The Diaper Dilemma

I was recently listening to a public radio interview with an individual who has worked on environmental issues her whole life. I admire this woman because she has taken a bold stance on sustainability and was in the game before it was fashionable. So I was totally shocked to hear her say that she uses disposable diapers. (hear the needle scratching the record) What?

Now, I don't know what her situation is and I work not to judge this particular choice because there are a number of elements that go into it. But that can be challenging for me given what my family has done in this department. So let's focus on that as the example rather than speculating on why an environmental activist would choose disposable diapers.

We knew we wanted to avoid the waste of disposable diapers. I had also read about the questionable materials and thereby the chemicals in disposable diapers. I wanted my daughter to have natural fibers against her skin as much as possible. I also liked the idea of Elimination Communication so my kid didn't have to sit in her own waste much. Supposedly disposables work so well at keeping baby dry, that potty training can be even harder when the time comes. I hated the idea of spending gobs of money supporting companies that perpetuate disposable diapers and frankly, didn't know how often we would be able to take the garbage down our 4 flights of stairs.

So we decided we'd do cloth diapers and hired the local diaper service (which in my understanding is NOT more eco-friendly than disposables because they wash them 10x). I don't believe they exist any longer and given our experience, this is no surprise. We started laundering them ourselves when our daughter was about 7 weeks. To my big surprise, this was not the traumatic and cumbersome process I thought it would be. Admittedly, diaper needs change as time goes by, but generally the purpose and process are the same. Using EC, we had some weeks when we hardly used a few dipes a day, other weeks when it seemed we went through our whole stash. The point is, it's really not that much more work than taking out the garbage and making it to the store to buy a big box of stuff you'll throw away. What is the big deal about 1-2 extra loads of laundry per week? And we don't even have laundry in our building, so for us, it includes hauling them down the block to the laundromat.

If you're at the point in your pregnancy where you're pondering this decision, or if you've had it with diaper rash and the stink of plastic pants, consider good old fashioned Chinese prefolds and the fabulous *new* diaper covers. No pins, no fuss. Or you could get fancy and try the all-in-one diapers or pocket diapers. And if you are committed to elimination communication and the time is right, you can graduate to trainers that make potty stops when you're out and about a breeze. Laundering is easy too, but you do need to modify your technique and detergent to make it gentle enough for baby.

We very occasionally will use a disposable if we're out for such a long time that carrying enough clean (and then used) diapers isn't practical (like when we fly), but even that is hard for me. We use Tushies brand because I have read they are the safest.

I wish couples knew that this was completely feasible. If we can do it in a 5th floor walk-up, anyone can.