Natural Diapering

"In every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decision on the next seven generations." ...Great Law of the Iroquois Nation

The Green Choice

Cloth diapering seems to be a lost art. I don't know about you but I'd much rather have cotton next to my skin than plastic, scratchy paper and toxic chemicals, especially in such a sensitive area. Your baby is in diapers twenty four hours a day seven days a week for the first few years of his life. Besides comfort what about safety? I certainly don't want those nasty chemicals that close to my child's reproductive organs. Did you know that the Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP) that turns to gel when it absorbs baby's pee can cause blindness if it gets in the eyes - or that Dioxins are created by the bleaching process and have been linked to TSS? Do your own research - make an informed decision.

Cloth diapering is not only better for baby's bottom, it's better for our environment. Remember the three "R's"? (No - not reading, writing & arithmetic.) REDUCE, REUSE & RECYCLE! Can you reduce the number of disposables you use? Probably not without sacrificing your sweet little baby's bum. Can you reuse disposables? Ick - of course not! Can you recycle them? No. I think the choice is clear. If you think disposables are easier because you don't have to shake & rinse them out take a good look at the directions on a package of diapers the next time you are at the store. It says right on the package to dispose of solid waste in the toilet before throwing them in the trash (I do not even want get started on what happens when human waste ends up in our landfills) How many people do you know who actually take the time to do that? Most probably don't even know that they are supposed to.

Modern cloth diapering couldn't be simpler. Hourglass shaped diapers and Velcro™ covers go on in a minute just like disposables. Flushable diaper liners can be purchased which eliminate the need for rinsing diapers in the toilet, just remove soiled liner and flush - then throw diapers in the pail until wash day. Call me old-fashioned but I prefer pins and taffeta pants. My babies tend to end up with painful raw spots from being rubbed by the Velcro™ and I hate the sound of it anyway. If you are a Velcro™ hater like me but want the convenience of all in ones or covers (maybe because you are afraid of sticking the baby with a pin?) there are some available with snaps instead. The best ones are by Mother-ease®. I suggest trying a few of several different styles before investing a lot of money on several dozen diapers of one style. They may look good in the catalogue but you might just end up hating them.

"Alright," you say, "I'm almost sold…but what about night time and vacations?" Believe it or not neither of these situations is any reason to give up on cloth - they just take a little experimenting to find out what works best for you & your diaperling.

Night time diapering isn't really that big of a deal. It does, however, usually require a great deal of trial & error. I have heavy wetters. What I've found works best is to use a diaper doubler folder inside a newborn size pre-fold laid inside of a regular pre-fold (essentially triple diapering). Pin it on and pull on a pair of taffeta pants and you're good to go! Many people rave about wool soakers, like Aristocrats™. There are advantages and disadvantage, personally I'm not in love with them. They are costly ($20/pair average cost), but you really only need a few per size. They don't need to be washed very often (about once a month unless they get poo on them) just let them air out between uses. When it comes time to wash them you do need to do it by hand with a special lanolin containing detergent like Eucalan™. They are very breathable and are said to help prevent diaper rash but since they are so breathable they don't hold in any odors - you may wake up with a baby that smells like a urinal! They can feel a little scratchy, if you're sensitive to wool or if you have a family history of wool or lanolin allergies they probably aren't a good idea.

As far as travel goes there are a couple of options. You can always bring along several plastic grocery bags to put soiled diapers in until you are able to wash them. I've done this on more than one occasion and it works great for short trips (less than one week). The only drawback is that they take up valuable space, especially on longer trips. The other option is to go the disposable route. It's not impossible to stick to your standards while traveling. There are a couple gel-free disposable diapers on the market today Tushies and MotherNature Diapers. Also perfume & dye free they use an unbleached cotton blend pulp for natural absorbency. There is also another disposable diaper on the market (which I have no experience with) called Nature Boy and Girl. They use less Super Absorbent Polymer (the gel stuff) in their diapers while claiming to be just as absorbent as the leading brands. They are made with more compostable & biodegradable materials than the leading disposable diapers making them more environmentally friendly. All three brands are available through Drugstore.com.

Supplies

So now you are asking ", what do I need?" Well, that depends on how often you want to do laundry. A few dozen quality diapers at the minimum. You'll end up spending more in the long run if you get cheap diapers, not only do they not work as well, they fall apart a lot faster (this is the voice of experience speaking). At least half a dozen covers or nylon taffeta pants (do not use the old-fashioned rubber pants, they keep baby's bum way too hot and they melt if you throw them in the dryer) a dozen is ideal since you'll always have at least a couple that are dirty or in the diaper bag. The best ones I've found are Alexis Covers which you can get through Babyworks (My favorite diapering catalogue) and Wee Bees (see resources below). A couple sets of good quality diaper pins (if your going that route) about a dozen terry wash cloths cut in half lengthwise (to use as wipes) and a diaper pail with a locking lid (babies have died by drowning in open pails of water, toilets, etc…). With this amount you'll probably need to wash diapers at least every other day - especially in the newborn period. After experimenting for a while you'll figure out exactly how many works best for you.

Cloth Diapering Resources:

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Natural Mothering: Cloth Diapers Page
First on-line: 6/28/1996