....or we are attempting it :) My cousin Katy has a eight month old son named Elliot. She is very hip and up on the times. Because of this (and because she cares about the earth), she uses cloth diapers on Elliot, called "Bum Genius" diapers. These aren't you mom's cloth diapers. There are no diaper pins needed. There are two parts to these diapers. The shell and the liner. The shell is adjustable from new born size to toddler size (with snaps) and the liners are placed inside the shell. After the diaper has been used, the diapers are simply washed in the washer and dryer. You just have to take the liners out and throw them in. They do however have to washed twice (which might not be very green....) to make sure they are clean. Once with a little detergent and cold water and once with no detergent and hot water. I had heard of these diapers before Claire was born and was interested in them for two reasons. Of course because it is better for the environment, but also, because they are quite a bit cheaper than disposable diapers. It is more costly up front (about $15 for one diaper and liner), but over the span of two to three years are much less. I looked online and it was stated that parents spend about $2000 in disposable diapers per child, and only about $500 with Bum Genius diapers.
(not so happy in this photo...mom was taking too long)
Katy has borrowed me a few of her diapers to try and see if I like them. We have been trying them for about a week and here are the pros and cons that I can come up with.
Pros ~ good for the environment ~ less expensive in the long run ~better for Claire's skin/body...some studies link "infertility" with disposable diapers YIKES!!!!
Cons ~ pretty bulky..looks like she has a HUGE a$$...although if she has the "Lundby" butt gene, she will have to get used to this :) ~ I have to do A LOT more laundry ~ have more leaks ~ don't know what the daycare lady will think of this...she might not want to deal with them ~ have to front quite a bit of money to start
So...I have not come to a decision yet. Any comments would help.
Also on the "green" note (not environmental), we just finished painting Jocie's brand new HUGE room a nice shade of sage green. We have moved all of her furniture down and she is happily sleeping down there. I just have a few more things to finish (accent wall and some accessories) and then I will post some pictures!
2 comments:
She's so cute in her BGs. I LOVE mine. I only have 14 for 2 babies, and they last me 2 days. We do disposible at night. If you get leaks, check to see if the liner and diaper is actually repelling water by putting it under the faucet a little. If they are, you need to strip them by washing them with a little blue dawn dish soap and rinsing them in the washer a few extra times. Yes, sometimes the laundry really stinks (both figuratively and literally!) but we have not bought diapers ourselves (we get them for gifts :)) since the babies were born! Hey, maybe I could've said that in person :)
I remember those cloth diapers -- yuck, what a job hauling the plastic diaper pail down two flights to the basement - draining off the water (ish)-good thing the pail was too heavy to lift and so that was Dad's job-then wash, dry, haul back up and spend 45 minutes folding -- however, I'll always remember it -- and am glad I'll never do it again - however, I'm ALL for going GREEN! Hats - err-diapers - off to you. Love, Mom
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