On my local Freecyle someone was desperate for cloth diapers.
Seems one of her babies is having terrible medical issues from disposables, and she wants to try cloth diapering to see if it helps.
I have CDed both kids, and I have prefolds to spare (prefolds being the type of cloth diaper our folks put us in). LittleMan has recently grown out of his medium covers, and I have been debating what to do about it.
I emailed this poor woman without hesitation. I told her to call me if she was interested. She was.
She came over. I gave her a large portion of "my stash". (Seriously, that is what it is called.)
The resell value on cloth diapers is quite high. I could have sold a lot of it. Some of it was definitely worn, and while I do not think I would have felt good selling some of it, I definitely could have recouped some of my investment.
But it isn't about the money. At all.
Logically, I should feel good that I gave it to someone who really needed it.
It was hard not to cry, handing those diapers over.
Many were the first diapers I used on LittleBird.
I know I did a good thing. Being sentimental is so stupid sometimes. It causes one to hoard things that would otherwise be of great use to another family.
My head is happy that I helped someone out.
My heart needs to heal a little bit.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Generosity With A Sting
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13 comments:
I like your blog.....but my computer hates it. Everytime I come here my computer freezes for a minute or two and then runs like a snail. Not sure why.
It gives my arctic internet a brain cramp.
Anyway when you called the post "generosity with a sting? I thought you were going to say that the lady was ungrateful. I'm glad that wasn't the case.
You know, I could have saved a lot of money by cloth-diapering my kids, but in the early 80s we were still in the backlash against the post-Depression mindset of our parents. We wanted everything disposable, plus there was no one around who could show me how to use the doggone things! Everyone had Huggies, Luvs, or Pampers. No cloth diapers save for the ones we used to cover our shoulders to protect them from spew.
Now there is a return to the waste-not/want-not mindset, which is fantastic. But I'm sorry you had to part with some of your stash. Giving up anything that was a part of our children's babyhood is gut-wrenching.
(((hugs)))
Peace - D
Aw, hon. Just like Momma says, one of the hardest things to give away are those things that hold special memories, especially those of your children. Which is why I have a entire bookshelf full of kids' books that I can't give up.
Your heart is so is the right place, and this what a very brave and ecologically responsible thing to do. You're right - it will just take time.
I think it's wonderful you helped her out and I'll bet she's extremely grateful. The heart ache will go away eventually. I feel the same way whenever I pass the kids' clothes down to a friend or family member.
Did you keep one little diaper? Sometimes, when I save just one and put it in a keepsake bin, it makes sharing a little bit easier.
I even felt sad when they took our old mattress away. I thought of all of the pee stains, breast milk spillage and various other gross things that happen in a family bed and had to mourn the passing of an era.
You did a great thing and made that mom's day!
I still haven't given away my last dog's leash. I don't use it for my new dog, but I haven't given it away, either.
I think that's great! Kudos to ewe, nice lady!
@tundratantrum: I am sorry you are having such issues with my blog. That is weird. It isn't graphic heavy. I wonder what the deal is? Either way, I am glad you keep coming back!
@Momma: It's funny how guilty I feel on the days I don't use the cloth diapers. Sometimes we all need just to cut ourselves a break.
@BvB: Don't get me started on the books. We will run into the same issues here. LOL
@CMGF: Gah! Clothes are the worst. I get weepy just packing them away. Aren't we a bunch of saps!
@Mermaid: I did. I didn't give her all of them, and kept some of the cutesy patterned ones.
@Ari: I totally understand.
@Krishanna: Good to see ya, hon! I hope you are doing well!
I used disposables with my first one (this was 1983), then when I had my second one, 12 months and 2 weeks later, I switched to cloth. Couldn't afford the disposables for TWO! It was ROUGH too!
Both my boys had issues with the cloth! Diaper rash city! I should have bought stock in Desitin! LOL
On the rare occasion I did use disposables (like a road trip, or something) they had no issues! I don't know what the problem was! They were changed regularly (HAVE to with cloth, I know you know!) I tried different detergents, bleach, no bleach, double rinse. Everything I could think of! Nothing worked! They'd spend probably at least one week a month with a rash! :0( It really was an awful experience, but, I didn't have a choice! I simply couldn't afford disposables on any kind of a regular basis!
I have NO idea what I did with them, after they were potty trained? I know I had some left over, cuz I used them for burp rags when my daughter was born 3 years later (after my second son) But, I know I didn't have them all still.
Cloth diapers today, aren't even close to as thick as the old one's were! I've bought them for people, since they do make such good burp rags! Plus, they're good to have around when one is in a pinch! ;0)
@Melissa: Ah yes. The prefolds one buys at a store are not like the ones our folks used. They are still available, you just have to get them online.
Cloth diapers have come a long way. Snaps, velcro, cool patterns. The pocket diapers I used with LittleBird were the same setup as disposables except you washed them instead of chucking them. I am sorry to hear you had such a bad experience with CDing. Most people I know who actually do and stick with it/get the hang of it love it.
LOL, I had the BIG huge squarish ones too, that ya hadda fold up yourself. I didn't like those as much though.
Yea, I've seen those "new fangled" cloth diapers! Boy, that wouldda been nice!! LOL
Yanno,I think my kids just had extra sensitive skin! (I do!) When my daughter was born, I could then afford the disposables, since it was only for one, and with the experience I had with the Cloth, I thought I'd just leave that one alone! LOL
My sister is nearly 10 years my junior. When she was born my grandmother and mother both made diapers out of printed baby flannel. They had all the padding down the middle and flaps for the pins on either side. They were cute and lasted a long time. It made it much easier to teach me (at the tender age of 9 and a half) how to not only diaper a baby but also wash out a diaper in the john (bleargh). If anyone is interested in the pattern, let me know.
OH dear, CD is one of my naughty motherhood subjects LOL... 3 kids and I didn't try it with any of them!!
But I totally understand when it comes to being sentimental. 2 of my friends have had babies and I tried to go thru the kids stuff to give them some things and I had a pile of about 4 things i decided i could part with,....
Boy do i need to toughen up... Well done on helping someone who needed it :)
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