The Circle already has an on-base home (at the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base), but is working on an off-base location to serve the local civilian population as well. Heather is also in training to be a La Leche League Leader, and does a lot of local babywearing support as well. She hopes to bring all three together in a common space and time to help spread interest and support across the natural parenting spectrum. With three children that she is homeschooling, Heather is quite busy, but she is also dedicated. When she began cloth diapering, she was completely on her own, knowing no one else using cloth diapers. Being persistent, and convinced that cloth diapers were the right answer from environmental, health, and financial standpoints, she struggled through it, and now wants to share her knowledge so that other people won’t have such a tough time figuring it all out.

If you (or someone you know) are in the local area, check out the Facebook group for the Real Diaper Circle of Wayne County, NC. Join the group to connect with cloth diaperers and find out about upcoming meetings and other local resources!

Congratulations, Heather, and thank you for joining RDA in advocating for 100% reusable cloth diapers!!

If you are interested in helping with cloth diaper advocacy and support in your area, find out more about Real Diaper Circles in this blog post.

If you are looking for local support outside of Wayne County, NC, check out the Real Diaper Association’s local resource directory.

Heather McNamara
Executive Director, Real Diaper Association

I’m still on a high over the whole thing, though that may be due to the fact that my week didn’t end there. My co-leader, Rachel, and another Circle member (Jenni) staffed another booth for us on Earth Day itself at Hewlett-Packard’s fair, getting a lot of interest from the several hundred attendees.

And, of course, the #GetRealDiapers Twitter party that night capped it all off with 1700+ tweets in one hour amongst the 400+ preregistered attendees! There was a lot of fantastic information provided – you can view the transcript of the event here. Prizes were awarded EVERY FOUR MINUTES throughout the hour, including entire diaper stashes for some parents new to cloth diapers. Preregistered attendees were also subsequently provided with discount codes from the sponsors as well as information from the Real Diaper Association to help them realize their commitment to cloth diapers.

Did you take advantage of Earth Week to advocate for cloth diapers? How? We’d love to hear about your experiences!!

Heather McNamara
San Diego Real Diaper Circle Leader
Executive Director, Real Diaper Association

All in all, it was a long and tiring day but I was surprised at how much fun I had. No one would describe me as an extrovert but I enjoyed the chance to talk with so many people about something I believe in so passionately. Now I can’t wait to do another one.

Angela Imes

Plano Area Real Diaper Circle Leader

http://groups.google.com/group/planocloth

Mother of two girls, Michelle is also the owner of Snooty Booty Diapers, and the blogger behind Cloth Diapers Made Simple. She also guest writes for other blogs and publications and exhibits at local fairs, all to spread the word about cloth diapers. Having introduced many people to cloth diapers, she is following up with the next step – providing a Circle where those people can continue to get and give support to one another. Michelle’s enthusiasm for cloth diapering, and her tireless efforts to find the right cloth diapering solution for every situation for her family and for others will make her an excellent RDA representative. The Jersey Shore is lucky to have her as a Leader!

To find local support near you, check the RDA’s local resource directory.

Heather McNamara
Executive Director, Real Diaper Association

“So, what is a flat diaper?” you say. To keep it simple, it is a large single layer piece of absorbent fabric used to diaper a baby. “It’s a prefold, then, right?” Not really, but close. A prefold is several layers already sewn together, with the thickest most absorbent area right in the middle. It is sort of limiting on where one can place those absorbent layers on a baby. A flat, on the other hand, leaves the door wide open for different folds, so one may fold that absorbency layer wherever it is needed most (for example, a side sleeping baby may need it over to one side a bit.)

Flat diapers are becoming more popular lately for a number of reasons. The benefits of using flat diapers (besides not wasting money on disposables and keeping them out of landfills) are that they are inexpensive, easy to wash, ideal to travel with, and can serve purposes outside of cloth diapering. Since they are so easy to wash, traveling could never be easier with cloth diapers. No more wondering where you are going to find a Laundromat since they can easily be hand washed and will dry overnight. They fold ultra thin, so storage space isn’t a concern in your luggage either. Some other purposes that flats can be used for are swaddle blankets, dusting rags, and even to strain yogurt (I overheard a Mom mention she had done that!) Possibilities are endless with flats!

Several of our Circle members use flat diapers regularly, so they led the demonstrations. There are many different kinds of folds someone can use with flat diapers. In my opinion, the Origami, AKA Chinese Fold, would be the most efficient, however, the fold is quite intimidating to learn in the beginning; but well worth it! Some other folds include the Jo Fold and V Fold, both of which are very simple. The Newborn Fold is the easiest to do and can be folded one less time for a larger baby. Diagrams of these folds can be found here, at Little Lions. (Note: Little Lions and the SDRDC provided a flat diaper and pair of pins to all attendees of the meeting, which made it easy to do hands-on practice with people who knew what they were doing.)

There are a few different fabrics that can and are used for flats, just like with other diaper styles. Some types of fabrics used are bamboo, hemp, flannel, gauze and of course, birdseye cotton! My personal fave is a hemp/cotton combo or bamboo/cotton combo for that extra absorbency they can provide.

Absorbency can be added, as with almost any diaper, by placing either another flat, prefold or insert inside the folded diaper. (However, please do take care to NOT place microfiber directly against your baby’s skin, as it will dry your baby’s bum out!)

“Okay, how do you fasten said flat diapers?” Well, that’s easy! Just like most other diapers that require fastening. Pins, Snappi’s or just a snug fitting cover (probably with Velcro for the best fit.) I did discover that a flat could even be TIED to fasten it! I found that out by using my trusty diaper model, Curly the Bear – my 2-year-old isn’t very cooperative trying on diapers for Mommy anymore.

So, bottom line from me, flats are going to be giving prefolds, along with every other style of diaper out there, a run for their money! Flats are becoming increasingly popular now, so you can probably find them at any one of your favorite retailers. Now…I’m off to place that order for my store.

Rachel Dove, Owner, Sweet Baby Bottoms, San Diego Real Diaper Circle

Why does Katrina support cloth diapering? In her own words:

I love that cloth diapers feel nicer on my babies’ skin. I love the fact that I’m saving money and saving the environment at the same time. I LOVE the idea that I have saved hundreds of diapers from sitting in the landfills for the next 500 years. I also feel like I have a connection to my mother, grandmother and mothers before them. In some small way, my mothering experience is similar to theirs.

Starting a big city Circle has its own special difficulties. There are a lot of people to reach out to, but they are spread over a larger area and have a wider variety of needs than a smaller, more homogeneous community might. Fortunately, Katrina already has some core supporters, including some local business owners, who are available to help her implement their shared vision for the Chicago area. Meetings will likely be held in multiple locations to cater to a wider geographical area with a shared online community to bring them all together.

Want to find out more about cloth diapering in the Chicago area? Join the Yahoo group!

I left the meeting very excited about growing our circle and getting some real advocacy work starting. I”ll be speaking briefly this coming Tuesday to a group of expectant twin moms about cloth diapering, so I’ll drop a note on the blog about how that goes too.

Angela Imes, Plano Area Real Diaper Circle Leader http://groups.google.com/group/planocloth

She calls her husband over. He voices his concerns. What do you do with the poop? What about the extra water use? Washing routines and research results are shared. Then he asks the real kicker: how much do they cost? When he hears about the huge savings real diapers can offer, the next question is usually: Where can we get them?

Often, all it takes is a conversation and a sample to set a parent on the path toward using cloth diapers. That’s why the Real Diaper Association (RDA) is committed to helping local leaders bring the message of cloth diapers to their communities. As an example, one of RDA’s active groups is the San Diego Real Diaper Circle, which was founded in April of 2008. Since then, the group has staffed booths at the 2008 and 2009 EarthFairs in Balboa Park and the BabyTime Expo at the Convention Center. They have also presented cloth diapers in childbirth classes and held more than 50 meetings in central and North County San Diego. More than 150 members support one another via the meetings and an online forum, and they have exposed more than a thousand parents and caregivers to reusable diapers.  (See here for a recent blog post about the group.)

Since its founding in 2004, RDA has put training local educators and supporting their local efforts at the core of our mission. Through local Real Diaper Circles, RDA organizes volunteers who advocate and educate about cloth diapers locally, meeting with new parents face-to-face to make their diapering choices easier. (To find if there is already a Circle in your area, check this map.) To become a Circle leader you must:

• use cloth diapers full time for at least a year (or must have done so when your children were babies).
• be a Real Diaper Association member.
• demonstrate support for and dedication to the mission of the Real Diaper Association.
• be respectful of others and enthusiastic about cloth diapering.
• be creative, persistent, and organized in doing the work to get a local Circle started.

There are several steps to accreditation.  Most volunteers find that this process takes about 30 hours over the course of 3-4 months.

• Volunteers apply to begin leadership training by submitting a short application.
• Volunteers put together a vision for what advocacy and education will look like in their area.
• Leaders in training will prepare to practice Nonviolent Communication by reading Marshall Rosenberg’s book by that name.  RDA will provide a reading guide with questions, many of which are specific to situations you might encounter in a local diapering group.
• Leaders in training will have a series of interviews, by e-mail and by phone, with an RDA organizer.
• Leaders in training will participate in an online discussion group to support one another through the training period.
• Leaders in training who are also cloth diaper business owners will develop a plan to separate those roles when working in their community.

Once a leader is accredited, Circle leadership usually involves:

• Coordinating regular local meetings.
• Organizing Circle members to conduct outreach in the community.
• Setting up an online component to support Circle members beyond meetings.
• (Optional) Raising funds to support Circle events.

The time and effort that it takes to run a Circle depends on a number of factors such as how new the group is, how many volunteers a leader develops within the Circle to take on responsibilities, and how much outreach the Circle does.  Each leader must individually decide how to balance their commitment level and interests with the needs of their community.

RDA currently has more than 65 leaders in training around the country.  If you are interested in starting a Circle, be sure to volunteer as a Circle Leader when you join RDA.  In the event that someone else from your area is also interested (or already in training), RDA organizers can help you work together to share responsibility for a common Circle.

–

Heather McNamara
Executive Director, Real Diaper Association
www.realdiaperassociation.org

Angela’s goal for the Plano Area Real Diaper Circle is to create a local resource of people that will both seek out new parents to share our knowledge of cloth diapering and be a visible source of information to those actively seeking cloth diapering knowledge. She is in the process of establishing an online forum and monthly meetings at local libraries where parents can support one another with diapering issues, help educate those new to cloth diapering, and plan for local cloth diaper advocacy and outreach events.

Looking for a Real Diaper Circle in your area?  http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/directory/

If there is no Circle in your area listed in the RDA Directory, encourage others to start one – or consider becoming a Leader yourself: http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/localadvocacy.php#leaders

This is the third major public event that the group has done so far.  With a couple of new volunteer Leaders in training, the San Diego Real Diaper Circle hopes to further expand their outreach efforts and get even more SoCal babies into cloth diapers in the coming year!