Cloth Diapers and the Non-Cloth-Diapering Care Giver

I remember it still.  The first time I dropped my little one in the church nursery in cloth diapers.

I nervously (and probably very quickly) said "My daughter wears cloth diapers.  They are really easy I promise."
My unsureness probably made them unsure about the situation as well.

Then again, my daughter started a Mother's Day Out program.
Cautiously I asked, "She cloth diapers, is that okay?"

But as I have gotten more confident in my cloth diapering, so have my responses to church nurseries, daycares, baby-sitters, grandparents and the like.

So how do you introduce cloth diapers to the Non-cloth Diapering Caregiver?
Here are some quick tips…

Be confident

Your confidence in cloth diapering is key.  My nervousness in introducing cloth the first two times did not help.  This might sound harsh, but I don't even ask any more.  When signing up for our daughter's childcare this year, I just simply stated we cloth diaper, then at open house showed them how it worked.  When I go the church nursery I tell them that she cloth diapers and give them a quick tutorial.

Show the easy, cutest diaper first

eLeMeNO-Pee has some awesome all-in-one options.  I also recommend using a velcro closure for a first showing to a caregiver- snaps can be really intimdating. Showing them a all-in-one velcro diaper and commenting about "how it is as easy as a disposable"  usually is a good start.  This is a gateway that gets them open and comfortable.  I have found in the past as they get more comfortable they are, the more open they are to other things.  For example after using velcro for a while our caregiver was completely open to snaps.

Know your rights

You have rights.  Seriously, this is your baby and you get to make these kind of choices.  This site has some great information listed by state about your rights.  Even if you are in a "restricted" place, you could most likely get an exemption from the doctor for something like sensitive skin.

Be Prepared

Diapers, wipes, wet bag- all prepped and ready to go. Make this easy on them, so they have a positive experience cloth diapering!

Work with them

Maybe they prefer you use liners.  Maybe disposable wipes would make it easier on them.  Be willing and open to work with them!

Don't pack another option

If you pack disposables, they will use them… I almost guarantee it.  If you want your child using cloth, pack cloth and they will learn to use it.

The great thing about exposing our caregivers to cloth is that it makes a dent in making cloth mainstream.  One care giver last year even said that she grew to like it so much that she planned on cloth diapering her own children!

Did these things ring true for you? Do you have any other suggestions? 

About the author…
I am Stasia- wife, mom, blogger over at Our Life on a Budget, part-time preschool teacher and local cloth diaper consultant.

Cloth and the Working Mom, pt. 1: Enlisting your daycare

The first obstacle that many two-income, would-be cloth diapering families find standing in their ways is the Daycare Question.

Can daycares use cloth according to the Nat'l Resource Center for Health & Safety in Childcare?

"Would any daycare or in-home sitter around here even do cloth?" 

"My friend said her daycare told her it was against the law.*" 

"We LOVE our daycare, and I just hate to ask any more of them."

Chances are, though, your daycare will be able to be persuaded, and if they're not amenable right now, they will be in the near future--as soon as they see how many potential cloth diapering families want to make use of their childcare services. After all, an estimated 25% of American families are cloth diapering now, and that number is growing! Being able to advertise as a 'green daycare' can only be a bonus in a competitive market.

What goes in the daycare bag when you cloth diaper? This stuff!

Whether you're still in the interviewing stage or whether your baby is already enrolled in a daycare, there are a few things to shore up and square away before you start sending your cloth diapered baby to daycare so that everyone--you, the daycare's director, and your baby's teachers--feels confident that cloth will work and be easy.

*There are no states in which cloth diapers are illegal for accredited or licensed daycare centers to use; however, a handful of states (not Louisiana) require a doctor's note prescribing their use.

So what can you do ahead of time?

1) Request a meeting with the director and the teacher in charge of your child's classroom; strongly request that they meet with you at the same time so that everybody's questions are answered at once and each one gets the benefit of hearing the other's questions answered.

2) Bring in a demo. Bring a diaper to the meeting that goes on like a disposable (so no pull-ons or pins), and have it assembled already if it comes in more than one piece, like a pocket, AI2, or prefold trifolded into a cover. If you're using prefolds and covers, you might want to purchase a cover for every prefold in your daycare stash rather than requesting that a cover be re-used several times throughout the day. Keep it as close to disposable diapering as you can as a courtesy.

3) Bring in your baby--or a baby doll--as well as a wet bag. Demonstrate a diaper change from start to finish! Let them know whether you'd prefer them to remove a pocket diaper's insert with their gloved hands immediately after the diaper change or whether you'll take care of that when you get home (more painful for you, but less work for them!). Show them how to fold the diaper in half before putting it in the wet bag, rather than rolling it up--this is especially important for a #2 diaper, as I'm sure you can imagine. On that note...

4) Be prepared with clear answers to the poop question. It's best to tell them, "Don't worry about the poop. I'll take care of it when I get home." Some daycares, especially corporate ones, will have company-wide regulations about cloth diapers that include the workers not being expected to remove feces from the diaper to put it in the toilet, as this takes extra time away from the children they are minding and can just plain (and understandably!) gross them out--even more than having to change dozens of diapers a day. As long as the only difference between a cloth diaper change and a disposable diaper change is where the diaper goes (in a wet bag rather than in a trash bag), they simply can't object! If the daycare assigns each child a cubby hole or a hook, have them keep your wet bag there.

5) Let them use disposable wipes. They'll throw them away with the disposable diapers and wipes they'll be using for other children, and it will be easier for them than worrying about a wipe solution. If environmental friendliness is paramount to you, gWipes are biodegradable and made with friendlier materials than the leading brands.

6) Provide ample, mess-free cloth diaper-safe diaper rash treatment. We love the soothing simplicity of Butt Balm by hosie naturals. Request that the balm only be used when your baby's diaper area is irritated, not as a matter-of-course 'just in case' barrier treatment. Even a cloth diaper-safe balm can be used too often and lead to build-up being left behind on your diapers; it's also just not as frugal to use it when it isn't needed. Cloth diapers are chemical-free and gentle on your baby's skin... No barrier necessary!

7) Send your baby with only one style of diaper. A single brand might make it even easier, but if you have a varied stash because you're still finding out what you like, try to pack the same style of diaper every day. If you're sending a diaper with a snap closure, include a diagram paper-clipped to the diaper that indicates which snap settings will best fit the diaper to your baby--with a friendly note about how you wanted to make the diaper change quick and easy for them!

When you get home: it's time to deal with the poop.

Want to hear a daycare experience straight from a cloth diapering mom's mouth? We'll wrap up the first installment of Cloth and the Working Mom with Jill's tale:

"Can it be done?": Cloth diapers and the working mom

I had the pleasure of 'meeting' a professor and online/distance learning coordinator for a major Chicago university on Monday night... in the weekly #clothdiapers Twitter party.

That's right: a mom with a demanding full-time job outside of the home--and academia rivals the world of corporate business in terms of demands placed upon those who hold management positions--uses cloth diapers. Not only does she use them, but she loves them enough to pop in for cloth diaper-themed Twitter parties and contribute to the conversation. (And since she's a social media and online communications prof, believe me, we retailers, bloggers, and manufacturers eat up her tweets like candy!)

One of our own cloth diaper consultants, Jill C. in Kinder, La., works a full 40 hours as the assistant to an anthropologist on a tribal reservation here in Southwest Louisiana. (Among her many responsibilities is maintaining a greenhouse garden--how cool is that?!) Jill was hesitant to get started in cloth because she worried that she wouldn't have time to add the laundry to her home routine and because she was anxious that her family's chosen daycare, which she was very satisfied with, wouldn't take kindly to the idea.

Our Facebook fan Emily, an expectant mother, expressed her concerns about working and using cloth diapers this way:

Well, Emily and company, how about this?

Over the next three weeks, our blog will focus on ALL the how-tos of cloth diapering while working outside the home full-time. We'll leave no stone unturned: whom to approach at your daycare and how, exactly what to teach the childcare providers so that they feel empowered and confident while cloth diapering your baby, what kind of diapers to send to daycare, when to schedule your cloth diaper laundry, where to seek support for troubleshooting should the need arise, why you should make sure your commitment to cloth diapering isn't causing the rest of your household chores to suffer, how cloth diapering even with limited time at home will benefit your home life, and anything else you can think to ask!

And, just for fun, we've decided to announce the winner of the $10 gift certificate right here on our blog today! The winning photograph can be found after the jump...