raising godzillas

Cloth Diapers: a Reflection

It's been a long time- about 7 1/2 years- since I had a kid in diapers, so you might not think  have too much reason to reflect on that aspect of my life. But I do from time to time, as the decision is still with me.
Cloth diapering was a decision I made long before having kids, and I never considered disposable. I had been wearing cloth pads for years before I had my first kid, so along with other considerations. I knew cloth felt nicer than paper.
When my oldest son was a few days old, my father in law called and wanted to hire a baby nurse for us. My husband (rightly) turned him down but ignored my frantic "Tell him we'd like diaper service instead!!" . Next time round, I bypassed my husband's sense of pride and let my FIL know myself that we'd LOVE diaper service. He got us six months worth following the birth of our second and third children, which was a boon in those post partum months.
After that, we washed our own diapers, and I never found it onerous. I bought organic diapers online from a mama with her own business. Several types of good there!
While my oldest, now 15, was tiny I quickly figured out cloth diapers were not just good for diapering, but for cleaning up spills. It was at that point that we stopped buying paper towels- and I have not bought a roll since. The picture at the top there was taken this week. I don't just still have the knowledge that I made an ecologically sound choice; I'm still wiping up spills with the same diapers I used on my babies.
Cloth vs disposable is usually treated like any other parenting decision- sacrosanct. I have come to a point where I don't agree with this. Putting (literal) tons of non biodegradable waste into our landfills isn't a deeply personal decision, like feeding or sleeping methods. It affects every single person on Earth. We should treat is as the ecological decision it it.

posted by gojirama @ 1:15 PM