CLOTH DIAPER - SOMETHING FOR ME?
I carry the heavy plastic box of wet cloth diapers to the laundry room. Opens the lid and wrinkles the nose. Puts the diapers in the machine and grumbles a little that someone didn't take the inserts out of a couple of them. But like that! Then I've saved another $20 and avoided lugging home diaper packages from the store.
Is it weird because you get a kick out of washing smelly cloth diapers? Yes, maybe a little. But if you care about the environment and would rather spend the money on a holiday abroad than disposable diapers, then it feels pretty good. As many as 6,000 disposable diapers can be used before the child goes to the toilet. If a diaper costs SEK 2, then it will be 12,000 just in diaper costs! A full set of cloth diapers from a good brand costs about SEK 3,000, so that means 9,000 bucks straight into the piggy bank. Not to mention the diaper mountain one does not contribute to.
When my first daughter was a baby, I wanted to use cloth diapers but couldn't quite get around to it. I used a kind that leaked, even though I checked often. The daughter peed a lot at a time and then they didn't hold tight. In addition, the material became thinner and some broke after a while. Before baby number two, I did a little more research and found Baby BeeHinds that I wanted to try. I live in Australia where cloth diapers have been more popular in recent years than they have been in Sweden, so the range is large. As my first daughter was treated for hip dislocation and number two is a borderline case, I try to use cloth diapers as much as possible. In case of hip joint dislocation, it is important to keep the legs apart and let the child lie like a frog, which cloth diapers help with. Hopefully the youngest daughter will avoid treatment, we will see at the next ultrasound. I have now been using the diapers from Baby BeeHinds for a couple of months and they work very well. They are thick with a lot of material, so the butt will be big. But one wants the diaper to work, otherwise the child might as well remain naked.