…but isn’t that a good thing?
So often with disposable manufacturers the issue of “maximum absorbency” is a big deal. The big name sposie manufacturers go to great lengths and spend millions to develop a product that is built to soak it up, soak it in and absorb-absorb-absorb. But in reality, is that something you really want or need?
Admittedly, the issue of absorbency is usually a great source of confusion with moms who switch from disposables to cloth. They expect cloth diapers to work just the same as disposables and are often surprised when they don’t. When a cloth diaper doesn’t make it through the night without leaking or a trip out to run errands, moms frequently and mistakenly think there must be something wrong with that diaper or brand.
Truth is that cloth diapers need to be changed more often than disposables, but that’s not something that should be considered an awful inconvenience. With disposables sure, the longer the baby can wear the diaper the less diapers you’ll use and the more money you’ll save. But at what cost?
Putting yourself in your babies shoes, or let’s say diaper…Would you want to sit in a wet, hot, gell filled diaper for hours on end just because it’s not yet leaking? Or as a toddler, would you want to be toddling around with a five pound bag of hot jelly swinging around between your legs when you’ve just learned to walk? I think not.
Personally, I was happy to be a little inconvenienced by having more frequent diaper changes when I realized the alternative: Letting baby sit in a soiled diaper just because I can. It’s a gross thought.
That’s my two cents. I feel the case for cloth is stacked against disposables for just this one simple fact, and I didn’t even need to mention the health risks, chemical and carcinogen exposure associated with the use of disposables.
Julie
nikki says
Yeah, those are my thoughts exactly. It took me a while to relaize that I needed to change my guy’s diaper more often with cloth. And he’s a super night soaker too. I have yet to find a diaper (cloth or disposable) that doesn’t leak at night.
MamaBear says
I agree! Not sitting in chemicals is one of the main reasons I use cloth so even if disposibles are more absorbant I much prefer changing diapers more often. I also get great satisfaction from the fact that I’m not throwing money away at every diaper change.
Jena says
I was just having this discussion with my husband yesterday, about how I’d rather change her diaper more frequently than saturation demanded it. And the thing about people trying to save money by leaving their kids in disposables longer between changes? Ew! Poor kids!
My 8mo daughter has just started nightly over-saturating two inserts. I’m a person who’d really rather not get out of bed in the wee hours to change her diaper & PJs; it wouldn’t be so bad if she didn’t scream and thrash the whole time–it’s like she’s having a nightmare and it makes me feel awful, and I often can’t get back to sleep afterward. But I’ve heard good things about Knickernappies Super Do inserts, so I ordered a few & we’ll see how those work.
Anonymous says
I don’t think I would ever use cloth diapers. I am already in survival mode and adding the extra changing and cleaning is not worth the ordeal. At some point you just have to say “do I really want to turn into a crazy helicopter parent?” I do anything and everything I can for my daughter – there are some really good disposable ‘eco’friendly diapers…