All or Nothing? 'Sposie confessions

Does cloth diapering have to be an all or nothing affair? Not at all!

Most families who choose to cloth diaper do so for a combination of reasons- trying to save money, produce less trash, and expose their child to fewer chemicals. Disposables seem to be the antithesis of these goals, so why would a cloth-diapering family ever reach for the 'sposies?

Babysitters
Pocket diapers and all-in-ones seem to be "babysitter-proof," but when you don't have time to explain to the teenager what to do with poop, or overwhelm Great-Aunt Edna with something new, disposables are forgivable. (Confession: even our Toasty Baby's grandma refused to use cloth when he was a little baby, even going so far as to buy her own 'sposies to use at her house! We gave in because we were thankful for the free babysitting.)

Travel
When our baby went on his first-ever plane ride right after he turned 1, we weren't keen on checking a bag just for the diapers while we were away (and paying to check a bag of dirty diapers on the way back!). We packed a few disposables and bought a pack while we were at our destination, and left the diapers we didn't use with a family member with a toddler, who would be able to use them. Every time I travel, I cringe at the cost and smell of disposables, though!

Sickness
We just finished weathering a chicken pox infection at our house! We were unsure as to whether cloth or disposables were better on the spots as they healed on his bottom. We went back and forth, and finally decided the disposable diapers were lighter weight and used them for just a couple days. As the trash started to pile up, I was glad he got better! During diaper rashes, disposables can be a good choice if you have to slather on conventional diaper cream and don't have a disposable liner or fleece liner to protect your diapers.

Behind on laundry
This is doesn't happen too often, but when we reach for the last prefold and haven't started diaper laundry yet, I kind of panic. We'll end up using one or two disposables while the washer and dryer finish the cycles and we can get everything clean and dry again. Even the pros get behind on laundry!

Whatever the reason, it's OK to do both cloth and disposable diapering in the same family. Do what works for you and your family and situation. Every cloth diaper you use saves a 'sposie from the trash and saves you money- whether you're using cloth full time, all the time or just changing 3 cloth diapers a day.