Monday, June 28, 2010

We need a prefold - STAT!

Today I had to take Fliss to the hospital for what turned out to be a Urinary Tract Infection (or UTI). She'd been feverish for the past few days but today she really seemed to be going downhill. It was your standard hospital visit full of waiting and tests and trying to keep a baby occupied for hours on end without being allowed to crawl on the floor or touch anything. Another germaphobe mum's nightmare.

I think what really stood out for me on this particular visit was the nurses' reaction to Fliss wearing cloth diapers. Those ER nurses probably see hundreds of kids in a month and all three of Felicity's nurses said that they had never seen cloth diapers on a baby before. Each one asked me all kinds of questions about them and the youngest nurse asked for a little tutorial.

It was a sad and proud moment all at once. Sad because it made me realize how few parents in my area actually use cloth. And proud because I'm doing something for my daughter that not only benefits her sensitive skin, but also benefits the planet that she'll be living on long after I die. I happily touted the benefits of cloth to all the nurses and even encouraged the youngest nurse (who seemed the most interested) to suggest that the pediatric ward supply cloth along side the disposables. Yup, that's me - super mum; Saving my daughter and random baby bums all at once!

As a side note to you, gentle readers: If you've never thought about or tried cloth diapering, I urge you to take the leap. I was skeptical at first with thoughts of swishing poopy diapers and my house reeking of soiled cloth, but it really involves none of that. It's nearly as easy as disposables with none of the scary chemicals or the constant output of cash! I also have NEVER had an up-the-back-ewww-gross-total-blow-out poop with cloth. I had them at least once a week with disposables! (Plus, on a totally superficial level, it is awesome to coordinate Felicity's diapers with her outfits! )