Diapers are a necessity when you have a baby. When my son was first born he went through what seemed like a pack of diapers every other day or two. Not only are they expensive but they are hard on our environment. Early on my husband and I talked about switching to cloth diapers but the thought of washing them was overwhelming. Our house consists of four floors and our washer and dryer are in the basement. So taking an extra load of laundry down three flights of stairs did not sound very appealing. However, I'm starting to change my mind.
I have become more "green" since moving to Germany. Recycling is very big here. You can recycle almost everything - except diapers. The garbage men come every other week and pick up our trash and recyclables. We have a very small trash container and once we had a baby it filled up pretty quickly. But I also have my concerns about cloth diapers such as inconveniences when we're out, having to keep the dirty diaper with us, the smell, the poop, and time it takes to wash and dry them. On the other hand the thought of diapers not decomposing in a landfill for 500 years is terrible.
I have been reading a book called The Everything Green Baby Book
, which describes the horrible chemicals that are used in disposable diapers. Since there has not been adequate research done on the long term effect these chemicals may have on a baby, I am willing to do the work and try out cloth. I have been researching cloth diapers and they have some fabulous choices now, including all-in-ones that are similar to disposable diapers and easy to put on. They also sell one size diapers that will last from birth through potty training. After comparing the cost of cloth to disposable diapers, cloth ends up being much cheaper, especially if you end up having multiple kids. This is a perk too, especially as one who likes to save money when I can.
, which describes the horrible chemicals that are used in disposable diapers. Since there has not been adequate research done on the long term effect these chemicals may have on a baby, I am willing to do the work and try out cloth. I have been researching cloth diapers and they have some fabulous choices now, including all-in-ones that are similar to disposable diapers and easy to put on. They also sell one size diapers that will last from birth through potty training. After comparing the cost of cloth to disposable diapers, cloth ends up being much cheaper, especially if you end up having multiple kids. This is a perk too, especially as one who likes to save money when I can.Yesterday I made my first cloth diaper purchase. I ended up buying 12 bumGenius Organic all in one cloth diapers. I have read a lot of reviews and talked with several people about cloth diapers and this is what I'm going to start with. I plan on ordering 12 more diapers after I try these out and look at a few more styles that some of my friends have. I'm thinking about ordering pocket diapers for the other 12.
Do you use cloth diapers? What are your thoughts? Is there a certain brand you really like? As a cloth diaper newbie, I'm open to any and all advice I can get.
We wanted to be more green when Eli came to live with us, especially considering the toxic waste he is known to give out. However, the thought of carrying around a dirty diaper, and people told me how expensive the cleaning services were for reusable diapers. I'm just ready for him to want to be pottied trained so it can be over and done with. Kristina
ReplyDeleteUsing cloth will add more work, especially if you don't use a cleaning service. Also cleaning services are expensive. There are no cloth diaper services near us in Germany, so we will wash them ourselves. We are probably going to continue to use disposables when we travel or are away from the house all day.
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