Do Not Buy Disposable Diapers

The first 2 plus years of a child\'s life are lived in diapers. Raising a baby has many wonderful rewards and some challenges. As parents we sometimes are just concerned with finding convenient ways to be a great parent.

The choice of diaper type that we as parents make can have a positive or negative influence on our child\'s health, their comfort, and the health of the world that we live in. And there is a great deal of money to be saved when people choose cloth diapers over disposable-style diapers.

Here are 7 Reasons to Choose Cloth Diapers over Disposable Diapers

1. Healthier for baby - disposable diapers are made with the super absorbent chemical, sodium polyacrylate, which absorbs and holds fluids in the diaper. This chemical has been linked to toxic shock syndrome. Another chemical concern is Dioxin. Traces of the carcinogen Dioxin have been found in disposable diapers. Dioxin causes liver disease, immune system suppression and genetic damage. It is a by-product of the paper-bleaching process used in the making of this type of diaper.

2. Less chance of diaper rash. When your baby wears disposable diapers parents can be fooled into thinking that their baby is dry since the diapers are so absorbent. This often means that the baby is changed less than babies that are using cloth-type diapers. We use cloth diapers and find that they start to feel damp after approximately 4 hours. So the bottom line is that with cloth diapers your baby will be changed more often which means less chance of diaper rash. The material used in disposables is not very breathable versus cloth diapers which are made with breathable cotton. The hotter the baby\'s covered area the easier it is for bacteria growth - which results in diaper rash.

3. More comfortable for baby. We all know how comfortable cotton is to wear. Layers of cotton are what make up cloth diapers - and this means that it feels better against your baby\'s skin, they will be cooler than their disposable counterparts (especially in the middle of the Summer).

4. Save money - raising a baby is expensive and we all want to save money when we can. There have been numerous studies that compare the costs of purchasing disposables versus the cost of purchasing and washing cloth baby diapers at home. The results of the studies vary but they all agree that the cost of cloth, home laundered diapers, is considerably lower than buying disposables. Consider that over a 2 1/2 year period where there will be approximately 7,500 diaper changes, the savings of cloth over disposables is in the range of $1,000 to $2,000. This savings is even greater when you consider that the same diaper can be used for another baby. In our case - in Holden\'s first year we have saved over $800 by using cloth. Think of what you could do with the SAVINGS you earned from buying and laundering your own diapers!

5. Better for the environment - it is probably obvious that cloth diapers are better for the environment since they are reusable. Here are some more issues to consider. A good quality cloth diaper can be laundered at least 100 times. If you are having more than one baby they can be used for your second and third child. It does take energy to launder the baby diaper, but the energy used is a small fraction of what a disposable diaper does to the environment. It is estimated that a disposable will take 400 to 500 years to decompose in our landfills. The companies that make today\'s disposables will use over 1 million metric tons of wood pulp and 75,000 metric tons of plastic each year. What a cost to our environment.

6. As easy to change as disposables. There is no argument it is easy to change a baby if you are using disposables. But today`s cloth diapers are as easy to use as the disposable type. This is especially true for the cloth diapers that have a built in outer liner. All cloth diapers nowadays use a snap closure or a Velcro-type closure to ensure a snug, good fit for your baby.

7. Diaper and outer cover built together. If you are looking for convenience in a cloth diaper look for ones that are called all-in-one diapers. This means that the diaper and the outer waterproof cover are built into one item. This makes for quick changes of your baby.

BabyTravelPlanet is in Canada and they sell Kushies Cloth Diapers to customers in Canada. Visit their site to get their no cost ebook and checklist Baby Travel Advise and Tips that is full of things to consider when travelling with a baby.