So I came to a realization the other day that Jeff and I are hippies. Looking back I see I should have known this all along. I mean, the signs are everywhere! We love hiking and camping as well as stuff like home grown vegetables and making things with yarn and hemp. But it just began to dawn on me when I realized that I am planning on giving birth naturally in the birthing center at Miami Valley Hospital. Not only do I plan to forgo any drugs while I push a human being out of my body but I plan to at least hang out in the birthing tub and if it ends up being a water birth, well, that's ok with me. Never in my life did I think I would be saying stuff like that.
But the thing that really opened my eyes to how hippie we are is the fact that we are going to cloth diaper our child. I already know there are skeptics out there with a "just wait and see" or "yeah right" or "you are certifiably insane" attitude about this decision but I have actually put a great deal of thought into this. To be honest there is only one true reason we have chosen to cloth diaper, all the rest is just a nice bonus.
The Environment. The most obvious hippie reason for cloth diapering is saving the planet. I honestly don't care so much about this reason- whew, I guess I'm not that big of a hippie after all. I do, however, think it's nice that we won't be adding to landfills. I have read that it can take anywhere between 200-500 years for disposable diapers to decompose, and in the course of 2 years a baby will contribute a ton of waste to the landfills, but in this "Green" aware era there are disposables out there that are biodegradable and all that good stuff. So there are options.
For me though, this wasn't a contributing factor in making our diaper decision. Maybe I'm a terrible person who doesn't care about the earth but decreasing my carbon footprint wasn't on my mind when choosing a diaper for my child.
Health. Another benefit is the health of my child. Disposable diapers are full of chemicals that sit right up against a baby's body and that can't be good right? They have dioxin which is a cancer causing chemical. And, An article found on the Real Diaper Association's website states: "Disposable diapers contain sodium polyacrylate, a type of super absorbent polymer (SAP), which becomes a gel-like substance when wet. A similar substance had been used in super-absorbency tampons until the early 1980s when it was revealed that the material increased the risk of toxic shock syndrome by increasing absorbency and improving the environment for the growth of toxin-producing bacteria." At first glance I find this is alarming, however, I don't know of any babies personally who have had any health problems arising from what kind of diaper they use. In fact, other than diaper rash, I don't know of any instances where a child has had health issues from their diaper, least of all gotten toxic shock syndrome. Speaking of diaper rash, I have read on many blogs that once parents switch to cloth diapers this ailment all but disappears. But I haven't found any actual study or proof that cloth diapers help in this area. It is possible that a baby's sensitive skin just does better for these parents because cloth diapers must be changed more frequently causing the area to be cleaner/drier or maybe the baby had an issue with the chemicals from the disposables. All I know is most moms all over the internet who cloth diaper swear that it helps prevent diaper rash.
For me, I just don't see any quantifiable proof showing cloth diaper babies being healthier. They are supposedly and it is nice to know I won't be subjecting our child to unnecessary chemicals but this didn't sway me towards cloth diapers because in the end this just doesn't matter that much to me. And that doesn't make me a bad mom.
Earlier Potty Training. I have read everywhere that babies who use cloth diapers potty train earlier than those who use disposables. (this is another one I haven't found absolute proof for but statistically speaking it does seem true). Potty training I think (In my vast parenting experience ;) depends a lot on the child. But it does seem that for many people, using cloth helps a child potty train anywhere between 24-30 months of age as opposed to the average 36-42 months of age (diapernet.org). You hear a lot about the inconvenience of cloth but the way I look at it: A year less of changing diapers is convenient I don't care what you say.
Well, shoot! This didn't make me decide to go cloth but it definitely helped sway Jeff.
Quality. When I first brought up the subject of cloth diapering with my mom she had a lot to say about leaks. She said there were always leaks thats just something that you have to deal with when you use cloth. But as I researched modern cloth diapers I realized a lot has changed since I was a kid. There are so many options out there other than the traditional nappie with safety pin! I will devote a whole post to these some time but for now just know that cloth can be completely pin free and leak free. I also found that many women like that their cloth diapers never have blowouts like the disposables do. Some can be bulky but other styles of cloth diapers are just as trim as disposable and they have way cuter print than disposables have too.
This was an encouraging discovery for me. I can have all the protection I need with cloth diapers. Leak control is more than just a nice factor in our decision-it was a must. But at the end of the day it wasn't our go to reason for using cloth diapers.
Ok, so do you want to know what
did convince me to go with cloth? Well the answer lies in the simple fact that I will not be working after our baby is born. We will be living off of Jeff's custodian salary and the help of my parents, and we will be tightening an already cinched belt. It might be six months or it might be six years before I get a job again. So with that in mind, I set out to be as cost contentious as possible. In my research I was blown away at the cost of diapering. It could cost anywhere between $1,200 and $1,600 for two years of diapering. We won't have an extra $50 a month to spend on our child's crap. And even if we did, why would I want to spend so much if I could spend much much less? I will only have to spend $350 for the entirety of my child's diapering years birth to potty training. I can also use the diapers again for any additional children or sell them on e-bay for very close to the cost I paid. (It also helps that our apartment pays our water so extra washing isn't a problem). So, yes you guessed it. Our motivation in making this life decision was based solely on money. (We can't help it, we're American).
Granted I have to admit if money wasn't an issue with us I never would have considered cloth diapers. There are drawbacks-mainly stinky laundry every other day. Another drawback is convenience; We will have to carry soiled diapers in our diaper bag when out and about, but fortunately, there are waterproof little laundry bags we can take with us. I'm also a little concerned about the backlash we are going to get for cloth diapering. For most people it just doesn't make sense and that is a big reason I'm writing this blog. This is a choice we have made fully believing it is the best thing for our family and I appreciate everyone's respect in our decision. But for the most part I'm excited about the whole process, well as excited as you can get over poo. When I actually get into the process I will write more.
Am I anti-disposable diapers? Not at all. I won't mind using them on rare occasion. I just won't pay for them.
If you are interested in where I got my info, most of it came from diapernet.org
