Make it Simple – How to Get Your Husband and Other Caregivers on Board

I am the spender in our family. If my husband, Mark, had it his way we would be eating Raman noodles and driving around a 1984 Mercury. Luckily my 2004 Dodge Caravan and I are there to teach him that it is okay to spend money on some things! When I started contemplating cloth diapers, I thought he would be thrilled, but he was actually the opposite. All he could see was the upfront cost; he wasn’t looking at the actual savings. Once I put together the numbers and showed him how cloth diapers would save us money then he began to come around. He reluctantly agreed to my initial purchase of diapers but still wanted to have disposables around the house, he thought I would give up in the first month or two. Soon Mark began to realize that this was not just a short lived adventure for me. He began using the BumGenius 3.0 or Knickernappies pockets that I had already stuffed. I found that if I stuffed all the pockets and had them all put away on the changing table, it was just as easy to grab a cloth diaper as it was to grab a disposable. After a month or two my husband started using the prefold diapers and a Thirsties cover, but this was totally at his own will. My only guidance on prefolds was showing him how to fold it. He started using the prefolds more often then any other diaper because he realized the cost savings was greatest with this diaper and he figures if he has to deal with cloth then he might as well reap the biggest savings. Now, a year later he has no issue with cloth diapers and has seen the benefits in the form of fewer trips to the garbage cans with diapers and a bigger savings account. He 100% supports my decision to start cloth and I think he secretly is proud of his prefold folding skills! As a daycare provider I would recommend the same type of system for your daycare provider when you bring them cloth, make it simple. Use an easier diaper like a pocket or an all-in-one and make the diaper 100% ready to wear, stuff the pockets before sending them. One of my daycare children currently wears FuzziBunz Perfect Size pocket diapers so her parents send me a Planet Wise wet bag filled with 10 clean, stuffed diapers. I empty the bag into their daughter’s bin at my house and take a new diaper every time I change her; I simply put the dirty diaper (poop and all) into the wet bag and return everything to them when they pick her up in the evening. Every day they send me ten diapers and every night I send all ten back, the dirty in the Planet Wise wet bag and the clean go in her other bag. This way I know I always have plenty of diapers for her and they are able to take them home and wash them with the rest of their diapers. It is nice for me that I do not have to deal with scrapping or spraying her poop and it is nice for them because they do not have to buy disposables for daycare. The key to getting your loved ones and those that care for your children on board is to show them how easy they are to use. The words “cloth diaper” scare a lot of people but with a little education and guidance, I think you can get anyone to see just how easy it really is! ~Corey