 |
|
BANG FOR THE BITE
If 10,000 Biter babies use nondisposable diapers instead of disposable, we'll avert the use of enough diapers to fill 113 dump trucks by the time those babies are potty-trained.
COCKTAIL FACT
Not just for stalker road trips: Astronauts wear diapers called Maximum Absorbency Garments (MAGs) during liftoff and landing.
| SAVE TO MY BITES |  |
FORWARD TO A FRIEND:
RATE THIS TIP:
How useful is this tip to you?
(5 is the highest)
home › tip library › Diapers
Is there more in your baby's diaper than you bargained for?
The Bite
Not the usual junk, we're talkin' chems in disposable diapers that aren't great for babies, baby-daddies, or Mama Earth. Then there's the landfills full of nasty nappies. Junk the junk, and try bio or cloth diapers instead.The Benefits
- Big savings. Babies go through about 2,500 diapers before they're potty-trained; cloth diapers washed at home cost $0.03 per use, while disposables costs about $0.22 each.
- Tons less waste. Disposable diapers produce at least 70 times more waste than cloth diapers, and Americans trash 18 bil diapers each year.
- Better for baby. A 1999 study found that lab mice exposed to conventional disposable diapers experienced eye, nose, and throat irritation, and advised asthmatic parents to steer clear.
- Biter options. Not into cloth? New diapers offer convenient inserts that break down in 150 days or fewer (versus 500 years for standard disposable ones).
Personally Speaking
Heather's always cringed a bit when she's had to change cloth diapers, but when she has kids, she's not putting sodiumpolyacri-something anywhere near their cute, little bums.Wanna Try?
From most-eco to least-eco:- Under the Nile Adjustable Velcro Diaper - washable, organic-cotton terrycloth diapers - no pins necessary; great unless you live in an area where water is scarce, in which case the bio ones are a better bet ($13).
- National Association of Diaper Services - find a cloth diaper service in your area.
- gDiapers Starter Kit - easy-to-use kit that comes with refillable, biodegradable diaper liners you can flush, so you don't have to wash them after each use ($27).
- Seventh Generation Chlorine Free Diapers - bleached with hydrogen peroxide (not eco-unfriendly chlorine); for Biters who can't give up disposables ($35).
Nov 15,2007
Sponsor
All editorial suggestions in this tip are the result of testing and a preference for the tip topic. No advertiser has paid to have its company referenced in the tip. For more information, please read our Editorial Policy.
Adventures in Babysitting
I was a champion babysitter back in the day. In a move that might seem strange today, I started babysitting a 3-month old for 3 full days a week during the summer when I was 11 years old. 11. For like 9 hours each day. If I ever have kids, I'm hiring a 65 year-old nanny and doing an FBI background check on the person before I even let them near my kid's juice bottle. But in Montana in the mid-80s? No problem - let the 11-year-old handle it.
And I loved it. Everything about it. The little jammies and red wagons and playing and nap time (and the fact that they had satellite TV when we only had 4 very fuzzy channels).
But the diaper thing? That wasn't so pleasant. And on the occasions when I babysat for people who used cloth diapers, I always swore to myself that there was absolutely no way I would EVER use cloth. It seemed so backward.
Yet now that I've seen the stats about the horrors of disposable diapers? No way. Rest assured, my kids are going in cloth diapers (it helps that there are now diaper services to do the really heavy lifting).
But I have a soft spot in my heart for babysitters. And I think that I'm probably going to let them use more earth-friendly, but still disposable diapers on the nights that they come over to sit. I have a long memory...
-Heather...off to clean house in prep for the nephew's arrival...
And I loved it. Everything about it. The little jammies and red wagons and playing and nap time (and the fact that they had satellite TV when we only had 4 very fuzzy channels).
But the diaper thing? That wasn't so pleasant. And on the occasions when I babysat for people who used cloth diapers, I always swore to myself that there was absolutely no way I would EVER use cloth. It seemed so backward.
Yet now that I've seen the stats about the horrors of disposable diapers? No way. Rest assured, my kids are going in cloth diapers (it helps that there are now diaper services to do the really heavy lifting).
But I have a soft spot in my heart for babysitters. And I think that I'm probably going to let them use more earth-friendly, but still disposable diapers on the nights that they come over to sit. I have a long memory...
-Heather...off to clean house in prep for the nephew's arrival...
Biter Comments...
There's also Fuzzi Bunz. I've heard raves about them and plan to use them for my new baby. www.fuzzibunz.com
I wish you would have recommended Nature Babycare disposables. They have a corn based polymer as their waterproof layer so they actually break down - unlike 7th gen, which still contains plastic and will still take over 500 years to break down in a landfill. Nature Babycare is chlorine-free also.
We use cloth at home and Nature Babycare when leaving the house. Cloth is great until you're walking around the mall with a bag full of poop!
I've also used gDiapers and they have a little bit of a learning curve but once you get it down, they are okay.
Nature Babycare is sold at Super Target, and their sister line Nature Boy & Girl is sold online at Drugstore.com.
NO, I don't work for a diaper company. I'm just passionate about saving the planet for my son.
I have some fuzzibunz, they work great but I hate stuffing them. It really takes some time several times a week, and it's a PITA. I much prefer my Bum Genius 2.0 All In Ones. They go on with velcro, just like a disposable, are all one piece and work awesome.
I have some old fashioned prefolds too, those are my least favorite and hubby won't touch them. They're too complicated for him.
Here's a great place with product reviews on all kinds of cloth diapering options for mamas or mamas to be: http://www.diaperpin.com/home.asp
I blog here: http://reduce-reuse-repsycho.blogspot.com/
and I'm pretty well versed in cloth diapering. You can contact me through my blog if I can help you further. I don't mind sharing my wealth of information with others.
The information listed on the Nat'l Assoc of Diaper Services for available diaper services is out-of-date. I live in the NYC area and the phone number for Tidy Diapers has been disconnected for a number of months and Healthy Diapers only services Westchester and parts north, not the city. There is a new service, and only service I have been able to find that delivers in Manhattan, called Queen Bee Diapers. They are located in Brooklyn.
We use prefolds and covers with a snappi (instead of pins) on our son and love them. They're the most inexpensive way to go.
Are there eco-diapers for older children? I have an 8 year old special needs child who will forever be in diapers. I hate to think what I'll be doing to the environment. Thx.
I used cloth diapers with all 5 of my kids. They don't have to be expensive, and they don't have to be white-they just have to be an absorbent cotton or linen. I made flannel diapers themed for the different times of the year for my kids. Just get a hold of a "real" cloth diaper to see its size and thickness, then go to your local fabric store & get sewing. Joann's even has official "diaper flannel". It's really thick & works great.
I may be wrong, but I recall reading on Newsweek that diaper services uses up just as much natural resources, if not more, than disposable diapers. These services wash the soiled cloth diapers they pick up (and deliver) in their van/truck and gives them a good SEVEN HOT washes. Between the truck and hot washes, not really eco-friendly. I use cloth diaper at home with my son, but opt for cleaning and washing them myself. I wash one cycle in cold water (washing in cold will help to NOT set the stains in and also less energy used) then run a second cycle in hot. Also, I wash the dirty diapers about every 3 days or so, and too keep the smell and bacteria down as much as possible, I rinse the soil diapers in the sink with cold water first before wringing them dry and dropping them into the diaper pail.
I totally with the diaper free comment by BA above. No waste except for the bodily kind. My neighbor introduced me to "Infant Potty Training" or "Elimination Communication" since it was so successful with her daughter. This girl is so happy to use the toilet and has been doing so since she wasl a newborn. Plus she has a healthy relationship to food (a 2 yr old who is happy to eat kale!), which I believe is connected. I am going diaper free when my baby is born.
I use fuzzi bunz with my two year old son and will continue with my new daughter due in January. I wish the tip had included more diaper options, as the under the niles need a cover on top. There are so many fantastic cloth diaper options (www.diaperhyena.com), as well as the DYI as previously mentioned.
FYI Felicia: I have never walked around the mall smelling like poop. I have special waterproof zipper bags that hold 3+ diapers. No smells come out of that thing. Before eating solids, breastfed newborn poop doesn't smell that bad. Then, after an admitedly messy transition period, poop plops into the toilet leaving very little on the diaper. I work out of the house with my cloth diapered toddler 3 days a week. There are products out there, like the zippered bags, cloth wipes, etc, that make out-and-about time with baby easier. I also know cloth-diapering moms that use eco-disposables out of the house. Whatever works. I cannot afford that (disposables, especially eco-ones, are expensive). Though I do keep some on hand for the church nursery workers, who are like Heather's babysitters. I think any dent you can make in the impact your little dootie-maker is making on the environment without stressing you out is applaudable.
FYI "BA": my good friend has used EC (Elliminiation Communication) with her now potty learned 4 yr old daughter and brand new baby boy and she still uses diapers (without covers, so she can tell immediately if she "missed" some communication). The baby is naked a LOT, don't get me wrong, but nursing OFTEN induces pooping in a newborn. And apparently in my case, nursing often induces peeing in a toddler. Prefolds with a snappi might be all you need, but I suggest you get SOMETHIN'! :)
Well, it really doesn't answer my question. Cloth diapers are out of the question as I work full time and have two shifts of skilled nursing. We need the convenience, but are trying to be eco-friendly.
I think you were remiss not to include elimination communication (EC) in your tip today. Can't get much more eco-friendly than diaper free!
I've used cloth diapers for close to 4 years now on my two kids. I wash them myself because I don't like the diapers that the services provide and they are super easy to wash. I've used all kinds including Fuzzi Bunz and BumGenius. My favorite right now are Blueberry Stuffable All-In-Ones. They are so easy that even the babysitter doesn't mind. I recommend using flushable liners in the diapers so you can just flush the solids away. Who wants to have poopy diapers sitting in your trash all week anyway? To me, that is more gross than washing cloth diapers at home.
Tarah, nobody said you were smelling like poop. You should re-read what you responded to.
I choose to not carry soiled diapers with me. I choose to travel light. I choose to spend $10 for a pack of diapers so I don't have to carry soiled cloth with me. Just because you can't afford to do the same doesn't give you license to misquote me.
Felicia: I'm sorry. I did not mean to misquote you. I just wanted to point out that cloth-on-the-go does not have to equal carrying around a bag of poo. (In addition to the zipper bags I mentioned, the disposable liners just mentioned are also a great way to minimize carrying poo) I know tons of cloth diapering families that use disposables when out of the house and I think that's a great option. Whatever works for your family. :)
1st let me say I LOVE my daily bite, though I am also disapointed with this tip for several of the reasons noted previously. We currently use next generation, (already feel very guilty, please don't yell!) I previously thought I was making an ok temporary choice, though after reading that article on pulp & gel, I guess not. I am desperately trying to navigate the cloth world! I am lost, frustrated & confused. In addition I am laundry challenged, which is just pushing me over the edge! Hope to figure it out & go live (with cloth!) by Jan at the very latest. New Nappies for the new year!!
I prefer to shop my kids products on ToysRUs and DisneyShopping stores at couponalbum.com..
PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: BA | November 15, 2007 at 03:23 AM