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Thursday, September 29, 2011

Unexpected Benefit of Cloth Diapers

Dear Delilah,

Lately, you have been trying to put diapers on everything. I mean everything! Not just dolls and stuffed animals, but cell phones, remote controls, the camera, snack cups, water bottles, books, anything you can get your hands on. I think if the cats would hold still for it, you'd try to diaper them too.

Delilah chooses Knickernappies for her snack cup. :)
I love your new found love for diapering. It keeps your attention for longer than many of your toys, it's safe and imaginative play, it promotes fine motor development and improves finger dexterity, and it gives you the opportunity to problem solve.

It occurred to me that I might not be so supportive of this hobby if we used disposables. I'd be worried you would rip one, or spill water on it, or render it unusable in some other way. With cloth diapers, you can play all you want, and there's no waste!

Did I really write this to spin diaper play as an unforeseen benefit of cloth diapers? Nah, I just wanted to post that adorable photo of you. :)

Love,

Mama

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Monday, September 26, 2011

Bye-Bye Baby Mullet!

Dear Delilah,

There has been so much excitement over these past few weeks that I want to share with you. We are getting settled into our new home, your father and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary, and you enjoyed your second Oktoberfest Maple Leaf Parade. On top of all that, last night, you got your first hair cut!

Your father has wanted to cut your hair for months now, but I have resisted. Yes, you had what we affectionately referred to as a "baby mullet", and yes, one side of your hair in the back was far longer than the other, but I just couldn't bring myself to want to cut off those precious little locks. It took you so long to grow any hair at all, maybe part of me was afraid that it would stop growing altogether if we cut it! And wouldn't it be something if after naming you Delilah, your own strength resided in those wild wayward wisps? Still, it got to the point where even I had to admit that the look you were sporting was getting a bit silly. When daddy asked me last night if we could cut your hair at bath time last night, I gave in.


Just looking at that photo is bringing on the tears again! Those random long locks may have been silly, but they were yours! Alas, it is only hair, and as someone who has gone from very long to very short several times, I do know that it grows back.


Your father took the first few snips, probably because he thought I would chicken out if it were left up to me. He snipped off those long locks and saved them, saying he has "a plan" for how to commemorate your baby mullet. After your bath was done, it was my job to do the best I could to straighten it up a bit. I am a far cry from a professional, but I think I managed to get it reasonably straight and even.


As for the process, you didn't mind it a bit. In fact, I'm not sure you even realized what was happening! You had developed a habit of twirling your longest lock of hair, on the left side of your head, but so far, you don't seem to miss it. You've leaned your head back and brushed your new hair line against your neck a few times, but don't seem bothered by the change. You have many a hair cut ahead of you, but hopefully that will be both your first and last mullet!

Love,

Mama

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Monday, September 12, 2011

Cloth and Disposable Diapers: How do they stack up against each other?

With all of the chaos surrounding our move, Nadia's offer to write a guest post couldn't have come at a better time! Take a look at her balanced comparison between cloth and disposable diapers!

If you’re a soon-to-be mother, you’re likely readying yourself for your newborn by stockpiling on the supplies you’ll need as soon as your baby comes into the world. Diapers would rank chief among those baby supplies. If you get informed about the nuances of certain types of baby diapers (it seems crazy, but it definitely matters!), you’re in a position to make a key choice about a very critical aspect of your baby’s first few years. As you may know, most parents choose either cloth or disposable diapers, with strong arguments to be offered on either side. I’d like to offer a comparison of both diapers based on three criteria—cost, utility and impact—so you can make an informed decision yourself!

Cost

You’ll first need to take a look at the cost of putting your baby in either type of diaper. You can choose to look at the cost from a long-term or short-term perspective. In the short-term, there’s no way around the fact that cloth diapers will set you back a pretty penny. Experts recommend purchasing around 30 cloth diapers for your baby’s first year, and the prices on that number of cloth diapers (and wipes) can exceed $150.00 upfront. An economy pack of around 150 disposable diapers on the other hand would cost you about $35.00. It’s important to keep in mind that could be changing diapers at least a dozen times a day for the first few months, so those 150 disposable diapers would disappear pretty quickly.

In the long-run, the cost of disposal diaper would far exceed the cost of cloth diapers for one major reason: reusability. $35.00 for a huge pack of disposable diapers doesn’t sound like much, but those costs add up as the weeks drag on and your baby continues to do what babies do. With cloth diapers, all you need to do is judiciously rinse the diaper and toss it in the wash to reuse again and again. Some people estimate the utility costs in multiple washes add a significant price to cloth diapers, but cloth diapers are still a much cheaper option in the long run after factoring this in.

Utility

There’s certainly an appeal to the disposable diaper’s change-and-go utility. It’s tempting to just throw away diapers and not worry about washing them, much less reuse them.  They’re also better at absorbing your baby’s mess than are the cloth diapers. But there’s the disposable diaper’s absorbability is a double edged sword: while on the whole they’re better at absorbing your baby’s mess, they do so partly because of the chemicals added to them. However these chemicals can also cause your baby to experience frequent bouts of irritating dryness and rashes (diaper rash) could keep your baby in a constant ill-temper.

Cloth diapers are as useful as you let them be. If you buy enough cloth diapers in bulk and you’re on top of washing them, you’ll never be wanting for a fresh diaper. While the average cloth diapers might not be particularly great at absorbing huge messes from your baby, you can certainly special order bulkier diapers to accommodate your baby’s needs. And since cloth diapers aren’t soaked in chemicals, your baby will experience far fewer rashes.

Environmental Impact

You may have attended a baby shower where the mom-to-be gets nothing but disposable diapers.  And this is for good reason: you’ll be changing your baby’s diapers at least a dozen times a day regularly. Take a moment to consider how many mothers are using and throwing away disposable diapers, at least a dozen a day, piling them in the trash. The scale of the daily waste caused by disposable diapers is pretty astounding.

While cloth diapers are admittedly more work, I’d argue that they’re the smarter choice for your baby, your pocketbook, and the environment. With cloth diapers you want be dedicating entire trash bags of your family’s garbage to diapers. You can reuse cloth diapers endlessly, and even pass them down to other children. Disposable diapers are certainly an easy choice, but cloth diapers seem to be the smarter one. 


Author Bio:
This is a guest post by Nadia Jones who blogs at online college about education, college, student, teacher, money saving, movie related topics. You can reach her at nadia.jones5 @ gmail.com.


For more information about cloth diapering, please check out my Cloth Diaper Series!

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