Why do I care about the diaper problem you may ponder?
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The diaper problem is not financial (although that does play a role). The diaper problem involves fragrance.
The health problems I have encountered over the past four years are due to an imbalance in hormones. Specifically, too much estrogen coursing through my body. Too much of bad, fake estrogen.
All of us are surrounded by chemicals - whether through food, everyday items like receipts, and beauty products like lotions - that attack our endocrine system. And it's a big deal. I won't go into tons of detail here (that's a post for another day). But our endocrine system is a very delicate balance that keeps our moods stable, contributes to a healthy weight and keeps our bodies functioning properly. When it gets out of whack it can contribute to early puberty in girls, fibrocystic breasts, uterine fibroids, headaches, fatigue, weight gain, hair loss, infertility and those with an imbalance have a higher risk of developing cancer.
So what does this have to do with diapers?
You know that delicious, new baby powder smell that makes you want to snuggle a baby even with poop in their pants?
That smell is a phthalate, an environmental xenoestrogen. A chemical that gets in your body and acts like an estrogen, thus contributing to your overall estrogen load.
Bottom line. If there is a "fragrance" or "parfum" listed in the ingredients or something has a scent like sweet baby powder tush, you can bet a phthalate is there.
There are also a ton of other chemicals in regular diapers but I pick my worry battles. So for me regular diapers have two strikes: 1) Fragrance and 2) Non-biodegradable. I'm sure my diapers from the early 80's are still sitting in a landfill somewhere.
So back to my original solution: Cloth diapers. These days they are stylish, thinner, and come with their own snaps. No pins, less bulk, cute fabrics. They even come in hybrid versions that have disposable liners.
But so far I can't get JTS to get into it. He loves saving money but he also has a big gag reflex. He also thinks I won't clean them frequently enough. I don't know how to prove the non-mess factor without getting some but I'm still lobbying for them.
In the meantime.
Our very expensive solution to the diaper problem is natural, disposable diapers.
I use Honest Company 95% of the time.
Honest makes a great diaper. Super cute, less papery feeling than other natural diapers and they work VERY well. I would say absorption and blow-out rates are about the same as your average Pamper or Huggie. They also come with wipes, that, although they are not as soft as regular wipes, do work very well and have what I crave the most: NO FRAGRANCE.
Another good alternative is Naty natural diapers. They are slightly more papery feeling than Honest but they are a bit cheaper. Personally, I like the cute designs at Honest. My husband thinks Naty are easier to use, although I find them too large. It's hard to figure out the per diaper cost because Honest comes with wipes so a true side by side comparison is tough. I've also read good reviews about Earth's Best diapers but have not tried them personally.
If you can get your husband on board for cloth check out my friend's very informative post about cloth diapers on her blog Ye Old College Try.
I'll be writing more about endocrine disruption in later posts. Although I'm certainly not perfect in this regards (sometimes I do cave into that sweet baby scent myself and grab Lil' D a bag of Pampers) I'm very passionate about the subject.
Happy Diapering!
Daisy
P.S. Please also use caution around baby products that are "unscented" or "fragrance free" - sometimes these products still use phthalates to mask bad smells, they just use them to smell like nothing. Check your labels for "fragrance" or "parfum" or look for products that say Phthalate-Free.
P.S.S. To read a little more about endocrine imbalance I found this post that is pretty easy to read.
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And then there were two
(readers)
1 comment:
"and then there were two...readers"
hahaha- i will read the mess out of diaper blogs. i don't know jack about endocrine anything, but i guarantee i will read that too:)
if you invest in a few cloth diapers in a well known brand (bum genius) you could totally resell them if you and your beloved agree that cloth is not for you. but, admittedly, the first few weeks in cloth is a learning curve and might not be all roses and loveliness. at the end of the day, if you're the only one into it, you're probably making a good choice to hold off.
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