Even though she used a cloth diaper service when I was a baby, my mom was slow to warm up to the idea of cloth diapering her granddaughter. I heard things like “you’re really going to do this, huh?” when I got my first set of cloth diapers before the baby was born and “how long do you really think you’re going to last?” when I was washing out real poop in the toilet. My favorite has to be “that’s great, but when she comes to Nana’s, I don’t have to use them, do I?”
Normally a very reasonable and supportive mom and Nana, she resisted getting “sold” on cloth for a long time. Granted, she has witnessed my taking-on-too-much-and-then-complaining-about-it too many times in the past. I can see where she may have been skeptical that I could commit to this and not let it stress me out. But I actually took my mom’s doubts as somewhat of a challenge. A challenge to stick with cloth diapering, to show her that this is important to me and that with a little planning it’s actually easier than disposables.
Today, I wouldn’t call her a convert, but I think we have definitely reached a mutual understanding. The first time we visited my parents after my daughter was born, Nana bought a big stash of disposables and whenever she changed diapers, she chose the disposables. A few weeks later, she was at my house and I went through the entire wash routine with her, explaining each step and why it was important. The next time she visited, she was grabbing a cute FuzziBunz over a disposable almost every time (partly because the cloth is more conveniently located at the changing table). Several weeks later, I asked her to help me fold and stuff them while both kids were asleep, she asked lots of questions and we folded in half the time it takes me alone (she’s good at it!). This week, we are visiting Nana again and even though she still buys a small package of disposables before we come, my daughter is in cloth more often than not.
The funny thing is, I have overheard her gushing to her friends about cloth diapers: “they are so much easier and cuter than they were in OUR day…just look at them!,” “yes, you WASH them in the washing machine, but it’s not bad at all!,” and “you know, Sarah is all about being green… and it really doesn’t get much greener than cloth diapers.”
It took a little while, but now that Nana sees how easy and low-stress it is for me, I think she’s fully on board with my choice (and secretly loves to coordinate diapers with outfits). The bottom line is that she loves (me and) my kids more than anything and would do anything for us. If she wants to put them in a disposable once in a while, I am okay with it.
Here are some great shots of Nana enjoying the beautiful weather and her first cloth diapered granddaughter – red is Nana’s favorite too! Don’t forget to capture some great shots of your little munchkin with their grandma and enter them into the “Nana Loves My ‘Bunz” photo contest.
What does your mom or mother-in-law think about your choice to cloth diaper?
Sarah is a mom of two and blogs about her adventures in motherhood, cloth diapering and everything in between. Catch her “Cloth Diapering Unwrapped” series on the FuzziBunz blog every Tuesday.
