The Diaper Debate

During my first official OB appointment, I was reading a pregnancy magazine as we waited for our ultrasound. One of the stories I read was from a mother/writer who typically used disposable diapers and was trying out the new style of "cloth diapers" and writing a review of several specific types. I read the article and I found it intriguing. I actually wish I had asked for a copy of the article to take with me.

As we are considering purchases for our nursery, I browsed a local store that sells organic/green products, and I noticed they had a selection of reusable diapers. I began thinking back to that article and began wondering if I wanted to consider this option.


After a small amount of research, I found out that almost 18 billion single use diapers are thrown away each year.  Each one of these disposable diapers can take up to 500 years to decompose.  Over 82,000 tons of plastic and 1.3 million tons of wood pulp (a quarter million trees) are required to manufacture these 18 billion single use diapers.

Other studies have indicated that diaper rash has increased drastically since single use diapers were introduced and there is speculation that the increase in male infertility over the last 25 years could also be linked to increased scrotal temperatures caused by the plastic in disposable diapers.

Babies who are diapered with cloth diapers tend to be potty trained more easily.

And on top of that is the cost factor.  If you look at how much disposable diapers cost you (an average of over $2,000 per child) vs. cloth (which has a higher initial investment but a lower long term cost and the cost varies on the type of diaper system you use but can range from $350-$702 total).

Don't get me wrong.  I am not entirely a granola girl - I shave my legs and my armpits, I wear deodorant, I don't dance around a fire singing Kumbaya, and I don't wear Patuli oil.

BUT, I do love to make some choices in my life that are good for the environment.  I recycle everything I can (and I have been a supporter of recycling since the early 90s before it became "cool" to recycle).  I love the idea of alternative/green energy.  I buy recycled products when possible. 

And if the environmental effect of disposable diapers wasn't enough to intrigue me, the cost savings definitely was.  After all, we recently went from 2 incomes to 1 1/2.  And the 1 1/2 we have are a lot lower than the 2 incomes we previously had.  We made a choice to change our lifestyle when we made our move and that has meant changes in how we can spend money.

So, we are strongly considering cloth diapers.  I am not talking about the old cloth diapers you might remember that are hooked onto baby with safety pins and are covered by an uncomfortable plastic cover.  These are stylish and functional  covers that close with Velcro or snaps. 

The covers are used with absorbent liners that are washable (or you can even use the old time cloth diapers as your liner). 

Some of the styles of covers you must buy a couple of sizes to get you from newborn to potty training.  Others have snaps that grow with the baby and are one size fits all.

Now, I know what you are thinking.  This is perfectly FINE for just wet diapers.  But those poopy diapers are pretty darned gnarly and I don't think I would want to be doing anything but throwing those things out.

I hear you.  They also make a secondary liner that is disposable that goes over the top of the absorbent liner.  If the diaper is a poopy diaper, you simply take the liner and throw it in the toilet and flush.  Now I know that doesn't guarantee that you won't get poopy on the non-disposable liner or that you won't have a gnarly stinky mess to clean up.  But it sure does make the idea of cleanup with cloth diapers easier, right?

Derek and I actually went to a store and talked to the salesperson about how the systems work.  He and his wife used cloth diapers on their child and he explained how the different systems worked.  We don't have all of the details figured out yet, but unless something major changes our mind, I think we will be going with this option.  This isn't to say we won't use disposable diapers if we go on a road trip or if there is a situation that would warrant that.  But we probably won't use disposable diapers for our main source of pee and poopy control...