Reusable vs Disposable Diaperss

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:

1. Environmentally friendly
2. They've come a long way since my fourteen year old was first born
3. Some which come with liners can be composted 
4. Better for baby (no chemicals)
5. SOME are cost effective
6. Cute patterns 
7. 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

1. Cleaning poop and pee off of cloth.
2. The ones with liners are more expensive than disposable.
3. I am pretty sure no one else will want to help with this kind of diaper change. 
4. More work.
5. More work.
6. Going insane and being grouchy because I am working more
7. Did I mention the cleaning of poop and pee? 

Pros to using disposable diapers

1. So easy! 
2. No cleaning poop or peed diapers - just toss them out. 
3. No going insane. 
4. Hubby and kids can help change diapers.

Cons to using disposable diapers

1. 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! 
2. Not as healthy for baby.
3. Not as cute as the cloth 
4. 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... 

Pet Peeve

OMGosh! I didn't realize how much of a tree hugger I've become until today.

So, side story: My wonderful husband bought me a really expensive and fancy Shark iron that I loved for the three entire weeks that it worked! Poof - out of the blue the fancy electrical control panel started blinking oddly and then the iron refused to heat up. I tried everything including dancing around seductively - nope still cold! I went to the Shark website and tried all of the two troubleshooting ideas!!! I wrote to customer service and aside from the automated "Thank you for emailing Shark," I've yet to receive another contact from this wonderful company.

Which brings me to today; I have about five loads of clothes that need ironing and about five more that I refuse to wash and allow to pile up. I decided to pack up the gang and head to Target to get a "normal" iron. After reading through all of the fancy descriptions "Steam Advantage, Auto off, Anti-slip, Comfort Grip, 360 degree pivot cord, etc." I decided on a regular old Black & Decker that heats up and steams! Growing up my mom had her Proctor & Silex for two decades, so I figured the simpler the better. Unless I am able to afford Rosie from the Jetson's I am not splurging on anymore fancy appliances.

Anyway, back to my pet peeve. So, while checking out I realized that I left my reusable grocery bags in the van. The cashier had already put my iron in the plastic bag when I said "It's okay, just give me the receipt I don't need the bag." Well, instead of just using the plastic bag for the next customer, she just grabbed it (along with five other bags that were attached to it) and threw them all in the trash!!! My jaw dropped and I said "Actually I will take the bag and the five other's you threw out, so that I may recycle them and protect the earth," and then her jaw dropped as she mumbled what sounded like an absurd apology with a roll of the eyes!