Cloth Diapering

When I was expecting Nathan, I was reading up about cloth diapering, and trying to decide if I should use cloth diapers or disposable diapers. Each baby uses an average of 5 to 8 diapers a day. That works out to over 7,000 diapers by the time he is toilet trained. Disposable diapers are relatively cheap in Singapore, and most people opt for disposables for the convenience. The advantages of cloth are plentiful and if you are still wondering why use cloth, perhaps you can start by reading this article.

Like many parents, I eventually decided to go the disposable way, primarily because I was still working full time, had no domestic help and doing laundry is a pain. But each time I tie up a trash bag filled with Nathan / Noah's soiled diapers, I think about how much waste we are generating as a household. More than half my trash will be soiled diapers!

Recently, I learnt about Charlie Banana's 2-in-1 hybrid eco-friendly diapers and decided to give it a try. With the 2-in-1, you have the option of using a reusable insert, or a disposable insert. So if you are out and about, slip in a disposable insert, and toss when you need to do a diaper change. At home, or on short trips out, opt for the reusable insert. Perfect!

Charlie Banana's diapers come in four sizes - Small, Medium, Large, One Size. I tried the One Size and Large. The One Size diaper has an elastic band which you can adjust as your baby grows. It can be used from Newborn till about 24 months. In my opinion, there is no need to get the Small and Medium sized diapers. Just the One Size will do. And when your baby outgrows One Size, move on to Large. Large is bigger than the 'biggest setting' in One Size. And if baby toilet trains before that, great! No need to get the ones in Large. Afterall, I've heard that babies who wear cloth diapers are usually toilet trained earlier.

I tried the cloth diapers on both Nathan and Noah. Fits great. Comfortable. In the day, I used one insert. For night, I slipped in 2 inserts. Both of them sleep through the night now, so I do not change their diapers after 8pm until about 7am the next morning. The best part was although the inserts were soaked, there were no leaks, and the top layer next to their skin felt dry to touch.

I've decided to use Charlie Banana's diapers when we are home, and only use disposables when we absolutely need to. I think using a mix of disposable and cloth diapers is probably a good compromise. I'd need only about half of my disposable diaper supplies, and essentially half my contribution to damaging our mother earth. It really doesn't need to be a disposables only or cloth only solution. I think a hybrid is great solution if fully cloth diapering is not possible. Either get the Charlie Banana's disposable inserts, or use regular disposable diapers when you need to. Otherwise, opt for cloth.

And look... the prints are oh so cute! Lots more lovely prints available. Solid colours available too.

Mama Shoppe will be adding Charlie Banana to our product range. Check with us if you intend to start cloth diapering. Save the earth, one diaper at a time. :)