“I’ll be right back. Mommy just needs to change Gavin’s diaper.” Little feet hit the floor behind me as I turn to walk towards my bedroom.
“I come too, Mama! Wait a me!”
I lay Gavin down on his change mat and turn to look at the stack of cloth diapers sitting on the dresser. “Which colour should Gavin wear?” I ask.
“Hmmmmm. BLUE!” Cameron answers, thrilled to be involved.
Being the big sibling is hard. All of a sudden a new baby enters the world and life completely changes. As soon as we brought Gavin home from the hospital, Cameron inserted himself into everything so that he would not be forgotten and it was my job as his mother to make him feel wanted and special and big. There was a transition that was taking place in our family. A movement from one child to two; from a family of three to a family of four. I tried to make that transition as smooth as possible.
But, families are kind of like cloth diapers. On the outside they are perfect and bright and beautiful, but it takes only minutes for things to get really stinky and uncomfortable. Messes happen. And when they do, they cannot be ignored. What matters is how we deal with them.
One of the biggest challenges about cloth diapers is the mental block we stumble upon when we think about how much work is involved. Stuffing, dumping, rinsing, washing, drying, stripping, and so on. It can be overwhelming before it even begins.
This overwhelming feeling isn’t uncommon. How often is the hardest part of anything just deciding to do it?
Sometimes it is easier when you get help.
Cloth diapers can bring the family together.
I have friends who have an agreement. She changes the diapers and he launders them. They each took on a cloth diaper duty so that the burden was lessened for them both. In our household, changing a cloth diaper is an event. Everyone (well, the kids and I) run into the bedroom and choose the diaper that we like best at that given moment. Sometimes we lay all the colours out and decide that way. Sometimes it takes five minutes to decide. Sometimes we know as soon as we get there. But we have fun. And in the process, my toddler is included in the daily events of his new baby brother.
As Cameron and I made diaper changing a game, I realized how simple this transition to two kids really would be. And it was. Families are strong and tough and absorbent.
It all comes out in the wash.
If you cloth diaper, how do you include the whole family? Does your better half have a diaper duty?
If you have more than one kid, what special way have you involved your older kids in the care of the younger ones?
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.
I think it’s wonderful that Cameron is included and involved with the baby’s activities. it really does help with the transition.
Alison recently posted..The Comparison Trap
It really does help with the transition, doesn’t it? It is amazing how giving them a job makes them feel special and involved and important and it is a perk of being bigger. It has been so wonderful watching my boy take on this oldest sibling role – I am sure it has been to you too! :)
Laura recently posted..I Hoard Pregnancy Tests
I cannot wait to use my lovely stash of cloth diapers!… I can’t wait for baby to arrive so that I can cloth diaper- haha.
Hubby is on 100% on board with cloth diapering, excited to do his first diaper change, and takin part in the cleaning and caring for the cloth diaper stash. He is super involved! He was even thrown a Cloth Diaper Beer Party where we received about half of what our stash is as gifts!
That is so awesome! I am excited for you to start using your cloth stash too! VERY soon!
How great is it that E is excited to help with the diapering? He’s going to be a great Dad! Sometimes I get all grumbly, because I’m pretty much the only one who does diaper duty with Gavin, but the truth is that when Dan’s home, he’s pretty much the only one doing diaper duty with Cameron, so I can’t complain. We all fit into roles and fill the space of things that need to be done.
Laura recently posted..I Hoard Pregnancy Tests
We also do the She changes and He launders… most of the time ;) He will change and I will launder, but it all works out. I absolutely love cloth diapering but it definitely has it’s challenges. We just got a front loader and have been reading and reading online on how to properly launder with our washing machine. I honestly don’t know what I would do without the wealth of great info and tips online about cloth diapers. I’m so glad you’ve stuck to it this time around! Have you noticed an improvement on your pocket book? Since we’ve never used sposies I have no real concept of how much different it is.
We haven’t noticed a huge change in our pocketbook because we’re still buying pullups for Cam. I really need to potty train that boy! (And I use disposables at night ).
Laura recently posted..I Hoard Pregnancy Tests
Love the analogy that families are like cloth diapers! So true sometimes.
DH is supportive of my cloth diapering financially and he’ll change one sometimes, but I don’t expect him to do any of the work with them. I’m really the one who wanted this and we still use disposables more often than not. And he definitely helps change those so I won’t complain!
Rach (DonutsMama) recently posted..The Student Has Become the Teacher
Your cloth diapering experience sounds a lot like mine. I sometimes still find myself using disposables every once in a while. And yeah, Dan really doesn’t change the baby’s diaper. But when I start to get frustrated about that, I remember that Gavin pretty much only ever wants to be with me, so Dan doesn’t really have the chance, and also, he changes Cameron pretty much exclusively when he’s home, so I guess he’s not so bad. ;)
Laura recently posted..I Hoard Pregnancy Tests
I have to say, I have always thought that one day I would use cloth diapers, but I know from friends/family, how incredibly challenging it is (though not yet firsthand, sadly). I give you so much credit, not only for doing your part to save the environment, but by turning this into an interactive game your eldest can play, too. What a wonderful bonding experience this is for you all :)
Charlotte recently posted..baby strollers are not meant to be used as weapons
Thank you! Cloth diapering isn’t so bad, really. It can be a bit of a challenge at first to get used to it, but it soon becomes second nature. And it really isn’t THAT much extra work if you consider that human waste isn’t supposed to go into the landfills so technically disposable diapers are supposed to be dumped out too (as if anyone does that though). The biggest change is just the washing and the drying, but that replaces rushing out to the store late at night when you realize you’re all out of diapers, which is a fair trade, I think. ;)
Laura recently posted..I Hoard Pregnancy Tests
Sounds like you guys do a fantastic job making sure your biggest boy is included in everything. :) That’s my main goal with baby boy on the way…just to make sure that BOTH of my boys feel loved and included. Keep doing your thing mama. You’re rocking it!
Courtney Kirkland recently posted..It’s all Coming to an End
I just know you’re going to make Noah feel like such a special part of the equation once Jonah gets here. You’ll rock it too (if you need a reminder that you’re rocking it, just come to me. Even when you’re rocking it, it can feel overwhelming, but don’t let that get you down!)
Laura recently posted..I Hoard Pregnancy Tests