Last night as Eric and I were taking Bumblebee out before bed. We opened the front door and there, hanging on the doorknob, was a bag. Eric and I looked at each other, as though one of us had some hidden insight.
I opened the bag and there were a ton of little baby diapers. Somebody who knows we've got a little one on the way appears to have given us their leftovers. I have a few suspicions about who may have done this, but what a sweet and thoughtful thing to do! Being on the other end of the Kindness Bandit type activity is really a thrill.
Eric and I are still undecided about our normal diaper selection (cloth or 7th Generation or G diapers) and which will have the least ecological impact. However, if these are leftovers we will certainly take them and put them to good use on the tush of our little one. Does anybody else have good insight into diapering choices and which is the best for the environment?
15 comments:
What a happy find! Leftover (because "recycled" isn't the right term!) diapers will come in handy when you're away from home.
A good friend of mine used only cloth diapers and said that she got a ton of them in good shape for very little money on e-bay. If you decide to go with cloth, you might look into that.
This is so wonderful! I'm so glad the Kindness Bandit found you :-).
I think diapering is one of the hardest decisions ... so many options, none of which are totally enviro-friendly. Well, unless you go with EC (elimination communication). And even then, you'll still need some sort of tooshie device.
We used a combo cloth (Chinese prefolds) and g-diapers until about 20 months when I couldn't take the mess/smell anymore. Then switched to disposables.
We also started DS on the potty (part-time EC) at 7 months. I often used these awesome covers during our "on" periods - Ecapants (http://www.ecawarebaby.com/)
I think next time we'll work harder at EC, but probably follow a similar diapering plan.
That's great! People are taking example. :-)
I regret not having the energy to use reusable diapers but instead I chose the one that is most comfortable for the child (Libero). Horrible waste of energy but on the other hand I feel it's cheap to blame the moms when the governments are polluting all over the place.
styrafoam diapers
How fun to find a present waiting for you guys! Can you imagine a little one actually wearing those things!!
So exciting!
We do cloth, specifically organic cotton/hemp diapers and they're wonderful. If you go the organic route which of course is best for the enviro...and if you line dry/air dry as much as possible then I don't believe there is a comparison between what is better for the earth as far as resources. Also, financially you will save a TON of money if you go cloth...it also just doesn't compare. Then, there is something more important to consider which is the health of your baby...having organic cotton/hemp up next to their sensitive parts is going to be best for them as well. Plus you change them more frequently w/ cloth, which is also a good thing!
We did G diapers for the first 2-3 months and they were pretty pointless b/c stuff always got on the cover so u had change that every time u changed the insert...so we asked "why don't we just do cloth all the way?"...which we quickly turned to and it's SO much easier and again, it's all organic. We use Little Beetles from Better for Babies and they're wonderful - made in the USA and are fair trade. However, we just started practicing Elimination Communication and it's awesome - wish we would have started it the day she was born. I would suggest looking into it - "Diaper Free: Gentle Natural Infant Hygiene" by Ingrid Bauer is the best book I've read on it thus far. It really makes a ton of sense and is most in line with AP/natural parenting. It's crazy how different we are from the rest of the world in regards to things like diapers, breastfeeding, co-sleeping, etc. Sorry this is so long...
Hi! I just stumbled upon your beautiful blog (thank to Emily) and I'm really looking forward to following it. I love your theme. We use cloth diapers, mostly to save money, though from what I've read they are also best for the environment. I love using cloth...I'd definitely recommend it.
I have no children, so I have no good advice. I DID, however, find the concept of EC fascinating (had to Google it). Could that really work? After all, don't experts say that babies can't form memories until the age of 18-24 due to the myelin sheath not being formed completely, or something like that? Hmm...this is boggling my mind!
The plan for now is cloth, but I've been fascinated by no diapers ever since I went to China last March. All the little kids had pants with their bottoms exposed. I'll have to send you a picture! So it obviously works for a lot of people around the world.
How sweet of someone - we used cloth diapers at home for Scout when he was a babe - I made some cute little covers that closed with velcro - but we had some purchased covers as well - I'll try and find the pattern that I used and send it to ya.
How fun to be the recipient of the KB!!
We used a combination of cloth and disposables with my daughter before she potty learned, and I heard about EC when she was about 11 months and did some of that as well, which was more fun than you think it'd be!
I think it does merit some thought, initially I figured cloth would win, hands down... but my daughter had very sensitive skin, so I found myself not just running one cycle to wash them, but many cycles and rinses in order to strip the diapers clean enough so they wouldn't irritate her skin. If you live in an area where water is very scarce, that could cut into the benefits of using cloth (along with the energy used to wash and dry them)
I've read interesting articles arguing for both sides. I never tried G diapers, those look interesting as well. Lots of options, that's for sure! Good luck!
Very sweet!
xoxox,
CC
How nice of someone to Kindness Bandit you back! I looked into G Diapers, but only after Grace was about 6 months old... and the cost floored me. I think if I had looked into it before she was born, we may have gone that route, but the set up "fee" at the age we were going to start her was too much to swallow at the time. Great environmental choice though!
we used disposable . . .
the town we live in incinerates (cleanly) all our garbage, and the energy from the incineration heats all our county office and health buildings . . .
that was good for us!
We used cloth diapers (a European brand, but they are terrycloth and elastic - not like the ones we wore as kids!) until Guppy grew out of them, she was about 6 months. It was a bit of a pain I admit, but it was both cost and ecologically effective. I was also at home as a full-time mum - had I been working it wouldn't have been possible. Good luck with the decision - it's not easy, but you'll do what's right for you!
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