No Stress Allowed!
Like so many parenting decisions, I am learning to hold all things loosely. Plans are made, plans can change, and at times, plans must change for reasons beyond my control. I can be so quick to set myself up for disappointment, by wanting to measure my sense of worth by my own self-made task list!
Sometimes cloth diapering can become one of those traps. I’ll get inspired with some lofty goal of how I want to parent, dreaming about how that will best look for our family. It has become a constant balancing act of making choices along the way that perhaps push me a little beyond my comfort zone, but not so far that I’m finding myself stressed out, unable to manage the basics of life or worse…melting into a puddle of tears at the end of the day!
As much as I value and love so much of the cloth diapering experience, it has been one of those choices I have learned to hold loosely. I do best in my life when there’s enough wiggle room for some everyday choices to be set aside for a time.
Usually I feel ready to start with cloth diapers again once our newborn is a couple weeks old. By then, my physical body is recovering, out-of-sorts toddlers are settling and the home is heading into some semblance of what I like to call “the new normal.”
Cloth diapering may also be moved to the sidelines in other busy seasons: holidays, when family is visiting, if there’s sickness in the home…or if life is simply feeling unpredictably full.
At other times, it’s one of the choices that helps me to feel grounded and focused- kind of like making a big pot of soup on a chilly day after a busy weekend. It helps me to regroup, be fully present and enjoy the small things in my life.
So there’s the intro to my cloth diapering philosophy! Keeping it simple and stress-free is a high priority for me.
Next week- I’ll share the scoop on how we make it work for us!
Laundry Mom~Kali ♥
