The best thing(s) about cloth diapering

Today I was helping my friends at Cat and Fiddle Kids for a few hours and a couple came in to look at the cloth diaper selection.  They were a really lovely couple from up-island who remembered Tabetha and me from the Vancouver Island Baby Fair in September, where I manned a booth for two solid days talking to expectant and new parents about cloth diapers, strollers and all sorts of other fun things.  Tabetha was with me the whole time, of course, napping in the display bassinet at need, being worn in our Babyhawk, and just generally being adorable.

When it came to the cloth diapers, I often told a story that she is not going to be very appreciative of in a few years.  You see, the couple who came in to the store today asked me "oh, is this the poonami baby?"

Yes, I told hundreds of parents and grandparents that my daughter, strictly breastfed at the time, once went 15 days without pooping.  One day more than two weeks.  And when she finally went, it was a poonami.  But!  Every last smelly drop of it was contained in her cute AMP diaper.  I was even able to dress her back in the same clothes once I changed her.  Disposables, in my experience and that of many folks I've talked to, are much more prone to the dreaded blow out, which can result in poop all the way up to the back of the neck and/or down to the ankles.

(my husband thinks I shouldn't write this here, and maybe he's right.  But I like a compelling story, and this one was obviously interesting enough that this couple remembered it months later!)

And the thing is, I hate touching poo.  A lot.  And there's this misconception out there with a lot of people that cloth diapering means touching more poop.  But when my daughter has a big poo, it's all in her diaper, and I have perfected getting it into the laundry without touching the dirty bits.  When my friend's kid has a big poo?  It's on the diaper, the clothes, sometimes even the car seat and a couple toys...

Sure, it's cheaper in the long run, the diapers are cuter, it's better for the environment, it's better for my daughter, blah blah blah... but for me?  The real benefit of cloth diapering can be summed up in one word.

Poonami.