alexist

One thing that annoys me about some cloth diaperers is their sense of superiority to people who use disposables. In particular, the changing problem. Basically, in cloth you tend to have to change more often (unless you're using something very bulky). With modern disposables, the manufacturers actively promote them as lasting longer (so you don't have to change after every pee). This leads to some people leaving disposables on till they're completely full. Some idiot-competitive-superior types think "OMG the poor babies and those horrible parents".

So, in clothdiapering, we have the following exchange (starts with someone who complained about a diaper leaking after 1 pee, goes into the usual changing saga):

Me:
Let's be fair--a cloth diaper should not NEED to be changed after 1 pee. It's nice if we do it but they need to be capable of absorbing more.

I don't change mine every time she pees or I'd be going through a dozen diapers a day. Sure, I've already paid for the diapers, but washing them takes (I am not kidding, sorry) 7 hours and I can't be doing that every day. I don't wait till she's soaked, but I don't check every 5 minutes either. And yeah--if she seems dry enough and it's not a convenient time I will wait 10-15 minutes. Not hours, but that 10 minutes doesn't seem to hurt her.

Don't forget, the disposable makers promote how absorbent they are and how long you can go! I don't like this idea that disposable using moms are somehow neglectful because they think they can go longer--it's what they're told by the manufacturers.

(Note: her night diaper goes 11-12 hours, so a dozen diapers per day would mean changing her every hour.)

Someone else:

I disagree. There should be diapers created for overnights, so they should be very absorbent. But daytime diapers should not be designed to last through a baby urinating multiple times.

And we go through 15-20 diapers per day, just to let you know. And we wash every other day.

Smell that superiority!

Me again:

No, it needs to be able to absorb multiple times. You're conflating two issues--how often we should change a baby, and how a diaper should be designed. A diaper needs to have a margin of error built in. Some babies are super soakers. Sometimes you can't change them immediately. (What happens if my kid pees when we're on a bus? It happens.) Sometimes they pee twice in short succession and you don't notice immediately. Et cetera.

I think you're being completely unrealistic.

And while I'm at it (this isn't directed specifically at you) I really hate this superiority thing when it comes to frequency of diaper changing. Most disposable using parents aren't neglectful. They're doing what the manufacturers tell them to do.

Honestly, unless you never leave the house and let your kid go coverless, or check obsessively, it is really difficult to change after every pee. Some babies do need that because they have very sensitive skin. But if they don't, it doesn't kill them to pee twice in the same diaper! Especially if you use fleece lined ones (the fleece wicks away moisture, like the top layer of a disposable, so baby's skin doesn't stay in contact with the moisture.

Her latest follow up comment:

"McDonald's wants you to believe you can eat 3 meals a day there. So is a parent neglectful if their child lives on McDonald's? Yes. Having to sit in a wet diaper should be the exception, not the rule. That's my point."