Ohhh Mama!

Upon entering the world of cloth diapering, I thought it was awesome that I could get so many cute chemical free  bundles of fluffiness for my daughters bum.  I was new to the world, and did not know that the "re-useable" options went beyond diapers.  Little did I know that I had already begun my movement by eliminating kitchen paper products.  Instead of paper towels, I invested in a couple packs of plain white washcloths sold by the dozen at local retailer for $3.99 each, replaced paper plates with kid friendly resin plates, stopped buying tissues, and stopped buying disposable diapers.  The thought (at the time) of cloth wipes left me shuddering, so I withheld...

Anyways..  a while later, I came across mama cloth.  My initial reaction was Eww!  You reuse them?  What about the staining, what about the handling, what about.....  No way.  I was not going to go there.
I went on buying my disposable pads, while preaching and touting the benefits of cloth diapers. Until..

I don't know it it is the industry, or so many women are suddenly having issues, or they are just beginning to talk about it, but after the birth of my 5th child, I began to have reactions to my "trusted" brand of pads.  It was also getting to the point where it would take me 5 minutes standing in front of a green and blue plastic bag filled wall.  Scented, unscented, super, overnight, mega industrial, tiny light, liner, etc..  There are more options here than on my last new car!  I have never been able to use the scented ones, instant rash!  By day 3 or 4 post pardom, I had welts from the disposable pads, as well as raw rashes.  This coupled with birthing tenderness, I could barely walk, let alone sit down to feed my baby.  Other women have reported similar reactions, from rashes, to breakouts, to welting as well.

WOMEN!!  What are we doing to our poor bodies!!!

I decided now was the time to try cloth for me.  I started with just one figuring minimal investment, why not...

It was heaven.  Breathable, flannel lined heaven.  Non bunching, non shifting, no glue, no tell tale plastic wrappers.  And this was just in the first 5 minutes!  They absorb pretty much the same as their disposable counterparts, so you change them just as often, and come in varying sizes and absorbency, but they also come in cute fabrics, prints, and colors!  There is also less smell involved.  That oh so lovely "period smell" is barely even there, since these cloth pads breath!  Better yet, they even come in MINKY!

If you are already cloth diapering, there is no extra laundry to do with these.  Simply throw them in with your diaper laundry and wash with them!  Most of them are foldable and have snaps, so they can be snapped into cute little fluffy squares to keep in your purse, under your bathroom sink, in your car, at your desk, and nobody will know the difference.  Use the same method, along with a small wet/dry bag for when you are on your cycle to store them before washing.  I personally put them in my diaper pail for laundering.  If you are not cloth diapering, or are out of the diaper age, a simple small load on the smallest washer setting at the end of your cycle (or whenever you need to re-use your stash during your cycle) will work nicely.  Tiny amount of detergent, and no bleach.