Cloth Diapers :)

First Cloth Diaper! JW at 14 Months

So I cloth diaper my 1 month old and 2 year old. I started when my first was 14 months old. The old fashioned way: prefold, pins, plastic pants = hated it! So I ordered the try it package from cottonbabies.com. Velcro covers (Bummis), prefolds, snappi = much better!! Some times I just fold the diaper and place it in the cover and it's almost like a disposable diaper. Now I am a cloth diaper guru! I love it! They are so fun! And who knew poo could be fun! You can get Pocket diapers, All-in-Ones, One Size, any fabric, color the possibilities are endless! So far i have some BumGenius, Flurries of Cloth (WAHM Co), Bummis, Bumkins and I am going to try to make some of my own.

Jace in his Bummis Cover with a prefold and Snappi inside.

I love talking about them too! I know kinda freaky! Seriously it's amazing what you never thought you would talk about before you had kids. My husband Loves them... he loves that they are saving us tons of money and that they are safer for our kids than putting them in disposable diapers 24-7. We do occasionally use disposables (right after baby #2 when we all ready had plenty on our hands) but generally try to steer clear of them. There is a lot to know about disposables what they do to the environment and our children's health. I just think it's amazing how the rise of infertility and health problems kinda matches up to the start of disposable diapers. Here are some facts to wrap your head around so you can make your own decision and why not even if you work you can cloth diaper just use them at home and on weekends there's no wrong way to do it.



Disposable diapers contain a super absorbent chemical inside their plastic casing called sodium polyacrylate, which pulls fluid away from the baby's skin and holds it inside the diaper. This chemical causes allergic reactions, was removed from tampons after being linked to toxic shock syndrome, is lethal to to some animals on inhalation, and lab testing [when injected] has shown it to cause hemorrhage, cardiovascular failure and death.
Dioxin, a byproduct of the bleaching process, is the most toxic of cancer-linked chemicals according to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). Even in barely detectable amounts it has been known to cause liver disease, immune system suppression and genetic damage in lab animals. It can also cause birth defects. No level of dioxin has been established as safe for human exposure. Every American has a measurable amount in their body, and its half-life is seven years. Over thirty pounds of it are released every year.
The FDA regularly receives complaints from illness or injury associated with the usage of disposable diapers, this includes babies pulling the diapers apart and ingesting pieces, skin being torn from the tabs, plastic melting into the skin, dizziness, rashes, headaches and many other problems.

"In 1987, the Sunday Democrat and Chronicle published news about the new Pampers Ultra. The new gel they used caused severe skin irritations, oozing blood from perineum and scrotal tissues, fever, vomiting, and staph infections in babies. Employees in Pampers factories suffered from tiredness, female organ problems, slow-healing wounds and weight loss. According to the Journal of Pediatrics, 54% of one-month old babies using disposable diapers had rashes, 16% had severe rashes. A survey of Procter & Gamble’s own studies show that the incidence of diaper rash increases from 7.1 percent to 61 percent with the increased use of throwaway diapers, great for manufacturers of diaper rash medicines. Widespread diaper rash is a fairly new phenomenon that surfaced along with disposable diapers. Reasons for more rashes include allergies to chemicals, lack of air, higher temperatures because plastic retains body heat, and babies are probably changed less often because they feel dry when wet."

This chemical remains in the diapers today.

In 2000 a German study linked male infertility to the use of disposable diapers. The scrotum hangs away from the body to keep it cool - high temperatures reduce sperm count and motility. This study found that during diapering years the scrotal temperature was significantly higher, and in some the natural cooling system was completely abolished.

Even the dyes in disposable diapers have been linked to health problems similar and just as serious as the ones mentioned above.

As far as the sanitation issue, studies have shown that disposable and cloth diapers are equally sanitary. As far as spreading germs what matters is not what the diaper is made of but how it and the baby are handled. Hand-washing being the most influential factor.