St. Paul mom Karina Crockett jokes that she is “going to miss diapers terribly” when her youngest, daughter Mathilde who just turned three, soon bids them farewell once and for all. As the mother of two children (son Charles is five-and-a-half) Crockett has learned more than she ever thought possible about diapers.
As is the case for all new parents, life seemed pretty overwhelming when Charles was born and everything about parenting—including diapers—seemed like an experiment, which is why Crockett says she and her husband Andrew “have used all different kinds of diapers” over the years.
“We talked about cloth diapers when I was pregnant with my son, but I didn’t think I had it in me to wash [them] all the time,” she says, adding they used disposables for several months, but were never fully comfortable with that particular choice.
“We used Seventh Generation disposable diapers for awhile because it seemed like a good product if you weren’t going to use cloth,” she says. After trying one or two other brands, Crockett, who was expecting Mathilde at the time, decided to look into cloth options for both of her children.
During a visit to Peapods, a baby care and natural toys store in St. Paul, Crockett, who had spent a lot of time researching diapers online, took the opportunity to inspect several different varieties of cloth diapers. It was there that she saw an advertisement for Do Good Diapers, a home delivery service based in Minneapolis, and decided to call owner Peter Allen with a few questions.
“I think I caught him when he was driving a van full of diapers around town, but he took the time to address all my concerns, “says Crockett, who soon opted to ditch the disposables and made the switch to cloth.
The diaper brigade
When it comes to diapers, there are certainly plenty of options to consider, including flat, pre-fold, pocket, hybrid, flushable, compostable, and disposable. You can wash cloth diapers at home or call on a service to wash them and deliver a fresh stack to your door each week. According to Twin Cities diaper purveyors, families make their choices according to what they believe is best for their circumstances, value system, and budget.
Patti Cross, co-owner with husband, Martin, of All Things Diapers in Blaine, says one of the biggest misconceptions about cloth diapers is the cost.
“You can literally save a couple thousand dollars by using cloth during the entire time your child is in diapers,” she says. “It is true that you’ll make an initial investment to buy the diapers and covers, and then again when they move to the next size, but it is still less expensive than purchasing disposables week after week.”
Cross says some parents do opt to use disposables for the first two weeks of their baby’s life due to the number of diapers they tend to go through and the fact they are still trying to adjust to life with a newborn. After that, Cross says the switch can be easily made.
Cloth diapers, in all of their various forms, seem to be fairly buzz-worthy right now, although the grandparents and great-grandparents of today’s babies hardly used anything else.
According to Allen, after disposable diapers began to gain popularity in the late 1960s, there was a resurgence of interest in cloth during the late 1980s and early ’90s, during what he refers to as “the glory days” of cloth diapering.
“There were four or five diaper services in the Twin Cities at that time, but then the interest really died down,” he says. “Now, so many parents want to make environmentally friendly decisions for their families, they want healthier diapering options, and they want to support local businesses.”
A long way from long pins
Erin Sindberg Porter of St. Paul has a two-year old and a newborn. Through Allen’s service, she has used the regular pre-fold cloth diapers from the beginning with both her boys. Sindberg Porter says she and her sister were raised wearing cloth diapers and she still remembers “the long pins.” (A thing of the past—diaper covers generally fasten with snaps or Velcro now.)
“I think there’s a misperception that cloth diapers are more work, but I just don’t believe that’s the case,” she says. “The only negative I can possibly think of is now that my oldest is more mobile, it’s harder to put the diaper on when he’s standing up, but that’s not even a big deal.”
While many day care homes and centers will not use cloth diapers, both Allen and Cross say more day care providers are contracting their services all the time. When Sindberg Porter was first looking into childcare for her two-year old, whether or not a provider was willing to use cloth was “a dealbreaker” because she was so adamant about using cloth diapers for her baby.
Another stumbling block for some parents is a practical one: while disposable diapers are affixed with an adhesive strip, cloth diapers seem at first glance to be a little more tricky, which is why Amma Maternity in Edina, All Things Diapers, and Baby Love in Eagan all offer classes in diapering for expectant and new parents.
“Parents want to know how cloth diapers work and how to take care of them,” says Katrina Balvance, who teaches a class at Amma and also owns an online diaper store called My Sweet Pickles.
The class typically lasts an hour and Balvance says many parents will stay behind to look at the different styles of diapers or ask more questions. Not everyone is sold on the cloth option, she adds, although many parents do inquire about the chemicals used to make disposables.
Like Crockett, Balvance did not initially use cloth when her oldest child, now four, was born.
“Everyone pooh-poohed me when I’d talk about switching to cloth diapers. Pun intended,” she says with a laugh. Before long, Balvance realized that washing the diapers and reusable cloth wipes (she uses basic Tide, puts her diapers and reusable cloth diaper wipes in the dryer, and air dries the diaper covers) just wasn’t that difficult.
Diaper elimination
There’s also another new twist to the diaper scene called elimination communication. Brittany Kubricky and Veronica Jacobsen, owners of Baby Love, offer a class for expectant and new parents on how they can work with their baby and read his/her cues to understand when the baby needs to be held over the toilet. (The baby should be put in cloth diapers to allow this method to work the most effectively.)
According to Kubricky, who has used elimination communication with her own 17-month old daughter, the technique can be started with babies who are only a few days old.
“Pottytunities,” which is what Jacobsen calls them, can be taken after a baby has nursed or awakened from a nap.
“Anyone who has ever potty-trained a two-year old will see that it’s basically the same idea except for a younger child,” she says. “It is really all about training the parent.” Both women think it’s possible that elimination communication could once again revolutionize the diapering industry.
“Elimination communication is really not as counter culture as people think,” says Kubricky. “It’s kind of looked at the same way cloth diapers were six years ago.”
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Types of Diapers
Pocket diapers: Popular since the early 2000s; outer cover (fastens with Velcro or snaps) is waterproof; inner liner, made of different fabrics like fleece or bamboo hemp, slides inside cover. Form fitting, slimmer on baby. One time use, wash and use again.
All in ones: A cloth diaper and cover in one, one time use, wash and use again. These are considered a more ‘high end’ diaper since they can run as high as $35 apiece.
Pre-folds: Least expensive to start out with, must use with a cover, unbleached cotton is the most popular. One time use, wash and use again.
Flats: Also popular and less expensive option. Typically come in one size, can be used on newborns and older babies, one time use, wash and use again.
Hybrids: This is the style for parents not entirely sold on cloth—part washable, part disposable (uses a biodegradable liner which can be discarded and flushed, although not extremely user friendly for older plumbing systems).
Compostable: Single use, made of a plant-based material. Within six to nine months, the diapers will become compost.
Disposable: Several varieties available. A typical cost for a 66-count package of size 3 diapers (larger than newborn size) is right around $20.
