Evelyn's cloth diapers hanging to dry on our patio. Aren't they cute! What fun colors.
Yes we use cloth diapers and no we are not crazy.
Way before we got pregnant I decided I wanted to try and use cloth diapers. I had no idea how it worked or where to get started but I did know that money would be tight and I did not want to throw it away every week on disposable diapers. So I searched and searched the Internet and found tons of great resources for cloth diapering mommies. Now keep in mind these aren't the same diapers they use to have, mine have velcro and snaps no pins or plastic pants here. We got our diapers at Wildflower Diapers in Scottsdale but there are tons of other websites out there to order from. So far we are loving our decision to use cloth and couldn't imagine it any other way.
My top reasons to use cloth
Cost- On average it costs somewhere between $1600-$2300 for 1 child in disposable diapers from birth to potty trained. We decided to get "adjustable cloth diapers" that grow as Evelyn does. She can wear them from when she was about 8lbs to when she is potty trained. We bought 24 Bum Genius 3.0 diapers (comes with 2 sizes stuff ins for absorbency), 2 wet bag pail liners (to put the dirty diapers in between washes), 1 travel wet bag (for the diaper bag while we are out). This cost us about $500.00 and we can use it with each additional child and re-sell them when we are done and make some of the money back! Can't do that with disposables. I also made my own re-usable wipes with some old flannel burp cloths someone gave us and put this solution over them. I have 3 extra washes a week and hang them outside to dry. Oh and by the way we haven't really seen much of an increase in our water or electric bill-nothing significant enough to notice.
Health-This is where I only need to list a few of the materials that make up a disposable diaper and you will see my point. Not to mention less diaper rashes too.
- SODIUM POLYACRYLATE - This is the chemical, added in powder form to the inner pad of a disposable, that makes it super-absorbent. When the powdered form becomes wet, it turns into a gel. It was banned from tampons in 1985 because of its link to Toxic Shock Syndrome. ***Just because a disposable diaper can hold 100x it's weight in water doesn't mean it's good for our little ones. Diapers are not mean't to be portable toilets!
- DIOXIN - This is the chemical by-product of the paper-bleaching process, using chlorine gas, in the manufacturing of diapers. This is a carcinogenic ~ cancer-causing chemical.The EPA lists it as the MOST TOXIC of all cancer-linked chemicals. In small quantities it causes birth defects, skin/liver disease, immune system suppression & genetic damage in lab animals. Banned in most countries, but not the United States.
- TRIBUTYL TIN (TBT) - An environmental pollutant, considered highly toxic, that spreads through the skin and has a hormone-like effect in the smallest concentrations. It harms the immune system and impairs the hormonal system. Speculated that it could cause sterility in boys
All this on their tiny little bottom.
Some of the facts: 18 billion disposable diapers are thrown in landfills each year, taking as many as 500 years to decompose. Disposable diapers make up the third largest source of solid waste in landfills, after newspapers and food and beverage containers--a significant fact, considering they are a single product, used by a limited portion of the population.1 It takes upwards of 82,000 tons of plastic and 1.3 million tons of wood pulp, or a quarter-million trees, to manufacture the disposable diapers that cover the bottoms of 90 percent of the babies born in the US......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. (Mothering Magazine Article)
Convenience/cute factor- We have never had a "blow out" with our cloth diapers. Can you believe it? A few leaks usually caused by not making it snug enough but nothing disastrous. I thought that blow outs were just normal for the first few months but it doesn't have to be. Also cloth diapers come in a ton of fun colors and patterns which are definitely different than the same white tushie.
So thats my thoughts on cloth diapers and why it works for us. Any questions feel free to ask and go check it out for yourself!
