image

It’s always nice to hear the opinions from other moms. We live in an overly-saturated age of information these days and what were once fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants decisions are now thought out and methodical. Helping weigh the pros and cons of cloth diapering is freelance writer and mama Sara.

Wondering if you should You Use Cloth Diapers? Here’s her take on the pros and cons:

Parenting decisions should be made privately but very few of them are. It can often feel that everybody has an opinion on something that is, frankly, none of their business. Breastfeeding is a great example of this. Never before have your boobs felt more like public domain than when you’re deciding whether or not to use them to feed another human. Another subject that is the center of controversy is diapers.

For a long time people who used cloth (or reusable) diapers were thought to be hippie weirdos. Disposables were the norm. This was largely because the cloth and reusable variety were incredibly old fashioned and using them meant taking the chance of accidentally stabbing your baby with a diaper pin. Over the last decade or so, though, cloth diapering has gotten much easier both for babies and for parents.

So! Should you use them or not?

Cloth Diaper Pro: They’re better for the environment. Disposable diapers make up more than three million tons of landfill—per year. Cloth, on the other hand, gets washed and reused over and over and over again. Sure that means lots of water and electricity, but it still creates less of a carbon footprint for your home and family.

Disposable Diaper Pro: You can find deals for diapers, which makes them affordable and convenient! When one is soiled, simply take it off, toss it and put on something clean. You don’t have to store something dirty (and likely horrendously smelly) for a car ride home until you can wash it. What’s more, now there are disposable diapers designed to help potty train kids (pull ups), to be taken into the pool (li’l swimmers), etc.

Cloth Diaper Con: They are often messier than the disposable diapers. Disposable diapers are designed to help quick mess away from a baby’s body (as much as possible anyway). With the cloth variety, it just sits there until you can change the diaper. Cleaning the diapers can often be gross. You have to deal with the mess in an up close and personal fashion…which nobody really enjoys.

Disposable Diaper Con: Disposables are filled with chemicals that, while safe, can really irritate your baby’s bottom. Some babies get rashes or other skin irritations from them. You might not want so many chemicals that close to your baby.

Cloth Diaper Pro: Save money! While hiring a service to launder and fold your cloth diapers can be expensive, when you take care of the cleaning of the diapers and inserts yourself, using cloth can be much cheaper than using disposables (this is made even cheaper if you take advantage of sales or coupons).

Whether or not you choose cloth or disposables is up to you. Don’t let anybody bully you in either direction. You’re allowed to make the choices that work best for you, your family and your new baby.

Thank you, Sara, for stopping by to share your opinion. What has your experience with cloth vs. disposable diapers been like?

You can read my opinions on cloth diapering by clicking here.