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Adventures in Babysitting

I was a champion babysitter back in the day. In a move that might seem strange today, I started babysitting a 3-month old for 3 full days a week during the summer when I was 11 years old. 11. For like 9 hours each day. If I ever have kids, I'm hiring a 65 year-old nanny and doing an FBI background check on the person before I even let them near my kid's juice bottle. But in Montana in the mid-80s? No problem - let the 11-year-old handle it.

And I loved it. Everything about it. The little jammies and red wagons and playing and nap time (and the fact that they had satellite TV when we only had 4 very fuzzy channels).

But the diaper thing? That wasn't so pleasant. And on the occasions when I babysat for people who used cloth diapers, I always swore to myself that there was absolutely no way I would EVER use cloth. It seemed so backward.

Yet now that I've seen the stats about the horrors of disposable diapers? No way. Rest assured, my kids are going in cloth diapers (it helps that there are now diaper services to do the really heavy lifting).

But I have a soft spot in my heart for babysitters. And I think that I'm probably going to let them use more earth-friendly, but still disposable diapers on the nights that they come over to sit. I have a long memory...

-Heather...off to clean house in prep for the nephew's arrival...
Posted by: tmeronek on 11/15/2007
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BA  on November 15, 2007 at 04:23 AM 1
Every "better diapers" tip should include the "no diapers" option. I'm not a mother yet, but when I am, I plan to try Elimination Communication instead! www.diaperfreebaby.org
OHK  on November 15, 2007 at 09:40 AM 2
There's also Fuzzi Bunz. I've heard raves about them and plan to use them for my new baby. www.fuzzibunz.com
Felicia  on November 15, 2007 at 09:42 AM 3
I wish you would have recommended Nature Babycare disposables. They have a corn based polymer as their waterproof layer so they actually break down - unlike 7th gen, which still contains plastic and will still take over 500 years to break down in a landfill. Nature Babycare is chlorine-free also. We use cloth at home and Nature Babycare when leaving the house. Cloth is great until you're walking around the mall with a bag full of poop! I've also used gDiapers and they have a little bit of a learning curve but once you get it down, they are okay. Nature Babycare is sold at Super Target, and their sister line Nature Boy & Girl is sold online at Drugstore.com. NO, I don't work for a diaper company. I'm just passionate about saving the planet for my son.
felicia  on November 15, 2007 at 09:59 AM 4
I have some fuzzibunz, they work great but I hate stuffing them. It really takes some time several times a week, and it's a PITA. I much prefer my Bum Genius 2.0 All In Ones. They go on with velcro, just like a disposable, are all one piece and work awesome. I have some old fashioned prefolds too, those are my least favorite and hubby won't touch them. They're too complicated for him. Here's a great place with product reviews on all kinds of cloth diapering options for mamas or mamas to be: http://www.diaperpin.com/home.asp I blog here: http://reduce-reuse-repsycho.blogspot.com/ and I'm pretty well versed in cloth diapering. You can contact me through my blog if I can help you further. I don't mind sharing my wealth of information with others.
Zoe  on November 15, 2007 at 10:04 AM 5
The information listed on the Nat'l Assoc of Diaper Services for available diaper services is out-of-date. I live in the NYC area and the phone number for Tidy Diapers has been disconnected for a number of months and Healthy Diapers only services Westchester and parts north, not the city. There is a new service, and only service I have been able to find that delivers in Manhattan, called Queen Bee Diapers. They are located in Brooklyn.
BR  on November 15, 2007 at 10:06 AM 6
We use prefolds and covers with a snappi (instead of pins) on our son and love them. They're the most inexpensive way to go.
Barb  on November 15, 2007 at 10:12 AM 7
Are there eco-diapers for older children? I have an 8 year old special needs child who will forever be in diapers. I hate to think what I'll be doing to the environment. Thx.
lizbelden  on November 15, 2007 at 12:58 PM 8
I used cloth diapers with all 5 of my kids. They don't have to be expensive, and they don't have to be white-they just have to be an absorbent cotton or linen. I made flannel diapers themed for the different times of the year for my kids. Just get a hold of a "real" cloth diaper to see its size and thickness, then go to your local fabric store & get sewing. Joann's even has official "diaper flannel". It's really thick & works great.
Cindy  on November 15, 2007 at 01:43 PM 9
I may be wrong, but I recall reading on Newsweek that diaper services uses up just as much natural resources, if not more, than disposable diapers. These services wash the soiled cloth diapers they pick up (and deliver) in their van/truck and gives them a good SEVEN HOT washes. Between the truck and hot washes, not really eco-friendly. I use cloth diaper at home with my son, but opt for cleaning and washing them myself. I wash one cycle in cold water (washing in cold will help to NOT set the stains in and also less energy used) then run a second cycle in hot. Also, I wash the dirty diapers about every 3 days or so, and too keep the smell and bacteria down as much as possible, I rinse the soil diapers in the sink with cold water first before wringing them dry and dropping them into the diaper pail.
Jaime  on November 15, 2007 at 02:10 PM 10
I totally with the diaper free comment by BA above. No waste except for the bodily kind. My neighbor introduced me to "Infant Potty Training" or "Elimination Communication" since it was so successful with her daughter. This girl is so happy to use the toilet and has been doing so since she wasl a newborn. Plus she has a healthy relationship to food (a 2 yr old who is happy to eat kale!), which I believe is connected. I am going diaper free when my baby is born.
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