Cloth Diapers - Yes, here's why...

I have gotten a few questions as to why we chose to try cloth diapers for our little one. I do my best in terms of recycling, but I’m far from “green.” For us, there were many reasons and the "better for the environment" was just one!

Cost. I didn’t list this one first by accident. Bill and I actually pride ourselves on sticking to a budget - we avoid debt as well as unnecessary costs or waste. There is a reason we aren’t driving brand new cars and our Baby’s nursery is being pieced together through flea market finds.

The cost of Baby’s cloth diapers will be about $300 - give or take. We will have increased water/heating bills with the laundry, but it doesn’t come close to the thousands of dollars we’d spend on disposables and wipes, plus the added garbage fees to dispose of them.

So functional! Cloth diapers have come a long way. No more boring, white, cotton, pinned diapers from our youth. There is Velcro and even better – snaps! They have all-in-ones that are as easy to put on as a Pull-Up. Many even swear they have less “blowouts” with these diapers. Hey, I’m all for that! Then there are the accessories! They make diaper sprayers to attach to the toilet to spray down the real messy ones before you toss them in your pail for washing. They have cute little bags for washing to take with you. You can even use cloth wipes and just tuck them in the dirty diaper for washing. Works for me!

They're so cute! Again, have you seen cloth diapers lately? No more crinkly plastic pants. There is a nothing cuter than a little one in their little patterned or pastel cloth diaper. Simply adorable. Let’s not pretend this didn’t help make cloth diapering more appealing!

Better for baby. Disposable diapers contain chemicals that in some studies have been found to be harmful. I have extremely sensitive skin and it is likely Baby will too. I have never officially identified the source of the hives I struggle with every day and it is likely they are caused by chemicals and other allergens I come in contact with. I can only imagine that cloth against Baby’s skin is going to be a much better option against her skin than a plastic diaper.

Better for the environment. I won’t go on about this. We still use Ziplocs and yes, we have plastic garbage sacks too. We're far from perfect in our eco-friendly world, but little steps in the right direction do help right? Statistics say over 90 percent of the 6,000 diapers used in a baby’s first two years will end up in a landfill. We’ll do our part by Baby starting with six dozen diapers that will grow along with her.

Now, no choice is perfect. I am sorely aware of the downsides of cloth diapers… 

• Having to spray down a messy diaper in the middle of the night when I’m already exhausted.
• More laundry – enough said!
• Purchasing specialty products (like you can’t use normal diaper cream because it isn’t good for the microfiber in the diaper inserts).
• You have to use certain types of detergent – some detergents break down the diapers more quickly.

As I mentioned, we’ll have disposables on hand and would never force a friend or family member to use the cloth if they weren’t comfortable when watching Baby. And, no... we won't be purchasing a separate washer just for diapers (Lisa!!). Yes, some of you are a little squeamish at the thought of poo in the washing machine!

There is a store near us called Simple Cloth that ships diapers worldwide. They offer gift registries and will help us with all the ins-and-outs of our questions (mainly, mine revolve around laundry!). I also have a friend who has done it for a couple of years. She has already been very helpful. For instance, telling me to NOT to purchase a bunch of one type. She said to buy several varieties so we can figure out what works best for us. Then, there are the slew of websites that explain everything you ever need to know.

We plan to take advantage of all of these resources. We’re really excited about it. I’m already curious to know how it will work for us. Particularly, when I go back to work - hehe! I’ll be sure to let you know!