Diapering dilemmas...

Hi all,

    Today, I want to address a most important decision which most of us have to make at some point in our life, if we choose to have children. What should we use for diapers? A few decades back, it was a no-brainer. Use cloth. Our ancestors have always done that. So, what is the big deal? 

   With the several options currently available and the wellbeing of the baby in our mind and our eco-consciousness, it is a difficult decision these days. Not long back, when my first baby was born, I was stubborn that I will not use disposable diapers and settled for cloth torn from old cotton saris. With a judicious mix of disposable (yes) nappy pads and cloth, I managed. But, it required a lot of energy and it affected the baby's and my sleep.

   Now, with my second child, my energy fails me and I don't want my child to wake up due to a wet nappy. I resorted to disposable diapers for a few days. Here I have to mention that it was not a conscious decision from my part. It so happened that we were provided with a few packs of disposable diapers in the hospital and we continued to use them. (I remember how my first baby was wrapped in a cloth and given us, but my second baby was wrapped in a disposable wrap and handed. It is sad to note that hospitals do not think twice about generating bio-medical waste). After about a month, my eco-consciousness got the better of me and I decided to go for cloth diapers. It serves the purpose well and appeases my conscience as well. In India, currently, we have BumGenius and Flip (of the same company marketed by smartbaby in India) imported from the US. They have all-in-ones which can be used upto an age of 3. They look bulky, but perform well. We also have our own Indian brands BumChums and SmartKid's Play Garden. I tried BumChums and Flip. They function as good as disposable diapers in keeping the baby's bottom dry. So, I appeal to all those parents with diaper-needing children to go for cloth diapers.

   Using cloth diapers when the baby sleeps and using cloth nappies when the baby is awake is sensible and manageable. Washing these is not a big issue. They are machine-washable in hot-water setting.By doing so, you will save a lot of money (as opposed to disposable diapers), the baby will be safe and lastly and most importantly, you will help save the planet.

    It is sad to note that most shops retailing baby products do not stock cloth diapers because they say that these are not fast-moving. I bought them online.

   In this context, I need to mention that with the availability of disposable diapers, increasing numbers of parents are following the western trend of diapering a baby upto 3 years. But, to be very frank, we have forgotten our basics. For my first child, I took up the toilet-training challenge when the baby was 2 months and succeeded (Thanks to my lamaze trainer who said that it is possible as early as two weeks). It was easy. But I missed out on the potty-training till the eighth month and it was slightly difficult. With the second baby, I potty-trained the baby by 3 months. And it is so convenient. I believe now that with regards to toilet-training, the earlier the better and easier. Just imagine the amount of bio-medical waste we shall avoid generating (or) the amount of electric energy we would be saving in washing cloth diapers by this simple effort! Initially, it requires a lot of energy, though. But that energy would be well-spent.

  

   So, please please please reduce waste and conserve energy by toilet-training your baby early and by using cloth diapers. It serves our baby (yes, disposable diapers are not good for the baby) and serves our environment.

Have a great day and do consider cloth-diapering!