A: "convenience"!
me: "eco-friendly" !
A: "no mess"!
me: "best for baby"!
Guess who won that little (ok, big) argument? (not-at-all-smug grin)
The argument was about baby's bum-wear. What should we clad her little tushy in? I firmly held out for the traditional nappies made from an old cotton sari. A accused me of pushing those only because I had made them. Maybe he had a tiny point.
[You have to understand the context. A and I disagree on everything (almost everything) It's one of the secrets of an exciting, fulfilling married life. Our arguments typically end up with him accusing me of being "leftist, feminist, old-fashioned, too inclined to impose my views on everyone etc." My arsenal consists of "capitalist, new-fangled, domineering, not bothered about the state of the world." I wish I could get away with chauvinist, patriarchal and MCP. Unfortunately if I have to retain even a smidgen of honesty, I can't, though I lie in wait.]
What with one thing and another, we had it my way in the first few days. Even A drew the line at having a hysterical new mother on his hands. Unfortunately, we were trapped in the hospital for the first ten days thanks to a party pooper called infantile jaundice and we had speedily run out of the tiny cloth triangles which we had kept for the initial sticky poos.
So we ended up using disposable diapers and wipes while in the hospital, since toting dirties home for washing was a non-option with K in the NICU under lamps for phototherapy. An avid reader of labels (when I am in the loo and there's nothing to read, I have been known to resort to shampoo bottles), I went through the diaper and wipe labels . I thought that all the aloe lotion and softeners that in diapers and wipes were good for baby bums. I was speedily disabused of this notion by the paediatrician we visited on a visit to my parents'.
"No wipes, no disposable diapers. They can cause eczema which will then spread throughout the body. Try using one of the wipes to clean your sweaty face and you will know how it feels." Having already had K suffer through eczema, I was in no mood to risk a repeat.
When we finally came back from hospital, I was relieved to put her on the homemade nappy standard, though it was admittedly a pain in the butt. We compromised and used disposables when we went out. But I was still unhappy. Some research revealed the existence of modern cloth diapers which DID NOT LEAK.
I settled on bumgenius and we managed to save a few bucks by A ordering them before a business trip to the US and picking them up there. They are available online in India as well. He came back with a suitcase of them, grumbling a bit at the money and space they took up, but they've paid for themselves already.
Washing is a breeze too. I just rinse them a bit and pop them into strategically placed bins before they are ready for a 30 minute wash cycle with Krya natural detergent powder and we are set. And the snazzy colours mean that I can mix and match with her clothes rather keeping to boring old white disposables. My favourite is the owl print.
There may be times when you simply don't want to cart dirties around when you're out. I have found that Wipro Baby Soft diapers are the gentlest of the disposables we have tried so far and the list includes Pampers, Huggies, Teddy.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes, I do get a warm fuzzy feeling. My baby's bum bole happiness (no diaper rash - ever), I am using an eco-friendly detergent that you can actually compost after use AND cloth diapers - a double winner.
If you would like to read more about the pros and cons of different kinds of diapering, check out this excellent post.
And no, I have no interest in promoting bum genius and Krya beyond the fact that they make excellent products which I am happy to use.
me: "eco-friendly" !
A: "no mess"!
me: "best for baby"!
Guess who won that little (ok, big) argument? (not-at-all-smug grin)
The argument was about baby's bum-wear. What should we clad her little tushy in? I firmly held out for the traditional nappies made from an old cotton sari. A accused me of pushing those only because I had made them. Maybe he had a tiny point.
[You have to understand the context. A and I disagree on everything (almost everything) It's one of the secrets of an exciting, fulfilling married life. Our arguments typically end up with him accusing me of being "leftist, feminist, old-fashioned, too inclined to impose my views on everyone etc." My arsenal consists of "capitalist, new-fangled, domineering, not bothered about the state of the world." I wish I could get away with chauvinist, patriarchal and MCP. Unfortunately if I have to retain even a smidgen of honesty, I can't, though I lie in wait.]
What with one thing and another, we had it my way in the first few days. Even A drew the line at having a hysterical new mother on his hands. Unfortunately, we were trapped in the hospital for the first ten days thanks to a party pooper called infantile jaundice and we had speedily run out of the tiny cloth triangles which we had kept for the initial sticky poos.
So we ended up using disposable diapers and wipes while in the hospital, since toting dirties home for washing was a non-option with K in the NICU under lamps for phototherapy. An avid reader of labels (when I am in the loo and there's nothing to read, I have been known to resort to shampoo bottles), I went through the diaper and wipe labels . I thought that all the aloe lotion and softeners that in diapers and wipes were good for baby bums. I was speedily disabused of this notion by the paediatrician we visited on a visit to my parents'.
"No wipes, no disposable diapers. They can cause eczema which will then spread throughout the body. Try using one of the wipes to clean your sweaty face and you will know how it feels." Having already had K suffer through eczema, I was in no mood to risk a repeat.
When we finally came back from hospital, I was relieved to put her on the homemade nappy standard, though it was admittedly a pain in the butt. We compromised and used disposables when we went out. But I was still unhappy. Some research revealed the existence of modern cloth diapers which DID NOT LEAK.
I settled on bumgenius and we managed to save a few bucks by A ordering them before a business trip to the US and picking them up there. They are available online in India as well. He came back with a suitcase of them, grumbling a bit at the money and space they took up, but they've paid for themselves already.
Washing is a breeze too. I just rinse them a bit and pop them into strategically placed bins before they are ready for a 30 minute wash cycle with Krya natural detergent powder and we are set. And the snazzy colours mean that I can mix and match with her clothes rather keeping to boring old white disposables. My favourite is the owl print.
There may be times when you simply don't want to cart dirties around when you're out. I have found that Wipro Baby Soft diapers are the gentlest of the disposables we have tried so far and the list includes Pampers, Huggies, Teddy.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes, I do get a warm fuzzy feeling. My baby's bum bole happiness (no diaper rash - ever), I am using an eco-friendly detergent that you can actually compost after use AND cloth diapers - a double winner.
If you would like to read more about the pros and cons of different kinds of diapering, check out this excellent post.
And no, I have no interest in promoting bum genius and Krya beyond the fact that they make excellent products which I am happy to use.
