When you have a new baby at home, one of the things that you need to decide on is whether to use disposable diapers or cloth diapers. You have to consider convenience, budget, how it affects the environment and most of all what’s best for your baby. Although there are available biodegradable disposable diapers, they can be expensive and they are hard to find. Cloth diapers by far are the best things to consider because of the benefits that you get.
Environment Friendly
A single disposable diaper can take up to 500 years before it gets fully decomposed. Think about how many disposable diapers you will be using until your baby gets potty trained. If your baby uses 6-8 diapers a day, you will need around 4000 – 5000 disposable diapers until your child gets potty trained at 2 years of age. Using cloth diapers on the other hand will cut down the number of disposable diapers that we throw on the landfill.
Cost Effective
Cloth diapers are washable and reusable. Once you have chosen your ideal cloth diapering system in which you will need about 24-36 cloth diapers, there is no need for you to continue buying them. When your toddler gets potty trained, you can either keep them and use them on your next baby or sell them if they are still in good condition.
Comfort
Your baby’s comfort should be one of the things that you prioritize when choosing a diaper system. Cloth diapers are made from 5 to 7 layers of soft cotton or micro fleece with snaps or Velcro to keep them in place. Compare how your baby would feel if they wear a diaper that is made of layers and layers of pressed wood pulp with a layer of sodium polyacrylate (SAP) in between. Believe it or not but cloth diapers are very absorbent even without the chemical SAP.
Chemical Free and Rash Free
One of the ingredients of a disposable diaper is the chemical known as SAP or sodium polyacrylate. They are that gel-like substance inside the disposables that can absorb liquids that are 100 times its weight. It is the substance that you see on your baby’s private parts when you change his or her diaper. Because they are absorbent, parents tend to change their baby’s diaper less often which eventually leads to diaper rash.
Disposable diapers are bleached and that bleaching process produces a by-product known as Dioxin. Dioxin is a carcinogenic chemical that is linked to cancer and is considered the most toxic.
Dyes and fragrances are also added on to the disposables. Dyes are used in the diaper’s design and the fragrances are added to mask the smell of ammonia and poop. Repeated exposure to these two disposable diaper ingredients can cause allergic reactions or even long term allergy.
Modern cloth diapers, contrary to what people think, are just as effective as any disposable diapers. They come in different colors, prints and types and you even have the option to choose whether you prefer snaps or Velcro. With the amount of information available on line, you can be on your way in selecting the diapering system that will work best for you.
What about you, Mums? Are considering to go cloth this time? What are your considerations about cloth diapering? SHARE it with us.
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