The Cloth Papa Spotlight: Issue #10

A Monthly Newsletter Celebrating All Cloth Diapering Mamas & Papas in Singapore

June 2022

Meet The Papa

Brandon Chia is a registered nurse working in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Was it a childhood dream? He admitted, “No. In fact, I wanted to be a botanist or an ornithologist (study of birds). But these occupations had very few job openings at that time. I decided to pursue healthcare because it is an iron rice bowl.”

Why nursing then? Brandon enjoys the versatility of this profession. He says, “I can practise in a variety of setting from community care to the intensive care unit. It is also a very fulfilling and meaningful career by using my nursing skills to improve patients outcome.”

However, his parents, particularly his father, was not that happy and supportive in the beginning.

His father thought that nursing was a “female” job and that nurses only change diapers. Brandon continued, “My father is now proud of me. I’m currently working on a postgraduate qualification in clinical research focusing on evidence synthesis on the impact of ICU diaries on post-intensive care syndrome.”

As a nurse, Brandon’s typical work day can be hectic. He could start as early as 6.45am to check on patients during his morning shift or end late in the day at 9pm if he was in the afternoon shift. The daily work shift could range from 8–12 hours. Bilingual in both English and Chinese, he also converses in Teochew (dialect) to the elderly patients in the hospital.

When it is time to unwind, Brandon enjoys going outdoors. Thinking back on pre-Covid days when the family was on vacation, Brandon reminisced on the good old times, ”When I travel overseas with my wife, we always skip the city or central business districts and head straight to the mountains and nature reserves.”

As a nature guide volunteer with the National Parks Board (Nparks) at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserves in the last 14 years, Brandon has picked up on nature photography. He is also a part of the National Youth Achievement Award (NYAA) young photographer’s network. He explains, “This is where I hone my photography skills for events and reporting. We give back to the community by conducting photography workshops to students and even work with NGOs to raise funds for underprivileged.”

His works have also been featured in publications by NParks, Public Utilities Board and National University of Singapore.

The 29 year-old cloth papa has a daughter, Ellie, who is turning 9 months old in June and simply loves to be carried! He says, “Ellie gets really excited and comfortable when I carry her with a ring sling. She will always take long naps with it.”

The Cloth Diapering Journey

Brandon got introduced to cloth diapers though a church friend, Yeo Min, who is also a fellow CDSG member. He shared, “I first got to know about cloth diapers through Yeo Min’s Instagram story and post. I noticed that her little one was not wearing the usual disposable and that the prints on the diaper were quite pretty. I did some research on google and contacted her for more details.” Yeo Min then sent him some cloth diapers and wipes to try out.

However, there were some initial mental hurdles to cross. Brandon confessed, “My wife and I were initially hesitant about cloth diapers, mainly hygiene issues like washing routines and getting the poop off the diaper. But after using disposable diapers for two weeks, we were shocked that we were throwing out bags and bags of used disposable diapers. We then decided to try cloth diaper part-time first before going full time.”

In fact, it was Brandon who convinced his wife, Jiar Lin, to take on cloth diapering. Jiar Lin, like Brandon, is a nurse in the same hospital but works in a different ICU- Neuroscience. They both met when they were students in the Nursing school. With such busy schedules, it was not surprising that Jiar Lin was initially worried about the washing routine and the “extra work” that they had to do.

Challenges of Cloth Diapering

Brandon managed to get her to be on his side. He laughs. “I win her heart over by showing her the pretty prints, haha! She was also concerned about the environmental impact when we saw the amount of disposables we are throwing out. We also realized that we no longer need to use barrier/diaper creams and Ellie’s buttocks no longer get red easily as compared to disposables.” Good job, Papa!

Leaky diaper is one of their earlier challenges. In fact, among his family and relatives, they are the first to use modern cloth diapers. Brandon admitted, “The first few weeks of using cloth diapers were disappointing. We had leaks almost every other day. It was to the extent that we were considering to switch back to disposables. But we tried to troubleshoot by reading posts on Cloth Diapering Singapore Facebook Group and other cloth diapering sites. Thank goodness we managed to work it out by adjusting the fit, adding boosters and changing it timely.”

Ellie is currently full time in cloth diapers. Brandon explains that there are times that they have to transit back to disposables. He says “ There may be days when we run out of diapers due to wet weather, when laundry is pilling or simply when there are many work-related stuff that is pending. I read a comment on Facebook and I totally agree with it — It’s okay to take time off from cloth diapering whenever you need to. Don’t need to feel guilty about it and enjoy the cloth diapering process.”

Favourite Diaper Systems & Brands

Brandon and his wife has a collection of 30-odd cloth diapers for Ellie at the moment. 70% of the collection consists of pockets. He says, “I like pockets because it’s fast-drying compared to all in ones. And I can customise the number of inserts as required.” So what are the Top 3 brands of diapers that you use?

We love Monarch Ultimate Nappy and this is our go-to night diaper. The shell feels superior and I like the double-gussets. Never had issues with leaks.

We also like Mama Koala Pocket diapers because they are cheap and have pretty prints. The last is All-in-One diaper from Baby Beehinds. It has excellent absorbency. I always grab Baby Beehinds when I need to rush off outside and when there’s no time to slowly prep the pocket diapers.”

“If I can add one more, one of our newest editions is Bare Love pockets. Great price with very good quality inserts. They are slightly smaller in terms of fitting as compared with Mama Koala, so I think will work well for the transition between newborn and infant.”

Advice to Newbies

Brandon thinks that the wash routine for cloth diapers is the usual top concern. He advises anyone who is keen to adopt a good washing routine. He reasons, “Cloth diapering involves more work because they need to be washed properly. You also need to have the conviction to look at the long term positive environmental and economic impact as well as the effect on babies’ bums. It’s going to be worth it.”

Has he convinced any Papas to make the switch yet? He replies, “No I don’t. But if any cloth papas would like to find out more on how they can play apart in cloth diapering, feel free to PM me.”

He has this to offer to any Papas who are scared to take the plunge, “Perhaps Daddies can start by taking the initiative to do the research or read up more on cloth diapers. Or start with small steps by helping with the inserts (for pockets) etc. A supportive husband is important especially when handling a newborn. Both husband and wife can support each other and troubleshoot on issues such like leaks together. I feel that cloth diapering should be a joint decision because it’s quite tough for one person to handle alone, that is to wash the diapers and ensure the diapers are prep and ready to be used.”

On the future of cloth diapering, Brandon thinks that the “younger generation is becoming more environmentally conscious” and he remains hopeful that there will be “an increasing number of people who will take up cloth diapering” as awareness spreads.