Diaper Wars
Be forewarned: You will need lots of diapers. First, you have to choose sides — are you going to be on Team Cloth, or Team Disposable?
There are women who can argue about their diaper choices for hours. One concern is the impact on the environment (disposables become solid waste that must be disposed of in landfills; cloth diapers use energy and water for laundering and, if you're using a diaper service, transporting). The other concern is the health of the baby (cloth diapers are more natural and you're likely to change them more often; disposables keep baby drier, but leak synthetic pellets when they get overloaded). Luckily, there is a middle road — disposable diapers called Tushies that don't contain chemically synthesized absorbents.
Team Cloth
The main complaint about cloth diapers is that too often “poop happens.” In other words, the poop leaks out of the diaper and stains the baby's clothing, especially in the first couple of weeks when explosive bowel movements are common. More changes and more laundry ensue. Plus, unless you use disposables when you're out of the house, you're left carrying around dirty diapers. Environmentally speaking, cloth diapers are the best choice and, with good planning and organization, may work for your family.
Reasons to Use Cloth Diapers
There are many good reasons to use cloth diapers:
Cloth diapers have a hundred other uses (including a peek-a-boo toy, burping rag, and, sooner than you might think, dust rag, and silver-polisher).
You'll be more attentive to your baby's needs since you'll have to change her diaper more quickly when she wets.
Kids may potty train earlier because they can feel the wetness when they urinate, unlike in disposable diapers, which wick the moisture away from the skin.
They are less expensive than disposables.
Fewer chemicals are touching your baby's skin.
They're environmentally correct.
Even taking into account the cost of doing laundry or using a diaper service, cloth diapers are generally cheaper to use than disposables.
Applied Skills
Unlike disposable diapers, you may need to prepare cloth diapers for use. Below are the different styles of cloth diapers. Whichever kind you choose, you can fasten it with diaper pins, clips, special tape, or a wrap that fastens with snaps or Velcro. If you're using pins, open them up and stick them in a bar of soap before you start the diaper change. Make sure they are out of baby's reach.
Prefolds, common in the United States but less so in other countries, have a thick center and thinner edge sections and are rectangular in shape; nonprefolds are squarer and of uniform thickness.
FIGURE 9-1(A): Set up
FIGURE 9-1(B): Fasten
Fold a standard square diaper into a triangle. Put one point between the legs, and pull the other two points around the side to meet it near the middle of the belly.
FIGURE 9-2(A): Set up
FIGURE 9-2(B): Fasten
Or fold the diaper in thirds but then twist the part that goes between your baby's legs to make it extra thick where it counts. You can fold the diaper down in the front before wrapping it around your baby to give a boy extra thickness where he'll need it most.
FIGURE 9-3(A): Set up
FIGURE 9-3(B): Fasten
You can also use two diapers. Place one, folded in half or in thirds, between the baby's legs. Wrap the second diaper on top (using whichever method), and pin only the outside diaper to hold everything in place.
Contoured diapers that resemble a fitted sheet are considered better than the prefolded or unfolded square diapers. These don't need to be folded — they are designed to fit easily around your baby's butt. Unfortunately, these aren't commonly offered by diaper services.
What's the best way to wash cloth diapers?
First, after removing from baby, rinse messy diapers in the toilet. Keep wet diapers in a diaper pail that's about half full of water; add one-half cup of vinegar to the water. Keep a secure lid on the pail. Put diapers in the washing machine and run it on the spin cycle to remove excess water. Reset the machine to the full wash cycle in hot water, using mild detergent and bleach. Add one-half cup vinegar to the final rinse and either machine dry at highest heat or line dry in the sun.
Team Disposable
One possible reason disposables are more popular is that putting them on is more intuitive. Open one up with the tapes or Velcro tags underneath your baby, put her bottom in the middle of the diaper, bring the front of the diaper up between her legs, and fasten the tabs at her waist. Some disposables contain substances similar to barrier creams (e.g., Desitin or Balmex). If your baby develops a diaper rash, it may be a reaction to the built-in protective cream. Change to a different brand (or try cloth diapers).
According to the California Integrated Waste Management Board, disposable diapers represent about 50 percent of the personal garbage produced by parents of a single child.
Reasons to Use Disposable Diapers
Disposables are required by most day care centers and preferred by babysitters.
They're less bulky so your baby's clothes will fit better.
You have less financial commitment up front, and you don't need pins or wraps.
Used diapers go right out to the trash.
You'll have fewer changes and less laundry to do.
Fewer changes also mean there is a better chance your baby will sleep all night.
Tricks of the Trade
There are a few tricks to diapering with disposables.
While your baby still has her umbilical cord, fold the top of the diaper down to turn it into a bikini before fastening.
Make sure the leg edges are turned out, not folded back under the elastic. This creates a better seal.
If your disposables fasten with adhesive tapes, make sure not to get anything on the adhesive — lotions, water, or powder will ruin their stickiness. If your disposables fasten with Velcro tabs, don't pull the tabs too hard or they might rip off.
When you're diapering a boy, make sure his penis is pointed down in the center of the diaper. If you accidentally diaper his penis up, or tucked out a leg edge, you will end up with a wet lap.
Even though today's disposables are unlikely to leak until they weigh more than your baby, change them once they get a little squishy. Otherwise, the little pellets of super absorbent gel burst out of the diaper and are pretty much impossible to get off of your baby's skin unless you give her a full bath.
Eco-Friendly Disposables
Although more expensive, biodegradable disposable diapers like Nature Boy and Girl are made of cornstarch instead of plastics. Critics, however, maintain that these diapers aren't better for the environment or the health of babies. The real issue is that regardless of whether or not the diaper is biodegradable, no diaper can break down in an airtight landfill. Furthermore, those who argue the environmental benefits of using cloth diapers can be confronted with the idea that cloth diapers excessively use a precious resource, as well — water, especially important in drought-stricken areas. Consider: you need water for the growing cotton plants, you need water to wash the diapers, and you need water for the extra loads of laundry necessary when cloth diapers leak.
Base your decision about which kind of diaper to use on what works best for your family.
