Six reasons I hate disposable diapers (not the ones you'd think!)

Plastic peacocks to go with plastic diapers?

I'm sure you've heard all the environmental reasons not to use disposable diapers & wipes. Not degrading in landfills for a century, all the water, chemicals & trees that go into making them, etc, etc, etc. But I have a few more reasons to dislike sposies now, after a recent experience with them.

This past week we went up to the Okanagan to visit Oma & Opa for six days. Normally we go for shorter visits, & use cloth diapers, washing them when we get home. But this was too long to go between washes, & I didn't relish the thought of doing diaper laundry there with different machines & hard water, so we took disposables. I admit, I was sort of looking forward to the convenience factor on our holidays, but I was sadly disappointed. Here's why:

1. Poosplosion! Cloth diapers have sturdier elastic so they  fit better. We had poo leaks every day with disposables--one time so bad we had to just toss the baby in the tub. The one or two extra outfits every day that required washing because of this probably equal the diaper laundry with cloth diapers.
2. Escape artist. Velcro tabs are way too easy to undo. B can get a sposie off in under a minute. She can't get through her cloth diaper snaps, so they stay on.
3. Disposable baby wipes suck. Reusable cloth wipes (we use 8"x8" squares cut from old towels,  mainly) are far superior. The terry cloth texture cleans off even the messiest bums easily, often with just one. We squirt them with water as needed so they're always as wet as necessary. The disposable wipes are flimsy, dry out really fast & it always takes a few for poop cleanup.
4. I got stripes... Disposable diapers have plastic & bleached fibres next to baby's skin. On hot days, this sometimes gives B a big strip of rash across her back where the elastic is. She's never had that problem with cloth diapers.
5. Disposal dilemma. Since we've used mainly cloth diapers for both kids, I'm used to a "pack it in, pack it out" mentality. We have several cute wet bags which hold dirty diapers when we're out. Finding an appropriate place to throw out a disposable diaper was sometimes annoying. We had to take each one out into the garage at Oma & Opa's house or it would stink the place up. I already feel bad enough about how long it'll take for these diapers to biodegrade, I didn't want to wrap them individually in plastic too & preserve them in the landfill for another century.
6. Cuteness factor. This one isn't a practical consideration, but I find most disposable diapers pretty ugly. I don't mind B wearing a cloth diaper with no pants because they have adorable prints & colours. I always stick shorts or bloomers at least over her spouses because they're just not cute.

Nothing like getting away from it all to make you love... cloth diapers? I never expected this to be my major takeaway from a one-week trip to the Okanagan, but there you go. Next time I'm grumbling about diaper laundry or stuffing hemp inserts into pocket diapers, I'll have this experience to remind me that sposies aren't actually easier.

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