Diapers: best situation for my gf and me?

[kinisuruna]

Hi all- first Treehugger post... have an upcoming little girl in march and want to try to do the best we can for the environment given the context of our life...
* Six-flat apartment with only two washers and two dryers for the building
* Washer/Dryer not in unit; $1.25/load to wash and $1.00/load to dry
* Somewhat space-restricted Chicago apartment

Given the situation above, we're thinking we're pretty much having to use conventional diapers since we (1) dont have a place to put the diapers until washing (2) the washers and dryers are not in our unit, (3) they cost quite a bit per load and I guess (4) trying to be friendly with the neighbors and not hogging their use.

With that said though we really would like to look at all of our options such as washable diapers, maybe use a service? Any thoughts or ideas on how we could be environmentally mindful, but also mindful of budgets as well?

Thanks all!
-Dustin

[yoder]

Hi all- first Treehugger post... have an upcoming little girl in march and want to try to do the best we can for the environment given the context of our life...
* Six-flat apartment with only two washers and two dryers for the building
* Washer/Dryer not in unit; $1.25/load to wash and $1.00/load to dry
* Somewhat space-restricted Chicago apartment

Given the situation above, we're thinking we're pretty much having to use conventional diapers since we (1) dont have a place to put the diapers until washing (2) the washers and dryers are not in our unit, (3) they cost quite a bit per load and I guess (4) trying to be friendly with the neighbors and not hogging their use.

With that said though we really would like to look at all of our options such as washable diapers, maybe use a service? Any thoughts or ideas on how we could be environmentally mindful, but also mindful of budgets as well?

Thanks all!
-Dustin

I was just going to suggest a diaper service, but you beat me to it. At between $20 and $30 a week, it could be comparable to what disposables would cost (if you get a better quality disposable). Another thing is that kids in cloth diapers are potty trained 6 - 12 months earlier than those in disposables, so you may be looking at some savings in the long run.

[AnEducatedForester]

Here in south bend, indiana there is no diaper service available. We had the same problem when my 20 month old girl was born...so we have had to use disposables. You may have to buy good disposable diapers to prevent leaks too, the green/generic diapers sometimes just don't cut it. Some babies make big messy diapers, some don't...kinda depends on the kid. One trick we used is to buy different grade diapers for different times of day, uses. Those nighttime diapers are real good for preventing leaks, my daughter used to wake up wet every morning in anything else. I would hope that Chicago has more options than South Bend.

There's a new potty sitting in our bathroom, and we're hoping our little one will start using it soon and save us that $30 a week.

Congratulations by the way, and be prepared to let some things environmental go when it comes to raising the baby...don't kill yourself trying to be green. There's only so much we can do in a society where everything for kids is made to be disposable and cheap. Don't go overboard with the organic baby food, do some research on what needs to be organic and what is ok otherwise to save money. Be prepared to either do alot of laundry or waste alot of paper towels...its simply unavoidable.

[eugene]

We tried the "green" disposables and they do not absorb anywhere near as much as the normal disposables so be prepared to change them often if you do use them. And with breastfeeding being more green than formula they needed diaper changes more often.

[kinisuruna]

After the posts here and more reading on my own I was able to find this place called 'Bottoms Up Diaper Service' ... 80-diapers/week for $17.45... which really puts it about on-par with the cost of 'normal disposables' from what I can tell.

In our situation we've ruled-out doing the cloth diapers on our own - simply not feasible in an apartment where we dont have the washer/dryers in unit, etc... so if the cost of the service is the same as the cost of diapers... but that using the service reduces what ends up in a landfill... we're all for it.

I have to say too, some people at work today also mentioned the 'green diapers' are simply not even worth their money... so that pretty much shaped the decision for us to have all of you weigh-in...

(Mod edit-left the diaper service name intact for those interested but removed link as spam)

[kinisuruna]

Also... I have to say... this was my first time posting on Treehugger (although I have monitored the RSS feeds for at least a year or two)... and I'm very encouraged that I did not get the [expected] hard-line uber-environmental response. Thanks for being so pragmatic and practical in your input!

[yoder]

Also... I have to say... this was my first time posting on Treehugger (although I have monitored the RSS feeds for at least a year or two)... and I'm very encouraged that I did not get the [expected] hard-line uber-environmental response. Thanks for being so pragmatic and practical in your input!

Don't be afraid to share on this forum. In most cases our bark is worse than our bite.

[charadeur]

Also... I have to say... this was my first time posting on Treehugger (although I have monitored the RSS feeds for at least a year or two)... and I'm very encouraged that I did not get the [expected] hard-line uber-environmental response. Thanks for being so pragmatic and practical in your input!

Don't be afraid to share on this forum. In most cases our bark is worse than our bite.

+1 A reasoned open minded question nearly always gets reasoned open minded answers.

[greenteadrinker]

I can't give you the links because it would be spam but Google
chicago-eco friendly-diaper service.
It brought up quite a few.
Good luck.
(and try to save up for a washer (at least) asap, you can always line dry)
And I'm sure you know this but DO NOT microwave any baby food in plastic. Keep the kiddo healthy.

[eugene]

And I'm sure you know this but DO NOT microwave any baby food in plastic. Keep the kiddo healthy.

We were buying Gerber Organic baby food and they switched from the glass jars to plastic so we switched to the earths best brand. It seemed silly to put organic food in containers that couple easily leech chemicals into the food.

[kinisuruna]

We were buying Gerber Organic baby food and they switched from the glass jars to plastic so we switched to the earths best brand. It seemed silly to put organic food in containers that couple easily leech chemicals into the food.

Good thing for us is that my gf is an executive chef... so are most of her friends... so a long-lineage already of home-made baby foods! Likely Treehugger isnt the forum, but drop me a line and I can share recipes for things if you want... trust me... very simple. lol...

[tigerlily78]

We were buying Gerber Organic baby food and they switched from the glass jars to plastic so we switched to the earths best brand. It seemed silly to put organic food in containers that couple easily leech chemicals into the food.

Good thing for us is that my gf is an executive chef... so are most of her friends... so a long-lineage already of home-made baby foods! Likely Treehugger isnt the forum, but drop me a line and I can share recipes for things if you want... trust me... very simple. lol...

Just feel free to start a new thread called "Make your own baby food".

Homemade, "do-it-yourself" solutions are always welcome here, especially if they are eco-friendly.

Even though our focus is not parenting and kids, we do have members who I am sure would appreciate your recipes and tips.

[eugene]

We found that a lot of baby food wasnt much more than just smashed up vegetables so we would simply share what we ate after smashing it up to match the consistancy of baby food.

[greenteadrinker]

We found that a lot of baby food wasnt much more than just smashed up vegetables so we would simply share what we ate after smashing it up to match the consistancy of baby food.

Works for seniors too. (and so does the diaper situation)

[babygoesgreen]

I really loved cloth diapers with my kids. It was just very important for me to have natural products for my babies. Go to babygoesgreen.org, they have a lot of choices for organic baby foods, cloth diapers, eco-friendly baby clothing and a long, long list of other organic baby products.