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Friday, November 14, 2008

Cloth Diapers

First of all, I know I am becoming my dad when I add "ola" to the end of words. Like when I just called the pile of clothes on our bed "junkola."

Second of all, Andy's moving back!!!

Now, to the meat. Ethan and I are going to try cloth diapering. No commitments, but we're going to give it our best.

We considered using the compostable disposable kind that are still better for the environment because of how they are made. However, as our wise friend PJ pointed out, nothing breaks down in a plastic bag in a landfill, even a banana peel. So if we want to eliminate waste, we either have to buy an acre's worth of land for a giant compost pile or hang Carver out the window while he poops. Some people tell us babies will use about 10 diapers a day. After 10 days, that would be 100 diapers. Imagine what your back yard would look like after a month of diapers. This is the image that is encouraging me to try cloth.

Cloth diapers are making a comeback. So much so that there was even an article about it in Parenting magazine. They've come up with some pretty nifty ones. We are going to try bum genius. I don't know if this is the best brand, but its the brand we could register for at Target. Most Target stores don't carry them, but Target.com does. I'm not sure about all the details, but I'm trying to figure out how it will work so I can plan ahead a little. If you are interested in some fun facts, try this lady's website. She talks about some interesting things like how you shouldn't rinse your diapers in the toilet, use a wet pail or buy expensive detergent. If you want to read my husband's take on it, read his blog.

Like I said, we are just going to try. We may end up doing some combo of disposable and cloth, we may give up on cloth completely. We may do this for one kid, but not Carver's future brothers and sisters. Who knows? Also, I want to add that in no way do I judge anyone who uses disposable diapers. There are a lot of things we could change about our lives to help the environment and I just hope we all do what we can.

3 comments:

kimberly said...

I have talked with my mom about this several times...she says it's definitely do-able and she only used the disposable when being a guest at someone's house. I look forward to your insight about it...I know you'll be creative about your solutions!

La Lady said...

cloth diapering is fun! it's really not that hard to maintain, and it really does feel good to know you're doing something great for your baby and for the environment. i saw that you had a link to sunshine diapers- i really recommend choosing one of her newborn test-drive packs. we did the kissaluvs one, and it's great because you're not committed to anything, you have time to figure out what works for you and what doesn't, and in the end you have credit to use towards something more permanent. i know this is a really long comment- sorry! another awesome plus of the kissaluvs plus covers- we never had one newborn poop blowout- never! the only time samuel has gotten poop on his clothes was when he was wearing a disposable! anyhoo, good luck!

Unknown said...

We love love love CD! We have done it with all 3 kids. There is no reason you can't do it! If you have any questions let Kevin or I know!