Paper or Plastic?

I'm not necessarily one of those hemp-obsessed crunchy earth moms, but I do love our planet and intend to live here for the forseeable future.  And with that plan in mind, I really don't enjoy the notion that Izzy's diapers will outlive her by several centuries.  So we have entered the strange fourth dimension known only as the "Cloth Diaper Zone" (cue eerie music). 

Like everything baby, purchasing and using cloth diapers is not as simple as one might think.  I really thought I would be slapping a piece of cloth at the appropriately spewing end of the baby and pinning it in place.  Not so.  There are more methods for applying a cloth diaper than Tiger Woods has mistresses.  Even the lingo is intimidating:  all-in-ones, Chinese certified organic prefolds, Snapis, angelwing folds, and microfiber terry inserts to name a few of my new vocabulary words.  With the time I have dedicated to reading diapering blogs, I could have earned an advanced degree online. 

CDM's (cloth-diapering moms - see how casually I can insert the lingo?) are truly passionate about the wardrobe that covers their babies' bottoms.  It is considered a badge of honor to swirl dirty diapers in the toilet or to scrape poo with a spatula before dropping it into the toxic waste zone of the old-fashioned diaper pail.  But I am not knocking it.  In fact, I may even be a convert to this time-honored ritual.  And with the latest technology in textiles and diaper closure apparatus, even dad has professed his willingness to abandon the plastic landfill fodder that is disposable diapers. 

So Izzy's bum is swathed in an organic, non-bleached Chinese prefold and she closely resembles a sumo wrestler.  But Mother Earth is a happy lady; and when Mama is happy, everybody's happy.  Now off to hug a bunny...