Diapers.
Who knew there was such a wide variety of options available for something that basically collects poo.  Not only do they come in disposable or washable there are a wide variety of sizes, shapes, textures and colors available.

Disposable Diapers

First you have your basic disposable diaper.  Everyone knows what these are. We purchased our first pack of new born disposable diapers for the first few days of diaper duty.  They come with a neat little notch cut out so the umbilical cord won’t be disturbed.  Neat huh?

G Diapers

Our original plan was to cover Zimmerbaby’s tush in G Diapers.  They are a cross between cloth and disposable.  You buy the little underpants that come in a variety of colors.  There is a spot in the middle that holds a disposable liner to collect the mess.  When changing the diaper you flush the disposable liner and it is supposed to disintegrate leaving nothing to throw away, hence the “G” which I think stands for green.  No waste.  I’ve heard mixed reviews on the flushability of the liners as well as frustration over having to buy the liners which cost the same as a pack of Pampers Swadlers and you still have to wash the diaper because the liner doesn’t always soak everything up.  So to us it seems like there really isn’t an upside.

Cloth Diapers

On to cloth diapers. Cloth diapers to me meant those cloth rectangles that you have to fold into diaper shape and pin in place with a giant safety pin.

Well turns out they’ve changed a bit since my parents used them. I was shocked to find out about the numerous styles and options available in the world of cloth diapers. It seems that the most popular is one called Bum Genius.

Like the G Diaper it has an outer cover that comes in a variety of colors. Instead of a disposable liner there is a pocket where you inset a long skinny wash cloth like thing that soaks up the mess. When they are soiled you throw it all in the washer. The upside is that once you purchase them you don’t have to buy diapers again. They can be re-used for additional children and nothing is being wasted (except water for washing). This particular diaper has adjustable snaps to make it bigger as baby grows. The downside, they are not cheap and in order to keep from doing constant laundry it’s necessary to buy a set of 24 or so. And of course there is the pain of doing laundry.  There are laundry services that will pick up your diapers and wash them for you if you really don’t want to do them. But of course it comes at a price.

I was shocked to learn that babies go through 12-16 diapers per day. After doing the math, we’ve decide to give the cloth diapering system a whirl. More than anything because of the cost savings it seems we’ll get in the long run. We’ll see how it goes.

There is a great store in downtown Lee’s Summit called Happy Bottomus that has everything one would need to diaper their babies tush in a cloth system among other fun baby items.