Have you gotten the latest issue of Mothering magazine yet? It features a HUGE spread on cloth diapering – comprehensive, thorough, and clearly in favor of 100% reusable cloth diapers! Lori Taylor, President of the Board of Directors, and RDA member Angie Gregory, of Mother Herb Diaper Service in Northampton, MA, were quoted in the article. Supplements include a 2-page pictorial explanation of the different type of cloth diapers, a page of troubleshooting advice, a listing of cloth diaper resources on the web, and an excellent article on elimination communication, particularly in conjunction with cloth diapers.

Jennifer Margulis, author of the article, is following up with a week of cloth diaper-themed blog posts at mothering.com. So far she’s written three: “I Heart Cloth Diapers”, “Cloth Diapering 101 or Everything You Need to Know About How to Get Started with Cloth Diapers”, and “Can You Really Travel with Cloth Diapers?” (her answer, like ours, is YES!  Learn more about our efforts to support parents in using cloth diapers on the road here.)

In support of the article, mothering.com has also introduced a series of video resources on cloth diapers and a Q&A Forum related to cloth diapering.  All this follows a long tradition of support for cloth diapers from Mothering magazine, highlights of which include editor Peggy O’Mara’s “A Tale of Two Diapers”, Lindsay Evans’ “Dumping Disposable Diapers”, and “The Politics of Diapers”.  There have been more published, and a number of additional articles and resources available on the site. Many RDA business members also advertise in Mothering magazine, connecting readers to sources they often cannot find locally.

Want to spread the word about cloth diapers? Buy a few copies and give them out to family and friends!

Baby sleeping comfortably in a 100% reusable cloth diaper.

Well over a hundred parents shared their advice to help other parents succeed using 100% reusable cloth diapers at night. We examined the responses and compiled it into a single-page tip sheet for nighttime cloth diapering. I’m thrilled with the results, in part due to the beautiful graphic design work of our volunteer designer, Trebeca Itzen. Please feel free to use and share this tip sheet with anyone you can! We hope it’s helpful…

We’ve now concluded the first phase of the 100% Reusable Cloth Diapers campaign, and it was a real pleasure to see so many people publicize it and contribute to its success. I’m hoping you’ll be as generous in helping with the next phase, starting in April, focusing on tips for traveling with 100% reusable cloth diapers.

“Cloth diapers are easier, cheaper, more convenient, and less wasteful than disposables. Find out why in ‘Dumping Disposable Diapers’ and ‘The ABCs of Going Cloth,’ two complementary articles in the March-April 2008 issue of Mothering magazine that outline how to make a smooth transition to cloth.”

“Join Mothering at the Seattle Green Festival, April 12 & 13th. Visit our booth in the Kids Zone and learn about the practical aspects of cloth diapering from The Real Diaper Association. Subscribe to our print or digital edition at the festival and enter to win a Cloth Diaper Kit.”

They are also interested in families that are concerned about global warming and want to be part of the solution.

What a great opportunity to bring the issue of cloth diapers to a national audience!

As a PhD who has chosen to wipe my own children’s butts, I’m appalled not only by such a strident view of what it means to be an educated woman but by the blatant claim that to care for one’s own children is immoral. The so-called moral high ground she claims has no relation to the world I live in, where parenting is itself a political act. Wiping butts is also an act of love whether for our children, our parents, or anyone else who is so vulnerable as to need such care.

My doctoral training highlights the political nature of social and personal choices even when they don’t fit the molds demanded by authority figures, whether those authority figures be retired professors or global corporations. I am proud to have wiped my own children’s butts.

Let me encourage you, as activists and advocates for cloth diapers despite prevailing corporate wisdom, to speak truth to power.

–Lori Taylor, President and Founder, Real Diaper Association

Following the logical crumbs of this issue, I also wondered about gel. Gel bras and gel shoe inserts have been banned from plane travel. Does this mean no gel diapers?

If you have experience with diapers on planes in the past couple of weeks, tell me how it went. Did you see any gel diapers confiscated as potentially dangerous?

Frugal Baby Care
Common Sense Care for your Baby
From Pat Veretto
Your Guide to Frugal Living.
“It’s not necessary to sew your own diapers, but it is necessary to use cloth diapers unless you have more money than you know what to do with. Do the math, as they say. A dozen cloth diapers cost around twelve to fifteen dollars and they last until the baby is potty trained. So what if it takes four dozen or more? How many times could you reuse a disposable diaper?“