On diaper need, one last time

This is my very last post (weep!) as a Huggies Every Little Bottom Ambassador. This partnership has been such a fulfilling one – I am humbled to have been chosen to spread the word about diaper need in America, and it was a huge honor to be able to donate more than $2,000 worth of diapers to my church to be distributed in my local community just by doing something as simple as running three miles wearing a diaper of my own. Thank you for being so supportive of the campaign and of my involvement; thank you for contributing time and donations to your own local communities. Thank you for thinking a grown woman in a diaper is a humorous thing worthy of your time and money. (My husband is not so sure.)

That said, I'd like to just restate some of the glaring statistics about diaper need in the United States one last time. Perhaps one of your New Year's Resolutions is to do more to help others in need? Consider donating diapers to your local food bank, diaper bank or (as I did) to a local church that has a ministry working with those less fortunate. There are children in need in EVERY community throughout this country.

Why donate diapers?
One in three American moms have had to cut back on food, utilities, or child care in order to provide diapers for their babies.

The vast majority of daycare facilities require a parent to provide a consistent and steady supply of disposable diapers.

Moms unable to provide clean diapers for their babies are sometimes forced to reuse soiled disposable diapers, or extend the amount of time a baby wears a soiled diapers.

Babies who wear soiled diapers are more at risk for health problems as well as abuse.

Remember that even the smallest donations can make big a difference in someone's life. Thank you all again for being a part of this and for spreading the word about Huggies Every Little Bottom. It's been a privilege, even the part where I wore a GIANT DISPOSABLE DIAPER and RAN IN IT until my INNER THIGHS CHAFED AND SCABBED OVER. I am the only adult I know who wore a diaper, and then used honest-to-goodness DIAPER RASH CREAM on herself afterwards. But you know what? I would do it again, in a heartbeat, because I know that each and every one of those diapers went to good use, and that there are some babies out there who are a little more comfortable as a result of my OWN discomfort. IN A HEARTBEAT.

And thank YOU, Huggies, for an amazing opportunity. It's been a true joy.

Disclosure: I have partnered with the Huggies® brand to help promote the Huggies® Every Little Bottom program. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes writing about it here. However, my opinions are entirely my own.

Comments

[HereWeGoAJen]

You did a great job on this. I'm so glad you shared it with all of us.

[Hannah]

Thank YOU for calling attention to such an important issue. Because of your posts, I'm coordinating a diaper drive (which I hope will lead to a permanent diaper bank) with DSS and the food pantry in my hometown.

[Jen]

I've been following your posts on this, and I think what you have been doing is great, but it has raised a lot of questions for me. Disposable diapers are not available in every country, nor are they something that has been around for a very long time. People have been going without disposable diapers and using reusable or cloth diapers for much, much longer. Instead of giving these impoverished families disposable diapers that will soon be gone leaving them at square one, why aren't they being given or educated about the alternative? It seems like that could help them more, last longer, and solve the problem better. This is just a question that kept nagging at me as I read your posts. I'm sure that you have done MUCH more research on the topic and would love to know your take on this.

[Vanessa]

I agree with Jen. While it is a awesome thing you are doing-because it just breaks my heart knowing that any child would have to wear a disposable diaper more then once. . 2000 dollars would have given ten familes a whole diaper stash for LIFE, that can be reused with multiple children.

Plus I imagine it would have been more comfortable running 3 miles in a cloth diaper ;)

[Elizabeth]

Unfortunately, in our society, cloth diapers are not always an option for impoverished families. It sounds backwards, but it's true.

I don't know what it's like in other parts of the country, but I can tell you a little about the families in our area- the ones who benefited from Emily's diaper drive.

Many of the families that received the diapers that Emily donated are sharing homes with multiple other families. Some of them are restricted to the ONE bedroom that is theirs (think 5 people or more sharing one room for all their needs). This means that they do not have access to the kitchen or laundry room, and have to share bathrooms with lots of other people. Cleaning their clothing at a laundromat is a huge expense; adding clothe diapers to that is just not feasible. At least, not if they want to continue feeding their children as well.

Also, as Emily mentioned in her post, many day care facilities will not accept cloth diapers so these families are stuck using disposable.

It's not a great situation, but it seems like disposable is what these families need. I agree that cloth diapers seem like a better option, but for many of these families, cloth diapering brings it's own difficulties and is simply not an option.

Thank you so much, Emily, for bringing attention to this issue and for all you have done to help the families in our area!!!

[Life of a Doctor's Wife]

This was such a fabulous learning experience. Thank you - and Huggies - for opening my eyes to this need.

[Chris]

Diapers are a serious issue! I have seen the need here in my own community and have dome some things here as well to try and help.

I didn't know that you ran 3 miles in a diaper! That is cool!