© Copyright 1998-2002 by Grayson Morris.
You probably already know about the Big Diapering Debate: cloth versus disposable. I fall firmly into the cloth camp, myself, and this will be evident below, though I think everyone has the right to choose what they think is best given the same information. So let me just pass on the information I have; you can add it to your growing Diapering Databank and see what clicks for you.
One aspect of the diapering controversy centers around being responsible global citizens. Disposables account for one-third of the garbage sent to landfills, and they don't biodegrade very nicely (one estimate I've read said something like 500 years). They use up lots of trees in the making, with no possibility of recycling. Several unpleasant-sounding chemicals are involved in their manufacture (and are present in the diaper), including tolune, xylene, ethylbenzene, styrene, dioxins, and polyacrylates.
Cloth diapers, on the other hand, waste lots of water and electricity (or natural gas) through repeated washing, and dump other chemicals into household wastewater (most notably chlorine bleach, for those who use it to whiten their diapers; we just let ours acquire that mellow aged look). I've heard people cite studies which determined that the environmental impact of the cloth diaper cleaning process was as negative as that of the disposable diaper manufacturing process. That said, cloth diapers still don't go into the landfill. (And I recently heard that these studies were funded by a major disposable diaper manufacturer, and were found to be flawed.) When they become too ratty for use as a diaper, we turn them into household rags (which also appeals to my thrifty side....the one which competes with my spending side).
By the way, if you read the fine print on disposable diapers, you'll discover that you are supposed to rinse the poop off in the toilet before disposing of the diaper. Poop is a health hazard in landfills, apparently, though you'd think it would be the one thing about a disposable diaper which would biodegrade.
The Poop Scoop: Cloth diapers, while using water and electricity at a good pace, don't clutter up the landfill and refuse to decompose, nor do they require toxic chemicals in their manufacture (and if you use a plant-based, biodegradable laundry detergent and forgo the bleach, they don't use any in their maintenance, either).
Cloth diapers sound like a good idea to many people, but oh, the work involved! It's true that using cloth diapers takes some getting used to (in the diapering) and some extra manual labor (in the cleaning), but it's not as extensive as you might think.
Most cloth diaper users opt for a rectangular prefolded diaper, which fits inside a contoured water-resistant diaper cover. Said cover has velcro closures, much like the tape on disposable diapers. The extra work here comes in first folding the diaper into thirds, then fitting it into the cover. This takes 3 seconds. (Okay, maybe 6 when you are starting out, or if it is a really early morning.)
You can avoid this fold-and-fit step by purchasing contoured diapers, which don't need to be folded; these are somewhat more expensive than the rectangular ones. Or you can buy all-in-one diapers, which have the diaper already sewn into a water-resistant cover. You will pay through the nose for this convenience, and you will find that, since the diaper and the cover are one, the boundary where they meet can come into contact with baby's clothes and make them wet. Or worse. I do not recommend this. We just bite the bullet and take that extra three seconds.
This is, however, not the part of cloth diapering that really bothers most of us. It's that part where, instead of just tossing the poopy diaper into the garbage, where you never think of it again, you separate the diaper from the cover, toss the diaper into the toilet, rinse off the diaper cover and put it into the diaper pail, swish the poopy diaper around in the toilet, reach in with your bare hands and squeeze the poopy water out of the diaper, and then toss it into the diaper pail, where you will have to think about it again in one to five days, depending on your diaper supply and the poopiness of your little angel.
This is, frankly said, disgusting work. If you are horribly squeamish, then you might want to either go with disposables or, alternatively, leave the swishing and squeezing to your less-squeamish spouse (but then you had better take all the nighttime feedings, which may be difficult if you are a man and baby is nursing. In that case be prepared to pay with hard cash).
An alternative to washing your own cloth diapers is to use a diaper service. Then you simply remove the diaper, separate it from the cover, put the cover into your own wash (if dirty; unless baby has pooped, you can reuse diaper covers ad infinitum before washing), and throw the diaper into the diaper pail where you never think of it again. Your diaper service will come every week and haul away the dirty diapers, poop and all, and leave you fresh fluffy clean ones. True, you still have to wash your own diaper covers, but that is a cake walk compared to the diaper squeezing thing. A diaper service is quite a bit more expensive than washing your own, but no more expensive than using disposables.
We used a diaper service for the first few months with each of our first two children (#2 is still in diapers and we already have the swish-and-squeeze routine down to an art, so we're skipping the service when #3 arrives). It's a nice convenience when you are just getting settled with your new baby, but we found that after a few months, we were ready to do it ourselves. And it wasn't that bad!
The Poop Scoop: Poopy disposables are easier than poopy cloth diapers, though a service brings them pretty close together (and if you are following the package instructions, you're in there de-pooping the disposables. Yeah, right.) A diaper that's simply wet is about evenly trying in both cases. There's extra garbage with disposables; there's extra laundry with cloth (except with a service).
The general situation is this: disposables and diaper service are the most expensive options, and, depending on whether you use name-brand or generic disposables, one or the other may be slightly more expensive. Washing your own cloth diapers is a distant third (unless you want to use all-in-ones, in which case washing your own is still third but not quite so distant). If you wash your own diapers, you'll have a possibly brain-boggling initial expense in diapers and covers (depending on whether you buy just the current size of diaper covers or buy all sizes at once), but this is still much less than the price of disposable diapers for a 3-year period. As a bonus, the covers and many of the diapers will still be seaworthy for your next baby!
Here are some 1999 prices in our area to give you an idea:
The Poop Scoop: The disposable and diaper service costs are per child, but the wash-'em-yourself cloth costs may well outlast your first baby and serve you into your second (ours did). It's unlikely that cloth diapers, even diaper-service quality ones, will outlast your second child (or even make it all the way through the second three years), but even so, cloth is by far the least expensive option...even if you buy Rainbows and Nikkys.
They look like they feel better on the baby's bottom. There's no itchy-looking plastic or wood-pulp filling; the covers we use are soft polyester (you can also get all cotton or wool covers), and the diapers are soft cotton. The more you wash them, the softer they get, too.
They aren't infinitely absorbent. At some point, you've got to change the baby's diaper or it'll soak through! He can't run around all day in the same diaper which has absorbed so much urine it's hanging to his knees.
They don't contain any harsh chemicals. Tolune, xylene, ethylbenzene, styrene, and isopropylbenzene found in most disposables are released into the air, and have been found to trigger asthma in sensitive individuals. (And the rest of us are blithely breathing all that in, unaware.) Dioxins, used to bleach the paper in the diapers, have been linked with cancer. The long-term effects of polyacrylates, used to make diapers superabsorbent, are unknown. I certainly don't want any of these next to my baby's bottom 24 hours a day for three years! Not to mention which, after leaving baby's bottom, they end up in the landfill...another cheery thought.
As far as I'm concerned, cloth diapers are much less environmentally damaging than disposables. They don't contribute to the gunk sitting in landfills. We use natural, biodegradable laundry detergent and nothing else, so we aren't adding any chemicals to the water supply (also good for baby's bottom). No trees are involved. While there are most likely some undesirable chemicals used in the cloth diaper and cover manufacturing and bleaching process, you'll use fewer than a hundred of these during your child's diapering years, compared with nearly 10,000 disposables. And if you choose organic, unbleached cotton diapers and natural-fiber covers, you avoid even that.
Our babies have never had persistent diaper rash. The only rash they've gotten is from poop we didn't catch immediately after the fact (which resolves itself quickly with a little pure lanolin smeared on the red areas - pure lanolin is, in fact, the best baby-bottom stuff I've ever found, and it has the wonderful bonus of being a natural, non-toxic substance). Some rashy stuff showed up suspiciously close to #2's polio and tetanus vaccinations, after both times, and some has accompanied his teething (does this make any sense? Go figure...). But that we can't blame on the diapers.
All this is not to say that there aren't times when disposables might be just what you are looking for. Some daycare centers require disposable diapers and won't accept cloth; I encountered this when, as a single mom returning to grad school, my then-2-year old began attending daycare. Some friends of mine use cloth at home, and disposables when traveling. We've always used cloth on trips, too, even for three weeks to the Netherlands (this requires access to a washer and dryer, which we were fortunate enough to get from Oma and Opa, known as Grandma and Grandpa on this side of the ocean), and four days to the beach (sans electricity, much less a washer and dryer). Or you might get surprised by a premie and have nary a cloth diaper or cover in sight the first days, as we were by #2 (7 years after #1).
If you like the reasoning behind cloth diapers, but need or want to use disposables some or all of the time, you might consider an "alternative" disposable diaper. There is at least one maker of disposable diapers which are somewhat less chemical-filled than the regular brands (but you'll pay for this attention to detail). I've also heard of biodegradable disposables. It's still a far cry from cloth, but better than regular disposables.
It's your call! (You knew I was going to say that, didn't you?) You know what I think; see what more you can find out on both sides of the equation and make your best choice - you know, the one that works for your baby, for you and for your family. By the way, if you decide on disposables and feel a little put off by my staunch cloth stance, consider it practice! No matter what you choose, you'll find yourself on the opposite side from someone, somewhere, sometime. Stick to your guns and let it roll off your back.
© Copyright 1998-2002 by Grayson Morris.