There are many decisions new parents have to face. One of those decisions has to do with their new angel's basic bodily functions - diapering. Up until a couple generations ago cloth diapers were the only choice, and then very quickly the norm changed to disposable diapers being seen as more sanitary and convenient. The pendulum is now swinging back again and parents have more choices then ever. Below some comparisons of cloth vs disposable diapers are outlined.

When looking at the issue from a cost perspective, cloth diapers easily pull ahead of disposables. While the initial investment of cloth diapers can be higher at around a dollar or two a diaper vs around $.25 per diaper for disposables, over the course of a couple years thousands of dollars are saved by reusing the cloth diapers. The only new cloth diapers that must be purchased are as your baby grows out of the last batch, and those outgrown diapers can be put aside for future children. Around $500 or less of cloth diapers will last you a full year, vs at least twice that much in disposable diapers.

Regarding the environment, cloth diapers again pull ahead. Rather then dumping thousands of plastic diapers in a landfill for our children to have to deal with - though there is perhaps some poetic justice in having them faced with the problem of their own decades-old diapers - using cloth diapers means there are only a few biodegradable pieces of fabric to throw away.

Convenience is really what draws many people to disposable diapers. When outside no one wants to have to carry a dirty diaper home with them, and most of us want to limit our dealings with poopy diapers to the bare minimum. Being able to throw away the diaper is seemingly a vote in favor of disposables. However many people don't realize how easy it is washing cloth diapers. Breastfed babies don't even need their poopy diapers rinsed, as their waste is so liquid, and even more solid poop just needs to be shaken into the nearest toilet. There are also flushable liners available for when parent and baby need to be out of the house to make disposing any waste even easier.

In the end when looking at cost, convenience and long term impact cloth diapers have a definite edge. While every parent's situation is unique and their choices their own, we all want to do the best we can for our baby and the world it will live in.