Roll-call... cloth diapers
 

... I was having a laugh with Lawsonmugs and Lynnie, in one of the game threads, as to telling on ourselves as to our age, thanks to mentioning older and dated things we used in the past.

So, how about it, did you use cloth diapers?

I did for all 4 of my children, and that was back in day of safety pins!

I remember real safety pins. after they were on, you had to slid the top up and down to open. does anyone remember those safety pins? they were so a toddler couldn't open them. Yup, and toddlers couldn't get them off if put on properly. now all they need to do is rip the tape off. back then, you had to be a contortionist to get them off.

Yes... three in cloth diapers. There were Pampers and Huggies then, but they were expensive and the gel stuff in them gave my kids horrible rashes. LOVE cloth diapering!

That was in the late 80s....

Lynnie. You describe the exact pins I used. Locking cap pins. I laugh whenever I think back to the Dr. Spock Baby Book I had, and how it mentioned checking for an open safety pin if baby is crying. In all the years I babysat and was diapering my children, not once did I ever encounter a safety pin that had accidentally popped open.

And here I thought I was the only mother who was still using cloth diapers in the 80's! I was still changing cloth diapers on my youngest in 1988/89.

My goodness, three in cloth diapers. I had two and that was enough for me. :) Even then I remember changing diapers in the middle of the night and trying to put the wrong size rubber pants on the kid!

Triplets? Twins with another born right afterwards? Or three close together?

Cloth diapers for my DD in the 60's and they were not the "pre-folded" ones. :)

Same in our house, plain old sheet style fold-up ones.

My oldest is turning 50 this year so yes, I used cloth diapers and washed them in a portable sears washer I hooked up to the kitchen sink and had a maytag "porta dryer" that didn't need venting for the times I couldn't hang them outside on the line, which I much preferred and did most of the time except when we had a stretch of bad weather. Didn't have access to a basement to hang them in the apartment we were living in. I remember the pins and I kept them in a bar of soap to make them easier to go on. And the rubber pants. By the time the second one was an infant there were the early Pampers, that we needed pins for and of course everything seeped out. I only used them on a rare occasion since we were poor and they were expensive. I had the kind that were rectangle and I folded them to fit the baby, first a lot of times and then less times and then when they got older double diapered them. Ah yes, the good old days.

Two in cloth diapers in early 80's. One new one and one getting out of diapers, luckily. Disposables gave mine rashes too. Rubbed the side of the pin across my scalp if it would not easily go thru. lol Ahhh, the good ol' days!

Used the cloth diapers in the 90's for one of mine.

I did mainly because my husband's employer and workers gave us a diaper service. lovely!!! We kept it up after that ran out.

Cloth diapers for all three of mine - 1976-1984. Did get to test Huggies, and some Pampers, with the 1st and 3rd. Had to return the USED disposable diapers in a plastic garbage bag at the end of the week, and fill in a chart indicating where the diaper leaked. Glad I wasn't the employee who had to sort through the used diapers!

Disposable diapers are much improved since 1976!

I preferred the unfolded diapers. I could fold them to best fit the baby, it was easier to get out stains, and they dried much faster. There were many times we didn't have time to fold the diapers after they were laundered, and folded from the laundry basket as we used them.

I also remember rubber pants - I thought they were the worst part of cloth diapering. And the safety pins with the click top. I did have a crying baby when I was babysitting once, and it was an open diaper pin. (And NOT a diaper pin I put in)

There was a stretch of about 6 months that I used cloth diapers on my child in 1995. There were all manner of disposable diapers available. I was in a situation that I really needed to count pennies and save money. To my delight, I was not ostracized because the battle cry of the time anyway was "go green" and the notion of Earth Day was just getting started. Even the well-off mommies were hiring diaper services.
I was glad, however, to go back to disposable diapers when my finances improved.

I used them on my now 15 yo. I made a bunch of my own of hemp fleece and adorable all in one diapers with cute trim. I used them some on my now 12 yo, but we moved when she was a few months old and life was crazy.

I always line-dried when I could, too, and I remember double, even triple diapering when needed.

I preferred the rectangle Curity gauze diapers that had to be folded - and have been trying to find them - or a close copy - for years.

They make awesome dish towels.

Used them on kids born in 1961, 1962, 1964, and 1966.

I think "disposable" ones were just starting to come out then.

I used the plastic "rubber" pants on the kids.

LOL! I incorporated the pin through my hair trick, too! Thick nighttime double diapers always required sharp or lubricated pins.

I remember a neighbour of ours used cloth diapers around the mid 90's, but the ones she used were shaped with elastic gathers around the legs, and they didn't need pins.

What a thoughtful gift. So helpful for a worn-out mom.

Goodness me, I wouldn't have wanted that job either! I share the same sentiment as you do regarding folding (proper fit), and I recall on hot days, how I could hang a load of diapers on the line, and it seemed no sooner I had the last diaper tacked to the line, it was time to take them down.

I didn't mind using rubber pants, but when a diaper leaked out the legs and into the pants, you were left with no choice other than to pull those soiled rubber pants down baby's legs, dragging the mess all the way down with them.

I remember my mom using regular, ordinary safety pins for a short time with my baby sister (early 60's), have no idea why, but when the next sibling came along (my baby brother), I was old enough to start changing him, and I remember using proper diaper pins on his diapers. As for babysitting outside of the home, proper diaper pins were always used.

The cloth diapers that you used, were they still the old-fashioned ones with pins?

I'm proud of you! I think more mothers today should be using cloth diapers.

And yet another mother who had more than one in cloth diapers. Definitely had a way of keeping a mother busy. I do remember...

I listened to a podcast once where the fellow was talking about the advantage/disadvantage of using disposables vs. washables. He didn't talk about diapers exactly, and I know they fill up the landfills and will never decompose, but he said first that he wasn't taking a position, that everyone would do what they wanted and he wasn't an advocate in either direction, but after much study it turned out, at least from his research, that it was a wash whether one uses disposables or non and washes them using water, energy, etc. Just something to consider. I'm not taking a position either one way or the other. Just offering that up for thought.

I watched a segment on television one day where the host and panel of guests were discussing cloth vs disposables, and though I'm staying neutral in my argument, too, one of the guests brought up the fact as to how much water is used in the manufacturing process of disposable diapers, the chemicals used, the energy expelled in the manufacturing process, the pollution involved, the plastic used for waterproofing the diapers, the paper and gel inside the diapers to make them absorbent, and the consumer packaging, and while cotton requires a considerable amount of water (including bleaching) when transformed into clothing and garments, cloth, as far as all information put forth that day on the program, beat-out disposables considerably, particularly the plain, simple, old-fashioned square and rectangle diapers of the past.

It's so hard believing much of what we read about, hear about, and watch today, because everything in the way of information is so convoluted.

oh Yes. The unfolded kind that required pins. I recall soaking the diapers in a Borax solution before I washed them. I don't know if Borax is still available (as I have no need to ever look for it)

I used to use something by the name of Diaper Pure, also used Borax, too, but the Diaper Pure diaper washing agent smelled so clean and fresh. Sometimes after changing a really messy diaper, I'd set it into the toilet to soak for 30-40 minutes before rinsing, then into the diaper pail it would go. Rubber pants got soaked in my laundry room sink/tub, then hand-washed and pinned up on the line to dry with the diapers.

I was five when my brother was born, and had to change his diaper (with safety pins) often.

I was going to use cloth diapers with my son to save money, was even given a bunch. However, he was a preemie, and when we brought him home all the diaper covers were too big around his legs and the diapers just leaked everywhere. Then-husband went and bought disposables, and by the time my son was big enough to use the cloth diapers without issues, we were spoiled and stayed with disposables. It helped that we'd get big Costco boxes of diapers for birthday and Christmas presents!

What memories, all four of our children wore cloth diapers back in the sixties. Can remember when rinsing one out in the toilet I lost my wedding ring. Problem was when we went shopping for another ring I was six months pregnant and got some funny looks in our small town.

Oh my word you got an early start! :) I would have been around age 8, when I started changing diapers.

Oh, no... now this is a first for me hearing of such a thing happening. Talk about bad luck.

When my son and his wife decided to have children, they also decided that my son would quit his job and be a stay at home dad. When they asked me to sew up some flannel for diaper inserts as they were planning on using cloth diapers, I did it with a chuckle as I thought "sure, they think they are", wait til they try it. My grandaughter turned 2 in April and her brother was born in May. My son still uses cloth diapers for both of them, and does all the washing of them too, no diaper service for them.

Cloth diapers until 1983! I did break down and use disposable on my third daughter. But if I were still a "stay at home" mom and had the time for cloth, I would have used them on her, too. Day Cares do not like cloth diapers. Nothing better than snuggling with a baby in a cloth diaper right before you put those rubber pants on them!

There are many of us....moms from another generation. Our children were born in 63, 68, and 75. All used cloth diapers. The ones with the big pins. I remember washing and folding diapers was a chore that I did not like. Had to make sure the plastic pants did not get into the dryer. Did not have to worry about that with the first. We did not have a dryer! When our second child was born, my mother-in-law told my husband that it was impossible for a mother of two to wash clothing and dishes either by hand or wringer washer. Yep, got an automatic washer, dryer, and a dishwasher! Then ovens started cleaning themselves. Progress, love it. I never mentioned to my husband or his mom that my mother did all the hard work without the help of any major appliances with 3 children under the age of five. I only had one in diapers at a time. A little trip down memory lane this morning!

I did use cloth diapers. I still remember living in a house that had two floors plus a basement. The bedrooms were on the second floor. One morning as I was taking the full diaper pail to the basement to launder I slipped and all of the diapers went flying all over my carpeted stairs. I can laugh about it now but I can tell you that I just sat on the stairs and sobbed...LOL

The very ones I used.

I used cloth for both boys (7 years apart). my mother had cloth diapers at her house when we visited in case we ran out. She had no problem with my washing a few before we left. We had a few disposable at the lake cottage in case there weren't enough cloth. I kept them for quite a few years. And anyone remember the cloth training pants? Felt fortunate my boys were easily potty trained at about 2-3 yo.

I used cloth diapers on all 4 of my kids. My first 2 , born in 1984, 1986 could't really wear disposable diapers even if I had chosen to use them. They would break out in diaper rash. I could use them occasionally. My youngest was born in 1992 and used cloth also. I preferred the not pureblooded ones, but they were hard to find with the last one.
I have seen the argument about water usage etc with cloth vs disposable. In my opinion the disposable sure do make a lot of garbage. I am still using the last few cloth diapers for washing windows etc after 25 years.