Monday, February 28, 2011

You use what?

Today is a 2-for-the-price-of-1 kinda day since Cohen is taking a much needed nap and I'm caught up on work and housework for now. 

So I do something that many friends find to be a little strange and I've decided to write about it since I'm passionate about it.  What is that you are probably asking?  Cloth diapering.  I know, shudder.  This is not an attempt to win you over...or make you feel like a jerk if you love disposables and hate the idea of cloth.  It's just a blog about why I like it. 



Why?  For several reasons and in this order.  To save money, because it's good for our child, and it's good for the environment.  Well, maybe not in that order.  Really all three of those reasons are equally inportant.  Let's discuss, shall we...

Saving Money:  Using cloth diapers can save money.  How?  Because you are reusing diapers not only over and over again with one child, but you can also use them from child to child.  How much money do you save?  Over $1,500 per child.  Then if you use those again with other children you will have no additional costs.  So instead of literally throwing away money every day, I'm saving it.  Most of our cloth diapers came from friends and family (THANK YOU) at baby showers.  Because of Cohen's size, we did decide we loved cloth enough to buy newborn-size diapers after all the disposables we had been given had been used.  And we have bought a couple of larger sizes just because we love them.  But all in all, we paid very little to cloth diaper Cohen.  And the diapers we bought will last thru potty training, meaning our next purchase will be big boy underwear. 
Good for Baby:  Cloth diapers are much more "breathable" than disposable diapers.  Babies are also less likely to be allergic to them because there are fewer ingredients that can be irrititating to baby skin.  Often times it's hard to tell if a disposable diaper is "full" of liquid because of how much they can hold.  With cloth diapers you can easily tell when the diaper is wet, meaning baby will have more diaper changes, meaning again less chance of diaper rash. 

Good for the Environment:  This one's easy.  Using cloth diapers means there will be less diapers in the landfills.  This is not becoming a crazy hippie...it's just me going against the normal American idea of "easier is best" and "worry about the now, not the later."  I know the choices I make now will have either a positive or negative impact on my child's future.  Because of that, I want to make sure that future is a good one in any way I can.  To me, this is one way.

Other Benefits:  Let's face it, these are not yesterday's cloth diapers with safety pins and folding.  It can be if your heart so desires, but it doesn't have to be.  Today's cloth diapers look very much like today's throwaway diapers...but cuter.  They are user-friendly and easy on the eye.  Gone are the days of toilet dunking.  If babies are breastfed then no extra work is required.  Soiled diapers can be tossed into the washer and all is well.  Diapers of formula-fed babies like Cohen require just a little extra care.  We have a toilet sprayer hooked to our toilet that knocks off waste into the toilet and then it's flushed away.  Then the diapers are tossed into the wash.  We also have sheets similar to dryer sheets that can be placed on the inside of the diaper.  These sheets catch the waste then you flush both the waste and sheet down the toilet.  Super easy.  No touching poop.  Nothing too inconvinent.  In researching diapers I discovered you are actually supposed to remove waste from disposable diapers before throwing them away.  So if I have to do that either way, it was an easy choice to make. 

Most Common Types of Cloth Diapers:
All-In-One:  The easiest type.  We love these!  These have a waterproof cover, absorbent layers inside, and an inner lining sewn together.
Pocket Diaper:  We love these as well!  These are similar to the AIOs but have a pocket inside for inserts to customize absorbancy.  These are great for sleeping through the night.
One Size:  This diaper grows with your baby.  It has several snaps on the front to adjust the fit so you can use the same diaper as your baby grows, often even through potty-training.

Brands I Love:
Fuzzibunz - http://www.fuzzibunz.com/
GroVia - http://www.gro-via.com/
Rumparooz - http://www.rumparooz.com/
Flip - http://www.flipdiapers.com/

My other big question in considering cloth was "will I be doing laundry every day now?"  Not unless you want to.  We own enough diapers to wash them every 3-4 days probably, however it's recommended to wash them every other day.  We use a soap that is recommended for our diapers so they will last much longer.  And how much water are we wasting?  The amount of water used to wash the diapers is equal to 3-4 more toilet flushes, which Cohen will be doing when he is potty-trained.  So, again, it's easy. 

So to sum this blog up, I love cloth diapering.  I now love talking about cloth diapering.  I'm a believer.  If you are interested I encourage you to research it for yourself.  There's lots of helpful information out there.  And I LOVE Green Bambino in OKC - http://www.green-bambino.com/.  Check them out if you are interested in seeing these in person.  They are a huge part of why I use cloth diapers.  Thanks for reading!

1 comment:

  1. I didn't know you had a blog too! come follow mine! it's the I'd Rather Be Crafting one!

    ReplyDelete