No matter how trim your cloth diapers are, there is little chance they will ever be as trim as a disposable - close, but a bit bulkier. The trimest options that come to mind would probably be a pocket diaper stuffed with hemp - of our selection I would say the Hugga Buns Ultra pocket diaper and the Thirsties hemp insert, either that or maybe the BumGenius AIO without a doubler. Those of us that use extra doublers, or large prefolds and covers are used to that cute padded bum! I have gotten questions about the development of a baby's hips with that added bulk between the legs pushing them apart more, this is a myth and there is simply no truth to it. Your baby's hips will develop just fine! What do you think babies wore before the invention of the disposable diaper anyway?
People often ask us if the added bulk under clothing makes shopping more challenging. With my daughter, I don't really think its been that much of an issue, except maybe with onesies which we really only used for the first few months given that she was born in January and I was trying to keep her warm! I don't think she ever wore the 0-3 month and only wore the 3-6 month for a very short time - I learned quickly to size up. They also make a snap extender for onesies since its really the crotch and bum area that needs the extra room when your babe wears cloth. I don't have personal experience using them, but have heard rave reviews. With sleepers and other stretchy cotton items usually worn by newborns, there is usually plenty of extra room for the cloth.
Now that my daughter is older (2 1/2) and in the 80-90th percentile for both height and weight, I generally only buy pants with some element of stretch - there are actually few things I have founds that don't stretch to some degree. If your child is very slender it probably won't even be an issue as I have plenty of friends with slender children that wear jeans and cords over their cloth with no problem. There is such a large variety of options available for children's clothes these days - I find Target carries the best fitting stretch bottoms with great variety of colors and prints. Our family has been using cloth from day one, so for us its a no-brainer. We do have to remind people around birthdays and holidays that gifts of bottoms do need to be stretchy as we do have a little extra padding in that area! If you are changing over from disposable to cloth, there is a chance you may find a few of your child's tighter items with no give to be too snug - a small price to pay - you will definitely save more money in the long run!
I love to see a cute little padded cloth bum - there is nothing wrong with a little added "booty"!
Have a great week everyone and happy diapering!
Showing posts with label cloth diapering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cloth diapering. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Debunking Seventh Generation's "Big Green Lies"
As environmentalists, we look at companies like 7th generations with admiration, right? While we have tried to cut down on paper towel use, or gotten rid of the need altogether, have contemplated family cloth, stopped using harsh chemical cleaners, clothes and dish detergents and OF COURSE stopped using disposable diapers - we look at 7th generation as one of the best alternatives, the people that make the "greenest" versions of those things we try so hard not to use! Well......brace yourself - it appears that they are beginning to act like the "Big" business they are becoming.
In their new set of short shows called "Big Green Lies" - 7th Gen attempts to debunk typical green myths - most recently cloth vs. disposable. You can see the segment here. Way to try and over-simplify things, huh? Did they fail to realize that most of us wash our own diapers and that if you use additive free detergent you don't have to rinse the diapers over and over and over....and you certainly do not have to use bleach or even the clothes dryer for that matter if you like to use the clothesline. There are so many different factors that they completely ignore, yet being who they are and assuming the roll of "green authority" lots of people will just watch this and take it as the end all of answers.
Although their diapers are bleach free and lack many of the harmful chemicals that mainstream diapers contain, they didn't mention that when telling people to stop over-thinking the decision because it was 50/50. They also neglected to talk about how disposables can also lock in body heat, raising the temperature of the scrotum which is being studied as a contributing factor of male infertility.
What it really just boils down to for me and lots of other educated moms who have chosen cloth for their kids is this: In the US, 27.4 billion disposable diapers go into the landfill each year - these diapers are estimated to take between 250 and 500 YEARS to decompose...but we really don't know for sure, do we? There were no disposables diapers around 250 years ago, which means that ALL the disposables that have ever been made are STILL breaking down....somewhere in a huge pile of trash.
Shame on you Seventh Generation.
In their new set of short shows called "Big Green Lies" - 7th Gen attempts to debunk typical green myths - most recently cloth vs. disposable. You can see the segment here. Way to try and over-simplify things, huh? Did they fail to realize that most of us wash our own diapers and that if you use additive free detergent you don't have to rinse the diapers over and over and over....and you certainly do not have to use bleach or even the clothes dryer for that matter if you like to use the clothesline. There are so many different factors that they completely ignore, yet being who they are and assuming the roll of "green authority" lots of people will just watch this and take it as the end all of answers.
Although their diapers are bleach free and lack many of the harmful chemicals that mainstream diapers contain, they didn't mention that when telling people to stop over-thinking the decision because it was 50/50. They also neglected to talk about how disposables can also lock in body heat, raising the temperature of the scrotum which is being studied as a contributing factor of male infertility.
What it really just boils down to for me and lots of other educated moms who have chosen cloth for their kids is this: In the US, 27.4 billion disposable diapers go into the landfill each year - these diapers are estimated to take between 250 and 500 YEARS to decompose...but we really don't know for sure, do we? There were no disposables diapers around 250 years ago, which means that ALL the disposables that have ever been made are STILL breaking down....somewhere in a huge pile of trash.
Shame on you Seventh Generation.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Happy Earth Day!
So we know opinions about the environment, carbon footprint and green living really run the gammet these days. More than in the past especially, since these thing are more popular subjects and more people are aware of the effects of their lifestyles, people are trying to make better decisions for the future of the planet.
Most of the moms I am friends with are generally more environmentally friendly than the average bear on some level, some more so than others. For example, a new mom friend that I have recently made since moving, is quite the *activist* - she is the person honking at the cars and shouting when she sees young children not in their car seat, she will stop a mom in public to show her how to adjust the her baby's car seat straps or her Ergo or a better/more effective way to tie her Moby. Just recently we got into a great "sandbox" discussion about cloth vs. disposable (we were literally in the sandbox!) Oddly enough, there was one other mom there who was an avid cloth diaperer (we suspected it....and she confirmed later in the conversation.) The other adults were a young lady and her partner - they had a 3 yr old boy still in diapers and an older lady, who we assumed was the grandma - she had a 3-ish yr old little girl who may have been potty trained and another on her back in a very nice sling.
My activist friend very smoothly struck up the conversation as a result of the young mom asking if her daughter was still in diapers and my friend telling her that she had just recently potty trained at around 2.5 yrs. The young mom was very impressed which prompted us to launch into our "Cloth diapered kids potty train earlier speech". I love the questions! "What do you do with the poop?" "Do you have to use bleach?" "Does it make your washing machine stinky?" "Do you really save a lot of money?"
I don't think we convinced her, necessarily, but made her think! The boyfriend ran when he heard the word "WASH" *heeheehee*, but she listened, and the older woman smiled and nodded. Our cloth diapering ally piped in a few times - overall a success!
Just a little food for thought for all you "closet" cloth lovers out there - and those who have yet to come into the light! Especially this being the week we all celebrate Mother Earth and communities try and clean her up a bit. Tell someone about cloth! Tell them how easy it is, how healthy it is for the child and if need be, tell them it really is the hip thing to do! Oh and as always.....Happy Diapering!
Most of the moms I am friends with are generally more environmentally friendly than the average bear on some level, some more so than others. For example, a new mom friend that I have recently made since moving, is quite the *activist* - she is the person honking at the cars and shouting when she sees young children not in their car seat, she will stop a mom in public to show her how to adjust the her baby's car seat straps or her Ergo or a better/more effective way to tie her Moby. Just recently we got into a great "sandbox" discussion about cloth vs. disposable (we were literally in the sandbox!) Oddly enough, there was one other mom there who was an avid cloth diaperer (we suspected it....and she confirmed later in the conversation.) The other adults were a young lady and her partner - they had a 3 yr old boy still in diapers and an older lady, who we assumed was the grandma - she had a 3-ish yr old little girl who may have been potty trained and another on her back in a very nice sling.
My activist friend very smoothly struck up the conversation as a result of the young mom asking if her daughter was still in diapers and my friend telling her that she had just recently potty trained at around 2.5 yrs. The young mom was very impressed which prompted us to launch into our "Cloth diapered kids potty train earlier speech". I love the questions! "What do you do with the poop?" "Do you have to use bleach?" "Does it make your washing machine stinky?" "Do you really save a lot of money?"
I don't think we convinced her, necessarily, but made her think! The boyfriend ran when he heard the word "WASH" *heeheehee*, but she listened, and the older woman smiled and nodded. Our cloth diapering ally piped in a few times - overall a success!
Just a little food for thought for all you "closet" cloth lovers out there - and those who have yet to come into the light! Especially this being the week we all celebrate Mother Earth and communities try and clean her up a bit. Tell someone about cloth! Tell them how easy it is, how healthy it is for the child and if need be, tell them it really is the hip thing to do! Oh and as always.....Happy Diapering!
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