Working mom and cloth diapers

OkRose

Unfortunately I will have to go back to work 4 months after having my baby.  I would like to use cloth diapers, but I have read that most daycare centers will not accept them. Anyone have any input?

Also, there is no diaper service where I live (which is a large city, so wth) and so would like to know if anyone has any advise regarding being a full time working, cloth-diapering mamma.  I just can't imagine spending that much time doing laundry when also working 40 hours a week..... Thanks!

vtwd40

I haven't gone back to work yet, but I managed to find a daycare that will take cloth (only found1...thank goodness I liked them!!) The whole wash and dry process isn't really time consuming, so I don't really forsee problems keeping up with things when school starts back in August.

mason15

We used an in home sitter and had no issues. She didn't really clean the poop out, but I just sprayed them when I got home.  With the new baby, I'm going to mention dunking them or buying her a sprayer.  Local centers will take cloth diapers if you have a dr note, which I think is ridiculous, but I know our pedi would have NO problem writing one.  I had a stash specifically for day care, so I would stock her up with 8 or so dipes and then take home the dirties each night in a wet bag.  Helped me to not have to do diaper laundry but every 3-4 days.

hispenguin

I also went back to work when my LO was 4 months old. Honestly doing the cloth diaper laundry is no biggie at all, it's the least of my stress!

We have family help us out with childcare, so we were still able to use cloth. There are a ton of women here that send their LO to daycare and still use cloth.

kacelle

That isn't true.  All three daycares we've used have used CDs with no issue.  You wouldn't want to use a diaper service though, because the daycares usually don't use prefolds (they'd have to change the cover with every prefold by law).  It'd end up being more expensive.

I work full-time and have absolutely no problem getting diaper laundry done.  It's two loads a week for us.  I actually find working full-time and mothering to be much easier than when I was SAH because I'm on a stricter schedule but not caring for a baby all day!

jteneback

I went back to work after 3 months but we just started day care a couple of months ago.  It really hasn't been a big deal.  I have had to adjust my wash schedule a bit since there is no one here during the day to do it, but I wash Tuesday night (dry Wednesday), Friday (work from home day) and Sunday.  Day care takes our diapers and wipes no problem.  I send in 6 diapers and a dozen wipes to start and then I replace what comes back (4-5 diapers and 4-7 wipes) each day.  The only thing that sucks is that they can't touch the poop so it sits in the diapers all day and it's a little grosser than it really needs to be and I have a separate DC stash for this reason.  But really, NBD.

meg_2006

Ask the DC providers if they'd be willing to do an AIO or pocket diaper (without unstuffing or rinsing- you can do that at home).

mtnmama2012

I found an in home DC that does CD.  Last week she told me that if I would have asked her a year ago she would have said no.  Now she is in love with my DDs diapers and wants to go to the CD store!

I do laundry every other night.  It is super easy laundry and I don't mind it at all.  I have a stash just for DC and that works well for us. 

pdilly2b

There are definitely daycares out there that will do cloth.  I would recommend trying to make it as easy for them as possible by using pockets.  Also, whatever you do, don't ask on the phone if they will CD.  They will think you are talking about prefolds and plastic pants of the old days and say no without even considering it.  The best bet is to show up with a pocket diaper in hand (and maybe a wet bag too) so they can see that it's as easy to put on and take off as disposables.

 

We use cloth wipes at home, but I send disposable wipes to daycare (we use a center) because it's what they are used to and I think is easier for them.  Since DS started on solids at 6 mo, his poop cannot go in the wash anymore so we use Bummis disposable liners (size Large, from Amazon) and DC just throws out the liners and the poop into whatever they use for the non-CD babies.  Makes it really easy for me for doing laundry.

 

Diaper laundry is not a big deal at all.  We do 3 loads a week, though probably could get away with just 2.  Throwing diapers in the laundry only takes a few minutes and then I restuff the pockets the next day while playing with DS in his room.  I devote less than an hour a week total to messing with it.  You'll get used to it while on maternity leave and then it'll be a breeze once you're back at work.

gator1215

I couldn't find anywhere in my general area that would do cloth and I knew I wanted a center versus an in home. We do cloth part time (nights, weekends, vacation days) and I am still very very happy with my decision.... although I think I've accumulated a few too many diapers for the short amount of time I actually to use them each week! I just took 2 weeks off of work and we got a condo on the beach for 10 days and he was able to be in CDs the whole time and it was easy even while vacationing. On the laundry front, since I only accumulate night dipes on the weekdays, I only do laundry on friday night and sunday night / monday. That leaves me with needing 5 night dipes available at any given time but no big deal. Good luck!

aimeecasey

My husband and I both work full time (teachers) It's not easy to cloth and work so much, but once you get a routine down in the washing, its no big deal. We wash every three days- I throw the diapers in a pre-wash/soak when we get home from work, add soap and start the hot wash at some point while working on dinner, and we throw them in the dryer right before bed so they just need packed for daycare when we wake up. 

tokenhoser

I'm not doing the laundry with a tub and washboard. It's really not that time consuming. I wash every 3 days.

OkRose

Tub and washboard? Ha! I may live in OK but we do have indoor plumbing here

Thanks so much to everyone for the input. This is all seeming much easier than I had originally imagined. Hopefully one of my three DC choices will be okay with cloth.