The Great Diaper Debate, Cloth? or Disposable?

New parents have lots of information to process and factor in when planning for the arrival of baby. Many are now considering their eco-footprint and the baby's eco-footprint too. One of the biggest ways that baby contributes to GHG's (greenhouse gases) is through the accumulation of disposable diaper waste. So many new parents are going back to reusable diapers.

Reasons why parents are switching back to cloth diapers and wipes:

Reduce the load on landfill sites.
Reduce the cost of buying disposable diapers and diaper wipes week after week.
Many babies suffer less from diaper rash when using cloth diapers opposed to disposable. This could be in part to the chemicals that are needed to make disposables and can also convert into more savings by using less diaper rash creams.
Cloth diapers are more stylish now then they ever were and pins aren't needed anymore.
New cloth diaper designs even come in eco-friendly fabrics such as bamboo and hemp.
Cloth diapers may encourage babies to potty train faster than disposables, because with disposable diapers, the babies seldom feel any wetness or discomfort.

Making a Cloth Diaper Starter Kit

• Roughly 12-18 cloth diapers, a newborn baby is changed an average of 6-8 times a day.
• 24-30 cloth wipes rather than using disposable wipes. These cloth wipes can be added into the soiled diapers and laundered the same way as the cloth diapers.
• 6-8 diaper inserts to double up absorbency in pocket diapers for overnight or nap time.
• Several micro fleece diaper liners to protect baby's bottom and the diaper when using creams.
• At least three diaper covers if you plan to take your baby out for extended periods of time.
• Small tote bag or wet bag for carrying dirty diapers.
• Dry and wet diaper pails.

The average cost of disposable diapers each year for baby will vary widely from family to family and store to store. Also families must factor whether they use coupons for their disposable diapers. But using cloth diapers can reduce a family's cost each year by almost 50%. That's a huge savings to put back into your wallet!

At the end of the day, it's the parents ultimate choice of a diapering style that is best suited to their routine, finances and environmental concerns. Some parents choose to use both depending on their activity. We'd love to hear from our readers with your experiences using cloth diapers. Is it worth the savings?