Cloth Or Disposables - Making the Right Choice

Many big decisions have to be made before and afterplastic used in disposables does not breathe and the
our little ones come into this world,but making the rightammonia from the urine is unable to escape, which
decisions for our baby's health and well-being arecan create skin irritations as well. The best way to
sometimes put on the back burner while our hectic andprevent skin irritations and diaper rashes is to change
busy lives take over. One of the big decisions webaby often, no matter what type of diaper you use.
have to make is whether to use cloth or disposables,Cloth diapers have come a long way in the past
and with all the different cloth and disposable diaperstwenty years. Though one might say they are not as
out on the market, weighing the pro's and con's canconvenient to use as disposables, they have many
sometimes cause confusion.advantages that far outweigh the advantages of
If you're one of the many thousands of mom's whoconvenience. They are made with soft materials that
work outside the home, the first type of diaper thatare gentle on your baby's skin and can be made to fit
comes to mind, of course, is disposable. Why?neatly and snuggly around your little one's bottom. And
Because they're convenient and you just toss them inthere are so many different styles and colorful fabric
the garbage. No rinsing out the mess and no stinkypatterns for cloth diapers that it can be as much fun
diaper pails sitting around. And it cuts down on theshopping for diapers as shopping for those cute tiny
laundry of course. But in our time of "green" is thisbaby clothes.
really the solution? Sure, disposables are handy but areThough cloth diapers have to be washed, which can
they really the best choice?add to the laundry pile-up, the benefits are
Disposable diapers are taking their toll on our landfillsoverwhelming. The more you wash them, the more
and are having a huge effect on our environment.absorbent they become. As for convenience, most
Over 200,000 trees are cut down and 80,000 poundscloth diapers are either snapped or velcro'd (hook and
of plastic are used in one year to make disposableloop) for easy changing and have multiple layers sewn
diapers in America only. These diapers are sold, usedinto the soaker for dryness. Also, the savings you'll
and then tossed into our landfills. It then takes from oneexperience with cloth compared to disposables is
hundred to five hundred years for these diapers toastronomical. You can save anywhere from 2500.00
decompose andwith non-exposure to air and sun,to 5000.00 by the time your child is potty trained and
some of the plastic materials never decompose,cloth diapers can be used for more than one child. But
therefore, the dangers of contamination to our groundthe most important part of a cloth diaper is they are
water is ten-fold.environmentally friendly and will keep our landfills
We must also think about our baby's comfort.cleaner.
Disposables are deemed to keep baby "drier" butWe all want to ensure a safe and healthy future for
because of this, parents tend to change baby less,our children, therefore, throwing a little convenience
therefore, baby is exposed to contaminated bacteriaaside for the welfare of our children is not a lot to ask.
from the urine for a longer period of time, causingMake the right choice. Our children deserve the best.
diaper rash and irritation to their tender skin. Also, the