Two years of all this!

So with Orren's birthday, we also made the two year mark on cloth diapering. Orren has never worn a disposable in his life, and he will potty train soon. It's amazing that we have now saved 75% of our diapering expense, and kept over a ton of waste out of the landfill. It is an accomplishment.

We've learned a lot in these two years. For one, cloth diapering is way easier than it seems, and that the biggest rookie mistake we made was buying expensive pocket diapers when prefolds really do work just as well. That's one thing everyone has to learn for themselves, though. Nobody thinks they'll actually like prefolds as much as pockets or all-in-ones, but most people do.

Once you cloth diaper, laundry will never be the same again. It becomes somewhat of a science. How many diapers at a time? What temperature of water? How much detergent? What kind of detergent? Once you figure out what works, though, you'll stick with it, and actually turn down your husband's offer of a new washing machine because it would put you back to square one. (Plus, I don't know why Thak has some problem with this machine. There's nothing wrong with it, and it's not like he ever uses it anyhow.)

When you cloth diaper, you learn how to roll with the punches, like when Orren developed a sensitivity to synthetic fibers at the age of 22 months. He's ONLY been able to wear cotton prefolds for the past few months, even at night, and while that took some getting used to for everybody, all have adapted well.

I also find that cloth diapering parents are less squeamish, and more adventurous. The questions people ask me when considering cloth diapering still slay me. "How do they not pee through them?" "How can you be sure they work?" "How do you keep it from making your whole house smell?" Dude, they're diapers. It's not life or death. Even if you totally screw this up a few times, what's the worst that happens? You get pee or poop on you? Definitely not a national state of emergency there. Those who have been doing cloth for a while are quick to try new things and don't get too upset if they don't work. Cloth diapering is good for the parent as much as the baby.



Also, as of Orren's birthday, we have been EXTENDED rear-facing for a year (because it is considered extended rear-facing when you are beyond one year old and 20 pounds. Orren hit 20 pounds at 4 months, so as of his first birthday, we were ERF.) I now know that we WILL make three years before we consider turning him forward-facing. There is not a doubt in my mind. It does feel amazing to have now passed the American Academy of Pediatrics minimum guideline for rear-facing (they want a minimum of 2 years, longer preferred). It doesn't seem like it is an accomplishment to keep your toddler rear-facing, and while it is not as big an accomplishment as cloth diapering or breastfeeding would be, it is still something any parent should be proud of. There is a lot of pressure in our society to NOT do what's best for our kids, and turn them forward-facing earlier than we have to, even though it's a well proven fact that it's 500% safer to rear-face. In resisting that pressure, spending the money on the seats it takes even to keep a very tall toddler like Orren rear-facing (and comfortably!) for years, and making the necessary accommodations, there is some degree of accomplishment in that.

I'll be doing a feature within the next couple days on rear-facing as a toddler. I find that a lot of people just don't know what a rear-facing 2-year-old would even look like, so they don't even try. They think it would be ridiculous, and that they'd be uncomfortable, and that it's dangerous because their legs touch the seat back. (For the record, there's never been a recorded incident of a lower extremity injury as a result of rear-facing. Even if there were, I'd rather that than the neck and spine injuries that are so common to forward-facing children.) I think if people see more rear-facing toddlers, learn that it's not ridiculous, that people they know are doing it, and that it's great for the kids, more people will pay attention to the AAP's guideline, and keep their kids rear-facing to at least age 2.



We have had the goal of keeping Orren rear-facing until at least 3 years old, and we are now 2/3 of the way there!

We have also saved 75% by cloth diapering.

I find that when you make well researched decisions, each birthday is a happy occasion for more reasons than the obvious. Good choices only get better with time. The longer we do this stuff, the more it pays off for us.