20 Weeks—“Green Guilt”

The thousands upon thousands of gallons of oil that is pouring into the Gulf as we speak has forced my hand. I like to think of myself as somewhat “green.” I recycle, avoid styrofoam, do my best to conserve energy; all of the little things I can do to help out Mother Earth I do. But for the past 4 1/2 months, our trash output has increased exponentially. What’s worse is that the trash bags are full of diapers that take something like 10,000 years to breakdown. It’s too much.

So, about an hour ago, I ordered my cloth diaper start kit and I’m scared.

My co-worker Hannah, is a huge advocate of cloth diapers and assures me that they’re just as easy as disposables, but I’m not convinced. I just can’t stand letting my carbon footprint grow any larger.

Because of my hesitation, I decided to start with “Econobum.” It’s a fairly new cloth diapering system, and the starter pack was only $60.00. Most popular cloth diapers such as Bum Genius starter kits can start as high as $500.00. Yes, I know that you are supposed to save money in the long run, but that’s a big chunk of change to shove out at once.

My “green guilt” isn’t the only reason I am going to try cloth. Pampers diapers have been all over the news for giving infants chemical burns. Chemical burns, seriously? I use Pampers! I truly did not do my research when choosing disposable diapers. I had no idea there were chemicals involved. Yes, I admit looking back now, it was very naive of me.

I would love to hear any feedback from you Mom’s out there, and check back here to read about my new venture!

To the Motherhood,
Abby