Baby-sitter and cloth diapers

[Kate888]

I just asked my neighbor's 13 y.o. to baby-sit Maya occasionally (1-2 hours, once/twice a week), but don't know what to do with cloth diapers. We usually change her in our bedroom, so all of the supplies are upstairs. I guess I can set up a little changing station (with AIOs) for her on the first floor. However, are CDs a little too much for a baby-sitter, especially when it's a poopy one? Or would you ask her to set it aside and then dump it yourself (sorry for being a little graphic)? Would this leave stains on the diapers? Or should I just let her use disposables?

Any input is greatly appreciated :) Thanks!!


Kate
Mama to Maya 2-17-02

[lizajane]

i think it you feel good enough about letting this particular 13 year old babysit, then she can probably handle the diapers. especially AIO.

i like the idea of the changing station. you can ask her to dump the poop into the potty. or if it is a really yucky diaper, she could just stick it somewhere to soak- the potty or a small trashcan filled with water (which is what i do when i don't have time to handle it right away.) remember you can always sun out the stains if you ask her to just leave it.

the reason i use CDs is because i babysat for a CD baby. of course, i was 19 so i had more babysitting experience. but i did the prefolds and prorap style covers, dumped poop, sometimes even washed a load of covers. i thought it was so easy, i decided then to use CDs on my kids. and 9 years later... here i am!

edited to add: i only have prefolds, so anyone who babysits for me has to learn! we do not keep disposables in the house ever. i had to get 4 from a friend to have in the bag at church because they refuse to put a cd back on him if he has to be changed.

[blnony]

I'm sure she could handle AIO's but in my experience, I just use disposables with sitters. For us, it means maybe 1 or 2 diapers anytime we have a sitter, which isn't very often, but I'd rather her focus on taking care of Audrey and not be "afraid" to change her. I'm always afraid that the sitter doesn't want to be "grossed out" or "freaked out" by cloth and just letting her use a disposable that she's used to kind of puts my mind at ease.
But if you do decide to use cloth, letting them sit for a bit shouldn't stain, you might just use some zout or something on it.

[sugarsnappea]

Kate,

I think you should do it. If she is only 13, she probably doesn't have much experience w/ dipes- disp. vs. cloth. I think your portable changer idea is great. Keep the focus on Maya and have her just change the dipes and put the dirty ones in a bag. My SIL has a nanny who does this and her dipes don't stain. You could try it once and see how well it goes. Good Luck! :)

[egoldber]

Whenever I have a sitter, I have them use disposables. I find it to be less hassle for everyone.

HTH,

[mommyj]

My vote is for cloth! I CDed a baby I babysat when I was 12. It's really no big deal. You might just have her set aside the poopy dipes so she doesn't have to deal with them. Or, maybe you could get some flushable/disposable liners to use while she's there.

[liya]

My cousin babysits Ari and shes 18..She just actually takes the diaper and puts it in a bag till i get home and deal with it myself. But she does like the AIOs cause it makes her life a little easier and it makes me life a dream cause since fleece or velour(which is what all of our AIOs have) doesnt stain fast i usually take out the crusty(YOU WANN COMPETE WITH GRAPHIC :) ) stuff off with a nice spatula(called our poopy scraper...LOL) and then spray it with the minishower clean the spatula and then send it to the diaper pail...Its really really really simple i dont think she would have a hard time at all. My cousin likes the front aplix AIOs and the FBs...

But hey if push comes to shove and she doesnt want to then use disposies...

[Kate888]

Thanks for the great input!! :) I guess I'm just concerned that she will be "grossed out" and think cloth diapers are yucky. Glad to hear the success stories. Thanks for mentioning about disposable liners, too. I totally forgot this option (still have about 90 rice paper liners left after I switched to fleece). It's nice to hear that some of you use disposables with sitters. It sounds silly, but sometimes I feel "guilty" not using cloth...(especially after spending so much $$ on it).

We'll see how it goes :) Thanks again!

Kate
Mama to Maya 2-17-02

[RiaHannam]

Hi Kate,

I bet she can handle doing cd's. When I was 13 I babysat and the baby used cloth diapers. I even pinned them! I remember the night before I was to sit my mom showed me how to do it on one of my dolls. It was no big deal to me and I loved diapering him. In fact that is probably how I became a cloth diaperer!

Just have her over beforehand and show her your system. I bet she'll be fine with it. And you'll be making a great impression on her too!

Maria