Cloth Diaper Reviews

Interview with Daddy…

By Becca ⋅ December 28, 2009 ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

In our house, both my husband and I take turns being the stay-at-home parent and thus it is very important we both understand the use and care of our baby’s cloth diapers.

While we were pregnant, we both realized that adding a third person to our family had the possibility of putting a real strain on our finances, so we started brainstorming ways to alleviate that pressure.

Cloth Diapers Met our Budget Needs

Cloth diapering was at the top of our list and we were very excited to find how cloth diapers have changed since we were little.

Our daughter is now ten weeks old and slowly but surely we’ve added to our stash week by week and paycheck by paycheck.

I’ve taken the responsibility of researching and buying our diapers and accessories, but my husband is equally involved in the decision-making process of which diapers we will sample from week to week. I excitedly come to him with the newest cloth diaper I’ve found online, and run all my perspective purchases by him, and he obliges in listening to me babble on excitedly about it all and generally agrees to my choices.

Every time we get a new diaper, I try it on our baby first and then I make sure he has a chance to use it on our baby before I grill him to get his opinion on whether or not he likes it and why.

This scenario has played out various times now that we have a collection of twenty-two one size pocket diapers. Our stash includes about eight different kinds which means that he and I have received a really great education on cloth diapering together.

We both have different preferences…

…as well as different experiences with cloth diapering, and since his are decidedly male perspectives and thus intriguing to the female mind, I thought it would be interesting to interview him about the whole process.

Me: So, honey, when did we start using cloth?
Dave: We started using it when our daughter was born because we wanted to save money.

Me: What do you like best about cloth diapers?

Dave: I like that they save money and that they’re environmentally friendly. I also like that you can’t run out of cloth diapers.

Me: How quickly are you able to put a cloth diaper on our daughter?
Dave:I can change her in about a minute to two minutes with cloth diapers. That’s just about as fast as it took me to change a disposable diaper.


Me: How do you compare cloth diapers to disposables?
Dave: I think cloth diapers are slightly more work than disposables but not unmanageable. They’re just as easy to use as disposables except for the fact that you have to clean them. I have to say that I do like the idea of disposable diapering a little bit better when our daughter’s diaper is poopy, but the benefits of cloth diapering outweigh those of disposables overall so I’m willing to put up with rinsing a poopy diaper here and there.

Me: What’s your favorite cloth diaper?
Dave: I like bumGenius and Happy Heiny’s because they’re the easiest for me to use. I really like hook and loop diapers.

Me: Which of the diapers that you have tried so far do you find difficult to use?
Dave: I have a hard time with some of the snap diapers that have a series of snaps that you have to snap in the right place. Sometimes it’s hard for me to work with those when my daughter is wiggling around.

Me: How are cloth diapers with leaks?
Dave: From my experience, cloth diapers are equally as good with leaks as disposable diapers.

Me: What’s the biggest challenge you’ve found with cloth diapering?
Dave: The hardest thing about them is the way you have to wash them and sometimes strip the detergent residue.

Me: Would you feel comfortable enough to wash the diapers without my help?
Dave: Yeah. I do the washing process by myself all the time—though I haven’t done any stripping yet. It doesn’t seem that complicated though after watching you do it.

Me: What are some things you wish you could change about cloth diapering with one-size pocket diapers?
Dave: I can’t really think about anything I’d change about it, but I don’t think about cloth diapering nearly as often as you do!

I have to add, as a mommy note, that my husband and I went out this morning for a few hours and left our daughter with her grandfather who was here for a visit, and with very little instruction he found our diapers amazingly simple to use—especially since he was quite familiar with the prefolds and vinyl pants he and my mother used on me when I was a baby.

My conclusion? Cloth diapers are not only easy for daddies to use, but granddaddies have no problem with them either!

GUEST BLOGGER

Becca is a part time Spanish Teacher, a part time Stay-at-home-mom, and the wife of the best husband imaginable. Becca’s absolute favorite thing to do is to spend time with her little family. She also enjoys doing anything crafty – from making jewelry, to writing, to sewing, to photography.

You can read more about Becca at her blog, Becca’s Cloth Diaper Blog.

Tags: "one-size diapers", cloth diaper, cloth diapering, cloth diapers, cloth diapers save money, diaper stash, diapers, diapers and accessories, disposables, environmentally friendly diapers, one size pocket diapers, Pocket Diapers, poopy diaper, prefolds

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