Those are a few of the typical questions I get asked by people when they find out I cloth diaper, and when they see my sons cute cloth diaper designs on his bum :) Let me tell you a few of the facts that had an impact on us as a family choosing to cloth diaper our son.
HEALTH - Disposable diapers contain chemicals some harsher then others. One of the more harsher ones being Dioxin, a highly toxic by-product of the paper bleaching process. Dioxin is a carcinogenic chemical. The EPA has it listed as the most toxic of chemicals that is linked to cancer. Surprisingly the US is the only country that allows this chemical to still be used. Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP) is also toxic and found in disposables. SAP can be referred to by many names: sodium polyacrylate, polyacrylate absorbents, or even absorbent gel material as Pampers refers to it. SAP is in the form of tiny crystals that are sprinkled in the core of diapers and when wet change to a gel like substance. If you use disposables you might have seen these before in the morning after they have been in the diaper all night. Some brands of disposable diapers that do not use these chemicals are: Honest Company, Seventh Generation, and gDiaper.
COST - The average cost of disposable diapers per baby for 2 years is roughly around $1,600, thats assuming they are potty trained by age 2, yikes. The cost for a good stash of cloth diapers is between $300-$500. And a good cloth diaper stash will last you through at least two children.
ENVIRONMENTAL - No one knows how long it takes for a disposable diaper to decompose. For one baby to have diapers for a year it takes over 300 lbs of wood, 50 lbs of petroleum feedstocks, and 20 lbs of chlorine (Diapers: Environmental Impacts and Lifecycle Analysis, C. J. Mullen and C.V. Jones). The instructions in disposable diaper packages instruct that the poop be dumped out before disposing of the diaper. However no one does that sadly.
Those are just a few of the main reasons we were sold on cloth diapering. Health was the leader and then how cost effective cloth diapering is was a big seller too. We decided to go with two different brands. We use Soft Bums and Piddle Poddles. Soft Bums are a one of a kind diaper. They fit babies from 5lbs-40lbs. You can see the comparison in the photos below.
They adjust using a toggle up at the front of the diaper, allowing them to fit to any shape and size baby.
They insert used above is a bamboo "pod" they call them. It soaks up moisture very well and holds ALOT of pee. We have never had a "blow out" with these amazing diapers :) We have enjoyed our cloth diaper experience. We have about 18 Softbum shells and around 25 pods (inserts). Nice thing is when they just pee you don't have to get a new shell. You can just replace the pod.
As you can see Luke is styling one in the photo below. They become addicting to buy so watch out. But you just can't help it with all the cute monthly designs they come out with. Maybe you will become like me, stalking the website each month for the new design. Watch out.. it might just happen ;) http://www.softbums.com/ is where you can find these amazing diapers.
WASHING CLOTH DIAPERS -How often do I do laundry do you ask? Between my stash of Softbums and Piddle Poddles I do a load every 2-3 days. I put them in the washer at night and in the morning I switch them to the dryer. Simple, its part of my routine now. We wash our diapers using Rockin Green detergent. Amazon sells it.
