Cloth and the Working Mom, pt. II: The down and dirty at home

Photo submitted to Wiki.

Last week we dove into this whole 'working moms who manage to cloth diaper--how do they do it?' question with an exploration of 1) how to get your daycare provider on board with cloth and 2) how to keep those same childcare providers happy throughout their/your cloth diapering days.

But often it isn't the daycare question that turns a mom or dad who works outside the home--or plans to--off of cloth. It's the laundry.

Babies add laundry. They just do. When our first was born, our (pretty minimal) water bill went up by around $5/month. Part of that may have been influenced by my postpartum 'Mommy's nightly reading break' bath habit, but I know a large part of it was extra laundry. 

Extra laundry because of spit-up. Extra laundry because of diaper blow-outs (and, remember, we used disposables exclusively for the first six months--most poops were blow-outs). Extra laundry because nobody tells you this when you're expecting your first, but breastmilk sprays everywhere when a newborn with reflux pulls off mid-letdown.

So if there's already going to be all this extra laundry, is it logistically safe--and sane--to add in cloth diapers? I mean, don't they require a pre-rinse and a post-rinse? Don't some people end up having to use long wash cycles to make sure they're clean? Does it tie up the washing machine? What about drying time?

The fact is, cloth is a bit of a time commitment because the washing machine is 'tied up' for that much (but it's not really much) longer than it otherwise would have been. But there are several reasons that you'll also be saving time. In other words, the time lost is recouped, and so it's, honestly, a 'six of one, half a dozen of the other' situation. (More after the jump...)

Which type of cloth diapering mom are you?

Just looking at the conversations on our Facebook Page tells us one thing: there are so many kinds of parents who choose modern cloth diapers for their babies. 

And why not? Once parents learn how easy cloth diapering can be with a little guidance, there’s really no reason not to save $2,000 or more per child!

Just for fun, here’s a profile of some of the cloth diapering mom personality types I’ve observed in my years as a cloth diapering mom and industry employee. Which one do you see yourself as? Or maybe you’re a mix of a few?

The Curious but Skeptical

This mom has heard some buzz about cloth diapers and how much money they can save. Maybe she’s even seen a friend change her cloth diapered baby, and she thinks they are awfully cute. But surely they take up an awful lot of time, she thinks. Can I really do an extra load of laundry every other day? 

She will probably look at the numbers and decide that doing a bit of extra laundry is worth it. She’s excited to be free of the ongoing expense of disposable diapering, but she’s nervous about getting her family on board. With the right support from another cloth diapering mom, Formerly Skeptical Mom keeps up cloth diapering, quickly becoming confident that this was the right decision for her family. Once she has begun cloth diapering, she is on the path to becoming The Activist.

The Planner

The Planner is the mom who wants to know everything about what she’s getting into before she jumps in. She needs to see and touch modern cloth diapers of all styles, and she wants to plan a “stash” of a single daytime system and a single nighttime system. Once she begins cloth diapering, she could become The Working Mom or The Collector.

The Working Mom

This mom is “all business” when it comes to her baby’s diapers. Whether she works outside the home or keeps herself busy as a stay-at-home mom, she doesn’t want to have to put thought into diapers. She buys her stash of leading brand cloth diapers once and makes it work, not worrying about what other systems are out there. This Pragmatic Patty probably has 18 one-size diapers in gender-neutral colors; she washes every other day and dries on low heat in the dryer. She may purchase another diaper or two in a limited edition print, but Working Mom is not in the habit of sentimentalizing diapers, although she loves cloth diapering.

The Collector

This is me. The Collector can’t see a photo of a new release without succumbing to the impulse to try it. She likes to network with other cloth diapering moms to borrow and trade new styles, and she may even delve into the world of handmade, boutique brands on Etsy or HyenaCart. She may “convert her stash” several times a year, or she may just keep adding to the collection, filling drawers till she has a "diaper dresser." She’s a fabric junkie, and prints and limited edition colors are her weakness. The bottom line is that she enjoys cloth diapers and is a jewel of a customer for this industry. Collectors keeps us all in business!

The Activist

The Activist is ready to shout her love of cloth diapering from the rooftops! She has helped a few of her friends begin cloth diapering, and she has convinced all of her single or childless friends of the financial, environmental, and health benefits in preparation for the day that they have babies. She strategically plans which diapers to use when she’ll be around people who are unfamiliar with cloth so that she can show off how easy and fashionable modern cloth is. When her baby appears in photos on her Activist-y Facebook profile, he’s wearing only a t-shirt and coordinating diaper, of course! 

  

The Proud Health Nut

This mom may have chosen to cloth diaper because of her interest in health and wellness-related lifestyle choices… or cloth diapering may have been her gateway to examining her family’s practices! Either way, she is a great resource to her friends and networks on all things “natural.” Her diaper stash is mostly comprised of cotton, hemp, and maybe wool. She is the go-to for a debriefing on the current state of GMOs and where to buy eggs from farm-raised chickens. The Skin Deep database is her Web browser’s homepage, and she can teach you how to build a clothesline and harness the amazing disinfecting powers of the sun. Other moms may be intimidated by her commitment, but she just wants everyone to experience the transformational wellness she and her family enjoy!

The eLeMeNO-Pee Rep

The eLeMeNO-Pee rep is any of the above profiles! She is a mom who is passionate about cloth diapering and wants to support other families in making this choice with confidence. She embarks on the representative adventure eager to provide income for her own family, meet new people, use her brain, and be able to work with her baby. 

As the saying goes, it takes all kinds! Cloth diapering isn't just for the "natural mom" hippies, it isn't just for stay-at-home moms, and it isn't just for mom martyrs who are happy to drown themselves in laundry. Working moms, moms of multiples, and moms who just plain enjoy cloth diapers all make up our client base, and we are grateful to every single one of them. Truly, every mom and every baby are the "faces" of cloth diapering!