I'm sorry... but ewww

[mzfern]

I had a baby shower on Saturday and even though the hostest knows I'm cloth diapering, she is insisting I don't know what I'm talking about

One of my gifts was a diaper cake, complete with REALLY icky bottles (that look like they're from the $$ store) and about 40+ disposable diapers.

Since I'm not planning on using them at all, they're packaged up to donate to a women's shelter when I get a chance.

Out of curiousity, I googled the dipes 'cause I was curious how many lbs a size 1 was supposed to fit.

My gross-out is this:

HUGGIES® diapers contain mild cosmetic ingredients to help keep skin soft and healthy-looking; Petrolatum, Ozokerite.

Huggies diapers

Poor baby bums! They don't need any "mild cosmetic ingredients" to keep them beautiful!

I suppose I'm just a militant mama... but oh well. It's my life :

[swtpesq]

Ugh.

Well, the thought was very sweet, and it's wonderful that you had a shower. But yeah, I agree the diaper marketing stuff (and the ingredients) are icky.

We got a few newborn sposies at our shower that we're going to save for an emergency, travel, etc. But I'm pretty sure if we had a whole cake-full of them, I'd be looking for a place to donate them, too!

[JJ'sMom]

Move over. I like your boat!! If you are clear in your intentions, then your friends should support you in that and not decide for you.

Good for you for donating the unwanted, and kinda yicky diapers.

[Gray's Mommy]

We are going to use 90% cloth & 10% disposables for the first week & then switch to 100% cloth after that. My husband is really pushing for the combination for the first week & I figure that it is only 7 days then I get my way for the rest of this baby's diapering days.

I don't like the extra stuff they put in the sposies, but depending on what type of laundry detergent you use...there may be way more stuff in that (petro chemicals abound).

[jilly]

I think that since your friend knows your intentions to cloth diaper it is really "in your face" of her to make something like that. Now what would have been sweet is if it had been made of prefolds and held together by snappis . . . THAT would be a great gift.

As for the weird cosmetic ingredients in Huggies, its like "yes, you could use something that would soothe baby's bum from the paper and weird chemicals and gels found in this diaper. or you could just put something natural on their bum and not have to worry."

I'm not a super purist -- will use 'sposies for a few days, and we use them on road trips and stuff -- but still, that was really insensitive of your friend.

[milkmommie]

How sad that someone wasted so much of their money on those sposies.
How sad too that people get so invested in their "I'm right, you're wrong" ideas that they would so blatantly disrespect your wishes!!:
I'm no purist either but she sounds like a rather passive aggressive person and not a very good friend.

[OldFashionedGirl]

Wow, that took some gall on your friend's part! One of my friends (who didn't know that I was CDing) got me a package of disposibles, and included the gift receipt. I nearly returned them, but realized that it was only a week's worth of diapers, and would probably be nice for the "tar poop" that I keep hearing so much about.

But an entire CAKE....seems like overkill, esp. since she knew better.

[AngelBee]

Not in your DDC....but :Puke

[mzfern]

Oops, I should have explained more in my original post. Yes, it was a very nice gesture for her to throw me a shower and I'm grateful for people's generosity as we welcome this little one into the world. It's always nice to gather as just women for "coming of age" rituals. I'm a big fan of this!

The hostess was actually my DH's boss' wife. We're new in the area and all our family is across the country. The hostess is in general well-meaning, but our attempts at being "buddies" have been strained at best. We have seriously nothing in common (twice my age, no kids, completely different interests) and our get-togethers for lunch are really tough because we don't have anything to talk about. I'm pretty good at small talk but that can only take you so far.

So we have an odd “relationship,” if you could even call it that. I see her about once a month or so. She suggested several times that she’d like to come to the birth to help (what???) and she wanted to come to a LLL meeting with me. She’s trying to be a mom to me, I guess, but the dynamics are really forced and when I tell her my plans for something with the baby, she contradicts it with something her neighbor told her. So it’s like having a mom who isn’t your mom who still doesn’t listen or respect your wishes that you can’t limit too much contact with due to business obligations.

That's a bit of background. Sorry for sounding so ungrateful for receiving gifts

Katherine

[MacKinnon]

My co-worker makes diaper cakes, but because she knew we used cloth, she made me one with prefolds! They are store bought ones, of course, but the thought and intention was SO sweet. She decorated it with washclothes, onesies and little toys too (nary a bottle to be seen!). I think people often see the idea of cloth/breastfeeding a nice one, but expect you to change your mind or need the "convenience" at some point. With this pregnancy being my second, people are less likely to try to talk me out of it, as they know we did it all once before. Hope the rest of your shower gifts were more useful

[katie9143]

One of my best friends made me 2 cute little "cakes" for one of my showers as well - but she used things like rec blankets and onsies and washcloths too - it was adorable! My mother told everyone that I was going to cloth diaper, although I did still expect that I would get atleast one pack of diapers (although I dont need it) but oddly enough I did not - I was pleasantly surprised! I have one huggies nb diaper that i got in the mail in a huggies promo...but thats all. I thought about buying a pack of the chlorine free ones from the healthfood store last week when i was there stocking up on food, but they are so darn expensive!! I know people have told me that the meconium poo is super nasty and tough to get out of the prefold - but i figured hey, if i have a few stained nb sized prefolds then oh well (im guessing my baby wont fit into the nb size for too long anyway...haha)

i think donating them is a great idea - you know someone will really need them, although i feel bad for the babies that have to wear those

[Electra375]

Even cding I kept a few sposies on hand, like in the car on trips when I left the house with what I thought would be enough cd for the trip and turned out it wasn't! I've also kept 1 at the bottom of my diaper bag for the same purpose. I've been out and changed and changed and changed and then had to wrap a naked bum in a blanket (if I had one with me) to get home. So, I lived and learned (when I haven't had sposies I've put extra CPF on the car for the same purpose).
My mother who will be helping me out during the first 3 weeks or month does not do cd, won't even touch them to wash them. She doesn't do anything with "mess". I have sposies for that time. I have my cd out too and my dh can put those in the wash for me a couple of times.
You might find that a few on hand for the "tar poo" is a good idea. I don't like sposies, but have found that there are a few times when they have been a suitable choice.

[angel0123]

Too bad they didn't get you a cloth diaper - diaper cake. I have seen some really nice ones!

[MacKinnon]

I have to agree that having some sposies on hand can be a good thing. I often used them when we were out, especially in the early months, and at night. I'm not a die hard cloth user, although we try and do our best. I am hoping to use G diapers instead of normal sposies as my fall back, we'll see!

[hattoo]

I just think it's unthoughtful to have a huge unedible cake in front of a pregnant woman!

[Shazer]

Some people are just bad gift givers and refuse to listen to you no matter what you tell them. They view giving a gift as a way of changing your tastes to theirs. I have a friend who said to me point blank that she didn't want to buy anything on my registry. She always buys me weird and unnecessary stuff like this gigantic handmade sling that I can't return. This is after I told her I already have two slings. Now I have one that will fit an elephant.

[BeagleMommy]

Even though it was made known to one and all that we were going to cloth diaper and we didn't know the baby's sex yet, we still got boy outfits and dresses and disposables. I tried my best to be gracious and return them and anything I couldn't return is going to a crisis pregnancy center here in town. So I understand, but a whole "cake"- wow. The time and effort involved and total disregard for you. . .

Anyway, I had planned on have 'sposies for trips out and "just in case" until I was helping my friend with her almost potty trained daughter. DD just wears disposables when she naps since she's a heavy sleeper and wetter. Anyway, after nap time I helped her bathe the daughter and son and she told me to take over washing the little boy because she had to remove the "blue crystals from the diapers that are always embedded" in DD's private parts! WTF?!!
Sure I'd love to have to dig blue crystals out of my little girls vagina! (where is that sarcasm face?)
That was enough to convince me that 'sposies aren't all they're cracked up to be even if cost and environmental concerns were not an issue. That's just my not-a-mommy-yet haven't-ever-used-a-cloth-diaper-yet opinion.

[milkmommie]

[QUOTE=she had to remove the "blue crystals from the diapers that are always embedded" in DD's private parts! WTF?!!
Sure I'd love to have to dig blue crystals out of my little girls vagina! (where is that sarcasm face?)[/QUOTE]

My ds was wearing pull ups (the super absorbant kind) to bed with us for a while. One had broken open in the package and I put it on him before I realized it. We laid down and I realized we were laying in some "sandy" sort of substance. I figured out what was going on and cleaned ds up, put a new pull up on him, and "swept" out the bedsheet. (Yes, I was tired and wanted to go to sleep without changing the bedsheets ) DH came to lay down later and apparantly I had missed some of the "sand". He started jumping around and ran for the shower because it was BURNING HIS SKIN!!!! Needless to say, I got an earfull for not changing the sheets : and we stopped using the pullups!!

I love to tell this story to people who say "gross" when I tell them I'm going to CD cause I think crystals that escape and burn your baby's skin is much more gross than washing dipes!!!

[velveeta]

Call me militant, too! I would be grossed out, too. Sorry that it is so weird b/t you and boss' wife.

If I were invited to your shower, I would have made you a lovely cake out of prefolds!