cloth diapers

Originally, “diaper” was referred to the type of material rather than the usage. Linen was the original diaper cloth. Shakespeare wrote “"Another bear the ewer, the third a diaper" in The Taming of the Shrew. In US, diapers are often referred to as "pampers" from the popular brand.

Diapers are made with absorbent layers of disposable materials, terry toweling fabric or cloth. The choice to use either disposable diapers or cloth is controversial. Most attribute health, convenience emphasized by the makers of commercial diapers whereas the cloth diapers are cheaper and have less impact on the environment.

Cloth diapers are reusable, place less stress on landfills and are washable. Children wearing cloth diapers tend to get toilet trained earlier, since the cloth retains moisture, permitting the child to feel when it is dirty and wet causing them to associate the feeling with elimination. Eco friendly and alternative materials, which are grown without any use of pesticides, such as unbleached hemp and organic cotton are also used in some niche market diapers.

In recent years, cloth diapers have become more user friendly, with Velcro or snaps and pre-formed. The pocket or stuffable diapers are also getting popular. These diapers come with an outer shell sewn on three sides to a stay-dry liner. In many cities, there are cloth-diapering services, which deliver clean diapers and pick up soiled ones.

Disposable diapers are normally made of a waterproof exterior which resembles cloth in appearance, an inside layer which is actually a moisture-wick and an inner core to absorb the moisture (mostly dried hydrogel). The cloth diaper market has been taken over by the disposable diapers.

Unintentional and intentional chemicals are laced up in disposable diapers to speed up the absorption process. Even though the system enables to keep the skin dry, there is a potential risk of skin irritation suffered by the baby.

The ease of simply throwing away a soiled diaper is the inherent convenient factor for the popularity of disposable diapers whereas the cloth diapers leads to the irritating chore of washing it.

One of the recent developments is a reusable, flushable hybrid system, which contains an outer pant – quite fashionable – and an inner part, which absorbs the moisture. The inner part can be flushed or disposed of easily and the outer part is reused after washing.

Baby diapers are most certainly big business in the United States and all other western countries. Disposable diapers are what most people use and there is a never-ending market for them. Most parents find them much more convenient than cloth diapers. You can clean up easily without having to launder the diaper.

Disposable diapers were first seen in stores in the 1940s, but they took a while to catch on. They were too expensive for most people and those who could afford them often had servants to do the baby care and laundering so they did not see the benefit. Also, the early disposable diapers were just in one size that did not always fit the baby well, so they leaked worse than cloth diapers.

In the 1950s, when disposable diapers started to be manufactured in different sizes, they became more popular with the rich. It was not until the 1970s that the price of disposable diapers (along with many other plastic-based products) dropped to the point where they became affordable for most people. People very quickly found how convenient they were and it was soon considered very old-fashioned and even unhygienic to use cloth diapers.

Disposable diapers have continued to improve every decade, becoming lighter weight, more absorbent and better fitting. Different styled diapers for boys and girls appeared, they were given cute designs, and diapers became more environmentally friendly due to customer demand. There are now several large manufacturers, all claiming to make the best disposable diaper for your baby.

In the late 1990s and 2000s there has been a swing back towards cloth diapers. This has come about for many reasons. One is the increasing interest in the environment. People are concerned at the way our garbage is increasing. They do not always think of the environmental cost of laundering cloth diapers, and the electricity, water and detergent that it uses.

Cloth diapers have changed a lot in the last 50 years. The cotton used these days is treated so that it stays much softer and is easier to wash than it ever used to be. They come in different colors now with cute patterns. Diaper pins have gotten more cute too, and many cloth nappies do not even need them, because they fasten with buttons or velcro.

Even with cloth diapers you do have a disposable section which is the liner. This means you do not have to deal with big mess on the diaper itself. Another advantage of cloth diapers is that children who wear them will usually toilet train earlier because they can feel the unpleasantness of being wet in a cloth diaper. On the other hand, a small baby in a cloth diaper is more likely to wake when it is wet for this same reason.

Cloth diapers are also less irritating to the skin for most babies, and as many babies these days develop skin problems like eczema, this can be important for parents in their choice of baby diapers.

The debate about whether to use cloth diapers over disposable diapers has raged for years. Those who swear by disposables claim their convenience trumps any drawbacks. Those who use cloth diapers have equally-strong opinions about their diaper choice.

My spouse and I, after having used both cloth diapers and disposables, decided to solely use the latter. But, we realized that cloth diapers offer many benefits that disposables lack. In our research, experience and through conversations with others, we learned some of the main reasons why some new parents choose to use cloth.

Reason #1: Cloth Diapers Cost Less

While estimates vary widely, many experts agree that from the moment of birth through the time when a child is becoming potty-trained, new parents can expect to spend over $2,000 on disposable diapers. With the added cost of baby formula, food and other necessities, $2,000 is a significant expense. On the other hand, an entire set of cloth diapers will likely cost under $100. Also the cloth type can be reused for any brothers and sisters who may be born later.

Reason #2: Cloth Diapers Are Better For Your Baby's Health

Some parents claim that cloth diapers help prevent your child from developing skin rashes because the cloth lacks the chemicals that are often found in name-brand disposables. Though information is limited, some studies suggest a link between the chemicals in disposables and sterility and cancer.

Reason #3: Cloth Diapers Are Environmentally-Conscious

Disposable diapers go from our babies' bottoms to our nation's landfills. It's estimated that American children use 18 billion disposables each year, adding 80 tons of plastic and 1.3 million tons of pulp wood to our landfills. Instead, cloth diapers go from our babies' bottoms to our washing machines before landing back under our babies' bottoms. In other words, they have little negative environmental impact.

Reason #4: Cloth Diapers Accelerate Potty-Training

Studies have shown that when children use cloth diapers, they often make the transition from diapers to potty-training more easily. There are a couple of reasons why this may be so. First, cloth diapers don't have the ability to soak up wetness and keep your child dry like disposables. So, when your child soils the cloth type, they are more likely to feel the sensation and want to learn how to avoid it.

Second, some research has shown that many children grow attached to their cloth diapers. They began to feel a level of responsibility for them, often trying to remove them when they feel the need to eliminate. This tendency continues to grow as the child ages and eventually encourages the transition to potty-training. Though some people doubt the validity of these reasons, additional research seem to support the findings of earlier studies.

Should You Use Cloth Diapers For Your Child?

Ultimately, your decision to use cloth will depend on how important some of the factors above are for you and your family. Some new parents are extremely concerned with their contributions to the environment. Others place a higher value on convenience. Still others focus on the difference in cost between cloth and the disposable alternative. I suggest trying both. That way, you'll know from experience which is the better choice for your child.

As you come to the crossroads of choosing which cloth diaper style is best for your baby, there's no need to look any further than fitted cloth diapers. These diapers are the perfect blend of convenience and cost-effectiveness for your baby.

Everything Stays Where It Belongs

When it comes to what Baby deposits in the diaper, I think we all can agree that it's best if it stays in the diaper. After all, no one wants to feel that oh-so-lovely ooze that can come from the south end of a sweet little baby.

With prefold cloth diapers and contour diapers, there's nothing to keep the mess from coming out around the legs. You can pin and Snappi the diapers as tight as you'd like, but there's still a distinct possibility for escaping poo.

If you choose fitted cloth diapers, however, the elastic at the leg holes keeps everything right where it belongs - in the diaper and off of your hands and Baby's clothes. The fastenings at the waist also stop the upward creep that can happen with a particularly nasty diaper.

You Can Easily Stay All-Natural

Many parents turn to cloth baby diapers out of a desire to live a more natural lifestyle with their child. However, many cloth diaper covers are anything but natural.

Most pocket diapers and all-in-one cloth diapers have a waterproofing layer made from a laminated fabric like PUL. PUL is polyester sprayed with a chemical to make it watertight. Obviously, not exactly natural.

With fitted cloth diapers, you can select your cloth diaper cover separate from your fitted cloth diaper. This allows you to use a diaper cover made of a natural fiber, such as wool, to waterproof your cloth diaper system and keep your baby (and his clothes) naturally dry.

Effortless Airing of That Precious Bum

Even with the most tender of care, Baby's bottom may get a bit rashy from time to time. This can happen because of an illness, an irritant in a new detergent, or even the heat of summer. None of it, however, is comfortable for Baby.

One of the best ways to clear up a nasty case of diaper rash is one of the most basic - air. However, it can be difficult to air out a baby's bum without creating a series of puddles throughout your home.

With a fitted cloth baby diaper, you can put just the diaper on without a cover and allow air to circulate to Baby's bottom. While not waterproof, this system will keep the worst of the puddles at bay. With frequent diaper changing, you can keep everything dry and clear up that diaper rash that is so plaguing your baby.

So while it may seem that cloth diapering is difficult, there are many benefits to using fitted diapers. When you weigh what's most important to your family, it's highly likely that fitted cloth diapers are in your family's future.

If you’re a new parent, you’ve probably heard your grandparents telling you how lucky you are and singing the praises of disposable diapers. Way back then, the only option was cloth diapers, which require a ton of laundry work. See, less than thirty years ago, disposable diapers were considered a luxury. Nowadays, everyone uses cloth diapers and people that use cloth diapers for their babies are considered to be odd. There are several reasons that modern parents might want to use cloth diapers instead of disposables, and, believe it or not, cloth diapers are starting to make a bit of a comeback.

The main reason that a parent may choose to start using cloth diapers instead of the name brand disposables is the cost. Cloth diapers are much cheaper than disposables, even if the parents are paying a diaper service to haul away the used diapers and bring clean ones each week. Disposable diapers can easily cost well over one hundred dollars per month or more, and you’ll be paying this expense every month for around two years. Many parents are starting to forgo the convenience of disposables to save this extra money.

There are also environmental issues to consider. Disposable diapers are made out of plastic and a pad of absorbent cotton. Plastic does not biodegrade well at all, which means that our landfills are filled with diapers that aren’t going away anytime soon. Most people believe that the convenience offered by disposable diapers outweighs this fact. They might not consciously make this choice, but their actions speak for themselves. Environmentalists believe that those who use cloth diapers are taking one small step which goes a long way to protect and preserve the Earth for future generations.

Those whiny parents and grandparents might still have a few bones to pick with today’s parents who decide on using cloth diapers, because the today’s cloth diapers are much different from those that they were using on their own kids and grandkids several decades ago. They are used to awkward folding and having to use safety pins to fasten the diaper to the baby. Modern cloth diapers are pre-cut and shaped to cover the baby’s backside quickly and easily. They also have Velcro fasteners or snaps to make it easier to secure. One other added feature is that many cloth diapers now come with a flushable, biodegradable paper lining hold in solid waste so you can easily flush it down the toilet. So no more stinky diapers sitting around waiting for trash pickup day.

Cloth diapers are currently used by only a very small percentage of parents, but they are still out there and available. Any parent concerned with the cost or environmental impact of disposable diapers should seriously consider going with cloth.