Being a mom is so glamorous.
I've always used disposable diapers because I really never thought the alternative sounded remotely appealing. Before you go kicking me out of the crunchy moms club hear me out! Don't get me wrong, saving the planet from the 28 BILLION diapers being dumped into landfills each year is a noble cause. But the thought of washing dirty diapers on top of all the other laundry I have, makes me want to run away from home, or at least wish I had the funds to hire a maid.
This past weekend I participated in the 2nd annual cloth diaper event called the Great Cloth Diaper Change, which was hosted in my area by maternity boutique, Waddle n Swaddle.
Last year, inspired to celebrate Earth Day, mom Judy Aagard, decided she wanted to set a Guinness World Record for the most cloth diapers changed at one time. If this is your first time hearing about an event like this, you are not the only one. I thought Guinness stuck to women with 28 foot long fingernails and giant natural breasts (I pray this woman never had to breastfeed!)
In 2011, with the help of The Real Diaper Association and other Eco-concious moms, the Great Cloth Diaper Change had 5,026 participants at 127 locations in 5 countries simultaneously change babies into cloth diapers! That's A LOT of cute baby tushies!
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| 33 Babies Were Changed at my location |
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| I was envious of a another mom who won an Ergo Backpack! (pic from fellow holistic Mom & Blogger, Willy B Mum) |
Back in when I was little my mother used a diaper service to clean my soiled nappies. There was lots of rubber pants and pinning (and I'm sure leakage) involved. Which is odd to me because I don't know how safe it would be to leave pointy metal pins on a baby all day.
Thankfully times have changed and the new lines of cloth diapers are just a designer as a pair of shoes. You can get a variety of colored and patterned outer shells, which is cute, if you want your baby to have extra stylish poo. In addition, stores like Babies R Us, and online retailers like Diapers.com provide a selection of inner liners, fabrics, and cloth diapering systems.
For me, the biggest draw is using something on my baby that won't hurt him, or the planet. I've been using Earth's Best and Seventh Generation (depending on which on is one sale that week) on my 17 month old because I wanted to avoid the harmful bleaching and dyeing chemicals used in most brand name diapers. But with an average cost of $10 a pop and using a package a week, we've already spent nearly $800!
I know the benefits of switching to cloth (cost, environmental impact, and skin health) should outweigh the convenience factor, but for me....I don't think I can deal with cleaning one more thing.
Lucky, there is now a comparable alternative. One of the moms I was sitting next to at the diaper event, who also attends La Leche League meetings, put me on to a new type of diaper called Attitude.
A true ecological alternative to traditional disposable diapers, they are as effective, absorbent and comfortable. Made from renewable and compostable materials, they are also carbon neutral, which make ATTITUDE diapers the greenest disposable diapers in the world!
All of the Attitude diapers feature:
- Biodegradable: inner shell and padding
- Vegetable-based: materials from renewable resources
- CO2 neutral: we reduce and compensate our emissions
- Hypoallergenic: fragrance-free and chlorine-free
What kind of diapers do/have you used? Can you sway me to make the switch to cloth?
Trying to be better for the planet in Granolaville,
6 comments:
Great article...I was unaware of the large amount of people converting back to cloth diapers.
I agree, I don't think that I could wash the soiled ones...But I do believe you are on the right track with the choice you have made. I'm sure you will be satisfied with your decision.
Thanks! Yea there definitely seems to be a trend towards cloth. So far so good with the new diapers!
With my first I constantly battled diaper rash, so when my second came along i decided this time was going to be different. Just like #1, #2 developed a diaper rash shortly after coming home from the hospital. My mom immediately said "Stop using those wipes. You don't know what's in those things" -- and so began the switch to soap and water. Just like mom said, the rash went away. Of course soap and water were "too inconvenient" for me so I looked for an alternative wipe. I ended up liking Seventh Generation diapers and wipes (no more diaper rash) but like you said, they were kinda pricey. So this led me down a path I never expected -- cloth diapering! While I'm still a newbie, I really like cloth diapering. The other day I sent my husband a photo of our diapers hanging outside on a clothesline. He immediately called me and said "Who is this crunchy woman? Where is my wife and what did you do with her?". I told him I'm not crunchy, and that the sun really does remove poop stains.
Continuing from above...
I breast feed because it's free and way easier than bottles. I room share and co-sleep because I hate getting out of bed in the middle of the night. I'm a baby wearer because I need both of my hands. I wear my hair natural because I don't have time to spend all day in a salon, not to mention my 4.5 month old won't take a bottle. Lastly, I use cloth diapers because I don't want my kid to have diaper rash, it's cheaper than chlorine free disposables, and they are so stinkin' cute. Does that make me crunchy? ;)
I hate to break it to you....but you are what I call "unintentionally crunchy" lol. No worries I won't tell. Honestly things that tend to get that label are all about simplifying our lives. Thats the thing, baby wearing, cosleeping, and bfing are things women have been doing since the begining of time. It feels natural, thats really what crunchy means to me. Thanks for sharing!
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