The Great Diaper Debate

So there are many options for diapering a baby these days. When trying to decide what method to choose, we considered several factors.
1) Environmental impact (resources used for production and or laundering as well as waste)
2) What chemicals and/or products will touch the baby and how effective the diaper is
3) Cost, both long term and short term
4) Time and ease of mom and dad.

After reading countless reviews and scouring the web for all available diaper resources I've learned several things. At first, I thought the idea of the fitted cloth all-in-one diapers sounded good since they don't need a separate cover. However, after more research I discovered that these take much longer to dry, need to be purchased in several size increments and are on the high end for price at $15-18 per diaper. So we started looking into flat or "pre-fold" diapers with the extra layer in the middle.

Prefolds are much cheaper ($7.50 to 8.50 each), and will last longer because they can be used on a wider size range of baby. Cotton pre-folds are the most common, however, cotton crops use many pesticides and chemicals so purchasing organic versions was important to us. In researching the organic options I discovered hemp diapers. These are reviewed as being far superior in absorbancy, as much as 50% more so than cotton alone. Hemp is a crop that is raised without chemicals and actually puts nitrogren back into the soil that is stripped out with other crops. Its also grown more effiecently with a higher product/land ratio than cotton. The diapers are hemp mixed with organic cotton and have recieved great reviews from every site I've searched.

So the next step was to find covers. I chose a single layer PUL cover with velcro sides and elastic leg gussets because these can be wiped out between uses and do not need to be washed each time. This means that one only needs a total of 4-6 covers per day instead of one for each diaper change (estimated to be between 12-18 per day for newborn - whewww!!!). Because these are fitted and sized, it does mean changing sizes after a few months but this is still cheaper than using the all-in-ones and comes out to be less expensive over the long run than disposables.

Regarding disposables: there will be a place for these at times I'm sure too. Fortunately, Seventh Generation has a line of diapers without chlorine or other chemicals that we will use when needed.

So, after much thinking and reading, we have decided to go with the Babykicks Hemparoo organic hemp/cotton blend diaper with the Thirsties brand covers.

Now I just need to figure out the best process for storing and laundering... I don't think I could "rinse" in the toilet, there's got to be a better way.