I've been testing a few pocket cloth diapers for reviews. It got me thinking…so many people love pockets…why am I having such a hard time stuffing them? And then it hit me…I must have ginormous hands syndrome!
Allow me to explain:
My first symptoms included my extreme difficulty in stuffing the few tiny pockets that I had gotten as part of Sophia's newborn cloth diaper rental. The opening on a newborn diaper is probably a tight space for anyone to work in, but for me, it felt impossibly small. Argh! The aggravation of trying to get those tiny inserts to lay flat! I usually just gave up and counted my blessings that the inserts got crammed in there at all! So what Sophia had a lumpy butt…they worked didn't they?!
Other odd things have also occurred that lead me to believe I have big-hand-otosis. While Sophia's cloth diapers got bigger as time went on; my frustration with stuffing pockets grew right with them!
I'd have this perfectly amazing pocket diaper, with a generously sized opening. Should be big enough for anyone to get the job done.
Nope, not this girl!
I still struggled. I huffed and I puffed … seriously I was sweating! Wait, that may just be my post-baby whacked out hormones. I sweat every time I put my Spanx on too. I have to wear them when I wear jeans. If I don't, I have enough muffin top to feed a small village. Isn't that enough proof! Wait, what are we talking about here? Crazy mom hormones or big hand problems? The lack of sleep has caused me to lose my mind!
My problems aren't with the pocket cloth diapers. Pockets are a good option for lots of families! Many moms have even confessed to enjoying the process of stuffing them. They say it's soothing. That's fine. I can appreciate that. I feel the same way when I fold my cloth diaper laundry.
If the problem isn't the diaper, then what is it? A search on Google confirmed my suspicions. I am indeed afflicted with large-hand-ititis!
Per wikipedia.com the average woman's hand measures 172mm long and 74mm wide. My hands measure 184mm and 88mm. For those of you who are thinking…mm?? That means my hand is almost a half inch longer and MORE than a half inch wider than the average.
So in conclusion… my hands are big! Pockets are an excellent choice for many people. Just not me.
Jenn is a long-time cloth diaper educator and a passionate small business advocate. She has worked in the reusable diaper industry for over a decade, helping millions of families via her websites All About Cloth Diapers, Thinking About Cloth Diapers and Cloth Diaper Geek as well as hundreds of small businesses during that time. Her goal always to provide simple, reliable information.
Karie says
Ha! I have my 10 year old son do the stuffing! I do my diaper laundry every night, and it is his job to stuff the inserts, and fold the cloth wipes every morning! :-)
Hannah says
haha too funny! I think pockets are my favorite (what I have the most of anyways) but I have small hands – it all makes perfect sense
Carolyn says
Hahaha, now I really want to go measure my hand! ;) I think my hand is pretty narrow, but I love that you put the time into finding out where you fell on the spectrum! :)
Jennifer Reinhardt says
When I don’t have an answer I just ask Mr. Google ;)
Saja says
LMAO!! I suffer from the same thing, and came to the same conclusion as to why I do not like stuffing pockets. So I use them as AI2’s :)
Jennifer Reinhardt says
Saja! That is a great idea. I might try that myself.
Kalmia says
I hate stuffing pockets! I thought it was just the difficulty of stuffing fabric (squishing and folding all over the place) inside of fabric (also squishing and folding everywhere). But I checked my hand measurements – 190 x 85 mm. I think you are on to something!
Jennifer Reinhardt says
Kalmia, my inserts are lumpy every single time I try. I can’t even get my fingers in there to get them straight! I don’t know what is wrong with me, lol.