Anyone who has had children knows what a crisis it is to run out of disposable diapers. It usually happens at the most inconvenient time. Everything else...no matter how important...is set aside until diapers can be found. For now...it just takes a quick trip to the store to pick up some more...but what about when (as has been prophesied) "There is no store" and "production ceases"? Let's say that you wanted to store enough disposable diapers to get through your newborn babies diaper career. How many disposable diapers would you have to store? Some estimates put it somewhere between 5,000-11,000 diapers!!! That is a LOT of diapers to store! How about if not having a store goes on for years and you plan to have more children? Are you going to store 22,000 diapers just in case!!!? What if you have twins!! Unless you have a warehouse to store the diapers and a lot of money to buy those expensive diapers...you may want to ask yourself....
How did people get along before there were disposable diapers?
The answer is that people through time have either wrapped something around the baby...or gone with nothing at all!
More than likely most of the parents of the people reading this...had cloth diapers as babies. A piece of cloth held on by safety pins. I can almost hear you saying "Yuck! Those leak...and you have to clean them!" The answer is "Yes they did leak...and yes you do have to clean them".
Now times are different. Though you will not get around having to clean the diapers...the ease of use and functionality of modern cloth diapers are far superior to the old days. Think model T compared to Ferrari.
There has been growing interest in cloth diapers in the US. Check out this site to see 7 reasons why many are switching over.
There are also a variety of manufacturers to choose from. Personally I like a brand called "Fuzzi Bunz" because I know it is a quality product that works. I don't have any hands-on experience with the other brands.
In my estimation...modern cloth diapers....given in a variety of sizes...is one of the best preparedness gifts that a person could give to a baby and the parents of that baby. The recipients of the gift may look at you with a strange look...but may thank you later! (You may want to put a note with the gift as to why it is important!)
Another alternative is "elimination communication"...or "infant potty training"...or whatever you want to call it. There are a variety of groups training on how to do this...and offering their videos and books. A friend of ours did this and said that it worked for her. It seems to me that it takes a parent with a lot of time and patience...but man...if you could get it to work...it would be a huge savings in money...and even time in the long run.
Another alternative is "elimination communication"...or "infant potty training"...or whatever you want to call it. There are a variety of groups training on how to do this...and offering their videos and books. A friend of ours did this and said that it worked for her. It seems to me that it takes a parent with a lot of time and patience...but man...if you could get it to work...it would be a huge savings in money...and even time in the long run.
My personal plan at this point is to have a big pile of disposable diapers on hand...a pack to grab with our 72 hour kits...and miscellaneous sized Fuzzi Bunz to use along with the disposable. Perhaps one day we will try to do the infant potty training! We'll see.
Start now by stocking up on diapering needs...not just for your own baby if you have one...but for grandchildren or others that may come to you for help. Don't forget the wipes too! Have an abundance of those in storage. A baby wipe is also a shower in a box. If you don't have access to water to bathe it's amazing how much more fresh you can feel just with one baby wipe!
Start now by stocking up on diapering needs...not just for your own baby if you have one...but for grandchildren or others that may come to you for help. Don't forget the wipes too! Have an abundance of those in storage. A baby wipe is also a shower in a box. If you don't have access to water to bathe it's amazing how much more fresh you can feel just with one baby wipe!
You may find it interesting that this past year I bought all of my married kids two dozen cloth diapers, pins, etc. and I have two dozen in our home, as well. I'm always praying to know what we (our family) will need for the future and diapers (cloth) came strongly to my mind. My girls were mortified at the thought . . . I told them, "they may be for your grandchildren for all I know, but someone is going to need these someday". Also, this past year we have bought good sturdy hiking boots & snow boots, as well. I too feel like these will be needed in the future. (The Lord WILL prompt people if they only ask!)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this. I've been starting to use EC and I love it--not because is saves me money or anything but because of the heightened connection with my baby. I'm so much more in tune with her. You don't have to do it all the time either. I just give my baby bare bum time for a short while every day--however long I have time for that day. She loves it and so do I.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I can't get the fancy cloth diapers here in Korea where I live, but I've found the old-fashioned kind aren't all that much trouble. I'm cutting flat diapers from old sheets and folding old t-shirts, too. No covers, either. When you aren't afraid of cleaning a mess, cloth diapers stop being so intimidating.