Babies, who are awkward creatures at the best of times, can fight diaper changes tooth and nail. Traditionally, babies are changed lying on their backs, and while this is workable for non-mobile babies, once they can roll away or crawl away or get up and run away and laugh at you standing impotently with wipes in hand, it can get tricky. Especially if baby is not feeling co-operative.

The diaper change done with baby on his/her back is so set in our minds, many moms have never even considered that there are other ways to change a baby. Once a baby can stand up, one of the best alternatives is the standing baby diaper change.

It’s so much easier to bring the wipes and the new diaper to wherever the baby is. If she’s currently standing up and playing with something, change diaper. If she’s on the floor playing with something, put the toy on the couch, let her stand up to get it and change diaper. Simple. Simple? Well, more simple than trying to get her to lie on her back when she’s busy. Toddlers may still run away and laugh at you as soon as their diaper is off, but if they happen to be occupied with something else, they are less likely to.

I used to do this with my son in the bathroom, I’d have him stand by the side of the tub, turn the faucet on, provide a toy and let him splash in the water while I changed him.

Here’s what you are thinking. What about poopy diapers? Yes, even for poopy diapers. Sorry if you are eating, but babies and toddlers who are eating solid food have poop that is quite sticky and it either stays on the diaper, bottom, or wipes so it’s nowhere near as messy as you might imagine. Poopy diapers are best changed in the bathroom though, just in case. It can even be less messy, as there’s no changing pad involved. And if baby is occupied, they are not trying to escape – and you know that’s messy.

Another situation where the standing diaper change can be the better option is in public, and the diaper changing spot in the restroom is not all that clean. Or there isn’t one anywhere. Dads with babies in tow have probably discovered that the men’s room almost never has anywhere for changing diapers. A standing baby or toddler can’t get into contact with as many germs as a lying down baby. I once did a diaper change with my non-walking baby standing on top of the toilet roll dispenser in a stall, while she was holding on to my neck and laughing. Practice this one before attempting and always keep at least one hand on your baby to avoid falls. Being good at the one-handed-diaper-tab-fasten helps here. Us moms are fabulous at doing things one-handed, so that should be a breeze to pick up.

I love companies with a social conscience. Apparently Pampers (and its manufacturers Procter and Gamble) is one of them. Together with UNICEF, Pampers is running the 1 Pack = 1 Vaccine program. Every pack of specially marked diapers and wipes sold translates to 1 tetanus vaccine donated to the UNICEF. The program has been running for tow years now and has provided more than 40 million vaccines for UNICEF to be used all over the world, most especially in impoverished areas.

Of all vaccines, tetanus was chosen because newborn tetanus is a major health problem in low- and middle income countries, and causes more than 140,000 deaths each year. A woman who receives the vaccine during pregnancy actually passes the protection against tetanus to her newborn, making the disease preventable.

The vaccine program is an ongoing worldwide campaign but it is not the only charity work in which Pampers is involved.

Even here in Europe, Pampers is actively campaigning for the program as I saw at the supermarket the other day. What a shame that they started the campaign long after my children were potty-trained. With my twins’ consumption of diapers, we could have provided a couple hundred more vaccines.

I had a few of those moments last weekend that made me remember why I wanted to have a baby, and which made me very grateful for my three-month-old daughter.

She woke up at 7 AM to eat, and I brought her into the bed with us to nurse from a side-lying position (one of our favorites at night and in the early hours of the morning.) After a bit, we both drifted off to sleep, waking up at 8:30.

My husband woke up at about the same time. He looked across our daughter, sleeping between us on her back with her arms stretched over her head and the slightest little smile on her face, and said “Good morning.” We lied there together for a few minutes watching her sleep, until I put her in her bassinet so we could get up and begin our day.

She woke up while I was cooking French toast and I asked my husband to take care of her. I still had the baby monitor clipped to my waist band, and I smiled as I heard the dialogue taking place in the bedroom. “Hey, kiddo!” he said. He must have seen her smile, then, as he commented, “Wow, you are in a good mood this morning.”

I listened as he lifted her up over his head, proclaiming, “Up, up, up. Down, down, down” (and a pause for kisses.) I listened to the whole diaper-changing routine, too, all the baby talk and sounds and games.

It’s often hard, while I leave my husband to watch my daughter so that I can work, to not get distracted listening to them together. It’s so much fun to watch them play—and even more fun when he doesn’t realize I’m doing it! (Of course, now my secret’s out.)

My husband can take my daughter, lift her over his head a lot higher than I could reach, swing her around, and play games that I’m just not brave enough to try. She feels secure in Daddy’s grasp and laughs and smiles with delight.

Meanwhile, I’m the only one who can get her to fall asleep by nursing (of course) or even singing to her. And sometimes, there’s just nothing like cuddling up in Mommy’s arms.

My husband’s mom raised three kids largely on her own, and my mom raised me alone from the age of 12. I give single moms so much credit; I simply don’t know how they do it.

When I think about how lucky I am to have my husband, who is a very active and involved father, I also realized how fortunate my daughter is to have us both around to love and nurture her in very different ways.

Moms, what activities do you love watching your husband do with the baby? Dads, what special gifts do you share with your children?

You know it’s going to be a bad day when you have to deal with flying poo before your morning coffee.

It had been one of those nights with my then-two-week-old daughter. She had been up every two hours hungry or with a wet diaper—or both.

I made the third trek to our dresser, converted into a changing table with a contoured changing pad and a supply of diapers, wipes and creams. It was 6 AM. My husband was still asleep but would be waking soon, and I was debating whether I should give up and get out of bed for good or try to steal another two hours of rest.

I unzipped Ashley’s sleeper, removed the soiled diaper and folded it underneath her to protect the changing pad in the event of accident. Then I lifted her legs to clean her butt. I thought, with a little girl, I didn’t have to worry about covering up certain parts. Little did I know I was wielding a loaded weapon.

That’s right… she projectile pooped. First, it hit me in the face. I “re-aimed” her quickly, and the next “shot” hit the furniture and the little basket that holds all our changing supplies before I could get the diaper over her.

With poop still on my face and a clump of wipes in my hand, I couldn’t contain myself. I started laughing. Hysterically.

This, of course, woke my husband, and I blurted out, between guffaws. “She…hit me… with… poop!”

My husband asked if I was laughing or crying, because I had tears in my eyes. “I’m laughing!” I said, and was then overcome by a second attack of the giggles.

He got out of bed to take over the duty (no pun intended) of cleaning up our little girl while I went to the bathroom to clean up, wash my face and hands and brush my teeth. She didn’t get me in the mouth, but let’s just say it was very, very close.

I took away five bits of knowledge from this experience:

1. After the baby poops, wait a few minutes before changing her to make sure there’s no more where that came from.
2. Never point a baby’s bare butt directly at your face.
3. Always, always, always keep your mouth closed while changing a diaper.
4. It’s true what they say about motherhood and how the most disgusting things become just part of the job. Breast-fed baby’s bowel movements—especially if they belong to your own baby—really aren’t as gross as you might imagine they would be.
5. Once you’ve been hit with projectile poop at 6 AM, the rest of the day, whatever happens, has got to be an improvement.

The hospital where I had my daughter Ashley Lyn permitted “rooming in” for both the newborn and the daddy. I was surprised to note that my husband was one of very few who stayed overnight that first night. I insisted he go home to rest the second night.

In those first 24 hours following my daughter’s birth, my husband and I, as brand new parents, had a lot to learn. We’d never fed a baby, diapered a baby…  I’m not sure if he’d ever held a baby that small until the midwife placed Ashley in his arms.

Two months later, we’ve probably changed close to 1000 diapers, but that first one remains embedded in my memory. I don’t remember the time, but it was probably very early that first morning. Ashley started crying — for the first time since she was born.  “Maybe she needs a new diaper?” my husband suggested. He carried her to the bassinet and together, we unfastened the diaper from around this wiggling, crying bundle. Sure enough, it was dirty, and we both smiled. Not only was my husband’s “guess” right, but this also meant the breastfeeding was going well — through all our struggles, she was getting colostrum to help her grow. I ran to the sink to moisten one of the soft paper towels the hospital provides as wipes for newborns and handed it to my husband. As he wiped the thick substance from her butt, we realized one would not do the job.  I moistened another wipe and together, we cleaned her off. Then he lifted her butt while I slid the diaper underneath, and we each fastened one tab.

The last time I had changed a diaper was approximately 16 years ago. I also remember the first diaper I ever changed, on my niece, who was a very young toddler at the time. I had put the diaper on backwards, and my sister still teases me about it! I smiled as I thought about this as I paid careful attention this time, mindful that the Sesame Street characters went in the front.  My hands were shaking with every motion.

I remember a nurse coming in and watching us, marveling at the new parents working together. She politely waited until we were done to talk to us, and laughed when I told her it was our “first diaper change.” By the time we were done, the baby had stopped crying, too. We looked at each other and smiled. We did it!

It’s hard to believe that was only eight weeks ago. Since then, we’ve changed diapers on rest stop changing tables, in parking lots, on friends’ floors, and hundreds on the changing tables in our bedroom and in the nursery. But changing that first diaper meant so much more than any that followed. It was a small indication, just a hint, that if we worked together, we’d make it through this thing called parenting. Or at least the first few months.

How about you, moms? What experience from your baby’s first days will you always remember?

Necessity is the mother of invention, as they say – well, emphasis the mother part of that expression.  You know when you are out with your baby, and suddenly you realize that you have forgotten something vital?

I’ve made my own wipes with paper towels, soap and water to change my son when we were out and I forgot to bring wipes with me. I’ve duct-taped diapers shut when the tabs broke off, and made a baby carrier for my son with a shirt. How? Watch this video – you can also improvise a baby carrier with a pair of sweatpants or a towel.

I’ve also forgotten to bring a diaper out on one occasion, and created a makeshift diaper from a receiving blanket and a plastic shopping bag. How? Fold receiving blanket in half diagonally to make a triangle. Long side wraps around baby’s waist, third point of triangle goes between baby’s legs, tie the corners together. Then poke two leg holes in the bottom of the plastic bag, insert baby’s bottom in bag, tie bag handles around baby’s waist together to secure. Replace baby’s pants and ignore strangers who are looking at the odd rustling baby. Naturally, keep an eye on baby to ensure baby doesn’t pull the plastic bag apart and that no plastic bag accidents happen.  The receiving blanket is absorbent and the plastic bag is fairly waterproof.  The best part of this is that I did my MacGyver diaper, not somewhere discrete, but was forced to do so in the middle of Waikiki Beach.

And conversely, baby and toddler products can be useful for moms too. I used a Crayola paintbrush to apply eye makeup the other day, lansinoh nipple cream on a patch of eczema (worked a treat) and used a shovel from the sand box to open a locked window when I locked myself and my baby out of the house. I’m not telling you how I did that just in case someone else decides to break in!

There’s a theme running here… you might be thinking perhaps I need to be a bit more organized and a little less forgetful? Hey, I’m a busy mom, and forgetting keys/diapers/wipes happens… at least to me, anyway! And mom creativity has usually saved the day.

Do you have any clever mom tricks or improvisations to share?

Just a warning, in case you were expecting gems of potty knowledge: I have no idea. I’m hoping you can help.

My son is 2 1/2 and is not potty trained. Progress so far in potty training is thus: purchasing a potty at Ikea today. Of course out of the six colors available, he wanted a pink potty, but I wasn’t going to argue if it’s the one he wanted to buy. I’m guessing he’ll be more likely to use the one he wants, than if I had overruled him and insisted on blue.

Another woman in the store was buying one for her baby, who was barely toddling and looked about 18 months old. I’m feeling like I’m very late to the party.

But I have a friend with an intelligent, developmentally perfect in every other way, 3 year old who is not potty trained, and not even close.

So where does my son fit?

There’s various reasons why I haven’t started potty training, or potty learning, or whatever the politically correct term is now. In the last year, we’ve moved house several times, been traveling a lot, his dad moved out, new roommates moved in, family visiting, so there’s been plenty of other activities going on and change happening. I haven’t wanted to add in any more stress.

And I guess as long as he is out of diapers before he starts pre-school (which is at least a year away) it doesn’t matter. It’s not a race, is it? Just an end of doing diaper laundry. Yeah, I use cloth.

I’d love to have three fewer loads of laundry a week, and no diaper pail in the bathroom. I wouldn’t know what to do with all the extra time and space.

So I’m not worried that I’m starting late. But the problem is that I don’t even know where to start.

Let him run around naked? Sit him on the potty a couple of times a day and hope for success? Anyone have any potty advice, books or videos to recommend?

Although I like to think of myself as an eco-friendly person, I am not using cloth diapers for our new baby. I am just too tired and too busy to add more dirty laundry to our overflowing hamper.

With two active, older boys, I am constantly spraying stain remover onto dirty baseball pants and grass-stained soccer jerseys. The laundry never ends.

My younger sister, on the other hand, is the role model eco-friendly mom: she uses cloth diapers, sprays water and calendula oil onto a cloth to wipe baby’s bottom (doesn’t use disposable baby wipes), only serves baby organic fruits, veggies, etc. from her own garden), as well as from glass (vs. plastic) containers. When I compare myself to her, I could easily blame myself for being lazy and environmentally irresponsible.

But she’s on baby number one. I’m on number three, with two busy, older boys. A fitting bumper sticker for my car would be ‘Mom’s Taxi’. There’s a huge difference there. My sis does claim that her water bill is higher since adding dirty diapers to her daily laundry routine, so she’s using more water than before.

Another disposable item I use for baby are liners for Playtex Drop-ins bottles. I have found the collapsible liners to be very effective in keeping air out of his tummy. (Less air equals less gas, equals happy baby, equals sane mommy!) Plus, with all the talk about the potentially harmful BPA found in many plastic baby bottles, BPA-free liners are probably a safer choice when you have to bottle-feed.

It’s all a balancing act. I have to consider how valuable my time is: Can I really devote more time to doing laundry when I can’t keep up with it as it is?

I’d rather spend what little time I have with my family, taking much needed breaks for myself and even, on occasion, writing.

I will try to continue to bring paper, cardboard and magazines to the recycling bin in town. I will try to remember to use my cloth grocery bags again (I’ve found it hard to remember such things with a new baby in the picture!). For now, I’ll just have to pick and choose when it comes to doing what’s best for my family, what’s best for the planet and what makes my hectic life a little bit easier.

There is a 9 year gap between my youngest child and my second youngest child. I distinctly remember my first visit to the diaper aisle after that long hiatus and being amazed at the many, many options out there.

Since I became a parent 15 years ago, I’ve used a lot of different kinds of diapers. I’ve learned a lot in the process.

I used cloth diapers for a while, but I stopped. I had a bunch of reasons why I stopped, although I admit that I felt guilty for changing to disposable diapers for a while. Firstly, there was the reality of our situation: we lived in the country and had a small septic tank and a well that was slow to refill. I had to limit my water usage, and washing diapers would have set me over the limit. Secondly, since I used a diaper service, the chemicals they used to whiten the diapers caused my children to break out in their diaper area. Thirdly, I found that it was actually cheaper for me to buy disposables than to pay for diaper service. This may not be true in all areas, but in our area, there were only 2 services available. Both charged me an extra fee because I lived so rurally and they had to travel outside their ‘normal’ area of service. A ‘minor’ consideration which turned out to be somewhat major, was the difficulty I had finding diaper pins in our small, rural area. The fact that these things were difficult to find meant that I spent a lot of time and gas money driving to find supplies when my batch of pins became dull or got lost.

I tried ‘off brand’ diapers after that, thinking that all diapers were really the same. Why shouldn’t I use the inexpensive ones? I found that almost without exception, the off brand diapers were adequate, except for one brand, which is no longer made(remember, I started my diaper journey 15 years ago). I also found that I had to change my children more frequently when they used these diapers. In the long run, I suppose I wasn’t really saving any money at all because of this: it cost me less to buy a pack, but I was using more diapers than I would have if I had bought a more expensive brand of diapers. As my children aged, I found that the ‘off brand’ diapers would not make it all the way through the night without leaking.

When my son came home from the hospital, I used a certain brand that had a dip in the front of the diaper. The idea was that the umbilical cord wouldn’t get irritated or rubbed by the diaper. I really liked those diapers as before then, I’d try to roll the front of the diaper or cut the diaper until the baby’s cord fell off. It was nice to have a diaper that was ready to go, and I’d recommend this diaper for all new parents.

I did some experimenting between the ‘major 3′ brands available when my son was born. I found that one brand caused him to have rashes. One brand just plain didn’t fit his body shape so well. I use the other brand – Luv’s, although I’ve noticed that it sells out quickly in our area.

At night time, I do use Huggie’s Overnight diapers and I’d recommend those to other parents who have trouble with their children wetting through their diapers during the night. Yes, it would be possible to change my son during the night, but I’d prefer to let him sleep if I can. It also means that I’m not washing crib sheets and blankets every day and bathing him when he gets up.

After some experimenting, I’ve decided that the expensive swim diapers are worth every penny. Since we live near the beach and have a pool, my children spend a lot of time in the water. I have tried washable swim diapers, regular diapers, training pants with plastic pants over the diaper, and the swim diapers. The washable swim diapers are OK to use if your child is older and is somewhat potty trained. If your child messes in them, it’s difficult to get the waste out and I found that it doesn’t always stay in the diaper either, which can be embarrassing. Regular diapers swell up greatly in the water and I’ve even seen some ‘explode’ leaving the diaper insides all over the pool and your child. They are also really heavy when soaked! We had one regular diaper weigh in at over 2 pounds after a swimming pool trip! Training pants with plastic pants over them are definitely my second choice given the options. If you are on a tight budget, this might be the option for you.

I am not really thrilled with disposable training pants. When it comes to potty training, I prefer the old school option of heavy cloth underwear and plastic pants, although this option is definitely more work than using disposables.

I found for my children, that the disposable training pants actually seemed to slow down the overall potty training process. I haven’t quite figured out why, but it just happened that way. Several people I’ve talked to also had this experience. Then again, I’ve talked with parents who had just the opposite experience too. There are some great things about the disposables: disposable pants are definitely easier to use if your child makes a mess as you just rip the side off and throw away the diaper. If you don’t have a washer or need to conserve your water, they would be a great choice. They are also great to use at night if your child has outgrown regular diapers and is not yet dry at night time. Of course, all of this convenience can get expensive too.

I’ve tried to share some of my observations and experiences to hopefully help you simplify your diapering choices! However, you may find that your circumstances and issues are different than mine, or that your children don’t have the allergy issues mine did. Whatever diapering decisions you make, I hope that your journey to the ‘diaper free zone’ will be a quick one!

I admire people who use cloth diapers but I just don’t think I’m up to the task. I remember changing diapers while half-asleep, during long, endless nights, with my first two babies. Yawn?

I try to be environmentally-conscious. I have cloth shopping bags and usually remember to bring them with me when I shop, at least on big trips to the supermarket. I teach my kids to save water by not flushing every time they pee (a handy thing about boys is they go through less toilet paper!). I give my ten bucks to World Wildlife Fund when I can.

But I just don’t feel like peeling a piece of cloth from my baby’s butt and scraping a blow-up poop off of it, while holding my nose and tending to a needy baby. So, I’d resigned myself to adding to the endless piles of disposable diapers that fill our landfills. New moms are tired and we shouldn’t feel guilty for these things. Plus, it’s just one more baby and then I’ll be done?

Then I found them! They’re g-diapers, the new earth-friendly diapers that are both cloth and disposable. The outer ‘pants’ come in about eight different colors, including my favorite, golden orange. The inside liners are disposable, flushable and bio-degradable. You can turn the ones which have just been ‘pee-peed’ on into compost for your garden!(I do a bit of gardening and I can’t imagine saving a soaked diaper when I can safely flush it away-but the option is there.)

The company recommends starting off with 4-6 cloth pants and buying packages of the liners as you need them. There is a starter-kit, which allows you to try out the system for a bit less money.

One of the best benefits is the fact that parents are raving about how gentle g-diapers are on babies’ skin. The liner really keeps the ‘contents’ inside, preventing diaper-rash. I may take the easiest route at certain times: disposables, but I plan to buy and try g-diapers when this baby comes. If they’re easy enough to use, gentle on baby’s skin and are an environmentally better choice, I’ll be sold! Look for the g-diapers website; it includes a list of stores where they are sold, if you don’t want to order directly from the company. They can also be purchased from drugstore.com.

It’s so simple for new parents to slip into the whole “My-baby-is-the-most-brilliant baby-ever-and-everything-my-baby-does-is-intriguing” that sometimes we forget to censor ourselves for the non-parents in the room. I once had a conversation with two friends of mine: one was a mom and one was a man who had never had children. The other mom and I trading labor stories back and forth for about five minutes while my male friend politely listened for a while. When we started discussing blood loss and how gory labor can be he glanced down at his food and begged us to stop. Poor guy.

The funniest instance of this, however, was at a playgroup I attended when my daughter was around six months old. My friend’s sister was in attendance, and although she was somewhat familiar with babies because of her sister’s children, she had never cared for a baby on a day-to-day basis. Four of us stood in the kitchen, eating appetizers and watching our kids play. One of us brought up the topic of poop, and before long we were all discussing the frequency, consistency, and smell of our babies’ poop. We didn’t spare any details. My friend’s sister stood there watching us, completely horrified as we detailed the contents of our babies’ diapers while also munching happily on snacks. Once we all realized what we had done we all had a good laugh about it, but I’ll never forget the look on my friend’s sister’s face.

Here is a tip from one parent to another: Although your baby is undoubtedly gorgeous and clever, you’ll want to make a concerted effort to retain some adult conversation in your brain so you’ll be able to chat with non-parents without bringing up poop, cracked nipples, or spit-up. Your friends without children will certainly appreciate it.

I got an unusual call yesterday: a call to mediate clashes in potty training ideology between my step brother and my step mother. Isn’t that interesting? I got called because, after having 5 kids, they liken me to something akin to a “expert” in the area of potty training. The object of the disagreement? A 3 year old child who staunchly refuses to use the potty. Of course, both sides have very different ideas on how to fix this whole “problem”.

I myself have talked with pediatricians and even a child psychiatrist about this potty training issue. I’ve read lots about cultural differences in potty training, talked with friends at length, and also trained my 5. Who knew there was so much to share on the issue of potty training?

I was shocked when my friend visited China and relayed that none of the infants wore diapers over there. They just went wherever they were. I was equally shocked after reading a church publication (during my years in the Mennonite faith) about people who swear that they potty train their 2 month old babies and that lack of parental discipline is a reason why infants are potty trained so late. These are 2 diametrically opposed viewpoints. The rest of the world falls somewhere in between.

According to the child psychiatrist I talked with, on average, a child is potty trained by the time they are 2 1/2 years old. That means that plenty are trained before, and plenty are trained after that age. My own daughter got potty trained at 4 1/2! I remember that time as a difficult one not only because she wasn’t “getting it”, but because of the judgments of other supposedly well meaning people. I will share some of the wisdom I’ve learned from my kids these past 14 years right here in this blog! Aren’t you lucky?

All kids are different. This goes without saying, but it really does apply to potty training. Just because you know someone who had a child who was trained at a certain age doesn’t mean that your child will train then.

Potty training can be an intense experience for parents. The child psychiatrist told me that one of the most common times for children to be abused was during potty training. Again, your child’s progress or lack thereof is not a reflection upon you or your parenting skills. Eventually, your child will be trained. Don’t stress. Really. Don’t let people stress you out either. Really.

Watch for signs that your child is interested in being trained. Honestly, trying to train a child who isn’t the least bit interested is almost impossible thing to do in a gentle manner. Do you really want your child to associate the potty with discipline?

You can encourage your child’s interest by buying a kiddy potty and placing it in a very accessible place in your house–for example, in front of the TV. Encourage your child to sit on the potty fulled clothed at first.

Read to your child. They really, really do have potty training books geared towards children out there. I’ve even seen videos. These tools were helpful to me.

Announce when you are going to the potty. Sounds weird, but it works. Your child will begin to understand that mommy and daddy use the potty too.

Get on a schedule. It’s helpful to begin a routine with your child. For example, every 1 1/2 hours or so, encourage them to use the potty.

Find some motivation for your child. Each child will have a different motivator. For child number 1, it was candy. Child number 2 really desired big girl panties. Child number 3 wanted little dollar store toys when she was dry for the day.

Child number 4 was my difficult one. I tried everything with that child including buying her the expensive musical potty chair to offering her trips to McDonald’s for compliance. She stubbornly refused to perform.

If you have concerns, seek out the advice of professionals. I eventually did this with my youngest daughter because I seriously wondered if something was wrong with her. Once the pediatrician had ruled physical issues, I took her to a child psychiatrist. Both professionals were very affirming and encouraging and put my mind at ease.

Stressful situations will affect the potty training process. Are you having a new child, going through a difficult divorce, or experiencing other trauma in your family? Be aware that this will affect your child and may cause them to regress if they have been trained or may make the process longer if you are just starting out.

I’ve never seen a child start kindergarten in diapers. This nugget of wisdom was shared by my daughter’s pediatrician. When the going gets tough, the tough continue on.

My wish for you on New Year’s Day 2008? That all of your potty training journeys would be easy ones.

I recently took a look at what ways our family could save money and I stumbled onto the idea of cloth diapering my 6 month old daughter. No, I’m not insane and no, cloth diapering certainly isn’t the same as what we all remember! Diaper pins and vinyl diaper covers are no more the standard.

We had been spending roughly $20 a month at a minimum on my daughter’s diapers alone (this doesn’t count my son’s diapers – who we’re hoping will potty train soon!). So from now until she’s 2 years old I realized we’d be spending at least $400 just on diapers. Then I did some cloth diaper researching and realized I could spend roughly $150 and have all the things I would need for diapering her from now until 2 and beyond (but hopefully not too far beyond).

There are so many options in cloth diapering now it’s mind boggling. There are AIOs (All-in-ones), pocket diapers, fitteds, prefolds, diaper covers, wool and fleece covers and soakers….the list goes on. I determined that prefolds were the cheapest and simplest way for us to go. These diapers are what you probably remember your mom using on you or your siblings or what you picture when you think of cloth diapers. They are “pre-folded”, which means they have layers already sewed together for absorbency. They are rectangular, have 3 panels and, for infants, are either 4×6x4 or 4×8x4. They can be folded various ways and secured using the good old diaper pin, Snappis, or just folded into a diaper cover.

We decided to go with prefolds folded into a diaper cover, although I have since purchased Snappis for a more secure fit since my daughter will only become more mobile as time goes on. And by now I’m sure you’re probably wondering what the heck a Snappi is. They are a stretchy fastener used to secure diapers instead of using a diaper pin, therefore, there’s no risk of poking the baby with a pin. They have three ends that hook into the diaper threads without reaching through to baby’s skin and are much easier to use than diaper pins.

So far I am head-over-heels in love with cloth diapers. I have enough so that I only have to do laundry every third day and that’s great since I hate laundry. (That’s also why my husband thought I was crazy when I told him about my cloth diapering idea!) They are so easy to change when you find a fold you like and get the hang of it. You really can just toss the wet or rinsed-off soiled diapers into a diaper pail just as you would disposables. Washing them is easier than I would have imagined and my daughter was fine with the detergent I had already been using on her clothes, so I didn’t have to get a different one just for the diapers.

Washing seems to be the scariest thing for people and is also what I researched a lot. Some people make it seem like a science, but you really just need to rinse soiled diapers (in cold water so stains don’t set) and then toss them in the diaper pail. Wet diapers you can just toss in. For a diaper pail I just bought a regular pail with a locking lid at Wal-mart and it works great. When I’m ready to wash I just toss the diapers in the washing machine on a hot wash and cold rinse with only about 1/3-1/2 amount of detergent you’d use for a regular load. I do add an extra rinse at the end to make sure all the detergent is washed out of the diapers. I then dry everything but the covers and the micro fiber (those I line dry) on high heat in the dryer. It’s that simple – definitely not rocket science!

I also purchased other accessories aside from the Snappis. I bought fleece liners – these are wonderful and I definitely recommend them! These are liners you put on top of your prefold and they work by keeping baby’s skin dry since the urine goes through the fleece into the diaper and doesn’t sit next to the baby’s skin. I bought a dozen online, then realized I can go to a fabric store and just cut fleece into rectangles and they work just as well. I also purchased about 5 micro fiber doublers, which have worked great. These are good for heavy wetters and are excellent during naps or through the night. You just lay them inside the prefold before folding and it adds a great amount of absorbency without a lot of bulk. I love these for nighttime!

As for diaper covers, we got Thirsties brand diaper covers – they have Velcro closure and even have laundry tabs that you can Velcro closed for washing and drying. They come in great solid colors and we’ve yet to have a leak with them. They are excellent and I’ve heard nothing but good things about them from other moms online.

All in all, I can’t say enough great things about cloth diapering. It’s working great for us and it’s great for the environment too – we’re producing much less waste since we’re no longer throwing out disposables! Since I am a stay at home mom it’s definitely been easy for me to do this at home. Only time will tell how they will do on the road and away from home. I do know that I’m hooked and, crazy or not, I’m in for the long haul, even if that means a little more laundry!