We recycle. We bring reusable bags to Target. We joined a local food co-op. We walk when we can. We rarely buy bottled water, and instead use glasses or reusable water bottles. I traded in my SUV for a more fuel efficient car. We do not use plastic containing BPA. We eat organic as much as possible.
So why are we junking up landfills with disposable diapers? It doesn't really fit, does it?
Not only does it take disposables at least 250 years to decompose, they also have carcinogenic chemicals in them.
It seems to me like if we want to make the world just a little bit better for Leo, disposable diapers don't really have a place in that picture. Vinny and I had planned on going cloth when I was pregnant, and then somehow our plan fell along the wayside. But we're picking it up and dusting it off!
Cloth diapers have come a very, very long way! If you know me, you know that I'm pretty much, um, slow-witted when it comes to anything spatial. So folding, pins? Forget it! New cloth diapers have Velcro and are just as easy cheesy to put on and take off as disposables. Plus they come in all sorts of cute patterns and colors.
I found a program that lets us try a bunch of different cloth diapers for 21 days for $10 and it arrived Sunday evening! I did some prewashing, and so far Leo and I have been enjoying our endeavors on the fluffy side. Stay tuned!
If you want to know more about cloth diapers: http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/diaperfacts.php
By the way, Grandma Hilda is almost never wrong about things. When I was 20 or so she told me to take my tongue ring out because it detracted from my beauty, and I listened. On our trip to Albuquerque, she told me to nurse Leo as long as we're both enjoying it, and use cloth diapers because they're softer on his tushie. See? Grandma is almost never wrong about these things!
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6 comments:
It's worth a try! Nice intro deal too.
How easy/cost effective/environmentally energy saving is laundering them?
Laundering them is super easy! Just wash and dry, basically - I just have to hang to dry after a round in the dryer since some of them are so thick. It will be even easier when the weather is warmer and I can stick them outside to dry.
Here's what I found about how green the laundering part is:
Washing cloth diapers at home uses 50 to 70 gallons of water every three days--about the same as a toilet-trained child or adult flushing the toilet five to six times a day.
Today, as a rule diaper services use biodegradable detergents not harmful phosphates. The waste water produced from washing diapers is benign, while the waste water from the manufacture of the pulp, paper, and plastics used in disposable diapers contains dioxins, solvents, sludge, and heavy metals.3 Chlorine bleach, whose manufacture is harmful to the atmosphere, is used in whitening diaper service diapers, but the environmental impact is far greater in the paper-bleaching process used in making disposable diapers.
Plus, you have the washer and dryer that uses less water and energy, so it's a win-win. Not sure, honestly, if I could handle the poopy part with cloth however. I have my limits...:P
Awesome! He *does* look really cute in cloth, too :) Hope it turns out that you like it.
Just curious.. is there something for your diaper bag to keep diapers from being smelly if you're out when he has a big one? (haha)
Well, the good part is until he's on solids I just throw the diaper into the wash, poop and all. I just did my first load and it was great! Once he's on solids then we have to dump the poopy part, so yeah, we'll see how it goes then. And sister, yep, here's what you use: http://nickisdiapers.com/catalog.php?category=368
I knew they'd have something - people have thought of everything! :) Sounds awesome!
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