Wednesday, August 11, 2010

The Benefits of Cloth Diapering


Anyone with young children knows that diapers are a part of your everyday routine. Yet with so many different brands and varieties, how is one able to narrow down the options and choose what is best for you and your family? Although disposable diapers are quick, easy, and overall very convenient for parents on the go…there are also many perks when it comes to deciding to use cloth or reusable diapers.


Everyday you will see a handful of commercials on TV for Pampers, Huggies, or any other major diapering company. Promises of feeling dryer longer as well as a comfortable fit can be convincing enough; who wouldn’t want their child to be comfortable? Cloth diapers offer a comfortable alternative that is more affordable than ever with benefits that outweigh their competitors!


Disposable diapers use chemicals to help create the illusion of a dry diaper even when it is wet. Your baby may not become uncomfortable when seated in a soiled diaper, but they will also be more likely to stay in that dirty diaper longer. If they don’t feel wet or uncomfortable then they are less likely to notify you that it is time for a changing. According to the Earth Easy website, “Diaper rash also increases with disposable diaper use due to allergies to chemicals, poor air flow and longer time spent in wet diapers which feel dry when wet.” Cloth Diapers will feel wet immediately notifying mom and dad that it’s time for a change. The less time baby sits in a soiled diaper, the less likely they are to incur rashes.


Since cloth diapered babies can tell when they are wet and uncomfortable, they become more aware of when they need to go to the restroom. At an earlier age they are able to make the connection between ‘being wet and uncomfortable in cloth diapers and needing to use the bathroom instead.’ This can help make the potty training process easier and less of a shock for some children, as well as has the ability to speed up the process.


It 's estimated that 10,000 tons of disposable diapers are tossed into landfills each day. They can take up to 500 years to decompose! The manufacture of disposables uses over 1 million metric tons of wood pulp and 75,000 metric tons of plastic each year. Disposables are the diaper of choice for over 80% of North American parents.

Eartheasy.com


Short term disposable diapers appear to be less expensive, especially when purchased in bulk. In case packs, you can get some brands of disposable diapers for only .19 cents each! During the diapering life of each of your children you can change up to 13,000 diapers! That will end up costing you nearly $2,470 in disposable diapers just for one child! Multiply that by how many kids you would like to have and you’ve got yourself a small fortune spent on disposable diapers alone.


Cloth diapers come in a variety of brands and styles that enable you to choose what will work best for your family. There are even cloth diapering services that will launder the soiled cloths for you, but this will end up costing about the same as using disposable diapers. If you want to be on the cost effective side, you can purchase “All-in-one” diapers that you only have to buy once and require no additional purchases of liners or various sizes. Although you may end up spending anywhere from $300-$500 on cloth diapers depending on the brand, you will only have to spend it one time no matter how many children you have!


Currant Baby likes Bum Genius All in One diapers…they are one size fits all adjustable diapers so all you need is the one size and you are set for your babies diapering life! We have had customers that purchase up to 20 diapers so that they only have to launder them every other day, and also customers who purchase less and don’t mind doing laundry every day. (With young children in the house, you most likely will have a load in the wash everyday anyways!) We also like to recommend that between washes you can pre-soak soiled cloths in a bucket of vinegar water. If you want to save change at the Laundromat, air dry cloth diapers out in the sun. The sun will naturally kill any bacteria or yeast left on the cloths.


Cloth diapers also make great baby registry items because some friends or family could spend less by just purchasing one or two! Then there will always be case packs to purchase for those very generous relatives.


Happy diapering!


Sources:

Earth Easy

Baby Center

Parents.com



Wednesday, August 4, 2010

LA Parent Magazine Best of 2010!



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