The "D" Word...Part Deux

I warned you I talk about diapers a lot. So here is the conclusion of my journey. And by "conclusion" I mean, "still trying to figure it out on a daily basis." I stuck to the initial four-week commitment to the diaper service, but I gave myself a break. If we were leaving the house or putting Phoebe to bed for the night she got a paper diaper (Seventh Generation or Earth's Best). We are at a point where Phoebe sleeps in huge chunks during the night, so I don't feel at all wasteful in the night-time hours. I cancelled the diaper service...and am doing some cloth on my own!! It is not nearly as bad as I thought, but it's really easy to get lazy. If we have a day at home and everyone is in a good mood (mainly me) we do the cloth. We have a special bin for all diaper related dirtiness and it gets washed once a week. My friend Stephnie gave me some Bumkins (diapers and cover all in one) and I LOVE them! The only issue is that they are about $15 a piece, so I don't have as many as I would like. So here is your chance to forward my blog to all those execs you know at Bumkins so I can get some product-placement swag. Your product is awesome, Bumkins!! Bumkins are the best ever!! Bumkins, Bumkins, Bumkins!! We are also a big fan of gDiapers. If you have never heard of them, they are a hybrid...a cloth cover with a disposable insert. These were actually pretty difficult when Phoebe was tiny. Her poop would get all over the place and I would have to wash the whole thing every time she went. But now that she is older, fatter, and poops much less often, I can pretty much determine the part of the day she will be "number two-ing" and keep her in a paper diaper until I know we are in the clear. And since she is chunkier the gDiapers are a much snugger fit and really do the job. They are also adorable!

To be totally honest, as I read this I realize I am not as good as I could be with the cloth diapers. When you are as tired as we all are, sometimes putting in the extra effort is that straw that breaks your back. But babies are so innocent and pure, and I hate to think that anything about this beautiful little being is having a negative effect on the world. So maybe it will help, every time you place a diaper in the trash, to think about it....to truly consider it. Think about where it is going, and how long it will be there, and if it really worth the extra time and energy that a cloth diaper takes. If your answer is "yes," then you can take small, teeny, bitty steps in the right direction. And if your answer is "no," then, I hear you sister. You probably need a good night's sleep. But promise me you will ask yourself again in the morning!

totally depressing environmental fact:

Introduced just over 25 years ago, the ugly truth about our plastic bag addiction is that society's consumption rate is now estimated at well over 500,000,000,000 (that's 500 billion) plastic bags annually, or almost 1 million per minute.