As most of you know, I'm a full time stay-at-home mom (maid, cook, nanny, chauffeur, doctor and dog walker) and a part-time blogger. I know that many of you, however, probably work outside of the home, and I can honestly tell you, I have a lot of days where I wish I did too. Being a stay at home isn't all sticky tables, runny noses, laundry stains, dirty dishes and poopy diapers-- it can be fun at times fun too and my moods often switch from bliss to stress in five to ten minute increments. I do love the fact that using cloth diapers means that no matter how many poopy diapers we have in one day, I just throw my Thirsties in the wash.
Yesterday I had Cooper at the gym where I often go to do a light workout and get some writing done. The daycare is great. He's been going since he was six weeks old and he's happy to get out of the house. I call it my office and it even has WiFi. I get two hours of daycare daily with our membership and it's been my lifesaver. I always bring Cooper in his cloth diapers and I bring two extras. I change his diaper before we leave and toss the soiled one in the wet-bag and the extra back into the diaper bag.
Since I'm always there, the daycare ladies have become quite familiar with Cooper's cloth diaper booty--but not because they've ever changed him--they're not "allowed" to so if he, or any other baby poops, they go and find his or her mother or father in the gym---yes, even if you're running at 6.0 on the treadmill or right in the middle of an oh-so-relaxing "Child's pose" in a yoga class--and silently beckon with a crooked finger and an apologetic smile that says "I'm not a bit sorry that I don't have to change your child's poopy diaper for you."
The last time I was there, one of the daycare workers, an elderly lady of whom I'm quite fond, commented on how "fancy" Cooper's Thirsties were. She said that she had bought some cloth diapers for her grand-baby but that her daughter-in-law doesn't use them because the baby goes to daycare while she's at work and that they're not allowed. This got me thinking--is cloth diapering done mainly by stay-at-home moms? I have a hard time believing that there aren't lots and lots of cloth-diapering families that have both parents working outside of the home.
So tell me, if your child goes to a daycare, whether it's in someone's home or at a center, do you bring your cloth diapers and if so, is it more work for you or for the caregivers since they don't have access to all of your accessories, not to mention your diaper pail?
Working moms, tell us how you do it!
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Our girls are at a Montessori school / daycare. With our oldest (now 2.5), they had no problem with cloth diapers as long as they were AIOs. Now, my youngest (7 months) is in the infant room and of the 6 babies there, 4 are cloth diapered, and the teachers are now pretty adept at using all types of cloth diapers (including prefolds + covers). None of the cd’ed babies use cloth wipes, but the teachers just separate the disposable wipes from the diapers and throw those out.
I’ve sent cloth diapers with my son to two different in home daycares and used them with a nanny, and never had any problems. I don’t have the sitter wash out the poo, I do it when we get home, and I send pocket or AIO diapers, so I don’t think it’s much more work than disposables, and no one has complained. We even converted the nanny to cloth, using prefolds and covers no less!
DirtyDiaperLaundry.com is actually doing a series about this right now! I contributed an article on convincing day cares to try cloth.
http://dirtydiaperlaundry.com/convincing-your-childcare-provider-to-use-cloth-diapers/
There is no state in the US that does not allow for day cares to cloth diaper, so there can be a hefty amount of education needed.
My favorite cloth diapers for daycare have always been those diapers that the inserts agitate out in the wash or AIOs. Thirsties will always be one of my top choices because of the convenience they give daycare providers!!
We’ve used cloth diapers for DD (now almost 3) and an 10 week DS since both started Daycare at about 7 weeks. The daycare we first started with was the same one a coworker of mine was at. She started cloth there before me. Since we’ve moved (2 times now) we are on a 3rd daycare and everyone has used cloth. But we’ve done some searching and have refused to go to a daycare that doesn’t accept them. Like everyone else, we use pockets and a wet bag. There are some occasional grumbles, but, so far, its been a pretty good experience.
Both of my daughters were in clothies at daycare. My elder daugher was at an in-home care situation from 5 months – potty training, and her provider willingly (with a little education) used prefolds and Thirsties covers. When my younger daughter was about 15 months old, we switched to center-based care. They too were willing to give clothies a shot. To make it easier for them, I did send fitteds.
Never in the four years of cloth diapering did I ever hear a complaint. I provided a week’s worth of diapers, three extra covers and two wet bags at the start of each week. I took the dirties home each evening, and returned the wet bags in the morning. Now, I do have a great daycare, but the staff was actually intrigued and requested more information. I even inspired a few to give cloth diapering a shot! All it takes is a little education and preparation!
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