You’re probably grossed out by poop. Right? Or maybe not. Maybe you’re a parent, a caregiver, a pet owner, or a medical professional. Maybe poop is such a part of your daily life that you have to remind yourself not to talk about the consistency and colour of your child’s diaper. Maybe poop has lost its grossness because you deal with it every day – sometimes every few hours. Maybe you just learn to deal with it, because yes – poop happens.
As a Mom, I have some pretty hilarious poop stories. We all do, but most of us keep them to ourselves to protect the innocents (both our friends and our children.) For instance, there was this one time that both my kids decided to fill their diapers right before we were supposed to board a plane. Despite being stocked up, I ran out of wipes before the job was done and although we made it to the plane in time with two relatively clean bums, my hands did not come out of the ordeal so lucky. (Oh, the love of a Mama).
Unfortunately, when people think about cloth diapers, they immidiately think about the amount of poop they will have to touch.
It is a reasonable concern. Because yes, cloth diapering means you need to get a little more hands-on with the poop. It requires some rinsing and dumping for sure (but did you know that technically you’re supposed to dump before sending disposable diapers to the landfill too?). And the mere act of disassembling a soiled cloth diaper can make it difficult to keep fingers clean.
But is it really any different than the rest of parenthood?
Regardless of my diaper choice, I come into contact with poop. And snot. And barf. And any number of other bodily fluids. And no matter the type of diapers I choose, both hands and clothes need to be washed often. These days, cleaning a bum means I have to keep four limbs plus another entire child out of the mess while I try to clean it up. Sometimes I’m not sure why Moms haven’t evolved four additional hands. Motherhood is messy.
And I don’t even notice it anymore.
So yeah, you’re going to touch poop if you use cloth diapers.
But it isn’t all bad. Cloth diapers hold in blowouts way better than disposables. That was actually one of those hidden surprises that I encountered when I started cloth diapering. Poos that I knew would normally ruin clothes would actually all be contained in the cloth. It was pleasantly shocking.
So if you’re worried about the poop, don’t be. You’ll touch it whether you use cloth diapers or not. But you might just deal with fewer full blow-outs if you choose to go the cloth diaper route. And that is a definite blessing.
Poop happens.
But at least it all comes out in the wash.
(Remind me of this when I feel like I’m up to my eyeballs in it).
The small print: I use Hipkiddo cloth diapers on Gavin. They’re an awesome cloth diaper choice if you’re looking for green, affordable diaper options. Be sure to Like Hipkiddo on Facebook and follow on Twitter to hear about chances to save and win. Hipkiddo provided cloth diapers for the purposes of this blog series but all opinions are my own.
To Read More About My Cloth Diapering Experience, Check These Out:
Let’s Start at the Beginning: How to Pre-Wash Cloth Diapers
Fluffy Family
New Fluff: Getting Started with Cloth Diapers
rowan used to be a car pooper. it wouldn’t matter where we were going or how long the drive was, she would poop. and it was always MAJOR. we got to my in-law’s place one time to find her car seat covered, and poop all the way up to her hair line. we had been trying to get through the last couple of disposables we’d received as shower gifts before switching to cloth full-time [we had bought our full stash last march + rowan was born in july]. I was so scared about the blow-out monstrosities that would no doubt arise once we made the switch. she has only had one blow-out since then [she was in cloth before 4months] and she was sitting in the bumbo. those things just squish everything out. I love our hipkiddos!
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Duncan was a blowout pooper ( still is) and after staining all his 0-3 month clothes and getting so frustrated with every single brand of disposables ( because we tried them all) we switched to cloth. I am quite in love with them and that his clothes are stain free. He does manage however, to poo every time he is placed in a disposable and create a huge mess…
You know the kind of blowout that goes all the way up their neck?
Yeah, I’ve had to deal with a couple of those. :)
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I have plenty of poop stories.
And yes I used cloth diapers as well. After the toddler was potty trained we had a party here.
She is so proud of herself that is usually how she introduces herself.
“Hi my name is Lucy and I poop in the potty”
Its a big deal and a big deal of poop.
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My favourite poop story took place when the Mogrunt, only a few weeks old at the time was having his diaper changed late one night on the bedroom floor at the cottage. Poop went FLYING across the room and hit the wall. Thankfully, his Dad, who was changing him, was squatting down and the poop shot under him, missing him completely. The poop came out sounding like a firecracker and I responded to the ensuing Dad-panic by getting a case of the giggles.
We have had our share of bedtime Poo-namis (like tsunami, but poopier) and have discovered that there is something to be said for a well-fitting diaper cover. And always having an extra set of sheets clean.
“Sometimes I’m not sure why Moms haven’t evolved four additional hands. ” Yes!
My mom always says if she had it her way God would have mothers would grow one additional arm for every child they have!
The other day my little guy, just 17 weeks – did not have his usual big morning poo… and it struck me how concerned I was over this and made me realize how in-tune and aware I am about his bowel movments.. down to the hour of what is considered his ‘norm’ of when ‘Poop Happens’.
Though, I brushed the concern aside since i am aware it is common for babies to even go days without a bowel movment… But, there we were in the middle of a busy Wal-Mart check out line and BabyBoy let it rip… it was embarrasingly loud.. and messy sounding. People took notice.
There was the big morning poop I was waiting for.
I love cloth diapers because there are no nasty blow-outs… as of yet. We use disposables randomly when out and about… and a few blow-outs and leaks have happened when using disposable diapers. Very annoying when out! Cloth diapers defiantly keep all the mess in.
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Yep, I like you and always dealing with poo and don’t think twice about it anymore. But yes you do get a little more hands on with cloth…but like you said most people don’t that they are supposed to dump out disposables which I am sure no one does. And yep the cloth dipes do hold in poo better than disposables!
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With four kiddos I’ve got my share of poop stories too. I think we all do! Doesn’t bother me really. I’m pretty comfortable with bodily fluids and such :)
I can deal with the poop, even the blowouts. We didn’t cloth diaper any of ours but I do believe if we were to have another I’d try it. And even as I say I can deal with the poop I realize I have my limitations (like Z having an accident at school last week and them sending home his underwear WITH THE POOP STILL IN IT — not wiped out, not dumped in the toilet, but STILL IN THE UNDERWEAR.)
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