Cloth Diapers

Over the past few years at the Miriam Home we as a staff have strived hard to increase the sanitation and quality of care for the children. One BIG area has been with making sure every child is in a diaper all the time. We began with trying to get cloth diapers for all the children but quickly realized it was going to be hard to keep up with the supply and demand (Although we had a few churches that were doing and still do an AWSOME making diapers for the kids) . With over 30 children in cloth diapers ranging from size 1 to Adult S & M. Each child going through 3-5 diapers a day. Those diapers getting washed on a daily basis and wearing out within a month. Well...you do the math that equals ALOT of diapers. The other issue came with not being able to find rubber pants that could fit most of the children. Oh...and the issue of diaper pins...you know losing them, the staff poking themselves or the kids, etc. 

Well last year we started getting disposable diapers from the DR (Dominican Republic). This came with a price but a price that we felt was worth it. We started out using both cloth and disposable and slowly it turned into using primarily disposable diapers. 

Why the switch back to cloth? Well, It is almost impossible to find Adult size diapers in Haiti and we have 7-8 kids in this size of diapers. We realized we were running out of the supply we had and no way to re-stock unless groups carried them in which would be hard to keep up with. Also we had read that it is bad for kids to be in disposable diapers 24/7.  

My mom had done research of making cloth diapers and had found a cloth called "Puhl" which is a water proof material that is being used on the outside of cloth diapers...basically built in rubber pants. This is GREAT and solves the not being able to find rubber pants that fit. My mom found a diaper pattern and began making bigger size diapers with elastic around legs and snaps as closure. She started out making Medium and Large sizes. Once in Haiti I realized are biggest need was an X-large size. My mom has been AMAZING at diligently working to make X-large diapers so that the bigger kids can be in cloth diapers most of the time.

We had a fair amount of cloth diapers left in Haiti that were made by Justin's church in the depot that needed safety pins for closure. We realized that the snaps were working better for the staff and the kids. My mom sent in the tool and snaps so that all the diapers could have snaps put on them. We decided that at night the ALL the children would sleep in cloth diapers. It is better for them and it saves us money. 

If you know how to sew and would like to help make X-large or Large cloth diapers, Please let me know so that I can get you a pattern and the instructions. The more hands the better for this project. These diapers take a fair amount of time to make but they are a HUGE blessing for the children, the staff, and the visitors.