Disposable Diapers or Cloth?

Jennifer D.

For most of us, cloth diapers are a thing of the past. But what if you are from another country? Then the answer is, "it depends." On Saturday, February 8, the ladies from Irvine-Tustin Community Group hosted a baby shower for a Turkish friend from Pacifica Institute. We invited our Muslim and Christian friends in just about equal numbers, and the shower gave us a chance to share God’s love during this happy occasion while we prepared to welcome Baby Noah.

Having a shower is a whole new experience for most women from Turkey. First, we played a baby present Bingo game, which challenged all of us to come up with English words for baby items which could be gifts for Noah. This led to great partnering in teaching and learning new English words. We also played a “mother” game, guessing whether the new mom would use cloth or disposable diapers, follow a routine or a flexible schedule etc. The list of questions and answers led to many discussions about Turkish and American cultures as well as Christian and Muslim practices.

For instance, we learned that Turkish Muslims celebrate the 40th day after birth, with a time of prayer and thanksgiving for the child. We also found out that people are just starting to have Baby Showers in Turkey but would never consider giving people a list of things they need or want for the baby! Although we made sure to "shower" our expectant mom with a plethora of gifts.

Kathy Z. gave the mother a “Christening bonnet,” and explained how it can be worn by the baby on his way home from the hospital as well as at a special prayer ceremony for the baby. Then it can be saved and converted to a handkerchief for his bride to keep as something old during a future wedding ceremony. This allowed us to explain our American wedding traditions as well as Christening traditions. 

Our discussion led us all to realize how much we have in common: that new Moms, in both cultures, are much more idealistic than experienced Moms, that we all love babies, and we all have a deep faith in our God and that we know we can pray for our babies and for each other.