Okay, so most of you know how conscience I am of my carbon footprint and how anal I can be about recycling and reusing. If you don't know, my husband would be more than happy to tell you how annoying I can get, especially if he accidentally throws a recyclable item in the regular trash.
So, with this in mind I have been toying with the idea of using cloth / reusable diapers. However, I am also a realist and know the limits to my patience, especially when it comes to poop and pee - oh and lack of sleep. I tried using cloth diapers with my first child and that lasted two weeks. Actually, that lasted about two days b/c in the two weeks that I tried, I cheated BIG TIME. I remember being desperate and riping into this diaper cake decoration that someone gave me at my baby shower (insert sheepish smile). I had it in the room b/c it looked cute, but at 2 AM desperation kicked in and cuteness went out the window. Also, during the "two weeks," my mom was visiting and helping me out. Not to mention I only had one baby to care for and all the time in the world. I now will have 4 kids, very little time, and no mommy to help (unless she surprises me).
Pros to using reusable diapers:
- Environmentally friendly
- They've come a long way since my fourteen year old was first born
- Some which come with liners can be composted
- Better for baby (no chemicals)
- SOME are cost effective
- Cute patterns
- I can gain some bragging rights and feel a bit superior to those "disposable-diaper-moms." Hahahaha... dang real I will! If I am cleaning poop and pee off of cloth while suffering of sleep deprivation, I will brag and will feel superior!
Cons to using reusable diapers
- Cleaning poop and pee off of cloth.
- The ones with liners are more expensive than disposable.
- I am pretty sure no one else will want to help with this kind of diaper change.
- More work.
- More work.
- Going insane and being grouchy because I am working more
- Did I mention the cleaning of poop and pee?
Pros to using disposable diapers
- So easy!
- No cleaning poop or peed diapers - just toss them out.
- No going insane.
- Hubby and kids can help change diapers.
Cons to using disposable diapers
- Horrible for the environment. By age three, baby will use over 6,000 diapers and it will take anywhere from 350 to 500 years to decompose!
- Not as healthy for baby.
- Not as cute as the cloth
- No bragging rights :(
Now with all this being weighed out, I have NO idea which way I am going. Also, my goodness, there are so many reusable diapers to choose from! I don't know where to begin or how some of them even work! I have tons of research to do.
So the question is will mommy guilt prevail or will sleep deprivation win? I think that will be the final deciding factor...
