Don’t be a party pooper: Cloth diaper event Saturday

There will be a whole lot of change going on at the Felix C. Davis Community Center in North Charleston on Saturday, and some of it just might stink.

Local parents and babies will take part in The Great Cloth Diaper Change in an effort to set a Guinness World Record for most cloth diapers changed simultaneously.

North Charleston mom Katherine Loichinger, an organizer of the event and cloth diaper consultant, hopes 100 parent-baby pairs will participate. Earlier this week, 60 twosomes were signed up.

"Cloth is making a comeback," says Loichinger, who is expecting her second baby any day. "It's a lot easier than what people think. You no longer need plastic pants and pins."

Loichinger first got involved with cloth diapers nearly two years ago, when her son, Fletcher, was born.

"At first, our decision to use cloth was an economical one, but as I researched more, I found all the many benefits of cloth diapers," she says. "At the time, there were no local resources for cloth diapers. You had to look online, and then you don't know what you're purchasing."

As a consultant for Lowcountry Diaper Parties by Everything Birth, she organizes home diaper parties similar to Tupperware parties, where new and expectant mothers can inspect the diapers in person.

Now there are a handful of cloth diaper representatives locally, she says. They include Carrie Wells (Bitty Bottoms), Heather Post (Modern Cloth), Beth McNealy (Teeny Turtle) and Jennifer Cangelosi (Cloth Diaper U). They are organizing Saturday's event together.

The idea to set a record was started by Judy Aagard of Tiny Tots Diaper Service and Baby Boutique in Campbell, Calif.

"She wanted to come up with a family-friendly Earth Day event," Loichinger says. "She had the idea for the Guinness thing, and it really spread quickly."

More than 400 locations in 20 countries will participate in the event. There currently is no record for simultaneous diaper changing, so organizers plan to set one on Saturday and already are aiming to break it next year.

Guinness has set some requirements for the event. They include:

--Babies must be 39 inches or shorter.

--Each baby must be paired with one adult 18 or older.

--All diapers must be changed at the same time.

--Diapers must be 100 percent reusable cloth (no disposable inserts) and must be commercially available.

Saturday's event also will include giveaways and raffles. Money raised will benefit the Real Diaper Association (www.realdiaperassociation.org), a nonprofit dedicated to teaching parents about cloth diapers while emphasizing responsibility and sustainability.

Brenda Rindge can be reached at 937-5713.