The Diaper Dilemma

From the moment your baby is born he or she, in addition to all your caresses and hugs, will have one thing against their skin every day, all day, for the next two to four years.

A diaper.

We all know diapers are just part of having a baby. Many new parents grab a package of Huggies or Pampers and are set to go. But is it really that easy?

If a diaper is going to be against your baby's skin for so much time, don't you want to make sure that it's the best diaper it can be?

But what makes a great diaper?

Most parents will tell you leaks are the biggest factor in choosing a diaper. If the diaper leaks, especially with a new baby, you lose the outfit, the blanket and possibly even the sheet on the bed or your own outfit. Luvs brand diapers even advertises “premium leak protection for less”.

Is there more to a great diaper than just whether it leaks? Absolutely!

Today there is an increasing number of diaper brands on the market, it’s not just disposable or cloth anymore. A baby goes through an average of nearly 3,000 diapers in the first year of life. So how do you make sure you are using the best diapers for your new bundle?

Here are some factors to consider when choosing the disposable diaper that's right for you and your little one.

Environmental: Most brands of disposable diapers also contain plastics in the form of polyethylene and polypropylene (which don't break down), wood pulp (which depletes up to 250,000 trees a year), AGM (a gelling substance to prevent leaks), petrolatum and elastics. Which means the average disposable diaper will take 500 years to bread down in a landfill.

Health: The average disposable diaper contains bleached paper pulp (so it looks pretty and white), stearyl alcohol, cellulose tissue, elastic, and perfume. These toxins and perfumes have been linked to asthma. www.diapernet.org/001asthma.htm

Convenience: The convenience in disposables is that they are just that. Disposable. You take one off and throw it away, you put a new one on. Cloth diapers take a bit more work, but not as much as you think. Take one off, bag it for laundry, put a new one on and you're done. Until laundry time. Depending on how great your laundry machines are you may want to consider a diaper service. They didn't disappear with the invention of the disposable diaper and are a great help.

Cost: You can clip coupons, or get them straight from Pampers or Huggies website. There are 'off-brand' diapers out there for the cost-conscious parents as well.

Here are some factors when choosing the cloth diaper that’s right for you and your little one:

Convenience: Some cloth diapers come with a removable liner than you can actually flush down the toilet, leaving less mess and it’s safer for the environment.

Environmental: Although you aren’t contributing to landfills, you need to factor in the extra water and electricity you’ll use in cleaning the cloth diapers.

Health: Cloth diapers don’t contain any more chemicals than you put in them (via perfumes in your detergent or dryer sheets) if you buy organic.

Cost: Once you purchase the initial cloth diapers, you won’t have to keep buying them as with disposables, but you will need to factor in the extra cost in washing and drying then regularly.

A third alternative to consider are diapers like g-Diapers that are a combination of disposable and cloth. This diaper is made up of a cotton ‘pants’ that have a liner in them which is not only disposable, but you can flush it down your toilet, leaving nothing to throw away.

Favorite brands of Great diapers:

Earth’s Best Diapers – organic, made from sustainable resources, no plastic, elastic or chemicals

Nature Babycare – organic, made from sustainable resources, bio-degradable

g-Diapers- organic cotton pants, flushable liner, nothing for the landfills

Brands of Good Diapers we like:

Huggies Natural – organic cotton, hypoallergenic, fragrance free

Finding Your Flock

I stumbled upon a very good question on Mamapedia that I think every Mom and Mom-to-be can relate to at one time or another. "Feeling blah...need advice on daily life." This question was posted by a Mama who found herself lost in Motherhood, feeling isolated. Though she loves being a Mom, she is wondering when she forgot how to be more than Mom.

Whether you move to a new town where your family is possibly states away, you are the first of your girlfriends to marry and start a family, or you get so caught up in being a new parent that you loose touch with your friends, many Moms find themselves feeling lost in being Mom.

Whatever the reason the answer is the same. Behold the Moms Group! Meetup.com is a fabulous place to find a group of Moms who are also going through the same feelings of isolation and understand where you're coming from.

I was a nanny for years before becoming a mother. When I married and had my daughter many of my friends were nannies as well and had since moved to different states. I needed to find new friends, Mama friends that I could relate to at this new stage in my life. I discovered a group that caught my attention called Acton Moms Against Boredom that had been started by a Mom just like me; a stay-at-home Mama feeling isolated. She started the group and it soon grew over 30 Mamas strong.

When my husband and I prepared to move to Los Angeles I went on Meetup.com and found a Moms group beforehand in the L.A. area. L.A. M.I.L.K.s-Mothers I'd Like To Know presented me with a group of Moms just like me, many of them transplants to the area as well. What I discovered in joining this group was wonderful Mamas that made me feel like I was moving toward friends instead of away from them all. I was able to ask advice on everything from teething to where to look for an apartment before I ever met these amazing Mamas face to face.

If you are feeling isolated Mama, whatever the reason, finding the right Moms group can save you from feeling lost in Motherhood. If there is no group in your area, start your own! There are Mamas all around just like you who need other Mamas to talk to, ask advice or just get out of the house with.