When DH starts regretting cloth...

[croleRN]

A little history.... Started using pockets w/ DD1 when she was about 15mo. Pretty much full time until PL.
DD2 - used all types since birth. A little while ago - had some issues w/ build-up etc; solved w/ small bit of bleach every now & again. But went to sposies while I had my hand in cast. (it was my dominant hand - and the one I use to clean the poo)

So now - cast is off - back to cloth:; but DH is complaining -: saying how easy sposies are and doesn't want to do cloth anymore. Nor w/ any future children.

The deal has always been - if a poo diape needs "scraped" - he'll leave it in the bathroom next til the commode until I get to it. So he doesn't do anything different!!! On a rare occasion - I may ask him to throw a load in the wash - but that may be 4-5X/ year!

Anyone have to "re - convince" their partner?
It seems like the facts that convinced him the first time aren't working as well now. (economical, health benefits, environment, etc!)

[Michigan Mama]

Lucky for me my dh is on board now (not so much at first)...your problem is interesting. Like you said, he's not really doing anything differently than a disposable. So what's the issue? Really? I would talk to him again and see if you can squeeze the real reason out of him. If it's just a convenience thing, and you do most of the work anyway, it seems like you could convince him to let you continue, no?

Sorry I don't have any great wisdom for you. I'd tell you to argue all the logical reasons for cd'ing, but sounds like you've done that.

[Dark Aisling]

I'm starting to have problems with DP when it comes to cloth. He says it is too confusing. I always keep a bag of sposies on hand in case of emergencies, and DP will always use one of those now. I won't be bringing another bag into the house.

I think I need a separate basket for dad friendly diapers. The Kushies Ultra AIOs are really easy to use, and they work alright for our LO.

[MissE]

DH has given up on cloth. He only does disposables which basically leaves the diapering to me. That is ok. He's working most of the time anyway and I'm at home with the kids. I change diapers about 99% of the time so I do cloth and DH uses sposies. If he takes off a cloth diaper the puts in ON TOP of the pail, won't open the pail. That is just one of those things I'm not fighting over anymore. I just accept it. There's other things I stress out over.

[croleRN]

Good to know there are some other mama's out there who deal w/ this too.
He really despises the smell. _ I think it's not that bad. But he has a very strong gag reflex. We currently use a dry bag w/ essential oils inside. But he said every time he opens the bag the smell still rushes.
He also said he doesn't like not being able to use diaper ointment. (He's a big fan of A&D) I bought cloth friendly stuff - but he says it doesn't work as well.
I also think he likes the fact - although he won't admit it - that a sposie can go FOREVER w/o leaking. (I swear - sometimes her sposie is so saggy it's past her knees! LOL~~~)

[chely7425]

My DH is not a big cloth fan... he says the pail always smells and he too has a very sensitive gag reflex but in reality he changes MAYBE 1 diaper a month. I don't think he has actually changed a diaper yet in 2009. He will put a clean diaper on DS after a bath but he doesn't change him therefore I get to decide what diapers we use. As an experiment we used sposies for a week and he 1) didn't change any of those either and 2) DS is allergic so cloth it is.

[fiveyearsapart]

What convinced my DH when we went back to sposies at the end of my pregnancy was the amount of trash we generated. It's his job to separate the recyclables and take it all to the dump so he could see how much extra trash (work) there was and with two in diapers it would be double. I do all the washing and stuffing and have disposable wipes available for him so I really do make it as easy as possible which it sounds like you are doing. Keep reinforcing the benefits!

[prettypixels]

Originally Posted by croleRN

Good to know there are some other mama's out there who deal w/ this too.
He really despises the smell. _ I think it's not that bad. But he has a very strong gag reflex. We currently use a dry bag w/ essential oils inside. But he said every time he opens the bag the smell still rushes.
He also said he doesn't like not being able to use diaper ointment. (He's a big fan of A&D) I bought cloth friendly stuff - but he says it doesn't work as well.
I also think he likes the fact - although he won't admit it - that a sposie can go FOREVER w/o leaking. (I swear - sometimes her sposie is so saggy it's past her knees! LOL~~~)

Does your child have rashes frequently? Why would he want to put A&D on otherwise?

The solution to the smell is to do laundry more often, honestly. I know the smell, it is that strong ammonia reek. If he is sensitive to smells, maybe he can put dipes somewhere else until you can handle them. Or maybe he can just use sposies and you use cloth.

[prettypixels]

PS, I just have to add; sposies stink too!!!! And that stench *lingers!*

[MissE]

Oh yeah...they do stink. They stink different...kinda more like chemicals. Weird.

When DH took of his very first CD he said "Ewwww...that's wet"...haha...what did he expect? It's cloth after all (we're using mainly PF).

[croleRN]

The ironic thing is - when we use "both" I end up laundering less often! So when he uses cloth too - I wash more often = less stink. I think it's an easy target when he is crabby.

DD2 doesn't get rashes often. If we have buildup in the diapers; if he leaves her in them too long - or she tries a new food. But he thinks it prevents it.

[pokeyrin]

Don't mean to change the subject of this thread, but the title caught my eye and reading through the posts I was wondering:

Why does it seem that I usually only hear about men (not women) who have that gag reflex when it comes to diapers? I'm sure there are plenty of women with strong gag reflex.

This is something I've always been curious about because I never hear of a man having gagging over dealing with dog poo or even they go into a nasty men's locker room or restroom.

Fortunately for me, DH is not only on board with cloth diapering and he usually does the laundering of them too. He's also resistant to using sposies because we've actually found them to be much stinkier than the cloth.

We use a wet pail with a scoop of borax (with a secure locking lid of course!) which there is never any smell.

As far as OP's DH goes, if he really isn't doing anything different then it shouldn't matter to him if you still use cloth.

[JamesMama]

I solve the problem by simply not buying disposable. I do 99.99% of the grocery shopping, even if DH were to go to the store he'd NEVER remember to pick up Diapers and if he did think he wanted disposables seeing the price tag of $10-$20 for like a weeks worth would shoot that idea in the foot. helps that we're flat broke.

As far as the gag reflex, mine comes and goes...usually with my own kids I'm good to go, give me another persons kid to change and all bets are off.

[emmaegbert]

my husband loved the flushable imse-vimse liners. it totally changed his attitude towards cloth (he was sort of tolerating them, but yeah, if I was out or something there'd always be a sposie one on there when I got home) they are also washable if its just pee. he couldn't stand the sight/thought of that mashed-on poo.

it did also help with the pail, and frankly I never liked the "scraping" either.

I threw baking soda/washing soda on top of the dipes every so often to help keep smells down. It did seem to help.

but my husband wasn't exactly AGAINST the cloth dipes, just not loving them.