For fun; old-time cloth diapering moms, remember...

[Pink Elephant]

... the old-fashioned diaper pins we used to use? And how much it smarted when you miscalculated pushing the pin through the diaper and catching it on the other side and instead, got yourself? Ouch!

 

... the countless hours we put in folding? Daytime folds, night-time folds, double folds, triple folds... It was all about folding in those days...

 

... rubber pants? The ones that used to make our kids bottoms red at times? The ones that used to leave those red elastic rings around our kids legs? The ones that produced that distinct rustling plastic swish-swish beat with baby's every move, as if to let us moms know where baby was at all times? The ones where if you were changing someone's diaper in the middle of the night, you didn't know which end of the pants you had a hold of until you found the elastic-waistband, nor did you know whether the pants were backwards or inside out!

 

...how droopy those old diapers were when wet? How they sagged? LOL! There was nothing custom-fit about them, but they got the job done and saved us a bundle!

 

... toilet rinsing? With a firm grip, you latched onto the diaper and while holding the diaper inside the toilet bowl, you flushed the toilet, and with water swirling, you dunked the diaper up and down repeatedly in the swirling vortex, before wringing the diaper out and tossing it into the diaper pail.

 

... the ammonia odour of urine the old plastic diaper pail emitted? Pee-ew! Sometimes it was so strong it burned your nose and eyes!

[Guest]

Ahh. I cloth-diped my kids, but most of what you said would have been with my younger sibs. Those plastic pants. They were awful!

[Ellie]

See, I didn't mind the plastic pants. They were inexpensive and easy to replace, and they fit under dd's fancy bloomers because they weren't very bulky, lol.

[Pink Elephant]

Those plastic pants. They were awful!

 

I know of moms today who still loathe those old rubber pants!

[Pink Elephant]

Though you know? Not injury free either - I've never pinned a diaper, but I still gored myself with about an 1/8-1/4 inch slit into the pad of one finger with a Snappi that I grabbed imprecisely, that slipped. The finger involved is actually less sensitive than the others, I apparently did some nerve damage!

 

And here I thought those new modern fasteners were 100% safe and accident free.

[Pink Elephant]

See, I didn't mind the plastic pants. They were inexpensive and easy to replace, and they fit under dd's fancy bloomers because they weren't very bulky, lol.

 

I, too, approved of the rubber pants. Lifesavers they were.

[hornblower]

We still use diaper pins! It's how we attach the fleece liners to the various shelves & floors of my fancy rat habitats. It's also how we hang their hammocks. 

I usually jam a pin into my thumb at least once during a cage cleaning....

 

[Elisabet1]

... the old-fashioned diaper pins we used to use? And how much it smarted when you miscalculated pushing the pin through the diaper and catching it on the other side and instead, got yourself? Ouch!

 

... the countless hours we put in folding? Daytime folds, night-time folds, double folds, triple folds... It was all about folding in those days...

 

... rubber pants? The ones that used to make our kids bottoms red at times? The ones that used to leave those red elastic rings around our kids legs? The ones that produced that distinct rustling plastic swish-swish beat with baby's every move, as if to let us moms know where baby was at all times? The ones where if you were changing someone's diaper in the middle of the night, you didn't know which end of the pants you had a hold of until you found the elastic-waistband, nor did you know whether the pants were backwards or inside out!

 

...how droopy those old diapers were when wet? How they sagged? LOL! There was nothing custom-fit about them, but they got the job done and saved us a bundle!

 

... toilet rinsing? With a firm grip, you latched onto the diaper and while holding the diaper inside the toilet bowl, you flushed the toilet, and with water swirling, you dunked the diaper up and down repeatedly in the swirling vortex, before wringing the diaper out and tossing it into the diaper pail.

 

... the ammonia odour of urine the old plastic diaper pail emitted? Pee-ew! Sometimes it was so strong it burned your nose and eyes!

New aged cloth diaperer...I remember the toilet rinsing from years ago and do it now when needed. Not NOW NOW, but....when my children are in diapers. Youngest potty trained in the spring. Another on the way. Never even put away the diapers in between.

[Pink Elephant]

Maybe they are without greasy diaper cream fingers and sleep deprivation!

 

One thing is certain, I have been way, way, more careful since. Respecting the clawed catch under tension and all that ;)

 

LOL!

 

I remember all too well the sleep deprivation!

[Angie in VA]

Yep. I remember all of those things.  :)

[Pink Elephant]

I remember the toilet rinsing from years ago and do it now when needed.

 

Let me guess, babysitting or helping change baby siblings when you were younger?

[73349]

LOL, glad CDing is a bit easier in the 21st century! Yay for the diaper sprayer, prefolds, velcro and snap covers (though yes, those Snappis will get you).

[shukriyya]

When I was cloth diapering rubber pants were not very prevalent. Between AIOs, fleece, velcro, gorgeous wool soakers, pickle pants and the like rubber pants were not necessary. However even with all that plus the Snappi I still loved the look of fat little legs and belly protruding from an unbleached prefold with old-fashioned diaper pins.

[Pink Elephant]

LOL, glad CDing is a bit easier in the 21st century! Yay for the diaper sprayer, prefolds, velcro and snap covers (though yes, those Snappis will get you).

 

Yes, cloth diapers have come so far since I used them.

[Pink Elephant]

I still loved the look of fat little legs and belly protruding from an unbleached prefold with old-fashioned diaper pins.

 

I couldn't agree more!

[Melissa in Australia]

I thought all my cloth nappy days were over, but now I am back full swing  into them I had terrible trouble finding plastic covers, and in the end had to  get some MCN covers I just fold the cloth nappy into a rectangle, place in the cover and stud it up. I Actually did practically the same with the old plastic covers for my other children.

 

I will say though that twins go through an incredible amount of nappies in a day.

[kbutton]

I used some prefolds and plastic pants to expand my stash and to get sizing right for my skinny kiddos.

 

Disposable diaper liners...such a wonderful idea. The ones that were peed on could go through the wash and hang dry. The pooped-on ones flushed. So nice. I think I went through only 1 or 2 packs per child because they were so durable.

[kbutton]

BTW, did you know that the first versions of Pampers had to be pinned (and I think maybe folded) like pre-folds? I met a woman once who was telling me all about the early Pampers. She took a trip with her child, assuming she could buy Pampers on the other end of her journey as needed, only to find out that they were not available where she was traveling. She must have been an early adopter of disposables!

[Pink Elephant]

I thought all my cloth nappy days were over, but now I am back full swing  into them I had terrible trouble finding plastic covers, and in the end had to  get some MCN covers I just fold the cloth nappy into a rectangle, place in the cover and stud it up. I Actually did practically the same with the old plastic covers for my other children.

 

I will say though that twins go through an incredible amount of nappies in a day.

 

I remember having two in diapers at once, and how right you are about the amount of diapers a mother goes through when faced with more than one child in them.

 

With the old cloth diapers that I used, when they were wet, they were wet... so changing was constant and regular. I remember with my first two who are just over a year apart, it was nothing for me to change over 20 diapers a day between the two of them, and some of those changes I used double fold diapers, so diaper washing had to be done every other day.

[Chris in VA]

LOL--I found yours to be a YMMV post.

 

I never "pinned" myself--not once, with 3 kids.

 

I loved the plastic (vinyl) pants--didn't leak like the covers I tried to use.

 

I didn't have a stinky pail, and I didn't rinse my diapers at all--just tilted any solids into the toilet. I washed diapers every 3 days, though.

 

I didn't fold and fold and fold--I bought thick, prefolded diapers, not flats (and certainly not that weird "birdseye" cloth that was almost like cheesecloth), and folded in thirds as I diapered.

 

Loved cloth diapering.

[Pink Elephant]

I used some prefolds and plastic pants to expand my stash and to get sizing right for my skinny kiddos.

 

Disposable diaper liners...such a wonderful idea. The ones that were peed on could go through the wash and hang dry. The pooped-on ones flushed. So nice. I think I went through only 1 or 2 packs per child because they were so durable.

 

Yep, absolutely... that's one of the number one things I loved about using traditional cloth diapers and rubber pants, the fact that I could size the diapers (through folding) to fit any size or shaped baby, and because two of my three kids had chicken legs, the rubber pants were ideal for that.

 

Always a good proper fit with diapers and pants no matter what.

 

I, too, used diaper liners (disposable-flushable ones), but only for a few weeks after each of my children were born. They were such a saving grace when it came to those early meconium poops.

[happypamama]

I still diaper with prefolds, and I use pins sometimes. Mostly I use wool covers that are pants or shorts, so I Snappi first, then pull up the wool shorts/pants. But sometimes I use my wool covers that are shaped like a disposable diaper, and I fold the prefold in thirds and lay it in the cover; then I pin the whole thing on. I have used Snappis with those wool covers, but pins are more secure.

 

I did use fitteds with velcro and PUL pants for a while with my second, and I used prefolds and PUL velcro clovers with my first, and I liked those options too. But then I taught myself to knit while expecting my third, and it's been all wool since then, except for when I take a toddler in the pool, where I have one of the PUL pairs of pants that I use instead because wool is too heavy to get wet.

 

I don't rinse in the toilet, though. I dump the solids in the toilet, and if need be, I'll use a cloth or toilet paper to get more off and into the toilet, and then I do a cold prewash first, and anything else just washes out. I use a dry pail, and the odor isn't too terrible, but my current little guy isn't a super heavy wetter. Still, sometimes the morning diaper can be pretty strong!

 

I am glad cloth is nicer now. :)

[Pink Elephant]

BTW, did you know that the first versions of Pampers had to be pinned (and I think maybe folded) like pre-folds? I met a woman once who was telling me all about the early Pampers. She took a trip with her child, assuming she could buy Pampers on the other end of her journey as needed, only to find out that they were not available where she was traveling. She must have been an early adopter of disposables!

 

I remember reading something about the old pin-on Pampers, but have never come across them in my day.

 

However, in the early part of the 1980's when I was still babysitting, I remember the in-thing to do when using the new Pampers, was to use rubber pants over them, because they fit much like a plain cloth diaper did. No fancy elastic gathers back then, unlike today.

[Pink Elephant]

LOL--I found yours to be a YMMV post.

 

I never "pinned" myself--not once, with 3 kids.

 

I loved the plastic (vinyl) pants--didn't leak like the covers I tried to use.

 

I didn't have a stinky pail, and I didn't rinse my diapers at all--just tilted any solids into the toilet. I washed diapers every 3 days, though.

 

I didn't fold and fold and fold--I bought thick, prefolded diapers, not flats (and certainly not that weird "birdseye" cloth that was almost like cheesecloth), and folded in thirds as I diapered.

 

Loved cloth diapering.

 

Considering how many babies I changed in cloth diapers (before I became a mother), I, too, should have enjoyed the very same no pinning myself bragging rights you did, but such was not the case.

 

As for rubber pants, I loved using them, too, and thought they were tops in the way of baby inventions. I wouldn't have cloth diapered without them. Used them full-time (day and night).

[Pink Elephant]

I still diaper with prefolds, and I use pins sometimes. Mostly I use wool covers that are pants or shorts, so I Snappi first, then pull up the wool shorts/pants. But sometimes I use my wool covers that are shaped like a disposable diaper, and I fold the prefold in thirds and lay it in the cover; then I pin the whole thing on. I have used Snappis with those wool covers, but pins are more secure.

 

I did use fitteds with velcro and PUL pants for a while with my second, and I used prefolds and PUL velcro clovers with my first, and I liked those options too. But then I taught myself to knit while expecting my third, and it's been all wool since then, except for when I take a toddler in the pool, where I have one of the PUL pairs of pants that I use instead because wool is too heavy to get wet.

 

I don't rinse in the toilet, though. I dump the solids in the toilet, and if need be, I'll use a cloth or toilet paper to get more off and into the toilet, and then I do a cold prewash first, and anything else just washes out. I use a dry pail, and the odor isn't too terrible, but my current little guy isn't a super heavy wetter. Still, sometimes the morning diaper can be pretty strong!

 

I am glad cloth is nicer now. :)

 

I remember when cloth virtually fell off the planet... sometime around the mid 90's. It was such a rarity to see a baby wearing a cloth diaper. It's good to see more and more mothers today are going back to using cloth.

[Pink Elephant]

That eyesight-ruining ammonia smell is TIMELESS!

 

I definitely don't envy anyone those pins or rubber pants!

 

LOL! Modern cloth diapers have definitely made using cloth easier and less painful than the old days.

[Pink Elephant]

Here's what the first pampers looked like!

 

http://www.mommieswithstyle.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/20130623-185916.jpg

 

Yep, that's exactly what the old Pampers diapers looked like that I remember changing as a babysitter. No elastic gathers, and plain white plastic. I even remember the pleats.

[Pink Elephant]

Here's what the first pampers looked like!

 

http://www.mommieswithstyle.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/20130623-185916.jpg

 

Thank you for the walk down memory lane courtesy of the picture!

[BlsdMama]

Let me see.... Christian was born in 1999 when cloth was becoming popular and fitted fleece diapers (Honeyboys) with appliqué we're going for $100-$200 apiece.

 

I bought a huge snap press that truly came over on a slow boat from China in 2000.

 

My little brother ('83) had disposables so I really don't remember plastic pants at all!

 

I still prefer prefolds over everything even though I've used and tried practically everything under the sun. ;).

[coffeegal]

LOL--I found yours to be a YMMV post.

 

I never "pinned" myself--not once, with 3 kids.

 

I loved the plastic (vinyl) pants--didn't leak like the covers I tried to use.

 

I didn't have a stinky pail, and I didn't rinse my diapers at all--just tilted any solids into the toilet. I washed diapers every 3 days, though.

 

I didn't fold and fold and fold--I bought thick, prefolded diapers, not flats (and certainly not that weird "birdseye" cloth that was almost like cheesecloth), and folded in thirds as I diapered.

 

Loved cloth diapering.

 

:iagree: I bought the prefolded as well. However, my pail was stinky and I washed everyday.... of course I had a newborn, 1yo, and 2yo in diapers at the time. :tongue_smilie:

 

 

[Ellie]

 

 

As for rubber pants, I loved using them, too, and thought they were tops in the way of baby inventions. I wouldn't have cloth diapered without them. Used them full-time (day and night).

 

Well, of COURSE you used rubber pants day and night. What else would you have done??

 

:laugh:

 

I don't get the whole bulky ultra padded, velcro things. Are they water-proof? How do you put little girls' cute little bloomers on over them? or little tights with ruffly bottoms? Aren't they expensive?

 

We bought about 5 doz. pre-folded gauze diapers, and plastic pants at the grocery store whenever we needed them. Neither of my dds ever had a strong ammonia smell, or droopy diapers. Maybe I was too OCD or something, lol.

[happypamama]

Well, of COURSE you used rubber pants day and night. What else would you have done??

 

:laugh:

 

I don't get the whole bulky ultra padded, velcro things. Are they water-proof? How do you put little girls' cute little bloomers on over them? or little tights with ruffly bottoms? Aren't they expensive?

 

Yes, fitted diapers, or all in ones (fitted diapers with an attached waterproof layer) are more expensive than prefolds or flats. If I were to put a fitted diaper on, I'd put a ruffled wool cover over it for a little girl, so it'd be a waterproof layer and bloomers all in one. Ruffled tights would go over a wool cover, but if I were doing tights, I might opt for a trimmer cover. The little ruffled wool skirties are so cute!

[blondeviolin]

We still use prefolds too. We don't snappi or pin, though; we boingo. For the next babe, we're totally going with prefolds too. :)

[Jean in Newcastle]

I still have some of my old diaper pins.  One has a plastic duckie head on it.  The others have blue plastic teddy bear heads on them.  I find them handy for all sorts of things.  But I do stick myself sometimes!  

[Carrie12345]

I vaguely remember those days from my youngest sister.  I didn't have to do all the work, but I changed a couple in my day and lived with a wet pail in the tub.

 

I went on to use disposables with my first few kids because I had no idea how much things had changed.

[Deee]

I used terry flats and snappi clips on DS from 2000-2003. I loved them. I even had a family day-carer who washed them with her son's cricket whites and gave them to me ready to hang on the line at the end of the day. DS was almost two when he finally spotted another kid in cloth. He yelled out, "Mummy, Nappies!" He was very excited, like he'd met a kindred spirit (it was at a tipi blessing for a friends homebirth in a paddock so the odds were good). DS had awful reflux. Sometimes I used more nappies on the top half than I did on the bottom. I had three dozen. Some times they were all in use or in the wash. Fortunately, Sydney has great weather and flats dry and bleach well on the line. And I know its weird, but I loved folding them into fluffy white stacks almost as much as I love big nappy bums!

[Pink Elephant]

I still prefer prefolds over everything even though I've used and tried practically everything under the sun. ;).

 

Nothing compares to 100% all natural cotton comfort for baby. When I had my kids in cloth I never worried over their comfort and health. Something about using cloth seems so right.

[Deee]

Oh yeah, I was stumped by your toilet rinsing technique until I remembered that the water in US toilet bowls comes up much further than it does here. MUCH further. Like three of us stood around a hotel toilet in shock. It was very disconcerting.

D

[shawthorne44]

... the ammonia odour of urine the old plastic diaper pail emitted? Pee-ew! Sometimes it was so strong it burned your nose and eyes!

 

There is a solution to this too.  It would have been available then, but probably no one had thought of it.  Ammonia Remover.  From the fish section of the pet store.  It converts ammonia into something super mild and easily cleanable.  We kept two spray bottles in the bathroom.  One with diluted ammonia remover for pee diapers and one with enzyme stuff for poopy diapers.  So, the pee diaper never had an ammonia smell.  Also meant we rarely had to strip the diapers.  

 

On the subject of plastic plants.  My aunt had gone to a Gerber outlet store and bought prefolds and plastic pants.  The plastic pants from BabiesRUs weren't in the same league as the Gerber ones.  

 

I even had a couple of non-prefolds.  Basically a really large piece of soft absorbent fabric, but it was an official diaper.  I had fun with those, that was basically my crafty outlet during that time period.  But, I'd have hated to use only them,.  

[Pink Elephant]

my pail was stinky and I washed everyday

Many moons have passed since my babysitting days, but diaper pail odour remains one of the things I still remember vividly from back then, and I remember the ammonia smell the diaper pail had in our house when my mom was using cloth with siblings.

 

With my own kids I seldom sanitized the pail. If it got a quick rinse on diaper washing day, I was ahead of the game, otherwise, it was simply emptied out into the washing machine, lid replaced, and stood back in the corner again for another round of wet and dirties.

[wendyroo]

Nothing compares to 100% all natural cotton comfort for baby. When I had my kids in cloth I never worried over their comfort and health. Something about using cloth seems so right.

 

This was so true for my eldest and my youngest, and so not true for my middle son.  Elliot's skin was/is super sensitive and prefolds gave him horrible rashes.  It was a catch 22, the prefolds held the urine up against his skin which caused bleeding rashes (even if I changed him every hour), but switching to disposables to keep his skin dry caused rashes due to the chemicals.

 

In the end, all I found that worked was 7th generation disposables or pocket diapers with stay-dry fleece inside. The pocket diapers were expensive (~$20 each), but once I bought them we were set from infancy through potty training; the 7th generations were expensive and would have been a reoccurring cost.

 

Wendy

[Hikin' Mama]

... the old-fashioned diaper pins we used to use? And how much it smarted when you miscalculated pushing the pin through the diaper and catching it on the other side and instead, got yourself? Ouch!

 

... the countless hours we put in folding? Daytime folds, night-time folds, double folds, triple folds... It was all about folding in those days...

 

... rubber pants? The ones that used to make our kids bottoms red at times? The ones that used to leave those red elastic rings around our kids legs? The ones that produced that distinct rustling plastic swish-swish beat with baby's every move, as if to let us moms know where baby was at all times? The ones where if you were changing someone's diaper in the middle of the night, you didn't know which end of the pants you had a hold of until you found the elastic-waistband, nor did you know whether the pants were backwards or inside out!

 

...how droopy those old diapers were when wet? How they sagged? LOL! There was nothing custom-fit about them, but they got the job done and saved us a bundle!

 

... toilet rinsing? With a firm grip, you latched onto the diaper and while holding the diaper inside the toilet bowl, you flushed the toilet, and with water swirling, you dunked the diaper up and down repeatedly in the swirling vortex, before wringing the diaper out and tossing it into the diaper pail.

 

... the ammonia odour of urine the old plastic diaper pail emitted? Pee-ew! Sometimes it was so strong it burned your nose and eyes!

Yes! I used the very system you describe for my oldest. I got lazy (and had more disposable income--ha ha!) with my next two.

[Pink Elephant]

Well, of COURSE you used rubber pants day and night. What else would you have done??

 

:laugh:

 

I don't get the whole bulky ultra padded, velcro things. Are they water-proof? How do you put little girls' cute little bloomers on over them? or little tights with ruffly bottoms? Aren't they expensive?

 

We bought about 5 doz. pre-folded gauze diapers, and plastic pants at the grocery store whenever we needed them. Neither of my dds ever had a strong ammonia smell, or droopy diapers. Maybe I was too OCD or something, lol.

 

I recall an old neighbour of ours going the half-measure when it came to the use of rubber pants. She used them for naptime, night-time and outings, but diapered her children without them (for the most part) when she was at home. Definitely not for me, as I was a staunch rubber pants user, but always interesting to learn how others used cloth in their homes.

 

As for the newfangled modern cloth, I'm lost, too. The price alone I do not understand. Seems so overly expensive... and maybe I'm just old-school, but since when did cloth diapering have to be an all-out fashion show? Cloth diapering IMO shouldn't be a fashion show. Diapering should be about diapering (utilitarian style), nothing more. It's about getting the job done. No fancy-schmancy anything, because if I understand the new modern version of cloth diapers correctly, a lot of what's out there today doesn't even perform that well, which tells me, fashion ahead of reliability.

 

Ah... those were the days, being able to buy rubber pants at the supermarket. I did that on occasion. So convenient it was being able to take care of the grocery shopping while at the same time, arrive home with necessary rubber pants for baby without having to make a separate special trip to the department store.

[Pink Elephant]

Yes, fitted diapers, or all in ones (fitted diapers with an attached waterproof layer) are more expensive than prefolds or flats. If I were to put a fitted diaper on, I'd put a ruffled wool cover over it for a little girl, so it'd be a waterproof layer and bloomers all in one. Ruffled tights would go over a wool cover, but if I were doing tights, I might opt for a trimmer cover. The little ruffled wool skirties are so cute!

 

I would be absolutely lost if I had to use the new modern cloth diapers of today! LOL!

[Pink Elephant]

We still use prefolds too. We don't snappi or pin, though; we boingo. For the next babe, we're totally going with prefolds too. :)

 

I would definitely give prefolds a try if I were diapering today.

[Pink Elephant]

I still have some of my old diaper pins.  One has a plastic duckie head on it.  The others have blue plastic teddy bear heads on them.  I find them handy for all sorts of things.  But I do stick myself sometimes!  

 

I know the ones! My collection of old diaper pins can be found in my sewing room where I still put them to use for holding and tacking, and most recently, I used one to fasten the waist of an old pair of sweat pants of mine that long-lost their stretch! So handy.

[Pink Elephant]

I vaguely remember those days from my youngest sister.  I didn't have to do all the work, but I changed a couple in my day and lived with a wet pail in the tub.

 

I went on to use disposables with my first few kids because I had no idea how much things had changed.

 

Growing up with the old made it so much easier for me to use them on my own kids. That, and babysitting countless neighbourhood charges that wore them.

[wendyroo]

As for the newfangled modern cloth, I'm lost, too. The price alone I do not understand. Seems so overly expensive... and maybe I'm just old-school, but since when did cloth diapering have to be an all-out fashion show? Cloth diapering IMO shouldn't be a fashion show. Diapering should be about diapering (utilitarian style), nothing more. It's about getting the job done. No fancy-schmancy anything, because if I understand the new modern version of cloth diapers correctly, a lot of what's out there today doesn't even perform that well, which tells me, fashion ahead of reliability.

 

I have used prefolds with covers and I have used "newfangled" diapers.  The thing to remember about many of the expensive pocket and all-in-one diapers is that they are designed to fit from infancy through potty training.  It is a large initial investment, but you don't have to later buy larger prefolds or replacement rubber pants.  Another important advantage (for some moms) to newfangled diapers is that since they go on just like a disposable, some church nurseries and day cares are willing to deal with them (most will not deal with prefolds).  Overall, I have had good luck with both prefolds and pocket diapers; IME both types contain everything well, much better than disposables that are constantly leaking poop up babies' backs.

 

As for patterns and colors, well, if diapers should only be white, does that mean all underwear should only be white?  My dust rags have sunflowers on them; they are clearly a utilitarian product, but those flowers make me smile, and let's be honest, I change my babies' diapers a whole lot more often than I dust.   :001_smile:

 

Wendy

[Pink Elephant]

I used terry flats and snappi clips on DS from 2000-2003. I loved them. I even had a family day-carer who washed them with her son's cricket whites and gave them to me ready to hang on the line at the end of the day. DS was almost two when he finally spotted another kid in cloth. He yelled out, "Mummy, Nappies!" He was very excited, like he'd met a kindred spirit (it was at a tipi blessing for a friends homebirth in a paddock so the odds were good). DS had awful reflux. Sometimes I used more nappies on the top half than I did on the bottom. I had three dozen. Some times they were all in use or in the wash. Fortunately, Sydney has great weather and flats dry and bleach well on the line. And I know its weird, but I loved folding them into fluffy white stacks almost as much as I love big nappy bums!

 

What a cute story!

 

Not weird at all re: folding. I, too, loved folding... not the rushed style of folding where baby was in his or her crib with their rubber pants pulled down around their ankles waiting for me to fold a diaper to put on their bottom, but folding where the house was quiet and I was able to relax while doing it.

 

I used to fold two different folds, one for regular daytime use, and the other for night-time use which had an extra diaper folded into a pad which I laid down the centre for added absorbency. I'd then stack them on top of the baby's dresser beside the crib for quick and ready use.

[Pink Elephant]

Oh yeah, I was stumped by your toilet rinsing technique until I remembered that the water in US toilet bowls comes up much further than it does here. MUCH further. Like three of us stood around a hotel toilet in shock. It was very disconcerting.

D

 

LOL!

 

I dream of visiting the UK. One day...