Name: Jennifer Atchison
Children: 1 and 1 on the way, Emery is 22 months and baby #2 is due to arrive in early May 2011!
Occupation: Part time school social worker
Is your hubby on board with using cloth diapers? Yes! Once he found out how much money it would save us he was glad to switch. However, while he'll change them, he still turns his nose up to poopy cloth diapers and he doesn't like using cloth wipes. But, he's a trooper and tries not to complain!
When did you start cloth diapering? I researched for months before I switched. We finally made the switch when Emery was 17 months old.
What was your main reason for switching to cloth diapers? There are several reasons. I like that they are better for the environment. One of our highways in town goes right past the landfill. For the past 5 years since we've lived in our current home I've seen it just get higher and higher. Contributing to that by throwing away so many disposable diapers just got to me one day. Secondly, I really like that there isn't really a nasty smell involved. The diaper trash always smelled so bad and my husband and I would battle over who would take the diapers out to the trash! Of course, it goes without saying that I also loved switching because they are super cute, soft, and fun! :)
Share the short story of how you started using cloth diapers. I have some online friends that were doing cloth and I grew interested the more they talked about it. I started doing my own research on the types of cloth, how to wash, etc. and I asked them lots of questions. I started entering blog giveaways and won a few pocket diapers. So, I just decided to finally jump in and try it out. I loved it right away and haven't looked back. I wish I would have started much much sooner.
What is your favorite brand and style of diapers? My favorite diapers are pocket diapers. I really love the fit of bumGenius 4.0 w/snaps but I love the colors Fuzzibunz offers. My stash includes mostly bG's and Fuzzibunz. I do like Flip diapers and prefolds/covers when we're at home. I recently purchased an AppleCheeks and would love to try a Rumparooz, too. Babykicks Joeybunz inserts are my favorite insert.
How many diapers are in your stash? 18 Pockets, 3 covers, 7 prefolds, 1 Flip, 5 Flip inserts, and a handful of extra Joeybunz inserts.
Share a blooper or “newbie” story from your cloth diapering experiences. I won some cloth wipes from a blog so one day I decided to switch to cloth wipes without really talking to my husband about it. He went in to change Emery's diaper and he yelled back at me from the other room "where are the wipes?" I told him I'd switched to cloth and he looked at me and said "You can't take EVERYTHING easy away from me!" LOL. He's doing good with them now, though :)
Do you have a tip to share with others? Even though pocket diapers say that the inserts agitate out in the wash, I find it easiest to pull out the inserts at the time I change the diaper and throw everything into the diaper pail separately. That way, on wash day, all I have to do is dump everything in the wash including the pail liner and I'm good to go. I never have to touch the dirty diapers accept right when I take them off my son. Super easy! Additionally, I think it's easiest to fold my prefolds in trifolds and stuff them in the covers beforehand so they can just be "grab and go" when I need them. I stuff all the pocket diapers ahead of time for the same reason. Plus it's easier for my husband that way, too. Then you just pull a diaper out of the drawer and put it on, much like a disposable!
Is there anything you wish you had known when you started using cloth diapers? That it's easier than it sounds! I don't know why I was so nervous to try because once I did, it just came naturally and was so easy. I don't even notice the extra laundry I do and in fact, I LOVE hanging my diapers on the clothes line and stuffing inserts. I also love color coordinating the clean diapers in the dresser drawer! :) LOL.
What is the greatest issue or problem you’ve had with cloth diapers, and how did you resolve it? My son came down with a mild case of staph infection. He had to be on antibiotics and a cream so we had to put him in disposables for the 10 days he was on his meds (it caused some runny poo!). I stripped all my diapers so they would be ready to go right before he started back in cloth. The day before I was going to switch him back I found out that diapers that may have been in contact with staph bacteria need to be washed in a small amount of bleach or boiled first to truly clean out the bacteria. So, I went to all that work stripping the diapers for nothing! :) I unstuffed everything and put them all back in the wash with some bleach. They came out nice and clean and good as new and we started back in cloth the next day. I'm so glad I found out I needed to bleach them before hand so I didn't re-infect my son!
What are your other hobbies, interests, and obsessions? I love to spend time playing outside with Emery and my husband when the weather is nice. We love the outdoors. When not pregnant, I enjoy a good glass of white wine and a great book. I guess you could call me a baseball fan. I don't really have a choice because my husband loves baseball, but I've been known to watch a game even even when he isn't controlling the remote! :)
What are your favorite blogs and websites? I don't have any really favorite blogs, just several I visit off and on. Mostly blogs that I have an email subscription too are the ones I keep up with. My favorite websites? Umm...probably Facebook, USAToday.com, and babyhalfoff.com :)
Tell us a little about your personality. I'm pretty easy going. I'm content with not doing anything but spending time with my family. It doesn't take a lot to make me happy. I'm not a jewelry and makeup kind of girl...so motherhood suits me wonderfully! :) There's nothing I love more than just running around after my little man and being silly with my family.
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