If you are from the South then you’ve probably grown up hearing the phrase:

“You can’t polish a turd.”

With the re-release of their designer print disposable diapers Pampers is attempting to do just that.  See also: “Like putting lipstick on a pig.”

Do printed disposables make for prettier packages of plastic wrapped around human fecal matter?  They will definitely spruce up that drab ol’ landfill.  It needed a facelift and those non biodegradable argyle diapers are going to make it look really nice for the next 500 years or so.  </sarcasm>

It boggles the mind why anyone would pay a premium price for an item that is meant to be thrown away. This doesn’t just apply to disposable diapers mind you.  Fancy paper plates, decorative  paper towels, paper bibs…. the list goes on and on.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Tampax started making polka dot tampons next!  That area definitely deserves a little decorating!

I enjoy attractively designed items for myself, my home, and my children.  I also enjoy saving money.  It just so happens that my cloth diapers cover the color sprectrum and come in prints!  So do my cloth wipes, my reusable paper towels, and my washable dinnerware.  And by using things that can be reused I save money.  See where I’m heading?

Before Huggies Jean Diapers and Pampers Designer Prints there was one thing Modern Cloth Diapers have had over disposables for years: The Cute Factor. Both sides can argue environmental impact and cost savings and both can find “evidence” to prove or disprove their points.  But modern cloth diapers are cuter.

They saw the writing on the wall.  Cloth diapers had the aesthetic edge.  Stylish, sophisticated, design minded parents might switch to cloth diapers for that very reason!

Pampers aren’t cute. In fact, they are ugly.  They even SOUND ugly.  The swish of a disposable makes the hair on my arms stand up.  And call me crazy, but when I am out in public and catch a whiff of a child wearing one that has been soiled (pee or poo) it makes me a little sick.

I’ve been onto Pampers for some time.  Their marketing to India and now Nigeria is appalling. {India Article, Nigeria Article}  Selling modern conveniences to families who would love them and need them but who would spend a HUGE chunk of their income on them is just plain WRONG.  When the dollar trumps your concern for other human beings that is a company I will never support.

To grow here, P&G must persuade people who live on $5 or less a day to buy items they’ve forever lived without….In Nigeria, many people can barely afford a bar of Ivory soap, let alone a luxury such as disposable diapers….

Do I dare pull a Kanye?!

Pampers doesn’t care about Black People.

Or Brown People. Or White People.

They care about Green People.

I’m going on record and saying that I have used disposables before.  I hope to never do it again, especially now that I know how to hand wash flats when traveling.  But if I do, so help me, I will never give dollars to Pampers (or P&G).

Pampers will do Whatever It Takes to get your money.  In America they will hire designers to come up with appealing designs to print in ink on their paper diapers with less pulp in them (which saves them money) but still charges you more for that improvement.  These same diapers were thought to have caused thousands of rashes in babies all over the country.  Even if the CPSC gave up that investigation you’ll never convince me Pampers Dry Max diapers weren’t to blame.  {disclaimer: that is totally my opinion.} They will slander cloth diapers and post Myths vs Facts with flimsy defenses of the environmental impact of their disposable diapers and claims against cloth diapers lacking facts to back them up.  They will market their diapers to Third World Countries because the pennies they charge for their products multiplied by Billions of impoverished people still equals big money.

Money, Money, Money.

Their print diapers, just like pretty wrapping paper (which you hopefully recycle if it can be) get used once and thrown away.  What A Shame.

These remind me of another brand *cough bumGenius cough*

And stringing the disposable diapers on a clothesline?! Who do you think you are fooling?  ”Awww….. diapers on a line, how quaint and cute!  Let’s go with that one.”  In real life there should never, ever be disposable diapers drying out anywhere!  Why would you even put that idea out into the universe?  Reusing disposable diapers is a dangerous practice that impoverished families have resorted to. In reality, if a disposable diaper were strung on a line to dry it would be bloated and puffed and bursting with SAP gels soaked in urine.  It would look, smell, and feel disgusting.

Pampers, you can’t polish a turd. Cloth diapers just can’t compete with a Billion Dollar business when it comes to advertising.  But they can compete where it counts.  Word of Mouth, Quality, Money Savings, Benefits for the Baby, and all around awesomeness.

What do you think?  Is Pampers utilizing the cute factor of cloth diapers for marketing purposes?  Or am I just a crazy cloth diaper lady with an axe to grind?

{I realize that Mythbusters did in fact manage to polish a Turd in a previous episode.  But in the end what good did it do?  It just resulted in a shiny Turd.  Pretty garbage is still just that, Garbage.}

>>>Scroll down for updates.  The Flats Challenge is now over.  Over 400 families participated.  Catch up on the rest of the posts by visiting the FlatsChallenge tag on my blog.  You can view the conclusions survey of participants by visiting the Survey Link.

Everyone around the country is feeling the pinch of the economy. The prices of food, gas, and even cotton are rising.  These necessary items mean that “luxury” goods aren’t as affordable.  Even worse, families can’t buy items considered necessities.  But what do you do when you have a baby (or babies) in diapers and you can only afford to feed them or diaper them? Do you let them sit in a disposable “just an hour” longer?  Or two?  or five?! What if you run out of diapers?  Would you ever scrape them out and reuse them, or attempt to dry them with a blow dryer?  Even though there are other ways (Elimination Communication-putting your baby on a potty as early as birth, or cloth diapers) to handle running out of disposables, not every parent knows of them so they might, just might, resort to those desperate and dangerous techniques. (are are according to this article, the inspiration for this challenge)  Even Pampers promoted the fact that their Dry Max diapers lasted 12 hours so the playing never had to stop! (then that line disappeared from the commercials… wonder why?) Disposable diapers are not covered by any government assistance program.  Food stamps nor WIC supply them.

Babies shouldn’t sit in a diaper, cloth or disposable, for hours and hours.

Many of you will say, “Why don’t these low income families just use cloth diapers?!”

Simple answer right? WRONG. There are many variables that make it hard for low income families to use cloth diapers.  No washer and dryer access, no money to buy enough diapers to last until going to the laundromat, no way to transport a very heavy bag of dirty diapers to the laundromat, no education about washing them, and so on.

Would I drive to the laundromat to wash diapers? I doubt it.

But when it comes down to it, if I couldn’t scrape together enough money to buy diapers for my baby, could I bring myself to hand wash diapers?  Yes.  If I were given the right information on how, yes I would.

And that is why I decided to challenge myself, and YOU, to use Flats and Handwash them for 1 Week. May 23-May 30. (This ends up being 8 days)

Why flats?

Flats are very large squares of fabric, usually birdseye cotton, that can be folded in various ways to create a trim and absorbent diaper.   They can usually be snappied on but can always be secured using pins.  They need a waterproof cover.  Because they are 1 layer of birdseye cotton they dry far faster than a prefold, which has 4-8 layers.  On a sunny and breezy day outside they can take a little as 2 hours to dry.  Indoors, depending on the humidity and how well you wring them out, it can take 5-9 hours.  Being thin also makes them easier to handwash; the thicker the fabric the more vigorous the agitation you need to get them properly clean.

My first flat application, ever.

Flats are intimidating. How does a square= a diaper?  Isn’t it hard?  Will I stick the baby with a pin?  Do I have to use plastic pull on pants?  No, No, and No.

If you watch a video or find a tutorial with step-by-step photos, it turns out that folding a flat diaper isn’t hard at all.  Even when you are clumsy with it, it works.  Trust me.  Pins?  Not that hard, as it turns out.  But you won’t have to use them.  In fact, you can fold the flat to mimic what most of you understand as the “tri-fold” and lay it in suitable covers also.  Covers?  Use any kind you want. PUL, Fleece, Wool.  They all work with flats.  Just because you are using the “old school” diaper you don’t have to use the puffy pants in addition to them.

Now that you know, will you join me?

Here are the rules:

• You MUST use Flats.
• You MUST handwash them.  How is up to you.  (bathtub, sink, large wash tub, portable non electronic washing machine, or camp style washer (bucket and plunger- think churning butter)
• You MUST air dry them.  (indoors or outdoors, makes no difference)
• You MUST limit your number of covers in rotation to 5 or less.
• You can use any detergent you want.  (Keep in mind that you still want cloth safe detergents)
• You can still use your nighttime diapers but I ask that you try to make flats work.  Maybe try a prefold wrapped in a flat.
• You can use disposable liners.
• You CAN’T use a diaper sprayer.  I thought long and hard about this one, but at an average cost of 40.00 this is one diaper accessory that is out of range for many families.  Dunk, swish, flush, or scrape!
• You MUST start the morning of May 23 and end the evening of May 30.
• You MUST fill out a completion survey about your experience.  Results will be published here and can be republished on your own blog.
• You don’t have to be a blogger!  Your conclusions about the experiment will be entered into the survey at the end of the challenge.  You can share on your Facebook, Twitter, various messageboards.  But if you are a blogger please share your experience on your own blog.  Grab the button and let people know you are planning on joining the challenge.  Recruit others!  Challenge your own readers to join and fill out the completion survey.  You can blog everyday updating your experience, beforehand to let people know you are getting ready for it and explain what you will be doing, and of course, after the fact to let people know how it went.  If you hated it, say so.  If you think it was awesome and want to continue in some aspect, say that too!  Who knows, flats might be your favorite diaper!

I had no idea there would be so much interest in this project!  I am juggling quite a few projects right now: 2 Year Blogiversary, updates to www.clothdiaperfinder.com, my freelance work, my new website and QR project, and now the Flats and Handwashing Challenge!  I am trying to find the time to compile resources and film some how-to’s on making a washer, plus how to wash the diapers.  I am already using the flats  and covers save for the diapers I need to review.  Please check back soon for more information. >I will be contacting many of you who have already filled out the form soon with wonderful news!

Update!

The Challenge is over! There are over 400 people signed up to participate, and over to 50 bloggers posting about the Challenge each day.  We learned so much from one another through blog posts, tweets (using the #flatschallenge hashtag) and forum chatter.  Most of us hit unexpected challenges and some loved it.  Even if handwashing isn’t fun, I think it is safe to say that a few hundred moms (and even some dads) have found a new love and appreciation for flats. The impetus for this Challenge was to find out of handwashing is possible, and if it is feasible to ask anyone to do this.  The jury is still out, but there are lots of other reasons handwashing is a good skill to learn. Traveling, Camping, Emergency Preparedness, Appreciating what You Have (if you have it), and being a better Advocate. The easiest way to catch up with blog posts about the Challenge is to follow the tag flatschallenge. I have compiled many videos and posts to help everyone out who is taking the challenge.  Please refer to them for help with building a washer, folding techniques, prepping, and washing. The official hashtag to use while Tweeting about the Challenge was #flatschallenge. The first Linky for bloggers is up: Why are you Joining? Second Linky: How are you preparing? Daily Linkys and my Daily Vlogs:

• Day 1-59 Links
• Day 2-60 Links
• Day 3-62 Links
• Day 4-57 Links
• Day 5-50 Links
• Day 6-36 Links
• Day 7-41 Links
• Conclusions- 41 Links

If you are participated please take the completion survey.

Take the Survey

Challenge Resources so far:

• Intro to Flats video
• How to Make a Camp Style Bucket Washer video
• How to Pad Fold Video
• How to Kite Fold Video
• How to Origami Fold Video
• How to Diaperbag Fold Video
• How to boil and prep flats
• How to Wash in a Camp Style Washer

After the Challenge is complete I am encouraging everyone to donate their flats (or any other diapers they are finished with) to Giving Diapers, Giving Hope.  A new foundation helping families.  Their mission statement:

We are a non for profit organization which provides education, support and cloth diapers to low income families in the continental United States (not Alaska or Hawaii) so that families aren’t wasting much needed money on disposable diapers and also to help reduce the environmental impact that that diapers have on the landfills.

Thanks for everyone’s interest and passion for this project!  It was a learning experience like no other!

The Great Cloth Diaper Change is only 2 weeks and 1 day away and that makes me think about what I will be changing my son out of, and into, for the event!  If you aren’t already aware of what the event is, watch this video I made:

Of course I want both diapers to be absolutely fabulous because we will be in a large crowd of people!

At first I had planned on using my Medium Tie Dye Ragababe Easy AIO and maybe one of my Artist Series bumGenius! 4.0′s, but then Charlie Banana released this limited edition print:

And I fell in love! Ok, so I said “Goodbye Disposables” a long time ago (technically I never really started using them) but the message behind it is crystal clear.  Plus, I am in love with the font and coloring, I think they hit the nail on the head with that combination.  I wish I could convey to you how much I am swooning over this diaper.  I can’t wait to see photos of babies wearing these soon.

Unfortunately these went on sale on Zulily.com and then sold out super fast.  I went to the park, came home to order a Medium, and those were sold out along with the One Size.  They will be available on Charliebanana.com and select retailers on April 10 and will run 25.  Assuming Zulily ships in time, and the other retailers, those ordering these should have them in time.

Fuzzibunz also announced that they are offering a print in honor of Earth Day as well.  These will be 21.95 and are hitting stores very soon.

I am not a “controversial” blogger. In fact, when writing out my posts I am constantly asking myself “Will this offend someone?  Can this be taken the wrong way?” And so on.  Yet, just the topics I write about are controversial in themselves so I do get the upset mother commenting every once in a while.  I’ll admit it, it sucks.  I get a little sweaty just reading it.  Did I really just hurt someone’s feelings?!

I have been afraid to “push buttons” my entire life. When I have had confrontations in the past they never really went that well.  If a boss of mine was stepping all over me I let them.  The only time I ever stood up for myself was in high school.  I worked as a waitress at a steak house; the manager was a tool.  One day I found out from a friend that he was mocking me and my laugh (which is rather unique and it is a love it/hate it thing) and calling me names to the staff.  I was so upset but not sure what to do.  I stewed over my shift.  I wanted to walk out and tell him to kiss my ass.  So I did.  I calculated my totals and handed him the money for the day from my food sales and the tip share.  I let him know I had heard the things he said and I couldn’t work with him anymore.  As I stormed off, dirty black apron in hand, he shouted after me “You better have all my money!”  To which I replied, “Every last penny!”  I was shaking, sweating, and a little nauseous.  I was also only partially employed (I was working 2 jobs to support myself.) and nervous.  I told myself I never wanted to have that happen again.

Then in college I was the Customer Service Coordinator for TJ Maxx.  This was a stressful job, mainly because no one was preventing the theft of goods and the return fraud occurring many times a day, every day.  So, I took matters into my own hands.  I became a vigilante, upholding righteousness and truth.  I refused returns, I stalked the thieves and called them out on their crap.  It was exciting and got my blood boiling and my heart racing.  This was a different kind of confrontation.  I was fighting for morality.  It was black and white; stealing and fraud are bad, mmmk?  Don’t do it or I will catch you.  I had no problem telling a customer to their face that they are pulling crap, bye bye.  If I ever see you again I will catch you.

Blogging is different and the same. I can sit behind my computer and write about my passions; cloth diapering, breastfeeding, babywearing, homebirth and natural childbirth, co-sleeping, and so on.  It just so happens that a lot of these topics polarize the mommy community.  When you say breastfeeding is good, the formula feeding moms often hear “formula is bad.”  When you say natural childbirth was the best choice you made the mom who chose an epidural hears “Epidurals are wrong and bad for the baby.”  If I say “Disposable diapers are wasteful and toxic” I am interpreted as telling moms they are harming the earth and their baby.

Is that what I mean?  Of course not.  But by praising one topic the other gets put down.  It isn’t like I am equally supportive of disposable diapers but I just happen to be writing about cloth diapers; that simply doesn’t jive.

For the record, here is where I am coming from.

I had a homebirth and it was all natural.  I also had a hospital birth, induced with pitocin, and had an epidural.  I loved my homebirth experience, but the hospital experience made me who I am today.  I don’t look down on any woman for choosing pain medications.  In fact, I wish the US had the option for Nitrous Oxide, a pain relief method commonly used overseas including homebirths!  It is safer, it is fast, and can be administered off and on at will.  Having a natural birth doesn’t make you a better mom but it is something to be proud of (but not brag about, big difference.)

I also love breastfeeding and I think every mother should attempt it.  It is cliche, but that is what they are there for!  Boobs are many things; they are food for babies, nice to look at and play with for your significant other, and they make nice pillows.  It doesn’t have to be a one or the other thing.  If you choose to formula feed for that reason then maybe I do have something to say about it.  If you fell prey to the many booby traps in the world that came between you and your baby’s nursing relationship I am sorry.  Then there are the moms who had to for other reasons that are out of their control.  I don’t think you are a bad mom, you are feeding your baby.  In the end, that is the most important thing.  Babies need to eat and need to be loved.  In my world, that means breastfeeding and cuddling my baby.

Cloth diapers….. oh boy.  Cloth is my thing.  I love cloth diapers, if I didn’t I wouldn’t spend the considerable time and effort that I do maintaining this website.  I would like everyone to use cloth diapers for whom it is feasible.  Unlike some others, I know there is a time and a place for disposable diapers and hybrid inserts.  I have used them myself.  I have never tried to hide that fact.  When we have ammonia issues (far too often than I should but dammit I can’t get rid of it!) my toddler sleeps in a disposable.  *gasp* Yes he does.  If not, he wakes up with a gigantic burn.  I have been reduced to tears before at watching my son not want to sit in his bath because it hurt his privates.  Nothing stings more than knowing the choice you made to better the environment and protect your baby from chemicals back fired.

Other reasons cloth might not be for you: no washer/dryer access. I won’t lie to your face and tell you that I would hand wash diapers daily in order to use cloth.  Call me names, I don’t care!  Some of you have commented that you do just that, and that is cool.  It isn’t for me. Update! I decided to try handwashing and using flat cloth diapers for 7 days. I found it possible, not ideal. My journey can be found here: Flats Challenge

Discussing cloth diapers in a mommy forum (I have been trying to put into words a post on mom boards, one of these days I will post it) can conjure up some serious feelings.  Usually the disposable moms get sick of hearing about how awesome cloth diapers are.  I have seen the alienation of moms when a group of women get to chatting about fluff.  And then, if you say something bad about cloth, the fluffy moms can get nasty.

I’m not gonna rehash it, but I wrote about The Great Divide of Cloth Diapering and why maybe we should promote to the middle class and not say “well if you can’t afford disposable diapers, why don’t you use cloth?” to families who just can’t.

If a low income family does have the ability to wash cloth diapers, often times they are unaware that it is an option or cannot afford the start up cost.  A friend of mine is working on starting a local diaper loaning program for these families.  I’d love to see more reusable diaper banks on a local level!

You will never hear me say that your choice to ______ was wrong.  Advocacy, in my eyes, isn’t about black and white.  Stealing is wrong, but getting an epidural- that was your choice and you have the right to do so.  I’m just thankful there are so many options in life.  I know that many of you are here because you come here often, you “get” me and my ideas, you share many of my passions.  Then there are those of you who might have ended up here from following a link on Facebook or Twitter, or you googled something.  Maybe you are here to leave a comment on a different post telling me I should be ashamed of myself for not seeing the other side.  I do.  I might not agree with it, and it isn’t for me, but it is for someone.

Finally, one thing I have learned in the 2 years I’ve been a parent is this:

Never, ever, ever say “Never.”

I have eaten my words more than once when it comes to my parenting ideals and what happened.  ”My son will never watch _____” or “My son will only eat ______”  Guess what? He watches ____ and he eats a ton of ____.  Overall, things have gone my way but toddlers sure know how to manipulate their parents.

I remind myself of this every time I see another parent holding a bottle or giving their kid a sucker, turning on the TV, or putting them in their crib and receiving protests.  I don’t know where they are coming from or how they got to where they are and neither do you.

I will be linking this post again and again when I take to blogging about something that might “offend” others.  If you do read a controversial post here, it is a rare one!  They do seem to bring in the most traffic so I get why there are so many blogs dedicated to pissing people off, but that is not me! Still, when I see something that needs to be said in the name of promoting or defending my passions, I am sure as hell going to write about it!

image via flickr user Tony3 using the Creative Commons License

This Thursday Healthy Child, a weekly Twitter party that covers various topics about Children’s Health and Safety, will focus on Diapering Choices.  Specifically, this party will focus on the chemical aspect of diapering and how to avoid unhealthy chemicals on your child.

All of the details of the party can be found on the Healthy Child Blog, as well as information on chemicals linked to disposables.

You will also find me at the party (@KimRosas), as well as Emi (@TheCDReport) from The Cloth Diaper Report, Jenn (@Zrecsmom) from Zrecs.com, and Diba Tillery (@babies411) from Babies411.com.

Did I mention there will be prizes involved?

Fuzzibunz and Rockin’ Green will be sponsoring prizes so make sure you visit Healthy Child to RSVP to be eligible.

Oh, and don’t forget to use the #healthychild hashtag. I hope to see you there!

One such way they are countering the bad press caused by the Facebook group “Bring back the Old Pampers Cruisers” which is up to 8,300 members and counting, is to publish how cloth diapers are no good!

Obviously my website publishes how disposables, and at times Pampers, are not good for our babies or planet.  I may be biased, but I do that because it is truth to me.  Pampers is trying to save their business, so lets hear them out.  All information was taken from Pamper’s website.

Because it is what I do, I am going to examine their newest attack on cloth diapers to see what is true, false, or in between.

Myth: Cloth diapers are better for my baby.

Fact: Disposable diapers like Pampers were developed to offer babies benefits that cloth diapers could not meet. That goes beyond convenience to helping keep babies’ skin dryer and more comfortable by reducing leaks and locking wetness inside the diaper in a way that cloth doesn’t. As a result, doctors and parents simply don’t see the same level of diaper rash that used to exist before disposable diapers.

Their main argument that disposables are better for babies is that cloth diapers leak and don’t keep babies dry. They are preying on the fact that most parents still don’t know there are modern cloth diapers. Nothing is wrong with using the old style, but for those who want a stay dry liner and the convenience of an easy on/ easy off diaper, cloth diapers offer that as well. And their claim that more rashes existed before disposables is very false. I am working on finding the study (if you have seen it please tell me!) that claims the exact opposite.  As a matter of fact, my son had more leaks with disposables at night than with cloth diapers (during a period when we were working on getting the ammonia out of our diapers he used them for a little while.)  No leaks with cloth, at least 3 nights of waking up soaked with a disposable.  Funny….

Also, these super dry diapers are one of the reasons children are learning to use the potty, later and later.  When at one time babies were learning by 1.5 to 2 years, the average child learns between 3-4 years!  The ultra dry diapers are only one of many reasons for this (a culture shift) but using cloth diapers does contribute to babies potty learning earlier!  I sure hope so at least!

Myth: Cloth diapers are better for the environment than disposables.

Fact: In October 2008, the United Kingdom’s Environment Agency published an update to its 2005 Life Cycle Assessment study on cloth versus disposable diapers. The update confirmed the earlier study’s findings that there is no clear winner in terms of environmental impacts between disposable and cloth diapers in the U.K., once all factors such as water, energy, detergent, and disposal are considered.

I don’t care what way you slice it, there is no way any study (and I find fault with many studies quoted by disposable companies and would love for a true unbiased study comparing cloth and disposables to be performed) will convince me that the sheer amount of waste generated by disposables isn’t worse for the environment than a resuable option.  Pampers, do you wash your clothes and your sheets?  So do I.  So does everyone else.  Adding 3 more loads of laundry a week does add up, but does it override the tons of trash generated by each family in disposable diapers and human waste?  You also neglect to mention that unlike disposables, cloth diapers aren’t just used for one child.  Whether those diapers are used on one or more younger siblings, or given a new life in a new family, they live on for years.

Myth: Developing countries prove that cloth diapers are better than disposable diapers.
Fact: Our product provides key benefits in terms of skin health, dryness, and even sleep. In China, for example, we’ve learned that babies and parents are frequently awakened during the night each time the baby soaks the bed, because the baby has no diaper or a very thin piece of cloth. As a result, studies have shown that a disposable diaper can help a baby there get a better night’s sleep. In another test, we have also seen less fecal contamination spread around the home using disposables versus cloth or nothing.
Clearly, we have a lot to learn about how to help with basic hygiene needs in countries that have very different access to clean water to wash with, and how to best dispose of products after use. We’ve also learned about hygiene for older children through our Always feminine care business – where in many parts of the world girls are forced to miss school one week each month during their period because they don’t have enough pads or fresh water.
We are working in those regions to better understand what they do with products after use, and how to work with local agencies and other businesses to ensure the best long-term system to manage it.

This is probably a nod to defend them marketing cheaper disposables to third world nations that have mostly used cloth.  Are they are also hoping to end the practice Elimination Communication in countries like China?  Just because most Americans can’t fathom their babies never wearing a diaper, other countries only use EC.  And if Pampers thinks the babies are going to the bathroom wherever they please, I am here to tell you that is not the case.  The parents are there to help the babies and catch their eliminations.  Their home isn’t full of baby droppings like a non trained puppy.  It is insulting to insinuate such a thing.  As for sleep, I honestly don’t know how EC families who don’t use diapers handle this until they learn to hold it.  I imagine it would disrupt their sleep but the families are well prepared for this.  Not every baby begins sleeping through the night at 6 weeks like the American ideal.  Many Americans stuff their baby full of thickened formula to get them to sleep longer too, but it doesn’t mean that is right.  Just means people do it.

And I want to quickly address their Always claim.  Pampers cites that girls in third world countries have to miss school because they don’t have access to feminine hygeine products.  Oh, you mean pads that you throw away after each use?  This is simply not true.  Periods are not new, and neither is school.  There are such things as cloth pads.  Or, menstrual cups, which have been distributed to girls in many countries.  And more recent studies do show a decline in attendance during their time of the month, but it wasn’t due to the lack of access to throw away feminine products.  It was due to cramps.

Myth: Disposable diapers are harmful to the environment.
Fact: All of the component materials in Pampers diapers are gentle to consumers and safe for the environment. Pampers diapers are made of materials that are also frequently used in a wide range of other consumer products. We are committed to continuing to reduce our environmental impact. For example, Pampers has decreased its diaper weight by one-third and packaging weight by two-thirds. And innovative technologies, raw materials, and product design improvements have led to significant reductions in energy, water use, emissions, and waste at our plants. We are working so that our diapers in the future will have less impact on the environment than even today’s diapers.

Don’t pee on my head and tell me it’s raining, Pampers.   First, just because other products use materials found in your diapers it doesn’t make it right or safe.  But, if you want to play that card, that statement is lacking the fact that one ingredient (sodium polyacrylate) found in your diapers has been banned from tampons for being linked to Toxic Shock Syndrome.*  On top of that, Dioxin, another chemical in your diapers, is banned in most other countries because it is linked to cancer and is one of the most dangerous chemicals according to the EPA.*  Their new “environmentally friendly” diaper is the one most likely causing the rashes being suffered by thousands of parents.  Is it because there is less paper filler, and less material between the baby and the chemicals?  And only when they create a new product do they acknowledge the impact on the environment of their old diapers.

Myth: The materials that make up Pampers diapers are depleting our forests.

Fact: The pulp used in our diapers comes from well-managed forests in North America. In some cases, we source our pulp from scrap wood chips from lumber and saw mills. Our pulp suppliers are required to be certified by an independent third party as practicing sustainable forestry. Certification includes standards and criteria for replanting trees, protecting biodiversity, water, air and soil, and for obtaining broad stakeholder input into the forest management plan.

We live in a disposable world.  We use forests to make toilet paper, paper plates, disposable diapers, etc.  I can’t claim to have never used these products.  I will say that though cloth diapers do use resources on our planet as well, many use more renewable materials such as bamboo and hemp.  Not to mention most of the diapers that use cotton choose to use organic cotton.  If your claims are true, that is great.  But it doesn’t make up for the amount of waste put into landfills by your diapers.

*Facts taken from the Real Diaper Association.

The RDA is taking a stand.  If you want to write your own post about Real Diaper myths and facts read this cool info.

This post is part of the Real Diaper Facts carnival hosted by Real Diaper Events, the official blog of the Real Diaper Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to cloth diaper education. Participants were asked to write about diaper lies and real diaper facts. See the list at the bottom of this post to read the rest of the carnival entries.

Today I was able to sleep in until 10, was served breakfast in bed, and my husband helped me clean the house.  That must mean it is Mother’s Day!

I wanted to take the opportunity while my son is napping to wish all of the other Mothers out there a special day.  Homemade cards, paintings, special treatment, and lots of hugs and kisses make for a wonderful day!

We all have a hard job.  No matter if we use cloth diapers, disposables, breastfeed, formula, cosleep or CIO, parenting is hard work.  We all have our opinions on what is best (you know I do!) but I am reminded of a post by Jenn from Cottonbabies about respect.  We all choose different parenting methods, but as long as we love our babies and keep them happy, dry, clean, and fed that is the most important thing!

Every time I hear about the “mothers” who starve their children, abuse them, neglect them, I remind myself that those aren’t mothers.  Those are monsters.  Real moms do a great job, even when we don’t think we are.

When my son has peanut butter sandwiches or Easy Mac for lunch and refuses to touch a vegetable I feel guilty.  Then it happens the next day, and the next.  He eats a cookie and I feel terrible.  And when he watches more TV than I would like but it was that or screaming, I feel even worse.

Despite all of that he is happy.  He loves me unconditionally and shows it with lots of hugs, kisses, and snuggles.  He can’t say “I love you” but it doesn’t matter.   He didn’t get me a Mother’s Day gift but when he woke up this morning he gave me extra kisses, and that was the best gift in the world!  And now I have one more baby on the way to make being a Mom even more special.  I am terrified and excited all at the same time.

So enjoy your special day Moms, because tomorrow it is back to laundry and snot wiping.

If you remember, we launched a Twitter, blog, and video campaign called #operationfluffy to convince The Ellen Show to feature modern cloth diapers on the show.  The campaign had hundreds of people involved who tweeted and taped their babies dancing for our You Tube video of babies in cloth.

Then I got word from a diaper maker who was told they would be on The Mother’s Day show.  I was happy and sad.  I was happy to see cloth diapers on the show but sad only one type and brand would be presented.

Unfortunately, cloth diapers were bumped because Huggies stepped in with their ridiculous “cloth like” jean diapers.  You know what else is like cloth? CLOTH.

And, lets be honest.  Even if you use disposables, how ridiculous are these?  It makes baby girls look like hoochie mamas in cut off booty jean shorts.  And boys, well, erm, I am not gonna touch that with a ten foot pole.  But lets just say it looks ridiculous.

I am torn.  I was under the impression Ellen was very green.  She said on her show “If there’s one thing that all babies need — it’s diapers, and lots of ‘em!”  Not really.  12-36 in total will do, none of which end up in the landfill.  A friend suggested I tally up how many diapers Ellen gave away which will then end up in the landfill.  The entire audience received a 6 month supply of Huggies.

I was not able to find concrete numbers as to how many seats the studio holds.  I did find an account of a woman who attended the show who knew that there are a guaranteed 150 seats for out of town guests.  Meaning there are more than 150.  I am going to guess there are another 100 seats, for my purposes.  Maybe more, maybe less.

250 audience members received a 6 months supply of Huggies.

The average baby goes through 8 diapers a day.

That baby will use 1,456 diapers in that time frame.

So lets say Huggies gives those families 1,456 diapers.

Multiply that by 250 guests.

Ellen essentially put 364,000 diapers into a landfill.*

These guests could have had cloth diapers!  In a perfect world that would have kept 364,000 diapers out of the trash.

Like I said, I am dissapointed.  I understand she is running a business and Huggies poured millions into her show in the form of advertising.  Cloth diaper companies, even the biggest, couldn’t do that.

Ellen, we want you to think about the influence you have on the country.  Think of the good you can do for environment if you promote the use of cloth.

You can tell The Ellen Show how you feel.

Tweet your comments (please be nice) to @TheEllenShow and use the hashtag #operationfluffy.

*I pulled these numbers from the air based on guesses.  Obviously that is not a correct number.  But it is demonstrative of how many diapers will be thrown away by those parents.

Update:  The CPSC is investigating new Pampers with Dry Max.  Details here.

This is yet another Pampers post.  If you use disposables full time or part time, I urge you to read this.  Pampers are causing serious problems for babies.  Don’t let your baby be next.  If you can, use cloth. If you can’t please choose a brand better for your baby such as Tushies.

Today I saw something very disturbing.  A friend of mine posted a photo (edited to not show her baby’s privates) of a very serious diaper rash.  In fact, it is the worst I have ever seen.  The skin looks like it has been burnt off.  She was hoping to find some advice for treatment and causes until she could get to a doctor.  Obviously her daughter is in pain and very uncomfortable.

A few people suggested it could be a chemical burn.  My friend did a little digging and some dot connecting.  The rash started after she began using the “new and improved” Pampers Cruisers with Dry Max. She found a facebook group dedicated to bringing back the old Dry Max diapers. In that group, consisting of 728 members, she discovered many, many moms complaining of the same burn like rash.  All of the rashes began after using the new  Cruisers with Dry Max.

She has since started using another brand of diapers and is in the process of beginning cloth again after a hiatus.

While I nor she can confirm 100% that the rash is from Pampers Dry Max, the overwhelming number of mothers claiming severe rashes from this diaper is convincing.

Not that causing chemical burns isn’t serious enough, in typical big corporation fashion, it seems they are giving customers with rash complaints the run around.

Here is an excerpt from a customer service rep’s response to a mother complaining of a rash caused by Dry Max:

You know your baby best, but some factors that can contribute to the onset of diaper rash are diet/change in diet, diarrhea, teething, the use of antibiotics, upset stomach, etc. Taking all of these things into consideration, it’s hard to pinpoint the cause of your child’s skin irritation. If your baby’s condition doesn’t improve, you may want to speak with your pediatrician

My friend in particular was told her baby just needs to be moved up to the next size. How could a diaper rash possibly be caused by a smaller size?  Leaking, yes.  Rash, no.

And, in case you would like to see, this is what her baby’s rash looks like. Please be advised this is a graphic image and is hard to look at.  After a doctor appointment she was told it was definitely from the Dry Max diapers which caused “contact dermatitis.”

Listen to a few of the rash concerns:

After 1 day on the new Cruisers, red, hot rash ALL over the bottom. I switched diapers immediately, and am already seeing an improvement with Triple Paste. He’s 15mo and on table food. No allergies, no antibiotics, no diarrhea, not teething.

Our 12 month old son has horrible burn-type rashes and we know it has to be the new Cruisers – the diapers really smell of a strong chemical. The odor becomes stronger when wet. He is on a diet of Enfamil formula and solid foods. We were about to switch him to milk, but are waiting until the rash clears. We have officially switched diapers (testing out Huggies).

These quotes come from a discussion with 25 replies, most of which are instances of severe burn like rashes.  This thread attempted to compare diets and age to rule out other possibilities, and no matter if the baby was breastfed, formula fed, whole milk, or other, the rashes began with Dry Max diapers.

The loyal customers are enraged.  Moms took their complaints to the Pampers Facebook Fanpage, only to have their complaints erased.  Many were also banned from the page.  Others left official reviews of the new Cruisers on Pampers’ website but it denied them saying their reviews had “vulgar language.”  That is because the words “horrible” and “bad” speak the truth: how vulgar.

Another reason parents are enraged is the deception.  Pampers began putting the new Cruisers with Dry Max into the old Cruisers boxes.  Now, parents experiencing rashes are either diving into boxes in the store to compare, or switching brands completely.

But have these parents considered cloth diapers?!?! I think some cloth diaper manufacturers should utilize this Pampers fiasco to convert more moms to cloth diapers.  Hey!  Offer a special discount to members of the Facebook group.

If you came across this blog post because of your troubles with Pampers Dry Max, please consider joining a Twitter chat this Earth Day that is all about how to start cloth diapering.  This would be the perfect opportunity to learn more about modern cloth diapers.  In addition, if you do not currently use cloth diapers, you are eligible to win large prizes of cloth diapers that could very well help you on your way to begin!  To learn more about this party and register visit my recent blog post: Get Real- The Inside Poop on Cloth Diapers.

I think Pampers users would be pleasantly surprised at how absorbent, easy, and comfortable cloth diapers are.  Not to mention, NO HARSH CHEMICALS to cause rashes or burns.

If any disposable diaper user has questions for me personally about how to get started and what diapers might best fit your needs I would be more than willing to answer them.  You can email me at dirtydiaperlaundry at gmail dot com.

I would just like to add that as much as I love cloth diapers, not everyone does.  But if you use disposables please consider another brand.  To further support Pampers when they clearly care nothing for their loyal customers and, more importantly, the health of the babies in their diapers, is foolish.  To read more about the dirty things Pampers has done check out my older Pampers posts.

***Update

In case you are wondering, the baby’s rash in the photo has gotten better for the most part.

Reuters has also just written about the new Pampers and rash issues.