Cloth Diapers Versus Disposable

I heard once that it takes 500 years for one disposable diaper to decompose in a landfill. It is a fact that diapers make up a huge part of our landfills. The statistics are something like 18 million diapers each year. Once I heard this disturbing statistic I began to research to verify if this is in fact true. According to the research that I have seen, it does take up to 500 years for the plastic part of a diaper to decompose. The biodegradable parts of the diaper will decompose over a shorter amount of time, however the process of decomposition needs oxygen (air), light and/or water. Tough to get under layers and layers of garbage. So begins my search to compare disposable diapers verses cloth.

I have also heard that there is a substantial cost savings when using cloth diapers so here is where I begin my research. This will not be my last post about this subject. Here are a few articles that I found helpful when comparing the cost of cloth versus disposable diapers.

Fuzzi Bunz- Cost Comparison
The Parent's Guide - Diapers, Diapers & More Diapers
Cash Money Lift - Cloth Diapers Vs. Disposable Diapers
Family Education - Diaper Wars: Cloth Versus Disposable

Another fact to note is that by state regulation daycare centers can not use cloth diapers for sanitary purposes. At this point, and based on the fact that my husband and I both have full time careers, I believe that our decision might come down to a part-time use of both cloth and disposable.

Expecting in April

I thought I would polish off the old blog site and begin uploading my thoughts and ideas about the next chapter we are about to start....we are expecting in April. My husband Matt and I have been married for, well it will be five years this May. We are also both turning the big 3-0 this Spring as well, so needless to say this is quite an exciting year for our family, or soon-to-be family. We found out that we are having a little boy, which regardless of what gender, has made both sets of parents very proud. We are both very excited about this next step in our lives and boy is the pregnancy going fast! This is me at 21 weeks. Now I am 25.

So this next chapter is all kinds of things. Scary, exciting, emotional, you name it. As an Interior Designer, of course one of the first things I start to think about is the nursery! I can't help it. I am around beautiful colors and materials at work all day so of course my mind is going to start to create the perfect nursery for our little one. I have started to put together an "idea board" so that I can compile all of my thoughts. Some of the main ideas are to keep the room themeless and timeless and instead play with color and pattern. I want to keep it gender neutral so that multiple kiddos can enjoy this room. Keep it green....we have already bought bamboo flooring to put down in our new nursery since we had to rip up the subfloor to fix an HVAC problem. A renovation that of course I didn't mind doing one bit! And finally, since you know that I sew I want to keep most of the room handmade. My brother and father and planning on making the crib and my mother and I will be sewing the bedding for it. I have a lot of extra scrap fabric that I plan on using for wall art, a mobile, and/or other small accessories.

Idea Board #1