Mama has something to say, yo

... and it's about diapers.

Really, what's the deal? I'm mean the whole cloth vs. disposables debate.

When we had Mela, I read a bit about it and was totally scared off evil disposables because of the landfill impact and health stuff. But I knew I definitely didn't want to wash cloth diapers ... I could barely keep up with changing her, let alone run up and down the stairs to swish diapers in a toilet.

So I decided we'd try a local diaper delivery service (they bring clean ones and take away dirty ones - brilliant!). Friends of ours (hint: starts with a Ma and ends with an isa) were going to try it first with their little one, so I'd have the benefit of their experience.

Fast forward a couple months and they still hadn't tried it and I felt no burning rush to look into it myself. We were using Seventh Generation disposables and my conscience was soothed by the fact that they were made without chlorine bleach and here in Toronto, can be composted.

I'd also just read that apparently, diaper services aren't any more environmentally friendly than disposables, so really it was all good.

Over time though, we got a couple bad batches of 7th G. diapers (had rock-hard lumps!) and "temporarily" switched to a mainstream brand. They were so nice and absorbent and fit so well ... I forgot all about the toxic chemicals leaching into our streams and rivers (they really are that absorbent!).

Then Our Man Nate was born and times were too busy to think of anything related to diapering (other than how to buy more and wrap them around our children).

But lately I've had this nagging feeling that I read something once about disposables being especially bad for boys, with all their exposed gear. I ignored the thought until the other day, when I saw some diapers on sale at my local bulk store and thought I'd do some research (N loves research!).

So what's the deal? In terms of health, it looks like there's some evidence that disposable diapers release toxins (e.g. VOCs) that cause bad things to happen, and that mice exposed to most brands suffer irritated airways, similiar to asthma.

Funny how moms will lose their minds if a baby bottle has even a trace amount of BPA but will then open a formula tin lined with the stuff and wrap their baby's bottom in a disposable diaper.

I'm just saying.

Oh and for boys, it looks like there is a link between infertility and diapers that have a non-breathable plastic liner (either disposable or cloth).

This is bad (I want grandchildren).

In terms of environment, it's complicated. Basically, both cloth and disposable have an impact. Some say they come out almost even in the end (cradle to grave) but those people might actually be getting their pockets stuffed from big, bad corporations so we can't trust them. What's clear is that cloth is better if you do things like hang them on the line but stop making me laugh (like that's gonna happen!).

There seems to be conflicting info, too, about Toronto's Green Bin program and what happens to the disposable diapers that go in the bin. I think most people think that they're completely composted (I used to, anyway).

To get the real scoop, I emailed the City and asked. They wrote back and said,

Through various methods the plastic lining on the diaper is separated from the fibre lining on the inside. This can be done through a raking, tromel or screening system. The plastic lining is land filled while the fibre side is processed and eventually becomes compost.

Which means, half the diaper goes to land-fill.

Now I'm no environmentalist (support Inconvenient Truth but love paper towels) but really, that seems bad. We go through like, a billion diapers a day here.

The perfect solution seems to be the diapers I saw the other day: they're like a cloth/disposable hybrid. They have a cloth outside, a breathable plastic liner (which means no infertility for Nate - yay!) and an absorbent pad inside that you toss after each diaper change. The pad isn't evil because it can either be flushed (I don't think our toilet can handle it) or tossed and it breaks down completely in 50-150 days (instead of 500 years).

So it's like the convenience of a disposable but without the poison or the mountains of garbage.

So I got a starter pack and it terms of functionality, they've been great so far, though we haven't given them the ultimate test (i.e. blowout). I think we're going to try switching to using these most of the time now.

The kicker though?

It actually costs more (about $.50) for the liners than for good ole' Huggies (about $0.33 each). I understand why (volume!) but seems so weird that using cloth-ish diapers would hurt more financially in the long run.

But really, can you put a price on fertility?

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Post note: If you want more info, here's a good article that summarizes all the bad stuff. Here is probably the best article for balance.

Post, post note: If you are a mom reading this and you use disposables, this in no way suggests *you* should do anything differently. My mom's law applies here: "You do what you do to get through and you don't feel guilty about it."

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Say click:

The gDiapers in effect: Really, you're making me do tummy time right now?! I HATE this!
Mela models the pockets in her Dora vest:
Nathan eyeballs a broccoli: