Cloth diaper redux

Flat fold diapers are the most simple diapers around. They are just a one-ply square that can be folded several different ways. They have to be Snappied or pinned in place. A receiving blanket can even be used in a pinch, though I prefer birdseye flats. This is a tutorial for my favorite fold, the origami fold.

1. Start with your square diaper


2. Fold it in half horizontally so the fold is towards you.


3. Grab the bottom left corner and fold it up towards the top right corner, forming a triangle.


4. Take the top right corner of the triangle (the one you just formed) and move it across over the top left corner.



5. Grab the center of the top of the triangle with your left hand and the top right corner with your right hand. Fold towards the left side so it appears square.


6. Take the left side and begin to fold it inward until it is in thirds in the center.






7. Now you're ready for the baby! Place the baby in the center of the diaper and fold the middle section up.



8. Fold the outside wing tips over a bit and then fold them over the baby's tummy.





9. Secure with a Snappi or pins.



10. Tuck the hip sections under the bum a bit to create poo-catching gussets.



11. Put on a cover and you're done!







Now kiss that happy baby!

Cloth diapers are easy!

So many folks say, "Oooo, I could never do that! Too much work!" when I say we use cloth diapers. They don't believe me when I tell them how easy it is. Just to prove it, here is step by step tutorial for most basic kind, prefolds.

Prefolds are the basic diapers many folks use as burp cloths. They come in different sizes and are thicker in the middle. They can be pinned, Snappied or just trifolded and slapped into a cover (which is what we do most of the time). Prefolds tend to be too long and have to be folded down a bit in the front. I have trimmed mine by cutting a strip off the end and sewing it on sideways in the wet zone. But this is not necessary.




First, assemble your supplies: one cover, one prefold.




Next, fold both sides (the thin parts) over the center (the thick part.)


Lay the trifolded prefold into the diaper cover. Some covers (like the Swaddlebees ABC cover pictured here) have a little flap to tuck the front under, some don't).



Place the child on the diaper and fasten the velcro or snaps (just like you would a disposible).






As my kids would say, "easy peasy lemon squeezie". When the diaper is wet you can just take out the wet prefold and insert another. If the diaper is poopy, replace both the diaper and the cover.

I keep my diapers in the pantry/laundry room in a large rubbermaid tote with a tight lid to contain odors.

Fear and relativism

With the dawn of the internet age it has become increasingly easy to surround yourself with friends who share exactly the same interests. For example, I have few friends in real life who wear their babies in slings or use cloth diapers. But I can pop over to www.thebabywearer.com or www.diaperswappers.com and voila! - instant peer group. While this can be fun and encouraging, it can also be dangerous. It seems like every web community has a standard group of core values. (Admit that you occassionally use disposable diapers and the girls over at diaper swappers might be shocked.) This becomes a problem when the core values of a group extend beyond outward things like babywearing or cloth diapering.

Many of the boards I visit are attachment parenting oriented. While there are some aspects of this philosophy that I love, there are other aspects that I find disturbing. I do not look at my child as a peer. They are precious charges given to me by God to raise. He has given them to me because I am older and wiser and I am to teach and train them. There is a relativism amongst many AP moms that I cannot embrace. I believe that there are absolute rights and wrongs and that I need to teach my children this. As Pope John Paul said, we do not get to choose right and wrong, we get to choose between right and wrong. There seems to be a movement among parents today to embrace allowing your children to choose their own definition of good and evil. This is foolishness. God has already decided what is Truth. He has delineated what is right and what is wrong. It is up to us to choose which side we will stand on.

While I sometimes have the courage to stand up for the Truth, I am often nervous about doing so. I am afraid that if I do not tow the party line of tolerance and respect/endorsement of all choices I will be ostracized or ridiculed. For some reason I seem to care what these e-friends think of me.

But I forget my real Audience. I should be more fearful of what God thinks of me. His opinion is the only one that matters. This week I am meditating on the fear of God (which the Bible says is the beginning of all wisdom). It is popular nowdays to replace the word "fear" in the Bible with "respect", but I think this is faulty. Most of us fear what others think about us. We say, "Oh, I can't do that because I'm afraid of what she'd think of me" or some other nonsense. But we don't stop to think "I can't do this because I'm afraid of what He would think," or "I'm afraid if I choose this path I will hurt His heart." We have no fear of God.

Luke 12:4-9"I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God. "

Fluffy bums!

Hard to believe that we've been a cloth diapering family for almost 2 yrs. When my wacky sister, Kimberly, started cloth diapering her firstborn (the adorable Libby) we all turned up our noses at her. Cloth diapers went out with wood sided station wagons, right? And then I tried one. And I was hooked. The new diapers are so swell. No stiff plastic pants or ginormous cloth diapered bubble butt. The new diapers have a layer of PUL, a magic fabric that contains wet messiness, but is as soft as regular cloth. Most either snap or velcro at the waist. My sweet dh installed a minishower on the toilet (similar to the sprayer on your sink) and we simply spray any poopies into the potty. A Rubbermaid tub (with a tight sealing lid) in the laundry room solves any stinky issues and they are super simple to clean. Some friends of mine have expressed disgust at the thought of poop and pee in the washing machine, but honestly, if you have a baby, any time you wash their clothes there is poop and pee in the washer.

We started with Fuzzibunz, simple pocket diapers. An outer layer of PUL is matched to an inner layer of moisture wicking microfleece (to keep baby's bum feeling dry). Elastic gussets at the leg hug baby's thighs and snaps make fastening the waist a cinch (no pins!). At the back of the diaper is a small opening between the layers in which you insert, well, an insert (a microfiber or hemp pad for absorbing pee). This makes the pocket diaper system very versatile, as you can add an extra insert if you are heading out on the town or going down for the night.

We loved Fuzzibunz, but I wanted to try all the new stuff when Luke was born (wool, prefolds, Snappis, fitteds, AIO's - the variety is mind boggling). And after trying it all, we came back to Fuzzibunz. So easy, and very daddy and babysitter friendly.

But now, we've switched again. I found a couple of All In Ones (meaning a diaper that has no pocket, the absorbant pad is sewn in) that I adore and can hold up to our heavy pee-ers. So we've switched our stash to all Magic-Alls and Blessed Bottomz. Oh, and Snap EZ Nap EZ stuffable trainers for our older bedwetters (since Pullups are freaky expensive).

And I'm in stash nirvana. I am trying to limit myself from going to some of my favorite cloth diaper sites. I am satisfied with the diapers I have and really don't need any more. Going to www.diaperswappers.com just stirs up lusts I don't need to have.

Lusts? For diapers? Yup. As moms we can easily fall into the trap of coveting for our children's sake. But it is still coveting. My children's diapering needs are covered. So going to oogle at cloth diapers is stirring up a lust in me for something I do not need. God has supplied my needs and those of my children and I should rejoice and give Him thanks for this.