Assume the Perpendicular

Trigger warning:* This post is about poop.

I’m an eternal fan of cloth diapering, but I have to admit, it gets way, way more gross once solid foods enter the picture. You always hear cloth diapering mom’s going on and on about how cloth diapers are really just as easy and mess free as disposables, and its totally true when the baby is breastfed, but when it comes to that awful sticky poop that starts occurring after introducing solid foods, disposables win hands down. 

There are ways to make it easier to deal with these no-longer-exclusively-breastfed poops, like liners and diaper sprayers, but they don’t really compensate for the mess. The liners will catch some of it, if you feel inclined to take the extra step of stuffing them in along with your inserts, which honestly I don’t usually do, but you’ll probably still need to rinse or spray the diapers. Diaper sprayers are supposed to be awesome, but it can be tricky to find the right amount of pressure. If it’s down too low, it won’t get the job done. If it’s up too high or if you don’t angle it just right, poopy water will shoot off of the diaper and spray all over your floors and walls and sink. And you will definitely get it on your hands.

Regardless of the precautions taken, each poopy diaper these days requires at least a 5 minute clean up effort and a vigorous hand scrubbing afterward. Luckily for me Eleanor only makes a #2 every other day or every third day now that she’s older. I’m hoping things might get less gross when her poop solidifies more, but for now, and for the last few months, each diaper has been an ordeal. Obviously it’s not enough to make me stop using cloth, but I have to roll my eyes when I come across a cloth mamma extolling the virtues of fluff and absolutely denying that you will have to deal with more mess.