Cloth diapering with executive dysfunction

[u/Marsthebaker]

I wanted to make a post for all the parents with executive dysfunction who are considering cloth diapering! I invite everyone who has tips to join in in the comments.

I have struggled with depression for years. I'm stable and have been for a while, but I get hit with bouts where getting off the couch is a struggle. When my husband told me he wanted to do cloth I was initially fully against it. Now our baby is almost two and we've been doing cloth (and loving it!) since he was 3 months old. For anyone who is on the fence or struggling, I wanted to share some tips.

- Start off with disposables, especially if this is your first baby. Getting a good fit on a tiny baby is hard, and you'll absolutely have enough on your mind. We did disposables for 3 months before switching to cloth when we had the headspace.

- There will be some trial and error at the start. We had a lot of leaks at first, before we got comfortable. Now he rarely leaks, and if he does it's not a big deal for me anymore.

- Make diaper laundry a part of your routine. I thrive on routine, so I made the washing part of it. We do cloth 4 days a week (the days our son is home), so I do a prewash every day and a main wash once a week. Laundry is my task, but if I can't do it that day I'll ask my husband to throw on a prewash.

- Buy more diapers than you need. We use pockets and I'd say we have 40-50ish diapers. We use them all in rotation, and there's usually still 10 in the drawer by the time laundry is done. That means that if I get behind on laundry, it's no big deal.

- Have disposables on hand. There will be days when you just can't do cloth. That's okay. Disposable diapers aren't evil, and if you have them in the house just in case (for emergencies or just when you're going to the zoo and you can't be bothered packing everything) it'll give you more headspace.

I'd love to hear if anyone has any more tips!

[u/MackenzieMay5]

Oh my goodness...I'm half asleep, and I totally misread this as "cloth diapering with erectile dysfunction" 😂

[u/anh80]

I think the best tip I received was that it wasn’t all or nothing!

[u/valasmum → u/anh80]

This!!!!! I'd been planning to use cloth for 10 years until we finally had our rainbow baby 3 months ago, and only when we were coming home from hospital did I realise we could do disposables part-time if/when we needed to. Blew my tiny autistic mind lol.

[u/YouCanCallMeLenny]

ADHD here- washing on a set schedule not only helped me with diapers, but all laundry. Also, keep everything out and easily accessible. Big wet bag out where you change baby, diapers already stuffed and in reach. But also, have disposables on hand for when you just don’t want to

[u/bluesasaurusrex → u/YouCanCallMeLenny]

This helped me, too. Having everything in reach and back ups stocked is really helpful. I use disposables for doctors appointments so I always have an idea of what size disposables I needed.

[u/2nd1stLady]

We have a few suspected neurodivergent flavors in our house and NOT having disposables from day 1 helped more than having them would have. We used cloth from the last diaper in the hospital till potty during the day at 3 years old. We only used one pack of disposable diapers for night time until our baby 100% used the toilet. That's not a flex, there's no reward for only using cloth. It's just that not having disposables meant we didn't use them in our house. I think people with heavy wetters that use disposables at night and cloth during the day are smart and doing what's right for them!

[u/VintageFemmeWithWifi]

My ADHD brain is happier with written washing instructions taped to the washing machine. Sometimes I'm not the person doing diaper laundry, sometimes I have a bad brain day.... Making it clear which soap and what settings helps.

I consider "stuffing clean pocket diapers" a separate task from doing laundry, so we have a basket for dirty diapers, a basket for "clean but unassembled", and a basket for "ready to wear". 

[u/IndoraCat → u/VintageFemmeWithWifi]

I will absolutely be using this idea! I've been a bit nervous about the laundry part since I'm the primary laundry person and, as you said, bad brain days happen. Thank you for sharing!

[u/VintageFemmeWithWifi → u/IndoraCat]

I also pour my laundry detergent into a pump bottle, because some days "3 squirts of soap" is easier than measuring with the little cup. Iykyk. 

[u/IndoraCat → u/VintageFemmeWithWifi]

This is a wonderful idea! I cannot handle using the little cup on the best days, because it makes the bottle drippy. And measuring with the heart does not seem like the way to go with cloth diaper washing.

[u/BreeBreeTurtleFlea → u/IndoraCat]

My sensory issues could not handle the drippy soap, so I started just throwing the cup into the washer with the clothes. 10/10

[u/corndogdays → u/VintageFemmeWithWifi]

I also do this, and we have a magnet that signifies where in the wash cycle we are so if we forget or if someone else has to jump in, we can keep track

[u/Unique_Assistance_89 → u/VintageFemmeWithWifi]

LOVE the written instructions idea! That will be great for me to remember and for my husband to help out whenever I can’t get to the laundry

[u/VintageFemmeWithWifi → u/Unique_Assistance_89]

When my lovely MIL offers to help do laundry, it's only helpful if I don't have to explain the process and show her where everything is. I'm a big fan of making it easy for people to help you!

[u/Realistic_Smell1673]

I did exactly that. I started with disposables because everyone gave us so many and they did for 2-3 months. I'll probably do it again with the next baby. Some people judge for the large stashes, but sometimes you need it cuz you get days where a wash won't happen.

[u/Due_Watercress9828]

We have a different wash routine but I find from day 1 I just always wash when the small pail is full. That’s about 2-3 days of diapers. I told myself that we don’t have another pail and it would be just as much work to switch the liner as just go start the wash load.

So smaller pail, no other option but to wash - this is helping me!