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
When I was pregnant with my first daughter Gabby something came up the night I was supposed to take the hospital sponsored breast feeding course so I missed it. My biggest worry at the time was whether or not I would get a refund, I should have been worried about the information I missed out on. I thought Gabby would be born, immediately latch on and breastfeeding would be a completely natural process that took almost no effort. I was wrong. It took her 24 hours before she latched on, the nurses assured me that it was okay and she would be fine, she was. It took a couple weeks but eventually we both were champs and nursing went pretty well. I made it through going back to work, complete with having to pump in my vehicle on my breaks. I even dodged a police call when I found a police officer banging on my van windows trying to figure out what was going on in there.....one mention of pumping and she was gone! Gabby and I made it ten months with her breast feeding and I was pretty proud of that, although I was determined to make it a full year with my second child.
I am not sure why I let naiveness take over again but for some reason I thought Gretchen would be born and just latch on and life would be grand, I guess I felt like I was a pro (ha!) so I would be able to guide her better. Again, I was wrong. Gretchen was born three weeks early and she had some breathing problems so they took her to the nursery for observation. She was hooked up to a couple machines and I was not able to immediately breastfeed. I went to my room to get some rest and in the mean time they started her on a bottle. When I was finally able to breastfeed her I had lactation consultant there with me ready to face any issues that might come up but it went beautifully so she watched for a couple minutes and that completed her visit. 
When I went to feed Gretchen the second time we were in my hospital room with my husband and sister by my side but no nurses or lactation consultants anywhere around. It did not go as well. I knew what I was doing but it still was stressful. Eventually a nurse came to help but we were unable to get Gretchen to properly latch on and eat. At that time it would have been very easy to give up and give her a bottle, but having done this before I knew what the benefits were and I knew I wanted to make it work. After working with a lactation consultant and a nurse we started using a Medela Supplemental Nursing System (SNS) and a Medela Nipple Shield to get her to latch on properly and increase my supply at the same time. She was not interested in nursing because it was not producing the same amount of milk as a bottle was and my milk was not coming in as strong because she was not nursing well. I got out my Medela Pump In Style Advanced Breastpump and started pumping constantly to produce milk for her and increase my supply. I was able to produce enough pumped milk that I was filling her SNS with my milk instead of formula and she was beginning to latch on better and better because she was getting an adequate supply of milk, partially from my increasing supply and partially from the SNS feeder. After just a few days we were able to stop using the SNS feeder since my supply was up by that time and within two weeks we were able to drop the nipple shield and continue with natural breastfeeding sessions.
Had I been a first time mom, not knowing that it WOULD get better or had I been on the fence about wanting to breastfeed I would have given up in those early days. The stress we felt with the added factor of having to prepare the SNS feeder combined with the sleepless nights and adding a 23 month old into the mix was a lot to handle for my Husband and I but now six months later Gretchen is a nursing champion and I am so glad we pushed through the hard times. In fact, she is such a nursing champ that she refuses to take a bottle, but that is another post for another day!
If you are about to have a baby (or already have one!) please go to the website and check out the many products that Nicki's has available to make your breastfeeding experience as seamless as possible such as a Boppy Pillow, Medela Tender Care Lanolin Nipple Therapy, Milk Bands, Knickernappies Stay Dry Nursing Pads (my favorite baby shower gift!) and Mother's Milk Herbal Tea. If you are in the Madison area please come into Nicki's Madison store and take part in the many breastfeeding classes/clinics they offer. It is valuable information that you WILL need. I also recommend coming in after the baby is born and taking advantage of the other breastfeeding resources they have available, including the Mama's Milk Hour.
Breastfeeding is very rewarding but does not come without challenges, educate and prepare yourself in advance but remember the hard times are more then likely short lived. Both of my girls ended up nursing well and I was able to adequately supply them with the milk they needed to survive and flourish.
~Corey
