tackle cloth diaper struggles
Hey, it’s okay if your cloth diaper journey is less than perfect, if you experience stinks, leaks or hiccups. No matter how you diaper your child, perfection is an unrealistic goal to achieve. You will have times where things happen.
Parenting is about struggles.
You are strong enough, capable enough, and wise enough to overcome them.
Just because it feels like your cloth diapers are failing, doesn’t mean you are a failure.
It means you are human, and susceptible to the challenge of cloth diapering.
It’s been generations since our communities cloth diapered exclusively. Disposable companies, like cigratte companies, have ruthlessly pushed marketing campaigns that have left impressions in the world we live int. It can be hard to overcome, but not impossible.
We’ll walk through some of the basic struggles on this page, but I want to tell you this: There is no easy answer to every questions
Sometimes the answer works; sometimes the answer doesn’t.
Sometimes you need to find a new person to ask the question to. I don’t believe there is one way to cloth diaper. There are multiple ways to succeed at cloth diapering, and if you find your way and it’s different than keyboard warriors on the internet – then that’s okay. You are doing a great job mama and don’t let them haters bring you down.
Let’s explore two of the most common cloth diaper struggles.
1. leaky diapers.
do disposable diaper parents give up? nah, they probably chalk it up to an accident and try again.
leaky cloth diapers tend to be related to user error – usually unintentional because life happened. The average lifespan of a cloth diaper is about 2 hours, but night time diapers can be padded to last upwards of 10-12 hours. The average absorbency of a cloth diaper is about 6-10 ounces – with wide variations depending on size, textile & more. Learn more about absorbency options here.
If you’re struggling with leaks – assess the situation to see if its a regular issue of lack of absorbency, or a poor fit because of user error. It’s unlikely to be related to wash routines unless you have other smells or suds happening. Most often a leak diaper happens because of a growth spurt, change in diet or routine.
2. stinky diapers
some scent or odour can be expected, but overall STENCH is not normal. Your diaper should not be causing others to fear cloth diapering, or any unusual doors.
Smells are usually associated with an inadequate wash routine – the dirt and grime is not getting out of the diaper. We tackle this by finding ways to increase the agitation, detergent, and cleaning power of your wash strategy.
Resetting our diapers is easy to accomplish by using a product like GroVia Mighty Bubbles, RLR, or other strong detergents with hot rinse cycle until everything, including the detergents has left the diaper. There should be no suds and no smells. Occasionally, a quick bleach wash is a great way to further kick smells to the curb, especially if you are using a synthetic diaper. I like to reference the resources from All About Cloth Diapers when bleaching. Please avoid soaks, and opt for quick wash cycles.
Download the Guide
I have made most of my guides free downloads via this website with a simple click, but this guide I’ve moved to Nest & Sprout for download. Some projects you want to love and that’s okay. This guide is more detail my book and includes some common examples, worksheets and more to get you started. It doesn’t have all the answers, because I wont have all the answers – but it has most.
Thanks for help earlier. It made me less anxious about my routine knowing people can cloth diaper without crazy rules.
I’ve been doing my thing I’ve had no rashes or stinks! I shouldn’t have been so caught up in finding a rule or a system that would be perfect.
Wash Routine Examples & Blog Posts
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