With these statistics in mind I wanted to consider how I could decrease my son's still growing carbon footprint. I began to research cloth diapers, chlorine-free diapers, and other earth-friendly options. What I came up with was that, not only could I save my family a lot of money, reduce our personal waste, thus benefiting the planet, I could also improve the health and well-being of my child. Conventional diapers contain chlorine and other harmful chemicals that can cause allergies and often contribute to diaper rash and discomfort. I can tell you first hand that the few times I have put my sons in conventional diapers I have been deeply disturbed by the redness and rashes that resulted.
For more in depth information on the problems with disposable diapers check out this article by Peggy O'Mara, one of the editors of Mothering magazine: http://mothering.com/green-living/a-tale-of-two-diapers
When I found out that my second pregnancy was a twin pregnancy there was no question that I would be using cloth diapers. I mean, yes it is more work, but we are talking disposable diapers for TWO! The cost of that alone is staggering!
Cloth diapering has come a long way since the days of our parents, and no longer requires the use of safety pins and thin strips of cloth that must be fashioned into a reasonable semblance of a diaper. What I found is that there are cloth diapers that are just as easy to put on and take off as a disposable diaper, maybe requiring some extra work to clean, but certainly doable. After researching the various options I chose to go the middle ground. Some cloth diapers are cheaper than others, but may not work as well or last as long. The reality of the matter is that these diapers are going to get plenty of use, so you need something that can stand up to the task at hand. Being that my family was about to embark on living on a single income, we didn't have a lot to spend. So we chose a brand of diapers called "Happy Heiny's", because the price was reasonable, about $18-19 which includes the liner in a small and a large size for the one size diapers, and because they were extremely user friendly.
Happy Heiny's cloth diapers fall in the category of pocket diapers, meaning that the inserts which absorb liquid go inside an outer cover and are removed for washing. The entire diaper, cover and inserts, is washed at the same time, though separated into pieces. The second, smaller insert that you see above is an extra hemp "soaker" that helps stop leaking.
The above diaper is also a "one size fits all" diaper. It is supposed to fit all the way up to the child is potty trained. I did not have the one size diapers with my first son, so I can't attest to it, but it gets pretty darn big. They were actually too big at first, so we used Chinese Prefolds instead.
Now these are very affordable and, though they are not nearly as cushy and plush, they work very well. I actually thought that these were only one step up from the pin and cloth diaper, but they are much better than that. We use these as our "back up" diapers so we don't run out.
As you can see, you fold the prefold under on both sides (called a prefold because the fold is already there for you), and place it on top of the outer liner. You usually need to fold the front under, which keeps boy babies from leaking out, and makes the diaper fit better. The outer liner (red) does not necessarily have to be washed every time. It is lined with a waterproof coating that you can just wipe down if it is a bit wet, but you should wash it if it gets a little poop on it, which can happen.
There are also diapers called "all in ones" that have the inserts built into the diaper and are washed all as one piece. I personally don't like these at much so I don't have any of those. You can google them to get tons of results and see if they are the ones for you.
Now, we also decided with Kyan and again with the twins to do cloth wipes. This may sound crazy, but once you start doing it you will realize it is so easy! There are several options here. We ordered hemp "washcloth" wipes the first time we did this, and they worked fine. This time, however, I got some terry fleece wipes that I LOVE!
I have them stacked in the drawer of the changing table and when I need one I pull it out and wet it down with my wipes solution, which is in a bottle next to the changing table.
The wipes solution is simply water with a bit of a wipes solution concentrate that I purchased. The one I originally found I can't find again, but I recently bought some little discs that dissolve in there and smell quite nice. Just check out diapering sites and search for "wipes solution". I use much less of the concentrate than suggested just to make it last.
The other alternative here, which I have seen done, is to prewet your wipes with the solution, roll them up and put them in a wipes warmer. Sounds nice, but a lot of work, and when I did that with the hemp wipes they eventually smelled really bad. I haven't tried it with these new ones.
Now, on to what to do with the diaper when it is dirty. Here is the system I have set up:
Basically, the diaper champ is the dry bin, and the other is a wet bin. You can get these at a diapering store, too. The wet bin has a removable 10 gallon bucket in them that can be filled with water and I also add a few squirts of "Biokleen", an environmentally friendly product that reduces smells. In the dry bin I put wipes or diapers that don't have any poop on them. I put ALL inserts in the wet bin, because they are the thing that tends to get stinky eventually. The diaper champ works for cloth diapers, as I was told when it was given to me, but I wouldn't say it works fabulously. You could certainly use something else for a dry bin.
I lug the big heavy bucket to the utility room, dump the water in the utility sink, and put the rest in the wash. I should mention that once the poops get more solid, you will need to put the waste into the toilet before putting the diaper in the bin. There is a great product that attaches to your toilet and has a sprayer on it to rinse them right into the toilet. I may get that eventually, but never had it with Kyan and I did fine!
In the washing machine I rinse the whole load once in cold water on a "light" wash, then again in HOT water with detergent on a "heavy" wash. Then it all goes in the dryer. There are a few different cloth diaper friendly detergents to choose from. You cannot use regular detergents with cloth diapers because they will break down the waterproofing and the fibers. I use "Country Save" because it is less expensive, and I can order it through Amazon.com's subscribe and save program for an extra 15% off and free shipping. GREAT DEAL!!
I did have to recently "strip" my liners because the older ones, from the days of Kyan, were kind of stinky. To do this you use a bit of vinegar or bleach (bleach is a HUGE no no with cloth diapers, EXCEPT for the terrycloth liners, which should occasionally be bleached), and wash them in HOT water at least 5-7 times! You only use the bleach the first time, and the other cycles you just use the hot water.
Now, the next point of difficulty is leaving home. With Kyan, I must admit, I did not use the cloth diapers outside of the home. I figured I would be easy on myself and buy chlorine free diapers to use for outings. If you choose to do this I would suggest the Seventh Generation chlorine free diapers, and again, I order those through Amazon's subscribe and save and get a great deal!
With the twins, however, I decided to go all out and cloth diaper almost exclusively. So, I purchased a wet bag (also at diapering stores) that goes in my diaper bag. When I take off a cloth diaper, I stick it in there and deal with it at home. It's much easier than I realized! We still use disposables if we go out of town, since it is harder to do the laundry etc. wherever we may be.
All in all, I have to say that it is not a huge inconvenience to do cloth diapering, but it is a HUGE benefit for our income, our environment, and our babies. There is a rather large starting cost to get yourself all set up, but it is only a fraction of what you will eventually spend over 2-3 years of disposable diapering (especially with twins!). I cut our initial costs by registering only for cloth diapers for my second baby shower, and I also had a lot of friends hand down stuff to me, like the prefolds and the diaper bins. You can sometimes find cloth diapering supplies at consignment stores, and I know in Portland several of the diaper stores have consignment, too.
So, if you decide to go for it, GOOD LUCK! Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions!
Well said - yay for clothies.
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