A Dad's Perspective on Cloth Diapers

This post was written by my husband, Lewis. I wanted to share his view of the cloth diapers as I know many times it's the dads who are thinking, "no way I'm doing that." At first, I was worried that Lewis may not be on board, but the more we talked about it, the more it felt like something that was right for both of us. Here's a little view of cloth diapers through his eyes:

Honestly I didn’t know much about diapers in general when we first began discussing cloth diapers. Just like most people, when I thought about cloth diapers, I saw essentially big white napkins with safety pins. After Cameron showed me a few of our options I realized that we had much more modern tools to work with than I thought. I had never changed any type of diaper before, so to me, I was up for anything. Now after I have changed many months worth, I have to admit that I no longer can see us using anything else other than cloth diapers for our children.

What do I love about them?

They are significantly cheaper than disposable diapers since they are obviously reusable. Who doesn’t want to save money?

We occasionally have to use disposable diapers for various reasons and I actually think cloth diapers are just as easy to use. We use GroBaby diapers with Velcro tabs. It’s just like the adhesive part of a disposable diaper. It takes all of 30 seconds to snap the soaker pad into the shell and then Velcro it around the child.

They look much cooler than a disposable, plus cotton has to feel better on the skin than synthetic drying pads.

Creating less trash in landfills is definitely a good thing.

It is a fantastic conversation topic that allows you to get to know other parents. Since using cloth diapers is a less common choice, others often want to know more.

Here are some of the counterpoints that I can understand.

Although I find cleaning them a breeze, you do in fact have to hold a soaker pad with #1 or #2 on it in order to spray it off with the sprayer connected to the toilet. It is seldom that I actually get anything on my hands but obviously is always a risk. If you can’t see yourself spraying off some poo and putting a wet diaper in a lined trash can, well this isn’t for you.

It creates more laundry. Throwing them in the washer is easy. Then you have to hang the shells to dry and put the soakers in the dryer. It’s simple but definitely harder than throwing a diaper away and grabbing a new one.

Occasionally, they can be hard to situate so that they cinch around the baby’s legs and waist (especially with an extra pad for nighttime).

My viewpoint:

After using cloth diapers for over 6 months now, I am completely satisfied with our choice. I’m not trying to make a statement by using them; I honestly just like them better. Any dad that has reservations should ask themselves if it’s diapers in general they have a problem with or just cloth specifically. If I can use them, without ever changing a diaper before, so can you. On a side note; if you are scared of some poo, I feel sorry for you. Also that wasn’t meant to be a funny rhyme or anything. It’s just that babies are going to put you in some gross situations regardless of which you choose. Just weigh the pros and cons for yourself and see if you feel the way I do.