Thursday, May 27, 2010

It's all about the cloth

Cloth diapers.
Let's talk about them for a moment, shall we?
I poo pooed the idea when I was pregnant with Claire, snarkily saying, "Wow. Is this 1910 or something? Bring on the Huggies!" And I did. For the duration of Claire's diaper life. So when you think about it, when she was 0-6 months, I changed her diaper on average 10 times a day. That's 1800 diapers. From 6-12 months, it decreased to about 7 times a day. That's 1260 diapers.
In one year, I sent 3060 diapers to the landfil. And they don't bio-degrade. EVER.
Luca just turned one. So double that amount, and I've sent 6120 diapers to the landfil. To be there forever. Isn't that cute? I can tell my kids how a piece of them is forever sitting, rotting on a piece of land that could have been a play ground. Or floating in the ocean, being eaten away by fish who then die or are forever altered because of the plastic...causing them to have abnormal baby fishies... and the sick cycle goes on.
I had enough. Not to mention how much money I was wasting.
Now before I go on, I'm sure you're thinking, "Well aren't you a hypocrite. You're a woman, aren't you? And you get your period?" Well, yes, I do. But I solved that issue, too. And that's all I'll say about that. So bite me.
Needing some advice, I sent it out there to cyberspace. I asked my friends on facebook. Not only did I get an overwhelming response, but I got several personal emails linking me up with other Green Mamas out there who just want to do something natural and good for the earth.
I found this website, that's actually local, called the Happy Baby Company. I love it. I was advised by many Moms out there to get GroBaby and Thirsties. I even enjoyed this blog, too: http://lazygreenmama.weebly.com/ My Thirsties haven't arrived yet, but so far I'm sold on GroBaby. Luca loves them, too. He would get so mad in his disposables. His poor little doodles couldn't breathe. And his skin down there would remind me of how your skin gets after wearing a bandaid on your finger. You know, all white and wrinkly? Anywho, I felt bad. But these diapers are so fantastic.
If you're a woman, and you've worn a Maxi-pad, that's exactly what it's like. Your baby pees or poops, you take off the offending layer, replace it with a new layer that resembles a pad and voila. The shell keeps for at least 3 to 4 days before you have to wash it. Amazing. Green. Cheap.

How have you impacted your world lately?

2 comments:

Bachelor Girl said...

The Guy and I agreed that if/when we have Small Fries, their rear ends will be covered in cloth, The End. With all the innovations in cloth diapering, I really can't understand why everyone wouldn't at least give them a chance.

My friend Katie cloth-diapered both her kids, but she still used disposables at daycare (it was a rule) and on vacation when they weren't staying someplace with a washer and dryer. Still, think how many disposables she DIDN'T send to the landfills!

Cassie said...

BG, it's the same with breastfeeding. People just poo poo it, saying that it's so last century. But it's natural! And free! And you're not putting extra chemicals in your baby's body (unless you go with Baby's Only, which in my opinion is the ONLY organic baby formula.) What kills me is that in the US it's so gross, but in Europe it's the norm...