. In the case of the former, I am screwed.
What it means in real life is that I can't flush toilets, rinse the dishes in the sink that I just washed, take a shower, or do laundry.
Hence, why I am headed to the store to buy disposable diapers and then to my mom's to spend the night. I know neither my kid nor I are about to sleep well at all, but at least I'll be able to pee.
6 comments:
Oh man. I really hope you get the standing water issue resolved!
I'm having similar cloth diaper issues. My kid is juuuust starting to outgrow his diapers. But we are potty training this summer. so I'm not going to be buying more diapers.
We are, however, going the "no training pants" method where they are naked for a day, then commando for a month, then in underwear. I'm using the Gerber cloth training pants as "underwear" because they a) come in size 18 months, b) I own them and c) they are lightly absorbent in case of an accident.
But I still have to get through the next three to four months before we train in earnest. I'm just crossing my fingers and hoping at this point!
Sounds like we're in the same spot.
I have bought tons (well, like 12 pairs) of toddler panties. So this summer we are either going to do "go naked" or "panties" while we are at home.
My mom wants "training pants", but we can get the Gerber ones (have to order 18M size off the internet since noplace around here seems to have them) to use at her house, and we can use diaper covers we already have for going out of the house if we want waterproofing.
The issue, as always, is daycare. They want a "one piece" option, and since they are used to pullups, I need to get waterproof, all-in-one training pants for daycare.
But, we're going to be out of daycare for June and July, so I think I'm going to wait a while and see what I need to do for August - if she will be fully potty trained, or if they will take Gerber trainers, or what they want to do.
Meanwhile, there is a plumber guy in the basement as we speak, so we'll see.
That sucks (all of it) and I'm sorry you're having to deal with both at the same time. It would totally stink not being able to use water!!!
Hoping your night goes somewhat alright. I am glad that you are(/were) cding so that I could use your recommendations for future reference.
Fruitfish - to make myself feel better, I just went on an online shopping spree. I just ordered several different types of cloth trainers. So now I can do a review post on cloth training pants.
Hey, it's a coping mechanism, what can I say?
I am cloth diapering an infant at this point and love it. I have had several friends who did the same, their kids started potty training and they had to go to diposables for whatever reason and their kids lost all interest in potty training.
Maybe a short term issue, put her in underwear and a disposable or pullup over it?
Or see if you have a diaper service. We have one and she charges $25/week. She provides 80 prefolds and washes them. Exchange is once a week. That should be less than investing in new cloth diapers or what you would spend on disposables.
I am using the Flip system that has snaps instead of velcro. Hoping they last longer!
Good luck with everything!
Ah, you're just burned out. Which, since your babe is potty training, isn't such a catastrophe.
My babe is in 12 month clothes. We should take bets on how long it will take him to catch her.
Post a Comment