Cloth Diapering & The Pandemic
We switched to cloth diapering a month before the height of the pandemic and thank God we did!
I believe in the interconnectedness of all things. The way we live our lives impacts those around us and it most certainly impacts the Earth. To give thanks for the ways in which the Earth has provided for me (I mean it is our HOME after all) and to lessen my personal imprint, I try to live a pretty sustainable life. I don’t eat meat and have been slowly phasing out dairy products, I almost never drink from disposable plastic water bottles, I recycle, I utilize reusable bags, and I only use nontoxic cleaning products. Of all the efforts I make to live more sustainably, switching Kairo to cloth diapers and cloth wipes is the one I’m most proud of.
Cloth diapering was something I wanted to implement from the start of his life, but between our cross country move and serious nesting, I never got around to doing the research to figure out how I would make cloth diapering work for me and my family. We had a huge baby shower where we received lots of disposable diapers so that’s the route we went for the first 5 months of his life. Disposable diapers worked for us until I realized how inconvenient it was to constantly be needing more diapers and wipes. We also were using the Honest Co. brand so the cost was starting to add up. To me, it just felt like an outrageous expense and an extremely wasteful use of resources. So, ultimately, I decided to invest upfront in cloth diapers to save money in the long term and to reduce our impact by reducing our consumption.
After a lot of google searches and related Instagram advertisements (don’t get me started on the use of data across platforms to sell things to us) we decided to go with the Esembly cloth diapers. I chose this brand because they made it easy to create a diapering system that met all of our needs. It was a one stop shop for all things cloth diapering.
Now before I dive into why I’m grateful the universe led me to cloth diapering weeks before the height of the pandemic, I want to address some of the myths associated with cloth diapering:
Myth Buster #1- “All the water used to wash cloth diapers makes them just as bad for the environment as disposables.”- Not even close. The average baby goes through 65 disposable diapers in a week. These diapers then go on to sit in landfills for upwards of 500 years. With cloth diapers, you’ll add a load or two to your weekly laundry but the amount of water used (when done consciously) is only equivalent to a few extra toilet flushes each day. And, cloth diapers can be reused for siblings or passed along to friends and family.
Myth Buster #2- “Cleaning cloth diapers is disgusting.”- I’m not even going to lie, rinsing out poop from a cloth diaper is something that takes time to get used to, but it really isn’t as bad as it sounds. When your baby has a blowout in their disposable diaper, you end up touching some poop anyway, so what’s the difference?
Myth Buster #3- “Too much laundry!”- You do have to wash the cloth diapers every 2-3 days to avoid stains and odors, but the process is really simple. You literally dump everything into the wash. It’s a lot more convenient than running out of wipes or diapers in the middle of the night and having to go to the store at the last minute.
Myth Buster #4- “Cloth diapers need to be changed more frequently.”- It’s suggested that both disposable and cloth diapers be changed every 2-3 hours. Cloth diapers also have nighttime liners to provide extra absorbency when baby goes longer stretches in the evenings. Say goodbye to nighttime diaper changes!
Myth Buster #5- “It will be hard to find pants that fit over the cloth diaper.”- This one is somewhat true. During the colder months you will likely have to size up for pants, but in the summer your baby can wear the diaper as their shorts. The outer coverings to the cloth diapers have very cute designs that are worth putting on display!
As I reflect on our transition to cloth diapers, I realize that it was nothing but divine timing that we switched when we did. I ordered our Esembly cloth diapering system on February 22nd, we started using cloth diapers on March 2nd and the following week we found ourselves quarantined. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., there has been documented shortages of baby supplies across the country. Mom’s in the Exclusive Pumping Mamas Facebook group that I’m apart of have complained about people hoarding baby formula. One of my coworkers said Amazon was experiencing delays as far back as June on diapers and wipes. Grocery store shelves were empty. Things are unpredictable right now, and in all of this uncertainty I’ve been able to breathe easy knowing diapers, wipes and milk (breastfeeding) are all taken care of.
Knowing that I’m helping the Earth while giving other mothers access to essential baby supplies during these unprecedented times helps me to feel ViKtorious. We’re all in this together. We each have to do our part to keep the Earth habitable and to keep each other well during this pandemic. How are you striving to be a ViKtorious Mama by living sustainably every day and how is it especially helpful to others during the pandemic? Let me know in the comments!
