The Truth About Cloth and Disposable Diapers

Listen up, moms to be... this is something you usually make a decision about before your baby arrives...

I'm the mother of a five month old, and I'd like to share with all of today's parents THE TRUTH ABOUT DIAPERS... it's a truth our grandparents didn't even know they knew. It's a truth our parents gladly forgot in pursuit of the illegitimate "convenience" of the disposable diaper. After five months of painless, even joyful cloth diapering, I'm beginning to think that disposable diapers are a big racket - especially for those with less money. If you can't afford diapers, start off using cloth!! You'll literally save thousands of dollars in the long run.

In a nutshell, using cloth diapers is easier, healthier, cheaper, and far more environmentally sound than using disposables.

Easier - yes! True, you have to wash them, and I'll tell you how below (it's really no big deal at all). You will never have to run to the store because you ran out of diapers - they're always there once you've bought them.

HEALTHIER! - I had no idea. I thought that the main reason to use cloth diapers was an environmental one, but once I heard that the chemicals that make up that super-absorbent gel in diapers cause cancer - I was shocked, and realized - yeah, it might make sense environmentally to use cloth, but even more close to home is my baby's health. Like diapers, skin is absorbent too. We absorb all kinds of things through our skin - and baby's skin is particularly absorbent. So, now imagine holding wet chemicals against your baby's skin pretty much all day every day, and all night. They're finding that those chemicals are most dangerous to babies because their organs aren't developed enough to filter them.

Also - I've heard that the absorbent gel is so effective, that half the time you don't even know your baby is wet, so baby just sits there in urine developing diaper rash. And, considering how expensive those disposables are, most parents probably let the kid go until dangerously necessary (meaning leaking is eminent). When you are using cloth diapers, you don't mind changing them frequently because you're never going to have to buy another diaper. My baby never gets diaper rash.

Cheaper - like super way cheaper. At first, you spend a bit - you need a few dozen diapers and some diaper covers (pins are only necessary for the first 10 days before the wraps really fit, then it's Velcro for the duration - our grandmothers would be jealous) For 7 dozen cloth diapers (3 dozen newborn size and 4 dozen regular), 2 dozen diaper covers (5 newborn, 9 small, and 10 medium) 3 dozen diaper-wipe cloths, some organic baby shampoo, some detergent for sensitive skin, and a diaper pail, I spent $400. I'd spend that in about 5 months on disposables - and that's not including wipes! Below, I'll tell you how to make your own wipes for free in about 30 seconds a day.

And most people know that disposable diapers are one of the most heinous offenders when it comes to filling up our landfills with stuff that takes millennia to decompose. The argument against cloth diapers , environmentally speaking, is how much water it takes to wash them - and it's true if you're using a diaper service, (no real need to). For sanitation purposes they really do have to wash them three times and use bleach - very wasteful of water, and any amount of bleach flushed into our sewers is tragic for any life form it encounters.

My husband and I were unwittingly blessed to live in an area where no diaper service would do a pick up. It sounded like the end of the world when I figured out that we would have to wash diapers the way all of our grandmothers did. Much to my surprise, I figured out how so not a big deal it is. About every four days, we dump the pail - wipes, wraps, and all into the washing machine. You do one cold rinse cycle and then one full hot wash cycle. No bleach, just a really tiny amount of detergent for sensitive skin, and plenty of room for agitation in the wash - and voila. No biggie. If you dry them in the sun, you save more energy, and they bleach out naturally. Of course, for all of this to be easy, you have to own a washing machine.

To make your own wipes (really awesome because there's no packaging, no waste, and no strange preservative chemicals being wiped on your baby's delicate skin 10 times a day) you simply get some natural baby shampoo and put a small drop in a bowl. Put in some water, stir, and wet as many terry cloth wipes as you think you'll need for the day. (See where to buy terry cloth wipes, cloth diapers etc. below) Squeeze them out and place them in a gallon sized zip lock. Seriously, this ritual takes about 30 seconds - talk about reducing, reusing, and recycling!!! I've been using the same three zip lock bags for 5 months now, not to mention the same 36 wipes!

The coolest thing just might be that when we have our next child we won't even spend a dime on diapers. Not a dime!

Yeah - my baby's diaper might be a little bulkier than than other babies', but that's never bothered any of us, and I enjoy being an example to others. Disposable diapers just don't make sense at all to me. I bought some of the environmentally "better" ones made by Seventh Generation for road trips, and I've never even used them! Not one. In five months, road trips and all, we've only used our cotton diapers. When traveling, just put soiled diapers into a dry bag or plastic bag and deal with them at the end of the day. When they're poopy, you rinse out the poop before putting them in the pail. I use a separate bucket with water in it that I put poopy diapers in and I just squeeze diapers out once a day. Some people use their toilet. It's never grossed me out once.

I'm not on a high horse here, I'm on a soap box. There are so many little things we could all do that make so much sense environmentally, financially, and health wise, but we've just been brain-washed into not even knowing our alternatives by whoever's out there making money off of our ignorance. The best website I've found where you can purchase all of the items you need at a reasonable price is www.greenmountaindiapers.com . Of course, if you can shop locally that's the best thing to do.

There's a style of diaper called an "all in one" where the diaper and the diaper wrap are all wrapped into one. I found it handy to have a couple of these around, but they're just not practical as a primary diaper. The all-in-one I liked the best was the Rumpster. By far the most important thing is to order Chinese Prefolds (diapers - they are way more absorbent than the European) and Bummis brand wraps. (Again, the best I found)

So the bottom line is that cloth diapers are good for everybody - they're healthier for my baby, cheaper for me, and for everyone else - I'm not filling up our planet with nasty plastic and chemicals. Thanks be to cotton.

And making your own baby food rocks too!