Moms. does it make you smile when a pregnant woman says this?

[Sarah_Rose]

Lol." Some of us actually do care about the environment... "That means everyone else doesn't.

The mommy wars have begun. What started as amusement at a non mother's dreams changed quickly.

I don't mean to be condescending (that is really truly not my intent) and I don't believe I'm "better" than anyone else for using environmentally friendly methods. I realize my post may come across that way. It's just that some of us have different priorities and are willing to put in more effort to achieve those priorities. I couldn't in good conscience be throwing out a trash bag or two of JUST disposable plastic chemicals every week. That's my priority. Yours may differ.

 

[IdesOmarch]

Father here not a mother, but I've changed my share of diapers over the years. Most of the list is not all that big of a deal to me, but mainly the no disposable diapers? That's crazy. I can't imagine having a baby without those. Plus cloth diapers? How would those even hold anything? I honestly don't know how people survived without good absorbent disposable diapers, those things are a must IMO. Cloth diapers, you would have to change them every hour practically, and have about 1000 on hand. I just don't see that working.

 

[indimom]

Parenting is like every other aspect of life. Part pro-active planning, part re-active flying by the seat of your pants.

 

[tlbwriter]

Father here not a mother, but I've changed my share of diapers over the years. Most of the list is not all that big of a deal to me, but mainly the no disposable diapers? That's crazy. I can't imagine having a baby without those. Plus cloth diapers? How would those even hold anything? I honestly don't know how people survived without good absorbent disposable diapers, those things are a must IMO. Cloth diapers, you would have to change them every hour practically, and have about 1000 on hand. I just don't see that working.

Cloth diapers have improved greatly. Interesting blog post here.

 

[indimom]

Father here not a mother, but I've changed my share of diapers over the years. Most of the list is not all that big of a deal to me, but mainly the no disposable diapers? That's crazy. I can't imagine having a baby without those. Plus cloth diapers? How would those even hold anything? I honestly don't know how people survived without good absorbent disposable diapers, those things are a must IMO. Cloth diapers, you would have to change them every hour practically, and have about 1000 on hand. I just don't see that working.

Actually, it's no harder than disposables. I've done both. Cloth with the first, disposable with the second. I didn't have any leakage issues with either one. And both were easy to work with.
ETA: The reason I used disposables with the second child was because I worked in a day care and they did not allow cloth diapers. Otherwise, I'd have definitely used them for him. He had allergy issues with the disposables and it took some time to find a brand that didn't give him a rash.

 

[GinnyEmma]

Sorry Sarah but the last person that lectured me about cloth diapers was driving a hummer. We used a service or disposables because we lived on a solar driven farm with a well that couldn't support a ton of laundry.

 

[AnnieEMT]

I think it's always nice to go into it with really great intentions - beats the alternative, I think - but it's kind of like going to Disney, it's really great to have a plan, but be realistic enough to know that you're probably not going to get all of it done!

 

[ccgirl]

I think a lot of people (especially older moms that are used to things "their way") think like this. I know I did. I was 32 when I had my first. She was going to sleep thru the night, etc. I said I would never use t.v. that parents just use that when they were lazy and it was like an electronic babysitter.

Yeah...well...she had colic and reflux and lets just say a lot changed. She slept through the night when she was 5 years old. That's right, I said years old. She had some medical issues as well. Yes, we tried the this method and that method. My DH was convinced to just let her cry it out. Yeah, she got herself so upset she threw up and choked on her own vomit.

Babies do not come with instructional manuals. They are all different. As tough as my DD was, my DS is easy. I called the pediatrician because I couldn't wake him up at 2 months old. SHe asked if he was breathing. I said yes and she told me I finally go one that slept.

I do have a question for the cloth diapering folks. What do you do with the poopie diapers? Does all of that just go in your washing machine? Sorry for the question, I just have not known anyone that did that.

I did make some of my own baby food. That's a piece of cake and so economical. Did that while working full time so very easily could be done. I would use my food processor to grind the food (veggies,fruit etc) into a paste. Then, put that in ice cube trays and froze it. When it was time to eat you could just defrost it or pack the cube in a little ziploc container on the go and it would be defrosted upon eating time. So easy! No preservatives/additives and a huge cost saver.

 

[daughtersrus]

I agree that those things are achievable, but did you also spend 10-12 hours a day running your own business? That's the part that I think will throw her. SOMETHING has to give.

Has she even started her garden yet? Most likely her baby is going to be starting food in the dead of winter so she should have her plants pretty well started by now.

I do have a question for the cloth diapering folks. What do you do with the poopie diapers? Does all of that just go in your washing machine? Sorry for the question, I just have not known anyone that did that.

I did make some of my own baby food. That's a piece of cake and so economical. Did that while working full time so very easily could be done. I would use my food processor to grind the food (veggies,fruit etc) into a paste. Then, put that in ice cube trays and froze it. When it was time to eat you could just defrost it or pack the cube in a little ziploc container on the go and it would be defrosted upon eating time. So easy! No preservatives/additives and a huge cost saver.

I've never used cloth but I assume that the yucky part goes in the toilet and then they get washed. I'm not sure what you do if you out. Even if you flush that part and put the rest in a ziploc bag, I would suspect that it would still leave some smell as you finished your shopping at the mall.

I also made a lot of my own food but I used store bought items, not homegrown like in the OP.

 

[Minnesota!]

Parenting is like every other aspect of life. Part pro-active planning, part re-active flying by the seat of your pants.

Love it!

I intended to use cloth diapers....but it didn't happen. The daycare center where DS went wouldn't have allowed it, I got a ton of disposables at my shower that lasted me until he started daycare, etc.

If I ever had another, I would attempt it, I think.

I only ever give 2 pieces of advice to new parents....

BE FLEXIBLE, and

DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOUR FAMILY...ignore "what the book says"

 

[LMulligan]

I try to just go with the flow. As the proud mom of a seven month old boy, I can tell you that the RN's in the hospital started him on the pacifier (which I had no problem with) and he spit them right out of his mouth. To this day, he will not use a pacifier. I do use bottles (Dr. Brown's) and my baby pretty much slept through the night (or at least five hours at a clip) once I learned how to properly swaddle him.

As for diapers, let's just say I am probably building my carbon footprint with the amount of Huggies that I go through.

Good luck to your cousin OP!

 

[hulagirl87]

I do have a question for the cloth diapering folks. What do you do with the poopie diapers? Does all of that just go in your washing machine? Sorry for the question, I just have not known anyone that did that.

My mom used cloth diapers for me and my sister. she told me that she used to just put the poop in the toilet and then wash the diaper.

I am using disposable. While I may be killing the earth, I'm saving myself from the "ewwwww" factor of pretreating poopie diapers. DD uses a pacifier only in her crib (nap and bedtime) and definitely used bottles. I don't know how you can't even if you breastfeed, don't you pump and put it into a bottle for when the baby is with someone else/ a babysitter?

I think she will find quickly that things might not work out like she hopes. I like her thought going into it, but oh how things change once the baby actually arrives. It's just like having a birth plan. those usually go right out the window too.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Most of that is easily done. I know tons of people who do only cloth diapers. None of my kids ever took a soother. And they only time they ever had a bottle was the rare time I was out without them and they had expressed breastmilk in it.

I made all most all the baby food. It wasn't organic but that would be easy to do. Not hard and it only takes a few minutes. Steamed up some veggies, puree them and freeze them in ice cubes trays! Voila 10 minutes! Done. Easy peasy.

I can see it being harder if you have to return to work when the baby is young. Of course in Canada we have the one year mat leave so I had all the time in the world to make homemade babyfood.


Some parents are big into schedules. Good luck on getting a newborn on a schedule!

 

[Nette]

I think a lot of people (especially older moms that are used to things "their way") think like this. I know I did. I was 32 when I had my first. She was going to sleep thru the night, etc. I said I would never use t.v. that parents just use that when they were lazy and it was like an electronic babysitter.

Yeah...well...she had colic and reflux and lets just say a lot changed. She slept through the night when she was 5 years old. That's right, I said years old. She had some medical issues as well. Yes, we tried the this method and that method. My DH was convinced to just let her cry it out. Yeah, she got herself so upset she threw up and choked on her own vomit.

Babies do not come with instructional manuals. They are all different. As tough as my DD was, my DS is easy. I called the pediatrician because I couldn't wake him up at 2 months old. SHe asked if he was breathing. I said yes and she told me I finally go one that slept.

I do have a question for the cloth diapering folks. What do you do with the poopie diapers? Does all of that just go in your washing machine? Sorry for the question, I just have not known anyone that did that.

I did make some of my own baby food. That's a piece of cake and so economical. Did that while working full time so very easily could be done. I would use my food processor to grind the food (veggies,fruit etc) into a paste. Then, put that in ice cube trays and froze it. When it was time to eat you could just defrost it or pack the cube in a little ziploc container on the go and it would be defrosted upon eating time. So easy! No preservatives/additives and a huge cost saver.

Poopy diapers... if the baby is 100% human milk fed, then they go right in the pail and then into the wash. Human milk poop is water soluble. After they are eating other foods (or if formula fed) you have to flush the poop. Some people dunk the diapers, some have a sprayer contraption. *Most* of our poops now just fall off the dipe and into the toilet w/o any work on our part at all. Occasionally we have a dunk and flush one.

The thing is, you are supposed to flush the poop even if you use disposables. That way the poo goes in the sewer where it belongs rather than the landfill. But no one ever does that.

As far as the smell during transport? I suppose it could get a little ripe, but the wet bags we use (reusable) really hold in smell pretty well. I've also never noticed an odor from the diaper pail.

 

[Jeafl]

Parenting is like every other aspect of life. Part pro-active planning, part re-active flying by the seat of your pants.

Truer words were never spoken.

DD uses a pacifier only in her crib (nap and bedtime) and definitely used bottles. I don't know how you can't even if you breastfeed, don't you pump and put it into a bottle for when the baby is with someone else/ a babysitter?

.

I actually did ask her this. Right now she thinks she will bring the baby with her to the office every day so she won't need anyone else to feed him or her, so no bottles necessary. It's her business so she can do what she wants, she doesn't have to worry about a boss telling her she can't bring the baby with her. She does have other employees though, so I don't know how that is all going to work out.

 

[MELSMICE]

I remember running in to an old friend when my oldest was 2.5 & my twins were on the way. Her 3 kids were wearing mismatched clothes, boots in the summer & their faces were dirty.

My DD was dressed so pretty in her little sundress & I had great expectations that when the next 2 came along (also girls) I'd NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS go to the store with my kids in such disarray.

Imagine my own personal shock the first time I had my twins ready to go out the door & my oldest was dressed in some strange dress up outfit she had been wearing that day..........I looked at her & said, "whatever, get in the car"

Won't ever forget the time we got to a store & one of my twins said, "I don't have any shoes on"!

I was a member of the "Perfect Parent Club" & then reality hit!

 

[SaraJayne]

I do have a question for the cloth diapering folks. What do you do with the poopie diapers? Does all of that just go in your washing machine? Sorry for the question, I just have not known anyone that did that.

You scrape the poop into the toilet, unless you use a diaper service.

 

[daughtersrus]

Making the baby food doesn't seem like a big deal to me but the growing it all part seems a bit unrealistic. Especially if she is from an area with all 4 seasons where the growing time is very limited.
Add in her working 10-12 hours a day and I think that it will be difficult for her to time the time needed to tend to a garden large enough to have the wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Fruit trees take a few years to grow before they will have enough to eat. Maybe she took this into consideration in her planning.

 

[RachaelA]

Cloth diapering is totally different now then it was years ago. The diapers I'm going to use go on exactly like a disposable and you throw them in the washing machine in the wet bag you keep in the diaper pail. You then hang dry them (to keep the warranty) or just toss them in the dryer. Its an extra load of laundry every 2-3 days.

That being said I don't have any real expectations about what I plan to do because who knows what my child is going to like? And who the heck knows what I'm actually going to feel like doing once our daughter is actually here?

 

[ccgirl]

Hmmm...cloth diapering isn't what I thought it was. Thank you all for the explanations. I appreciate it. We do put a lot of the poop from the diaper into the toilet now. I never heard of a "wet bag". Thinking I could have been saving myself a lot of money. $30 a month on diapers.

I forget the posters name but it was a poster who is an attorney and is going back to work. I just wanted to say that it can be done. It's not easy but it can be done. I took 6 months off with my DD, 3 months with my DS and went back to my full time career. My stay at home mom friends are amazed. They say I am more involved in my DD's school activities than they are and don't know how I do it. I say it all comes down to quality. Every moment I am with my children it is productive. I find myself missing them. I still always have the mommy guilty and some uneducated bafoon will say, "why bother having children if you are going to let someone else raise them?" Most of the time, I just ignore it. Sometimes I do manage to say, there is more to raising a child than just being home with them. Not saying SAHParents just sit around watching t.v eating bon bons all day. I know plenty of stay at home mom's that just totally rock! My best friend is one of them. She is just amazing. Funny thing is, she thinks the same about me.

It all comes down to what works for your family. There is no one right answer.