Children inspire a series of discussions, sometime debates, and OK, face it, occasionally heated arguments between the most loyal and loving life partners. First comes the decision whether you are both mentally, physically and financially capable of the enormous responsibilities of parenting a child for at least 18 years. Then comes the debate of how many can you provide for, and whether to announce to anxious grandparents-to-be that you have started “trying”. The joyous absence of ever-faithful Aunt Flow leaves requires a run to the library to check out every baby naming book ever written and you and your partner navigate the potential relation-ending decision of whether to name your sweet, soon-to-be-born baby girl after Recently Departed Dear Old Great Granny Ester or after the cute blond chick, Izze, from Grey’s.

Bamboo AIO Diaper

Luckily, some decisions are easy… like whether to use reusable diapers or single use diapers. No brainer, right? Disposable diapers are easier. Or are they (Velcro seems pretty easy)? Disposable diapers leak less. Or do they (Hemp seems pretty absorbent)? Disposable diapers use less water (But does that outweigh the environmental impact of human waste wrapped in plastic and sitting in a landfill for 500 years)? The Great Diaper debate has been waged since Johnson and Johnson introduced the first disposable diaper into the US in 1949. Recently, the Environment Agency in the UK published an Updated LifeCycle Report, confirming that the ability to line dry cloth diapers, wash at reasonable water temperatures and reuse the same set of cloth diapers on more than one child made cloth diapers the more environmentally-responsible choice.

Luckily for today’s parents, cloth diapering has evolved from the first mass produced cloth diapers in 1887. Modern cloth diapers are easy to use, can be laundered at home, have a high resale value on auction sites such as Ebay and Craig’s List, and are available in a variety of styles and fabrics to fit every family’s fashion sense and finances.

  Continue reading Cloth Diapering Basics- A Detailed Crash Course