In honor of Earth Day this year, I finally got off my behind and switched to cloth diapers for my five month old. I had been using an "earth friendly" disposable, but how can anything disposable really be earth friendly? It was pure laziness on my part, I will admit, but I have finally done it. It has been a week and things are going great. Much easier than I thought it would be!
"Add up the single-use diapers used for ONE baby for 2.5 years and you'll get 1 to 2 TONS of garbage. Under
ideal conditions, one single-use diaper can take 500 years to biodegrade. But there are no ideal conditions in landfills – no air or light. Even “biodegradable” single-use diapers will take a long time to break down. If we want to reduce, re-use and recycle, then cloth diapers are the logical choice!" I got this off the
Bummis website. Barf, how guilty do I feel? But they are totally right. I am going to do this!
I decided to try two different styles by Bummis- the
2-piece with cloth diaper
(pictured above) and
the 1-piece
(pictured below). I am equally happy with both of them.
Initially, I decided to go with a combination of the two styles to save money (as the 2-piece is the less expensive of the two), but regardless of which you go with, Bummis points out the savings..."A supply of single-use diapers that will last from birth to potty training will cost between $2500-$3000. A stash of cloth diapers that can be used for the same 2 1/2 year period can cost as little as $300. Phenomenal savings, even after you factor in an extra 2-3 loads of laundry per week. Use those diapers for more than one baby and WOW! even bigger savings."
The 2-piece is basically your traditional cloth diaper tucked into a cute little cover
while the 1-piece is obviously all in one. I found that they both work equally well.
It is very cool, though, that the 1- piece grows with your baby via snaps while you will have to buy a size up with the 2-piece. In defense of the 2-piece, though, you can reuse the outer wrap several times and just change the cloth diaper when it in soiled. And then there is the convenience of the 1-piece!
Oh, I just can"t decide!!! Honestly both options are great. I think it all comes down to personal preference and lifestyle. If you are hoping to talk your day care center into supporting your decision to use cloth diapers they may be more on board with the 1-piece. Bring them
a wet diaper bag
to stuff the soiled diapers in and it is just as easy as a disposable. At home the 2-piece can help cut down on laundry (and oh how we all love to do that.) I think having a bit of both is the way to go. I started myself off with four 1-pieces, 4 2-piece covers, and 8 cloth diapers, a big at home wet bag, and an on-the-go small wet bag. This has been working for me.
You might be wondering about washing these slimy little suckers. That was my main concern with switching to cloth. Do you hire a diaper service or wash at home? On the one hand, the diaper service takes them away and does the dirty work for you...but I couldn't help thinking of my little one's poopy diapers being thrown into a giant washer with all sorts of other poopy diapers and then one thought led to another and I asked myself, "which set of cloth diapers do we get back???" No, I don't think hers doesn't stink or however that saying goes, but it just seems unsanitary to me. Then on the other hand, washing them at home seems a little gross, too, but I decided to give it a try. Surprisingly it wasn't bad at all. Bummis makes super thin
liners,
to catch the solid stuff, that can then be flushed down the toilet to make it even easier. We are still having baby messes over here so the liners didn't help much yet, but setting the washer on Heavy Duty does the trick. I can't believe how clean they look after. I was expecting stains, but they still look like new.
Anyway, those are my thoughts on cloth diapers. I like them!
Great kitchen tool. Next add the garlic cloves and continue cooking for another three minutes or until it becomes tender.
Super Easy.
