Is Your Partner Skeptical About Cloth Diapering?

Nothing bonds a couple like welcoming a new little soul into the world together, but, not all couples see eye to eye when it comes to cloth diapering. If your partner isn't convinced, here are a few pointers to help move the discussion along from one of our cloth diaper experts and Kanga Care Guest Bloggers, Marie-Etta Collins of CheerfulHomemaker.com!

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I was pregnant with my son when the topic of cloth diapers came up. We were planning for me to stay at home and were looking for ways to save money. I was not familiar with cloth diapers but was pleasantly surprised to see how modern and simple they looked. I was sold. There was only one little problem, my husband was not on board.

Like a lot of people, my husband had his reservations:

• Would this really save us money? 
• Were they really as easy to use as disposables? 
• And most importantly: What about the poop?

Here are some common misconceptions about cloth diapers:

MYTH: Cloth diapers are more difficult to use than disposables.

FACT: Modern cloth diapers are just as simple to use as disposable diapers.

Cloth diapers have come a long way since the days of plastic pants and diaper pins. These days, the variety of styles available boggles the mind! You can use everything from prefolds and covers to all-in-ones, like this super easy to use Lil Joey pictured above. If you go with something like a Rumparooz pocket diaper or all-in-one, changing your baby's diaper is as easy as disposables!

The wash and care of cloth diapers is simple, too. Since they don't have any weird-smelling chemicals like disposables, since solid waste is flushed and since you don't have to wait a week for the trash to be picked up, cloth diapering ensures that odor is not an issue. If you do have odor issues, just toss them in the wash; problem solved! Anyone who has a newborn knows that doing a load of laundry is significantly easier than getting everyone out of the house to go buy more disposables!

My in-laws used cloth diapers on my husband and his sister. All he knew about were prefold diapers and plastic pants. He was flabbergasted when I showed him images of modern cloth diapers. All his life he had heard that cloth diapers were disgusting and a pain to use and here was proof that he was wrong.

MYTH: Cloth Diapers are expensive.

FACT: Cloth diapers offer significant savings over their disposable counterparts.

At first glance, seeing each cloth diaper's individual cost each can seem a bit daunting. After all, you need quite a few; 24 is the recommended number. Spending $500+ at once for diapers can be a bit overwhelming. If you use disposables, you will spend well over $1600 by the time you potty train your child, meaning, per child in cloth, you can save over $1000. If you use your cloth diapers for more than one child, the savings are increased.

We talked about using cloth diapers early on and were able to buy a few diapers at a time. While I was still working, I would take a little out of each paycheck and put it toward purchasing cloth diapers. Whenever I came across a great deal, I would use the money to make the purchase. By the time our son was born, we had a full stash of diapers. By purchasing a few at a time, we never had to use a huge chunk of our paycheck for them.

You can also create a registry or ask your family and friends to help you buy your cloth diaper stash instead of buying you dozens of receiving blankets and cute outfits that will only git for a couple weeks, anyway!

MYTH: You have to touch poop.

FACT: Poop happens.

If you spend any time changing diapers, it's likely that you will get poop on yourself at some point. This is a simple fact of parenting. It does not matter if you are using cloth diapers or disposables. Having experience with both kinds of diapers, I actually get poop on myself much less often with cloth diapers. Also, blow outs are almost non-existent with cloth diapers, whereas they are a fairly common occurrence for kids in disposables. For more on this pressing topic, see our post, "What About the Poop?!"

Cleaning the solid waste off of diapers does not have to be messy either. Many companies sell sprayers (pictured above) that attach directly to your toilet. This allows you to direct the mess into the toilet where it belongs without having to stick your hand into the bowl.

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In the end, I was able to convince my husband to give cloth diapers a shot after telling him about all of the money we would save. That, and the promise that he would never have to wash diapers. It took him a while to warm up to the idea, but now he tells people how great they are!

If your partner has objections, sit down and talk with them. Visit a cloth diaper boutique that offers Cloth Diaper 101 classes. Make a list of pros and cons about each kind of diaper and find the right one for you. Ask friends with experience what it is really like to use cloth diapers.

Was your partner skeptical about cloth diapering? Do you have a story of converting a cloth diaper skeptic into a cloth diaper evangelist? We want to hear about it! Share your story in the comments below!