Flats & Handwashing Challenge

Uh oh, two cloth diaper posts in a row. :)

Okay, so I decide to try something "wild". At least it qualifies as wild and adventurous in my book. ha ha... I am going to take the "Flats and Handwashing Challenge." If you are really curious about all the details and rules of the challenge you can read more at this link. But basically for one week in May I have committed (gee, that is a strong word)... to using only flats for diapers and only handwashing all diapers. What's a flat? Similar to what it sounds, it is a square flat piece of cotton. It is thin - and thus dries very quickly compared to other types of cloth diapers.

My initial thoughts when I read the challenge were in this sequence - "wow, this is extreme and a little crazy!" Then my second thought was, "oh bummer I drank all of my coffee, I want some more." And my third was "Ooo but this could be fun and adventurous." Fourth "But I don't really understand the point." Fifth "And wouldn't I be just a little hyprocritical or contradictory if I go to all this effort to hand wash diapers, just to end my day relaxing in front of the cable television and surfing the web?"

Then I read a little about flats as diapers and their pros and cons. They basically come in one size, and you can use them on any shape, size or age of baby just by changing how you fold the flat. So they are very versitile. Second, they wash up very easily and dry very easily. As I thought more about these pros I thought maybe it would be good to give it a try. I think it might be a good thing to know how to do.

So here is my purpose of the challenge (the stated purpose of the challenge on the website is not really what caught my interest to commit to dunking my hands in icky poo water for one week. I mean, don't get me wrong, it is a nice purpose, but not enough to make me want to sign up myself). When we move to the Philippines the power might go out and what if I needed more diapers and they were all dirty? What would I do? And it will often be hot and humid over there - I would need a diaper that would dry quickly in the humid weather. And when traveling to raise support we might have to live out of a suitcase and hotels for a short time - it would be great to have an easy diaper I could wash in the hotel and have them dry over night to be ready to use the next day, without having to worry about trying to find a laundromat. Hmmmmm... maybe I should give this a try. It might be a good skill and diapering option to know considering our circumstances.

So I signed up for the challenge. What I do know is there is a learning curve on applying the diaper correctly on the baby. But I am thankful I will be trying on my 15 month old son and not a newborn with all that runny poo. ha ha...